Scrum is part of the Agile Management ideology and it's awesome!
More to come in a bit...
Friday, February 22, 2013
OHdobe
Dear Adobe,
Why do you continue to make FrameMaker? It’s the weakest link, the black sheep, the
one that slows everybody down. You have
such awesome other products like Dream, Acrobat, InDesign, Photoshop…and just
about everything else besides Frame. And
yet, you still send out this archaic, prone-to-issues software that we find
ourselves yelling at, calling you about, and doing ridiculous workarounds to
accomplish the things it’s supposed to do.
Not much better is RoboHelp.
Here we have Frame’s sad, twisted twin that “generates” output…when it
feels like it and only what it wants. Is
this because it relies on Frame? Yet
another example of the Adobe family being negatively affected by this one
problem child.
We love you, Adobe, but we want to know WHY we have to
accept this demented part of you.
Yours forever,
Writers across the world
Ebb and Flow of the Working World
Alright, folks, time to get back in the game. We had layoffs recently which threw everyone
off. A lot. And incited paranoia. A lot of paranoia. Constant small cube gatherings in whispered
voices of what is to come next and what rumblings people had heard. Are they using us for slave labor just to get
rid of us when the product goes out? Do
we have to work 300% just to keep our jobs?
When’s the next? We had a lot of
survivor’s guilt. A good one to two
weeks of that will drive anyone crazy.
Luckily, we had a long weekend.
So now we’re back and things are normal again. Thank goodness.
Our layoffs could not have come at a worse time, which I
think made us even more upset. We are
and were in the final stretch…tons of doc to produce, edit, and prepare, links
to fix, graphics to adjust, and bugs to be addressed…and then BOOM, cut the
workforce down so that now we all have more work. But you do it and it makes you feel better. Now that we can see the end of the project (a
2+ year project!), we can breathe easier and have our little breakfast club
where we get coffee and share stories and laughs.
Layoffs are an unfortunate part of working life. Whether you’re one of the laid-off, or one of
the survivors, it’s going to affect you at some point. The good news is, there are still tons of
jobs out there. Plus, the connections
you make, the experience you gained, and the references you keep from the job
are a huge bonus and will help you out big time. For those of you/us living with PTLD – Post Traumatic
Layoff Disorder—well, mourn and then calm down because you still have a job. And you know
what? It gets better. You all heal and lunches with less people
become less weird and you notice that no one talks about layoffs anymore. And you know what? You find yourself going out to lunch with
those who were laid off anyways, so it’s all good!
Everything ebbs and flows, you just have to ride it out,
because with almost everything, if you’re a good person and good at your job,
things will work out…and often for the better!
Thursday, July 26, 2012
The first couple of weeks at a new job
The first couple weeks of a job are pretty boring. That’s not a bad thing! If you’re nervous about a new job or
internship, it’s okay, it probably won’t be too much too soon. Your managers and coworkers know that you
aren’t going to jump on board and know everything. They don’t expect you to be an expert on your
first day. These first couple of weeks
give you the time to complete all of the learning and adjustments that you need
before you get busy with project work.
Don’t take this time for granted, no matter how much you want to get
started.
Chances are, you’ll
have an orientation and a ton of trainings.
The trainings may be in person or online, independent learning. You might be eager to get going with real
work, but this training is actually pretty important. Take as much as you can, because it will help
you understand the company and product before you get really involved with
it. Besides, the day will go by faster
if you have things to do!
During your first week, meet other people. If you’re invited to join the group for
lunch, do it! These first impressions
can establish good relationships…and you might even get friendships out of
it. If your company has an org chart,
get to know this. If you get an email
from someone or hear others talking about someone who you have not met or do
not remember meeting, check the org chart.
You should also get to know your company’s website and
intranet. The more you learn on your
own, the smoother the process of locating information when you’re working on
actual projects. While you have the
time, decorate your cube or office and adjust your monitors, keyboard, mouse,
and chair to best fit you.
