Tag Archives for working on the weekend

SC.EXE

This weekend we are doing a conversion for an existing site, migrating their data from their existing EMR into the new platform. One of the tasks I was responsible for was stopping the windows service that runs the lab interface and e-prescribe messaging.

So I created a .bat file with these two lines:

sc stop servicename
sc config servicename start= disabled

I created a scheduled task on the server to run this .bat file at 7:01pm, when the data conversion was expected to begin. The site would be closed by then and the database would have been taken offline as well. And I didn’t have to login and work on a Friday night.

I can’t wait until our new platform is off of Windows 2003 and we move forward to Windows 2008 R2. I’m eager to start using PowerShell.

working late

I put in 72 hours so far this week in order to get a massive project at work off the ground. I wasn’t running the project and I wasn’t deploying any changes, but somehow I found myself right in the middle of it. I’ve still got some items to follow up on this weekend and plenty of work to get done Monday morning, but all I want to do right now is relax. I might buy groceries and cook dinner. I haven’t seen Lauren in a few days because of my crazy work schedule (I was in the office until 4 AM last night). I’m looking forward to our date tonight, because I know we will probably play some Lego: Harry Potter on the Xbox 360 and, if for no other reason, I know she won’t ask me for a last minute emergency firewall change.

Covering a collegue’s workload

This last week, the gal who sits next to me at work has been out on leave. We have different skill sets, but work on most of the same projects so we share a good knowledge base about the software we configure and support. So in her absence I’ve been picking up tickets assigned to her (that is to say the support desk is just assigning them directly to me) and trying to stay afloat. I’ve never been busier. She is out next week as well.

Tips:

  • Go heads down. Block off time on the calendar so people think you are in a meeting. Find a way to keep people from interrupting you. Don’t look at email. Don’t let yourself get distracted. Do this for about an hour a couple times a day.
  • Discern the difference between urgent and important. If something comes up that is both, drop what you are doing and take care of it.
  • Keep you boss well informed of all the little things you are putting off doing (since you don’t have the time), lest one of them blow up in your face. I’ve been told on several occasions that there’s no such thing as bad news, just surprise news.
  • Ask for help. There are people at work with years of expertise beyond me. There are also people at work who are just starting to out. If there is a task that might take me 2 hours to develop a fix, but someone else might already know a good solution and it take him 15 minutes, ask for help. If I can document a solution or at least the next steps in 15 minutes, rather than spend 2 hours working with a client, there are people at work looking for an opportunity to learn some of this stuff. I know I can ask for help and my teammates will come through.

I’m contemplating getting out my laptop and working some this weekend. I have an ominous feeling that Monday will not be kind. But right now, I must go play some video games. It’s been a cruel week.

Unseasonably Warm

It was a high of 64 degrees today and I’m taking full advantage. I’m going camping. Just as soon as the conversion I’m a part of is finished.

I don’t know why they insist on scheduling these for Fridays. Who likes to work on Friday night? Let alone every other Friday night until July. All I’m doing tonight is backing up the Point of Sale since the Pharmacist in Charge wants to own clearing out the dispensing workflow. Fine by me. In the last two months I’ve gotten plenty of practice backing up SQL databases there shouldn’t be any surprises. One hour from now, I’ll be on my way to a campsite with my sleeping bag, cook kit, and some Diet Mountain Dew to hang out around a campfire with some friends and pretend it’s the middle of summer.

I was tempted [for about 2 seconds] to attempt a campfire bacon weave, but my food poisoning earlier in the week kinda rules that out. I am going to make some red beans and rice though.