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11:53 p.m. - 2003-07-21
Retro
A bit of a retro music day roundabout.

I went to look at the office space owned (I think) by the company I work for. There is a very guarded sense around the acquisitions of that newly merged company. I didn't find out about the proposed takeover of the company I'm now working with through internal channels. It was the grapevine within the industry I work in that cued me to it. When I met with my new co-worker, it turned out she was a VP in the company now being taken over. It was obvious that she is still in a bit of a state of shock and quite distressed. She also doesn't seem to feel she knows for certain whether the deal will be completed or not. Curious.

The space that is available for lease is fine - clean, safe, and having all the elements I need (like a lot of phone jacks) to make it work. It isn't as bad as the VP I spoke with on Friday made it out to be. There's even an open air deck for breaks - although mid-winter one has to be pretty hardy to want to barbeque, I think.

Spent time touring the place, then sat down with my co-worker to discuss some management issues around this contract, at my request. First up - how to track hours so that the client is assured they are valid counts. I have an e-mail trail for almost every request. I'll have to remember to consciously document every change that way. For example, a direction this morning to italicize every question in the document. Not difficult, but with over 80 pages some time has to be taken. That sort of thing.

Next, when problems like the one with the template crop up, how to deal with that. No one "on site" or at an IT desk to work with, especially after office hours. The one last week first cropped up at 5:30 PM. Hard to know, at that point, how much trouble there is. Two issues really - clients hate paying for more hours than they have to and that is fair. One shouldn't be padding the hours - ever. However, it is rare, in any work situation, for people who haven't done such work to accurately estimate the time necessary to complete all the tasks associated with "paperwork" and to allow time for technological glitches - which are almost inevitable. Second problem, how to access help for trouble shooting. A lot of the material I deal with is proprietary or confidential. The less outside eyes that see it the better. But if a non-negotiable deadline is looming and I can't contact internal support, what are my options? The person who helped me this time is with the justice department and is cognizant of confidentiality requirements, but she hadn't signed a contract with the company. Truth is neither had I, that was done today. My choice on Thursday night was either to miss that deadline or ask for help where it was available. I now have my new co-worker's home phone number.

Next, it's odd and I'm not certain I understand the concern. I use my maiden name now, for everything except my resume/work. I wanted to switch back years ago, but my sons were all still in school and it really bothered them that I would have a different name than theirs. I waited until a year ago, so that it wouldn't be an issue with them anymore. It's like the issue of staying in this house. Lots of wonderful memories around my children - their births and growing up. Also, though, some very awful memories of both my ex and of things that occurred when I was volunteering. I need to move, but I've waited for the boys to be ready for that. Soon. Anyway, it seems to be bothering the client that my email address is not the same name that on my resume. My co-worker asked me to explain my rationale. Quite honestly, that isn't a question that is allowed under our labour laws, but I'd rather not leave it to someone's imagination for an explanation. Speculation and rumours do more damage than just about anything else.

So why did I start with the reference to it being a retro music day? Well, I think my co-worker felt a bit bad about prying into my personal affairs, so she spoke a bit about herself too. North of England born, but doesn't sound like a Yorkie. I know, I've worked with a couple. I thought she might have been from Australia or New Zealand, but it is just that she moved all around Britain as a child so there isn't the distinct regional accent to identify her. The mixture comes off sounding like it comes from one of the "colonies". Her hubby is a music promoter/distributer. We were talking about a benefit concert being done by a major British rock group to help out the economy in Toronto where the SARS outbreak basically shut down and shut in the city. That band has now worked out an arrangement to simulcast their concert here for a local fundraiser to help the farmers affected by the mad cow disease scare. That's very kind and generous of them. I'm not certain why they're being so helpful, but my co-worker said that a couple of the members of the band were always like that. She seemed to be talking from first hand knowledge. She told me some of the other groups her hubby promotes and little bit about their lifestyle. Then she paused and made a comment about my resemblance to a rather flamboyant rock star long dead - "before her beer/druggie days". She sort of looked at me out of the corner of her eye and said "but I expect you hear that all the time". Well no, it was mentioned by someone else about a year ago, but I don't remember seeing any photos of that person prior to their "psychedelic days". I think that must have been when I was too young to pay attention. I'll have to try and hunt up some photos I guess, but I don't really think so.

When I got home, an ad on the TV for a Crosby, Stills, and Nash concert coming up shortly. That I wouldn't mind going to, but it isn't likely. The cumulative memories of three of the big ticket rock acts of the '60's all stirred up in one morning triggered some very odd rumbling in the subconscious though. I wonder what it signifies - synchronicities.

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