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grammarwomanUgh, you guys. I've been jumping through so many hoops lately, it should count as actual exercise and not just fuel for my constant mid-grade irritation.
At long last, the technology at my workplace is slowly but surely being upgraded. In a move that's almost surprisingly foresightful (and scary that it's surprising), we are testing all our current applications to see if they're compatible with Windows 7, the OS mandated by the head office. (Benchmark for our branch is Windows XP, running Office 97, with in-house applications either written in Fortran for running on a VAX or ones developed in Visual Basic 6. NOTHING we currently have running is supported anymore. I have to laugh or I'll cry.)
But the two support people (for a branch of around 150 people, mind you) who are in charge of the sole Windows 7 machine we have for testing are neither competent nor trained in Windows 7, because they are too busy propping up all the other crap going wrong to be spared for training. (One of our VAX developer nodes was down for two days due to random breakage. You can't even buy new VAXes nowadays.)
So every problem I've run into has been met with "Solve it yourself or go ask someone else." This includes the test FTP directory being moved by the head office IS without telling us, the test EDI server access being restricted similarly without our knowledge, and a necessary driver completely botching up on Windows 7. (Still waiting for someone to get back to me on that one.) In the meantime, I'm going through a program I wrote years ago to make sure that every form field has its background set to WHITE and not some arbitrary Windows setting that's fine on XP but comes out completely black on Windows 7. It's like someone went through with a Classified pen and marked some screens as partially REDACTED. It would be funny if I weren't in charge of fixing it. I want to leave this petty shit open on my computer with a bribe for the coding elves to fix it for me. (Leprechauns have to do something else now that shoes are mass produced, right?)
The baby-making process is almost as frustrating. With one Fallopian tube fused shut, my already-reduced chances are cut approximately in half. This past cycle, the best candidate out of the ripening follicles was on the wrong side, so I feel like all the meds I paid for and took this month were effectively (and literally, now I think about it) flushed down the toilet. I skipped the most expensive course without telling the doctor's office and feel guilty about it every day.
I'm very grateful that all these years of paying for the highest tier of health insurance is resulting in the best coverage for the fertility treatments (the doctor called it the Cadillac of plans), but that shit is still pricey. Plus, 3-4 times a month I'm up and at the clinic when it opens at 7 AM for sonograms or blood tests or both. Between that and the husband working late at the family farm most days, I feel like I'm on a hamster running wheel, trying to keep on top of everything. Then when the weekend comes and I want to bust out to do some gardening, it fucking RAINS THE WHOLE TIME. How is that fair?
Other obstacle-hoop courses have a slightly happier ending. After a bunch of meetings with the Emperor's school over this past year, in which we've gone round and round about ADHD and Autism Spectrum Disorder and testing and support modules, we FINALLY have a meeting scheduled next week to set up an Individualized Education Program for him. It's too late for his poor kindergarten teacher, but hopefully this will start first grade off on a much better note.
I am so glad my dad attended the meetings with us, in his dual role as proud grandfather and professional Special Education Administrator. Every time it felt like the school committee was trying to baffle us with acronyms, my dad fired twice as many back at them while stopping to explain everything to us. And really, School Obfuscators - I should not have had to bring up gifted education as many times as I did, when every IQ test and chart you brought out showed that he was off the scale. He's bored and ADHD - do you really think he's all that interested in following your rules? *SIGH* I hope that the uphill battle is all done, but I know that mountains of paperwork are still in the future. I hate paperwork.
Bah, that was a lot of ranting, sorry.
Next weekend we're off to a wedding for a high school friend of ours, and we will be Emperor-free for at least 40 hours thanks to my wonderful sis-in-law. I don't think we've had that much adults-only together-time since he's been born. It will be very strange. It might almost make up for missing Wiscon, again, some more.
Speaking of cons - anyone attending Vividcon that might have a spot in their hotel room for me, or know someone who could squeeze me in? My roommate arrangement fell through, and I'm getting anxious about not having a plan.
Bleah. I want to sit down with the parties responsible for putting a booster rocket on May (DANG, it went by fast!) and see if I can steal a look at their map to see what's ahead. If I can't appreciate the current scenery, I should at least be able to know what's coming up, right?
