August 20, 2005 - L.A. to Port Canaveral - Eastbound Repo Cruise - The SHIP OF FOOLS Part 3

[jhemond]

5 Months!

YEE HAW!!!!!

Can I start packing now?

 

[jhemond]

Boy. It's only 5 months away. We still have a TON to do before we're ready.

Here's my list:

Done:
* cruise booked
* room at GC booked for 18th-20th
* bus booked and paid for from GC to port (IzziBob - have you gotten the check yet?)
* dinner clothes bought (no more shopping allowed)

Still need to do:
* pay for cruise
* pick excursions
* book excursions
* book flights
* make sure MIL can watch dog
* buy DL tickets
* book transportation from port to airport
* make door magnet(s)
* pack
* read book about the Panama Canal
* pack
* get vacay time put in work calander
* pack
* make a "plan of attack" for DL

Boy that's a long list.....and I'm sure I'm forgetting something important....

 

[Perdita&Pongo]

5 Months!

I saw somebody's counter said "4 months 4 weeks"!!!!! Time is zooming now!

 

[izzinmac]

* bus booked and paid for from GC to port (IzziBob - have you gotten the check yet?)
:

Got it!

 

[jhemond]

Got it!

Cool! Just wanted to make sure that it didn't get lost in the mail.

 

[Scratch42]

Well I got my CafePress order today!LOL

Unfortunately, the stein has the wrong thing on it!
The mug wasn't there!

But the Camisole and the Thong are OK!
So is the Hoodie! Lightweight so DD will be able to wear in the Summer!

The tiles and magnets look awesome!

I called them regarding the stein and the missing mug, that's when I found out this is the first order!LOL She told me just to keep the other stuff, if and when it arrives!

I love receiving surprises! The stein has a comic strip on it! Have never seen it but apparently from princess.com! and deals with money!LOL



Scratch

 

[Scratch42]

Boy. It's only 5 months away. We still have a TON to do before we're ready.

Here's my list:

Done:
* cruise booked
* room at GC booked for 18th-20th
* bus booked and paid for from GC to port (IzziBob - have you gotten the check yet?)
* dinner clothes bought (no more shopping allowed)

Still need to do:
* pay for cruise
* pick excursions
* book excursions
* book flights
* make sure MIL can watch dog
* buy DL tickets
* book transportation from port to airport
* make door magnet(s)
* pack
* read book about the Panama Canal
* pack
* get vacay time put in work calander
* pack
* make a "plan of attack" for DL

Boy that's a long list.....and I'm sure I'm forgetting something important....

Yeah, Don't forget your MONEY and CREDIT CARD! Can't go shopping without it!LOL

Scratch

 

[jhemond]

Yeah, Don't forget your MONEY and CREDIT CARD! Can't go shopping without it!LOL

Scratch

That's part of the packing . I never go ANYWHERE without the credit card. Money? What's that? I knew I was forgetting something....

Add to to do list:

* win lottery to have money to go on cruise

 

[piglet33]

Wow, slow day today.

 

[Denine]

I printed off the newsletter and am looking forward to some quiet time to read it.

That's right, I still gotta buy DL tickets and decide where to make PS's when the time comes.

 

[mickeyfan1]

This seems fitting after last nights chat:

Went to the eye doctor this morning and for the first time ever, I don't need a different perscription. And the condo insurance lady just called and is processing my claim. And I got new dishes finally, that all match! Woo Hoo!!!


Hmmm, All I have to do for the cruise:

Order Lanyards and send PMs regarding payment
Pay for my pin
Pack

I think that's it!

 

[Scratch42]

This seems fitting after last nights chat:

Now is that a nice thing to be saying about the "LOONEYHOODS!"

Scratch

 

[mark & sandra]

In honor (honour) of Arlene:

Nightmare Tech Support

Monday

8:05am
User called to say they forgot password. Told them to use password retrieval utility called FDISK. Blissfully ignorant, they thank me and hang up. God, we let the people vote and drive, too?

8:12am
Accounting called to say they couldn't access expense reports database. Gave them Standard Sys Admin Answer #112, "Well, it works for me." Let them rant and rave while I unplugged my coffeemaker from the UPS and plugged their server back in. Suggested they try it again. One more happy customer...

8:14 am
User from 8:05 call said they received error message "Error accessing Drive C." Told them it was an OS problem. Transferred them to microsupport.

11:00 am
Relatively quiet for last few hours. Decide to plug support phone back in so I can call my husband. Says parents are coming into town this weekend. Put him on hold and transferred him to janitorial closet down in basement. What is he thinking? The "Myst" and "Doom" nationals are this weekend!

11:34 am
Another user calls (do they ever learn?). Says they want ACL changed on HR performance review database so that nobody but HR can access
database. Tell them no problem. Hang up. Change ACL. Add @MailSend so performance reviews are sent to */ALL.

12:00 pm
Lunch

3:30 pm
Return from lunch.

3:55 pm
Wake up from nap. Bad dream makes me cranky. Bounce servers for no reason. Return to napping.

