Meeting up with my colleague for cheese tarts and bubble tea

I had a food perk to pick up on Saturday afternoon. I then met up with my former intern who is now my colleague.

We have been trying to get an application to work on his laptop. Our IT group sucks. We told them right off the bat that it was a profile issue. Well, they finally got around to resetting his profile. Everything works. Finally! We were both elated on Friday, but also annoyed at how incompetent this IT group is.

Anyway, he treated me to bubble tea. It was so thoughtful of him. He placed the order and I went to fetch it, as it was on my way from the food perk place and I didn't mind fetching the order. I wanted to split my food perk with him (I got four Japanese cheese tarts) because they are so good.

He loved the two tarts that I had given him. He loved them so much that he devoured them without taking a photo. Luckily, he saw me take a photo of all four before I handed two to him that I simply texted him my photo.

The bubble tea was amazing. I'm so glad that he recommended this place. I got this blue Curacao soda with small bits of pineapple. It was so refreshing and delicious.

We hadn't seen each other since last August. We see each other on a weekly meeting through video, but it's really not the same. It was great seeing and talking to him briefly yesterday afternoon.

Eye appointment, cafe stop, and writing advice

I visited my ophthalmologist yesterday. All went well. I go back in six months, in my usual monitoring mode. I'm happy.

I got to visit my favourite cafe next door. I was so happy getting a raspberry white hot chocolate and an albacore tuna sandwich. Yum and yum!

A fellow writer at work in California reached out to me asking for advice. I'm not sure how she found me. I hope to ask her that question next. She's apparently new to her project.

Thoughts about a shift in my career

I write for a living. I also train new employees and students who join my department. I like the mix.

The problem for a while is that I tend to do the workload of two people. I am also tired of my boss scaring the main writer on my little team. When that person quits, I end up picking up the slack and doing my old job responsibilities, as well as the current ones on my plate. This scenario is what I am going through. I've been down this road so many times that it's old hat, which it shouldn't be.

Now and again, I get recruiters asking me whether I'm interested in a number of job opportunities. I got one for a technical trainer. I decided to ask more about it. Let's see what happens.

It would be interesting if I did take on a full-time trainer role. It would be a shift in my career, rather than having a foot in two different doorways.

Thinking about a former manager who has passed on

Over a decade ago, I moved to the States. It was one of those bold leaps of faith. I didn't know anyone. My skills matched a position as a technical writer.

I was a contractor at Big Blue. My mentor was a gentle soul. He was also my manager. He was helpful in making sure that I was okay and was confident in my abilities.

At the beginning, I thought that I was slow at learning everything. He was encouraging, stating that it was the contrary -- that I was a quick learner.

When I look back, I was a decent writer. I made my deadlines either early or on time. I managed to pitch in and help others, often working extra hours to pick up the slack left by others.

I recall working 12-hour days for 12 days. A student had left the company and didn't do a great job on his deliverables. 

A colleague and I were there on the weekend. We were both contractors. Our manager was also there. We chatted around my office. He was grateful that we were there, pitching in.

When I got laid off, my manager waited till around 16:45 that Tuesday. My office door was three-quarters closed. He knocked and let himself in.

"I am sorry that you got laid off," he said sincerely. "It should have been me and not you."

I can still hear his voice telling me that. It was moving. He was nearly sixty years old and was about to retire.

"It's a business decision and I don't take it personally," I tried to comfort him. "I go home to Winnipeg and there's nothing wrong with that at all."

He smiled and seemed at ease. He let me know that he would be arranging my farewell luncheon. He also got a parting gift for me. It was a Java mug. I worked on the Java team. It was fitting, even though I am not a coffee drinker.

He was generous and sweet. I just learned that he had passed away two years ago from Parkinson's Disease. May he rest in peace.

How to log off from the work network to access porn

When my guy was still in Rome, we were chatting on Skype. He asked me what seemed to be a work-related question.

At work, if we are not in the office, we need to connect to the company's network through secure channels. Naturally, with most of our work tools, the method isn't exactly user-friendly. For instance, it isn't obvious how to disconnect from the network once you are connected.

My guy asked me that question. He knows that I ultimately figure out such things. After much trial and error, I figured it out. I showed my guy how to disconnect from the network.

"How come you're asking me?" I asked him.
"I know that you're better at such technical details as I am. I also need to know how to log off the network so I can access porn," he admitted.

I bursted out in laughter. I wasn't laughing at him. I simply wasn't expecting that answer. The company does block porn sites, as you'd expect.

He's sweet and he's honest.