At long last, the technology at my workplace is slowly but surely being upgraded. In a move that's almost surprisingly foresightful (and scary that it's surprising), we are testing all our current applications to see if they're compatible with Windows 7, the OS mandated by the head office. (Benchmark for our branch is Windows XP, running Office 97, with in-house applications either written in Fortran for running on a VAX or ones developed in Visual Basic 6. NOTHING we currently have running is supported anymore. I have to laugh or I'll cry.)
But the two support people (for a branch of around 150 people, mind you) who are in charge of the sole Windows 7 machine we have for testing are neither competent nor trained in Windows 7, because they are too busy propping up all the other crap going wrong to be spared for training. (One of our VAX developer nodes was down for two days due to random breakage. You can't even buy new VAXes nowadays.)
So every problem I've run into has been met with "Solve it yourself or go ask someone else." This includes the test FTP directory being moved by the head office IS without telling us, the test EDI server access being restricted similarly without our knowledge, and a necessary driver completely botching up on Windows 7. (Still waiting for someone to get back to me on that one.) In the meantime, I'm going through a program I wrote years ago to make sure that every form field has its background set to WHITE and not some arbitrary Windows setting that's fine on XP but comes out completely black on Windows 7. It's like someone went through with a Classified pen and marked some screens as partially REDACTED. It would be funny if I weren't in charge of fixing it. I want to leave this petty shit open on my computer with a bribe for the coding elves to fix it for me. (Leprechauns have to do something else now that shoes are mass produced, right?)
The baby-making process is almost as frustrating. With one Fallopian tube fused shut, my already-reduced chances are cut approximately in half. This past cycle, the best candidate out of the ripening follicles was on the wrong side, so I feel like all the meds I paid for and took this month were effectively (and literally, now I think about it) flushed down the toilet. I skipped the most expensive course without telling the doctor's office and feel guilty about it every day.
I'm very grateful that all these years of paying for the highest tier of health insurance is resulting in the best coverage for the fertility treatments (the doctor called it the Cadillac of plans), but that shit is still pricey. Plus, 3-4 times a month I'm up and at the clinic when it opens at 7 AM for sonograms or blood tests or both. Between that and the husband working late at the family farm most days, I feel like I'm on a hamster running wheel, trying to keep on top of everything. Then when the weekend comes and I want to bust out to do some gardening, it fucking RAINS THE WHOLE TIME. How is that fair?
Other obstacle-hoop courses have a slightly happier ending. After a bunch of meetings with the Emperor's school over this past year, in which we've gone round and round about ADHD and Autism Spectrum Disorder and testing and support modules, we FINALLY have a meeting scheduled next week to set up an Individualized Education Program for him. It's too late for his poor kindergarten teacher, but hopefully this will start first grade off on a much better note.
I am so glad my dad attended the meetings with us, in his dual role as proud grandfather and professional Special Education Administrator. Every time it felt like the school committee was trying to baffle us with acronyms, my dad fired twice as many back at them while stopping to explain everything to us. And really, School Obfuscators - I should not have had to bring up gifted education as many times as I did, when every IQ test and chart you brought out showed that he was off the scale. He's bored and ADHD - do you really think he's all that interested in following your rules? *SIGH* I hope that the uphill battle is all done, but I know that mountains of paperwork are still in the future. I hate paperwork.
Bah, that was a lot of ranting, sorry.
Next weekend we're off to a wedding for a high school friend of ours, and we will be Emperor-free for at least 40 hours thanks to my wonderful sis-in-law. I don't think we've had that much adults-only together-time since he's been born. It will be very strange. It might almost make up for missing Wiscon, again, some more.
Speaking of cons - anyone attending Vividcon that might have a spot in their hotel room for me, or know someone who could squeeze me in? My roommate arrangement fell through, and I'm getting anxious about not having a plan.
Bleah. I want to sit down with the parties responsible for putting a booster rocket on May (DANG, it went by fast!) and see if I can steal a look at their map to see what's ahead. If I can't appreciate the current scenery, I should at least be able to know what's coming up, right?
