Spreadsheet nightmare and next weekend's plans

I have a deadline of Wednesday to get two documents delivered. It's involves in regards using ugly spreadsheets as my source. They went through massive updates since I last used them in December.

I spent Sunday working on these documents. I have made good progress, but need to go through roughly 2,000 rows of data. I've already gone through that may rows! We'll see if I can get through this nonsense.

Next weekend will be better. I'm getting together with a friend on Saturday now that our lockdown has been lifted once again.

A twist with spreadsheet hell

On a good note, I managed to create my documents based on two ugly spreadsheets. I was supposed to get an updated set of spreadsheets.

There's a twist in the plot. The woman who created these spreadsheets has left the company. She didn't bother giving me new ones before she left. How considerate.

Then again, since she did such a poor job with them, I can imagine why she walked away from her job. She probably didn't enjoy doing this work.

Two people are taking over her job for the time being, so it'll be interesting working with them.

Spreadsheet hell

I have been writing two new documents for work. They are based on two spreadsheets that are horribly designed.

This person interchanges the software product's name and the software company's name. On top of that, she has merged a bunch of columns, so it's difficult to comprehend. Ugh!

Finally, this person repeats the same list of software products for every software release that our company does. Yet, the list is supposed to reflect a specific release. Huh? It's such a waste of time going through each software release because the versions rarely change.

I am nearly done with this set of spreadsheets for the previous release. I am expecting a new set this week. I have a feeling that they will look equally horrible because this person hasn't bothered to make her spreadsheets meaningful and useful. Instead, it's a dumping ground for her data.

Verdict: I am not working with my ex

This saga with the ex-guy throwing me into a potential work nightmare is over. Both my manager and his manager told off the persistent project manager that I do not have time to work on this user guide.

The guide is in horrible shape. It is over a hundred pages and was written by a software developer who has no concept of writing a customer-facing document. As an example, his first paragraph has five instances of etc. This guide is both long and ugly.

Yesterday, my manager pinged me on our new messaging app at work. I don't like instant messaging when it comes to work. He had a discussion with his manager. He then asked me whether I have worked with this project manager and my ex before on deliverables that are separate from what I typically do. I have not.

I said that pretty much everyone reaches out to me because they know who I am and like the work that I do. My manager said something nice. He said that I have a good reputation and that I should be proud of it.

It's good to be helpful and nice. I am thankful that I do not have to work with my ex. 

I feel that he recommended my name to this project manager because he wanted to burden me with this work. Rather, he needs someone who can fix up an ugly document and put some sense into it. It was my ex-guy's way of saying that I'm a decent writer.

I do appreciate that he has respected my wish for him to not contact me. I hope that he continues to honour it.