Day Zero

The counter will be reset as soon as I board the plane to L.A. at 5:30 this afternoon. From there, I'll be stopping by in Taipei for a couple of hours, then I'm off to my final destination, Kuala Lumpur.

I hope that in time, the night terrors will fade, as will the memories of my former life as a sys admin.

Today is a new day.

Buh-Bye

Goodbye sweet view from my office.

Goodbye tip jar full of pennies and expired coupons.

Goodbye Post-It Note avalanche.

Goodbye plants I forgot to water.

Goodbye fire hazard desk fan

Goodbye wall 'o 70's shag carpeting.

Goodbye M, New Guy, The Boss and The Receptionist.

Goodbye accounting, system crashes and nagging co-workers.

Goodbye gainful employment.

Hello freedom.

Jon Chan: Systems Administrator.
May 12, 2003 - January 13, 2006.

Bubonic

Considering new guy's personal hygiene standards are so low, it's no shock that I've caught his cold. What a way to start a trip.

1 more shift.

Impeccable Timing

The Eastern branches started failing one by one today, starting with Montreal at 8:30, followed by Toronto at 9:15. I've seen this happen before. It's not pretty.

That's why I pushed the job onto the new guy. I'm good like that.

According to my estimates, it's going to take about a month to clean up this mess. On top of that, the new guy has to deal with inventory data outputs, finishing up the accounting package and learning basic social skills.

I couldn't have timed my resignation better.

Two more shifts

Cryptic Messages

The new guy borrowed my office to "make some phone calls" this morning. I had other things to do anyway so I told him to "go nuts" and wandered off to the company archives for a nap.

Returning to my desk for lunch, I found this cryptic message scrawled on my notepad:

I really hope this has nothing to do with a surprise going away party for me.

3 more shifts

Dead Bug Safari

Sometimes, when I'm really bored at lunch, I put on my imaginary pith helmet, crack open my camera, and head out on a half hour intra-office adventure. These are the byproducts:

I know, I know, that last one isn't dead.

4 more shifts.

Secrets Revealed

My brother asks me how I do it - how I put up with my job, dealing day in, day out with idiot co-workers, piles of other people's work, the boss' unrealistic expectations, beginning each day with random profanity, ending each day with random profanity.

The answer's simple, really.

Bunnies