4:23 pm
Yet another user calls. Wants to know how to change fonts on form. Ask them what chip set they're using. Tell them to call back when they find out.

4:55 pm
Decide to run "Create Save/Replication Conflicts" macro so next shift has something to do.

Tuesday

8:30 am
Finish reading support log from last night. Sounded busy. Terrible time with Save/Replication conflicts.

9:00 am
Support manager arrives. Wants to discuss my attitude. Click on PhoneNotes SmartIcon. "Love to, but kinda busy. Put something in the calendar database!" I yell as I grab for the support lines, which have (mysteriously) lit up. Walks away grumbling.

9:35 pm
Team leader from R&D needs ID for new employee. Tell them they need form J-19R=9C9\\DARR\K1. Say they never heard of such a form. Tell them it's in the SPECIAL FORMS database. Say they never heard of such a database. Transfer them to janitorial closet in basement.

10:00 am
Perky sounding intern from R&D calls and says she needs new ID. Tell her I need employee number, department name, manager name, and marital status. Run @DbLookup against state parole board database, Centers for Disease Control database, and my Oprah Winfrey database. No hits. Tell her ID will be ready tonight. Drawing from the lessons learned in last week's "Reengineering for Customer Partnership," I offer to
personally deliver ID to her apartment.

10:07 am
Janitor stops by to say he keeps getting strange calls in basement. Offer to train him on Notes. Begin now. Let him watch console while I grab a smoke.

1:00 pm
Return from smoking break. Janitor says phones kept ringing, so he transferred them to cafeteria lady. I like this guy.

1:05 pm
Big commotion! Support manager falls in hole left where I pulled floor tiles outside his office door. Stress to him importance of not running in computer room, even if I do yell "Omigod -- Fire!"

1:15 pm
Development Standards Committee calls and complains about umlauts in form names. Apologizing for the inconvenience, I tell them I will fix
it. Hang up and run global search/replace using gaks.

1:20 pm
Mary Hairnet from cafeteria calls. Says she keeps getting calls for "Notice Loads" or "NoLoad Goats," she's not sure, couldn't hear over industrial-grade blender. Tell her it was probably "Lettuce Nodes." Maybe the food distributor with a new product? She thinks about it and hangs up.

2:00 pm
Legal secretary calls and says she lost password. Ask her to check in her purse, floor of car, and on bathroom counter. Tell her it probably fell out of back of machine. Suggest she put duct tape over all the airvents she can find on the PC. Grudgingly offer to create new ID for her while she does that.

2:49 pm
Janitor comes back. Wants more lessons. I take off rest of day.

Wednesday

8:30 am
Irate user calls to say chipset has nothing to do with fonts on form. Tell them Of course, they should have been checking "Bitset," not "chipset." Sheepish user apologizes and hangs up.

9:10am
Support manager, with foot in cast, returns to office. Schedules 10:00am meeting with me. User calls and wants to talk to support manager about terrible help at support desk. Tell them manager about to go into meeting. Sometimes life hands you material...

10:00 am
Call Louie in janitorial services to cover for me. Go to support manager's office. He says he can't dismiss me but can suggest several lateral career moves. Most involve farm implements in third-world countries with moderate to heavy political turmoil. By and by, I ask if he's aware of new bug which takes full-text indexed random e-mail databases and puts all references to furry handcuffs and Bambi Boomer in Marketing on the corporate Web page. Meeting is adjourned as he reaches for keyboard, Web browser, and Tums.

10:30 am
Tell Louie he's doing great job. Offer to show him mainframe corporate PBX system sometime.

11:00 am
Lunch.

4:55 pm
Return from lunch.

5:00 pm
Shift change; Going home.

Thursday

8:00 am
New guy ("Marvin") started today. "Nice plaids" I offer. Show him server room, wiring closet, and technical library. Set him up with IBM PC-XT. Tell him to quit whining, Notes runs the same in both monochrome and color.

8:45 am
New guy's PC finishes booting up. Tell him I'll create new ID for him. Set minimum password length to 64. Go grab smoke.

9:30 am
Introduce Louie the custodian to Marvin. "Nice plaids" Louie comments. Is this guy great or what?!

11:00 am
Beat Louie in dominos game. Louie leaves. Fish spare dominos out of sleeves ("Always have backups"). User calls, says Accounting server
is down. Untie Ethernet cable from radio antenna (better reception) and plug back into hub. Tell user to try again. Another happy customer!

11:55 am
Brief Marvin on Corporate Policy 98.022.01: "Whereas all new employee beginning on days ending in 'Y' shall enjoy all proper aspects with said corporation, said employee is obligated to provide sustenance and relief to senior technical analyst on shift." Marvin doubts. I point to "Corporate Policy" database (a fine piece of work, if I say so myself!). "Remember, that's DOUBLE pepperoni and NO peppers!" I yell to Marvin as he steps over open floor tile to get to exit door.

1:00 pm
Oooooh! Pizza makes me so sleepy...

