The Long Day

I'm about half-way through a long work day. So far, things have gone well but I'm about to hit the rough patch: I have nothing to do until the maintenance window begins several hours from now.

Today's joy began at 9am when the pager began going nuts. I'm not on-call today so it wasn't a big deal for me but the constant flood of big issues meant that someone had to help cover the little ones so I stepped in to do what I could. The flood of issues, however, did not let up until the mid-afternoon.

I'm scheduled tonight to replace some power distributors in three HP blade servers. Because HP believes in just-in-time delivery, the required bits were to be dropped at the data center some time before 4:30pm, but FedEx ouldn't tell me if it would be sooner or later. Our data center shipping department closes at 5pm so if FedEx missed their deadline by even a little, I'd be utterly screwed.

Good news: The required bits were delivered on time and I've been able to unpackage and test all of the components.

Bad news: By the time I was done, it was too late to head home. Because of the normal DC area traffic snarls, it would likely take 2+ hours to get from the data center to home; by then, it would be time to start back to the data center again for the evening maintenance.

Thus, I'm stuck in Sterling, VA, for a number of hours before I can start my evening work. I've tried to be somewhat productive in the interim --I just dropped off the bad parts with FedEx for return to HP, had dinner at the same mall, discovered a nearby Cold Stone Creamery, etc.-- but I still have hours to kill. Hmmm... if I could find an auto parts store nearby, I could knock off another little chore...

Good news: I packed a book, thinking this could happen.

Bad news: The staff lounge has been gutted for renovation so the only place to sit is in the car. I'm taking it as good fortune that the afternoon heat & humidity is fading to reasonable levels again.

Suggestions on how to keep busy and/or awake are welcome.

The Long Day

I'm about half-way through a long work day. So far, things have gone well but I'm about to hit the rough patch: I have nothing to do until the maintenance window begins several hours from now.

Today's joy began at 9am when the pager began going nuts. I'm not on-call today so it wasn't a big deal for me but the constant flood of big issues meant that someone had to help cover the little ones so I stepped in to do what I could. The flood of issues, however, did not let up until the mid-afternoon.

I'm scheduled tonight to replace some power distributors in three HP blade servers. Because HP believes in just-in-time delivery, the required bits were to be dropped at the data center some time before 4:30pm, but FedEx ouldn't tell me if it would be sooner or later. Our data center shipping department closes at 5pm so if FedEx missed their deadline by even a little, I'd be utterly screwed.

Good news: The required bits were delivered on time and I've been able to unpackage and test all of the components.

Bad news: By the time I was done, it was too late to head home. Because of the normal DC area traffic snarls, it would likely take 2+ hours to get from the data center to home; by then, it would be time to start back to the data center again for the evening maintenance.

Thus, I'm stuck in Sterling, VA, for a number of hours before I can start my evening work. I've tried to be somewhat productive in the interim --I just dropped off the bad parts with FedEx for return to HP, had dinner at the same mall, discovered a nearby Cold Stone Creamery, etc.-- but I still have hours to kill. Hmmm... if I could find an auto parts store nearby, I could knock off another little chore...

Good news: I packed a book, thinking this could happen.

Bad news: The staff lounge has been gutted for renovation so the only place to sit is in the car. I'm taking it as good fortune that the afternoon heat & humidity is fading to reasonable levels again.

Suggestions on how to keep busy and/or awake are welcome.