Wow! Thanks, Google!

What a nice surprise!

On my birthday morning I fire up the laptop and go to Google and... they're throwing a party for me today, with cake and cupcakes and everything.

I know, I know, it's for something else, but still. It's my birthday and I'll decide what that is and for me, it's a spread in honor of My Day. And everyone else who happens to share this day as their day. Like one of my co-workers.

Aside from that cheerful little wake-up, I expect today will be pretty much like every other day. The challenge I was set at work two weeks ago is gradually being pushed back into control. I have another stack of papers on my desk to deal with, but that's not nearly as bad as I thought it would be.

I started on it yesterday afternoon and got all the way through it once, sorting this from that from the other, so now I know where things stand. From there, I've already asked a pertinent question about one group. I have to ask for more information on another, but the majority of what's there can just be dealt with. A few hours, at most, and it will be done. Then I can send the report off and that bit of the world will be happy.

Then there's another group that has to be handled. And that will take more time and energy but that's perfectly okay by me. God knows why, but I enjoy it.

I think it's because it's problem solving. I see it as a puzzle, of sorts. Which I enjoy. Before I got started on this, this morning, I spent a little time playing Farm Heroes and then I played Mahjong. You can see where my priorities lie from that, right?

The best thing about those puzzles is that they're fairly easy. Not too hard, but sometimes difficult enough to be satisfying. Like now.

At work we have a backlog. A really bad, serious, messy backlog because someone didn't do what they were supposed to be doing and were either too lazy or too insecure and unsure of themselves to ask questions. So they shoved things aside. A lot of things got shoved aside, probably with an "I'll deal with that later" promise to self. Unfortunately, 'later' never showed up at the door, so the things just sat around on the shelf getting more and more stale by the day.

Then they left and... voila! Their problem became someone else's problem. Hearing about the problem, and having dealt with a similar problem before, I spoke up and offered to help out. Which is what I've been doing.

Because it is a scramble to get the cars back on the track before the world implodes around us, it's a challenge, and it's fun. I've spoken to those with whom I need to speak, to buy a little bit more time. I made promises which I'll keep. Today's report being one of them, although I'll also be asking a question which requires more work from them, but that's okay.

Then there's the knot where three entities all collide.

Company A does this. Company B does that, which supplements Company A's 'this'. Both look to us, Company C for another thing. The problem is, sometimes Company A asks for another thing, but mostly they don't because Company B is going to ask us for another thing. Sometimes they both ask us for that another thing, and then we have a knot. Both of them want the same thing from us, but if Company A gets there first, we give it to them, first. Then Company B comes and says, "we want it" and we have to say, "No, we already gave it to Company A. You'll have to ask them for it." And Company B gets sulky and whines and... It's not pretty.

So I asked a question yesterday, a 'how can we keep this from happening' question and sent it off to Company A. I don't think it will matter because there are other, outside factors that affect this, too. It's like a solar system with all the moving parts. This does that, that does this, and all are affected by other things. But, we'll see.

If Company A can modify it's process just a little bit, a one degree nudge and probably no more, all will be well with this particular solar system. If they can't, then we'll be where we are and we'll have the conflicting needs, wants and desires. And that's life.

And I get to deal with more of the same today - which I enjoy because it is simple yet satisfying. It's not a burden I typically carry home with me. It's not a weighty problem that keeps me up at night. It's not something that will get into the shower with me. It's just sitting on my desk, resting quietly and waiting for my arrival.

Which is why I like it. I've had the weighty problems, the midnight thoughts and worries, the "how on Earth am I going to accomplish that in that amount of time?" and I'm done with that. So this is good - challenge enough to keep my interest, varied enough to make me happy. Yep. Thinking about it in those terms, it's definitely not rocket science, but it's pretty darned good, ya know?

Now - I'm off to get to work and start whipping that pile of stuff into shape. Hope your day is lovely, too!

Best~
Philippa

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PhilippaStories

Flat Bananas

Well, the puppy continues to waltz.

Several hundred tasks spread across eight departments each with it's own file of task lists and each with a several people responsible. All of the files at various stages of development and all needing to be tied together with a bright ribbon. It is not easy an easy thing to turn inside out and get back upright. I’m getting there, though.

Yesterday I finished what I can do, so I think things are on track. I'm feeling a bit more comfortable because I sent what I had accomplished off to the director who's running this, and he gave it a thumbs up. I’ll find out more in a couple of hours when the team that’s driving the effort meets. That’s when I’ll unveil what I’ve done in front of the other directors and the CEO.

Thumbs up or thumbs down won’t really matter because I’ve done the best I can given the direction I was provided. I used my judgement where warranted - kept milestones that don't really belong in this file in the group because we have to keep an eye on them and so on. Nothing major, nothing un-do-able which is key.

More important than anything is that I haven’t missed anything. I checked. Aside from that, if someone does want to go back and look for some reason, the original files are still there, still intact and untouched. Oh, the beauty of copy and paste!

Then it will become a maintenance issue and I can go back to doing my daily work – which involves my database and stuff. That I’m not looking forward to because about a year or so ago I got a bunch of file boxes dumped on me. One office was moving and they decided I’d be a good repository for their stuff, so they sent their stuff to me – boxes of it.

It's a mess. Folders of papers that seem to bear no relation to much else in the folder - like a tangible black hole or something.

"Just toss it in, Mildred! No one'll miss it!"

Apparently no one has because it's still there a year later. But some of these things will expire and I need to know when (hopefully, not yet).

I've gotten the easy things done already. Now it’s down to the nitty-gritty of junk files to weed through.  One paper here, in this pile, six over there in that, is this related to the other thing and trying to decipher when I know that I don’t know. It’s called experience, right?

That’s what I’m heavily relying upon. The experience in this kind of puzzle building. Pick up the piece and turn it around, examine it and decide whether it fits. If not, put it down and pick up the next. Eventually, it will slot into place – it’s just a question of when.

I like puzzles, though. I have a couple of 2000 piece jigsaws at home and when I get in the mood I’ll roll out the felt and get to work. My all time favorite puzzle though was called ‘Flat Banana’. It was solid yellow, except for a label. My brain hurt after I did it and I did it several times. The only landmarks were the label and the manufacturer’s mark along the bottom border.

That's a picture of the box, and the puzzle looks a lot like that, except it has lines, when it's done. The lines are the only thing that's different. There's no picture. It's an object of and exercise in torment and determination.

Well, I'm off to get my day started - a meeting in three hours and a puzzle in five.

Have a lovely day!

Best~
Philippa

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PhilippaStories