Trapped....

Back to work today - and I have to finally admit something. I'm bored shitless by the new role. My old role might have been hectic, but I talked to people, sparred with them, laughed with them and annoyed them. Now, it's like I'm on my own, not important. Persona non gratis. There was some promise last week, but now we have a new software tool which is integral to my role and my ability to carry it out. And guess what, the tool doesn't deliver a single thing that I could do on the supposedly crap old system. Yep, in typical big organization style, we get rid of stuff that works, replace it with more cumbersome and less effective stuff, consequently pissing off the users, whilst preening, clucking salesman and Project Managers give themselves corporate blow jobs on the success of "delivering this new and exciting tool" into our lives. Wankers is the word that springs to mind. So today, I answered all my emails in 10 minutes, tried to generate the daily and weekly reports for The Top Table (Sandman, M etc) from the new system, to no avail. In fact, at one point I thought it had let me generate something useful, and also allowed me to email it to The Top Table and The Middle Table (the people at my level). Unfortunately ...no...it emailed something to all of them and when they tried to read it, they did not have sufficient access. How shit is that? So I can generate a report, but if I want everyone to see it I have to print it and send it via internal mail...or cut and paste each field into a Microsoft Word document for subsequent emailing. Now, the truth is I don't have anything much else to do at the moment, aside from the odd meeting where nothing happens, and nothing is decided, but I resent using my active mind to such a dull purpose and refuse to sit there all day like some sort of "human word processor" taking automatic reports and putting them into another format via a manual cut and paste and sending it to people who won't read it. Once again the Ministry of Crap Design has cast its dark shadow over my life. I feel trapped, demotivated and demoralized. This weekend can't come quick enough.

So, as this seems to be my most productive forum at the moment I thought I'd share this little gripe with you.

Sally, you commented on my posts - the reason I didn't tell DC was the same reason as Salam Pax (see new link) in his Dear Raeed blog noted. Once his friends and family knew what he was up to, they would all clam up and not talk to him, unless he swore not to use their stuff in his posts. Which would defeat a lot of the object of my posts. I know I am running the risk of DC finding out, and then being accused of duplicity, but at the moment I don't think she'd understand my reasons or my purpose.

Teenager has been nice to me for 3 days now. I am worried by this. I think it's the build up to telling me something has been broken or lost....something that until now I wouldn't have noticed. It can't be that good to be as suspicious about her motives, but she is becoming very self aware and very clever. An interesting battle of wills is developing between me and her, although not as serious as the one with DC. DC and Teenager seem to be entering the typical Mother/Female Teenage daughter stage, where one forgets what it's like, and the other is trying to find out what it's like. Baby is now completely bemused by this and has subsequently become very clingy to me - of course I don't mind this because she is still so cute, and therefore my "hero" factor rises, which is an ego boost to any Dad.


Time for lunch already.....blimey that went fast (NOT!)

Later, Jack the Grocer