Commuting, part deux
So as you know, I have a new job. The commute is nearly the same, just 1.5
miles longer. I had been in Burlington,
but am now in Bedford. I live southwest
of Worcester. Mass pike to 128 to route
3. I know, you’re jealous of those
clogged highways! It’s 51 miles each
way, but I was able to keep the same schedule I had before – 7 to 3:30 or
4. Traffic is pretty light in the
morning, and is manageable in the afternoon.
Last week, it seemed NO ONE was on vacation. It took 1.5 to nearly 2 hours to get home. This week, it takes 50 minutes and there isn’t
much traffic at all. Currently, I drive
into the sunrise, which might sound awesome, and I guess it is, but that’s 38
miles (east on the pike) of driving directly into the blazing sun. Oddly enough, I smile when there’s a cloudy
morning. Less solar slowdowns, no need
for smudgy sun glasses and that moment when I’m almost in the building at work
and realize I still have prescription sunglasses on.
How do I deal with the boredom of commuting? Well, I’m pretty used to it by now. I leave home at 6 and get to work at 7. I rarely realize how long I’ve actually been
in the car because I’ve done it for so long and try not to measure it by time,
but instead by what milestones I’ve gone by.
On the pike, these are usually exits or rest stops. On 95/128, it’s turns in the road and
construction progress. I’m only one
route 3 for 2 miles, and by then I’m in the work zone. Once you’ve gotten used to subconsciously
recognizing milestones, you start to acknowledge when and where typical
slowdowns occur. Usually, these are by
exits the closer to Boston you get, but there are still some that seem
random. You slowly begin to accept these
areas and prepare for them, backing off of the person in front of you or
switching lanes if you’re getting off soon.
You get used to it so it doesn’t stress you out…it’s all part of the
experience and the routine.
I used to listen to playlists on my mp3 player or iPhone. That can get kind of isolating. Now, I listen to the morning shows and know
what times they go to commercial and who isn’t at a commercial so I can switch
over. There are some stations that have
great little skits or features I wait for.
I’m starting to branch out, as sometimes the radio personalities get
annoying. Today, I happened to tune in
as Mayor Manino called in to talk about
Chik-Fil-A. That was cool, and who can
resist his Boston charm?
Anyways, commuting isn’t bad. Even if you’re driving over 500 miles a week,
it doesn’t really feel it. If you end up
having to commute, don’t fret!
Laid off...but it all worked out!
It’s been awhile, but much has happened. I was laid off from my previous Company at the end
of April. They had a huge, unexpected
layoff in which, among many other things, more than half of the doc team was cut. Severance was issued, but it wasn’t much and
only served to slow the process of receiving unemployment. It happened to rain all work week during my
first 4 weeks of unemployment…depressing since those unemployment checks weren’t
coming in and I had nowhere to go. I
spent a lot of time with my cat, but it wasn’t paying the bills. My days were filled with surfing all the job
board sites, applying for relevant jobs and constantly updating my spreadsheet
of jobs. I found that there weren’t many
jobs because it was the end of the fiscal year.
I had a year of experience, but most places hiring at the time were
looking for 10+ years. When my eyes were
tired from searching, I would clean the house or do household chores to pass
the time. After a couple weeks, I
started to get into more of a routine.
That was nice. I was only
unemployed for a month and a half, but that was long enough!
AND THEN IT HAPPENED.
I applied to a company I had wanted to get into since senior
year of college. I had checked the
company’s website that morning, to no avail, and a few hours later, it was
posted! It was perfect for me and I
hastily applied. I got a call back the
next day. I spoke with the recruiter who
said he’d call me back after talking to the hiring manager. The next day, I had a phone interview with
the hiring manager (it was a Friday), and the next Wednesday, I got a call to
come in for an in-person interview to meet with him and three others. It was incredible! I scurried home, the 51 miles, and sent thank
you emails and wrote out actual thank you cards to mail the next day.
I waited. I received
a call from the recruiter saying things were looking great and I just had to
send references and take a drug test. I
was in the clear! They offered me the
job and I gladly accepted and started two weeks later.
The moral of the story: from what I thought was devastating
(losing the job), came the opportunity to work at an excellent company with
other PWTC-ers and also take a raise and a slight promotion (I was an associate
tech writer and am now a regular tech writer).
It’s been one hell of a year, but things ended up very well.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
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