Yoo 614 - Work Talk...Return To Service

Hello!! From work!! On a Saturday!!!

This doesn't happen regularly but it is happening today. It was a crazy week and it's not over yet. I supposedly took Monday and Tuesday off except that I actually worked over 8 hours both days while traveling and stayed until after midnight the other days. There were a couple breaks were I ran home to remind my dog and husband that I love them. AND EAT FOOD. But mostly I'm making McDonald's wages right now because I don't get paid hourly for my time anymore.

If this did happen regularly I would have moved elsewhere with my career ages ago. 

But sometimes everything hits a synchronized BREAK ALL THE THINGS mood and then I get to dig for hours to find the root cause and fix all the things.

Fixing all the things takes for-ev-er in the IT world.

It's really fun, too, but only when paired with caffeine for some focus and endurance. Especially when adapted to an early bedtime. The last thing you want to be doing is backing out production tables in your sleep. In 156% of my observed cases this has caused Misery, with the capital M.

These return to service scenarios always follow a predictable cycle.

First there is false hope. A batch process fails...maybe it's an easy fix or, better yet, someone else's problem! A business analyst asks why the data looks weird...did they refresh the report?

Then there is confusion. What is happening has never happened and was never a conceived test case and makes no logical sense. Why is this happening to me?? There are a million different possible causes and they're only immediately narrowed down to 999,998 because the server is definitely plugged in and turned on.

Confusion is closely followed by despair. Plans tonight? You foolish being. THE THINGS MUST BE FIXED. Responsibility is a cruel, selfish companion. Avoid it in a career (AND LIFE), if you can.

After despair (and caffeine) the logical part of the brain kicks in. Oh wait, I like solving problems! I've solved them before!

GAME FACE.

This is where the work happens. Swear words are usually involved. Things are tried. Despair continues to make frequent appearances. It's a long cycle of hypothesis formation and testing and failure and despair. I like to call it the black hole.

Time has no meaning in the black hole. Oh, they need an estimate of return to service? Pick your favorite number! I have never encountered an accurate estimate in the black hole. What day is it? Thursday now? I should probably change the Dilbert calendar to reflect that. It's dark outside already? Is this clock right??

So, lots of time passes but it's relatively unnoticed.

Eventually I do escape from the black hole...though it's difficult to have faith in this while engulfed.

Emerging from the black hole is triumphant. But a very tentative triumph. The kind where I look and feel like a bus hit me and I'm sitting at my desk with crossed fingers and mumbled prayers escaping my lips while patiently waiting for the last batch process to succeed and tell me that all is well in the world again.

And when it does...HALLELUJAH!

There are sparkles and Skittles and ticker-tape flying. In my sleep-deprived mind, at least. But there really is a high that comes with solving and fixing the problem. Just seconds before I was hating on everything and swearing I was just going to quit and move on with life and then it all shifts to THIS JOB FOREVER!!! I am invincible and can solve all the problems!

At least that's how I feel about return to service.

Luckily I don't support any live transactional systems because those incidents are no joke. Analytical applications come with a bit more forgiveness. Like only a team of business users impacted instead of every employee in the company or an entire customer base. I'll count this as a blessing but it really just means I'm not that cool.

Right now I'm in the black hole with this current incident. It's a hurry up and wait situation and I'm at the wait part. Watching data load isn't quite as exciting as watching corn grow so I'm blogging the time away. After my next hurry up and wait situation I might even venture down to the gym to get a run in...mostly because I found and ate an old donut that is giving me a real sugar kick.

Cross your fingers I get this figured out. I'm losing years of my life on this one!

Have a great day :-)