4:30 pm
Wake from refreshing nap. Catch Marvin scanning want ads.

5:00 pm
Shift change. Flick HR's server off and on several times (just testing the On/Off button...). See ya tomorrow.

Friday

8:00 am
Night shift still trying to replace power supply in HR server. Told them it worked fine before I left.

9:00 am
Marvin still not here. Decide I might start answering these calls myself. Unforward phones from Mailroom.

9:02 am
Yep. A user call. Users in Des Moines can't replicate. Me and the Oiuji board determine it's sunspots. Tell them to call Telecommunications.

9:30 am
Good God, another user! They're like ants. Says he's in San Diego and can't replicate with Des Moines. Tell him it's sunspots, but with a two-hour difference. Suggest he reset the time on the server back two hours.

10:17 am
Pensacola calls. Says they can't route mail to San Diego. Tell them to set server ahead three hours.

11:00 am
E-mail from corporate says for everybody to quit resetting the time on their servers. I change the date stamp and forward it to Milwaukee.

11:20 am
Finish @CoffeeMake macro. Put phone back on hook.

11:23 am
Milwaukee calls, asks what day it is.

11:25 am
Support manager stops by to say Marvin called in to quit. "So hard to get good help..." I respond. Support manager says he has appointment
with orthopedic doctor this afternoon, and asks if I mind sitting in on the weekly department head meeting for him. "No problem!"

11:30 am
Call Louie and tell him opportunity knocks and he's invited to a meeting this afternoon. "Yeah, sure. You can bring your snuff" I tell him.

12:00 am
Lunch.

1:00 pm
Start full backups on UNIX server. Route them to device NULL to make them fast.

1:03 pm
Full weekly backups done. Man, I love modern technology!

2:30 pm
Look in support manager's contact management database. Cancel 2:45 pm appointment for him. He really should be at home resting, you know.

2:39 pm
New user calls. Says want to learn how to create a connection document. Tell them to run connection document utility CTRL-ALT-DEL. Says PC rebooted. Tell them to call microsupport.

2:50 pm
Support manager calls to say mixup at doctor's office means appointment cancelled. Says he's just going to go on home. Ask him if he's seen corporate Web page lately.

3:00 pm
Another (novice) user calls. Says periodic macro not working. Suggest they place @DeleteDocument at end of formula. Promise to send them document addendum which says so.

4:00 pm
Finish changing foreground color in all documents to white. Also set point size to "2" in help databases.

4:30 pm
User calls to say they can't see anything in documents. Tell them to go to view, do a "Edit -- Select All", hit delete key, and then refresh. Promise to send them document addendum which says so.

4:45 pm
Another user calls. Says they can't read help documents. Tell them I'll fix it. Hang up. Change font to Wingdings.

4:58 pm
Plug coffee maker into Ethernet hub to see what happens. Not (too) much.

5:00 pm
Night shift shows up. Tell that the hub is acting funny and to have a good weekend.

 

[rlmkelley]

We are on the EB repositioning cruise as well as our neighbors (I think they are already on your roster). We have 2 adults, one pirate (5), one boy (8). I found WinoTracy's index very helpful and will have to take some time to go thru this thread.

Rachel

 

[mickeyfan1]

We are on the EB repositioning cruise as well as our neighbors (I think they are already on your roster). We have 2 adults, one pirate, one kid. I found WinoTracy's index very helpful and will have to take some time to go thru this thread.

Rachel

Wooo Hooo!!!! New Cruisers!!!! Welcome. Don't pay any attention to the Fools that tell you there is a test after you read this entire thread. It is actually broken down into sections, but untill you read the whole thread, we can't tell you which part is going to be tested on first! (J/K) Seiously, welcome aboard. There is a ton of info here, and the newsletters are the best way to get all if it in a more condensed version.

 

[piglet33]

Welcome Rachel to our Group of Fools!

 

[mississaugamom]

WELCOME ABOARD, RACHEL!

Read the newsletter and jump on in! Don't worry about trying to "catch up" on what's gone before on this thread. Tracy has done an awesome job of summarizing everything in the newsletters, and there's a new one issued twice a Month!!!!!

Arlene

 

[mississaugamom]

Guess that's why there's so much overtime in the job, huh????

Arlene

 

[winotracy]

We are on the EB repositioning cruise as well as our neighbors (I think they are already on your roster). We have 2 adults, one pirate (5), one boy (8). I found WinoTracy's index very helpful and will have to take some time to go thru this thread.

Rachel

Welcome aboard Rachel! My fellow fools so kindly pointed towards my newsletter, but no one told you how to get it! E-mail me with your e-mail address (and DIS name) to twhipple@fastmail.fm and I'll get you on the mailing for the newsletter. We have four so far which summarize a lot of the stuff since I quit doing the index MONTHS ago!

Tracy

 

[rlmkelley]

I have heard that Castaway Cay is the best place out of all the stops to SCUBA. Has anyone heard differently? Would it save much money to bring the kid's snorkel gear or would it be more of a pain?

Rachel