The High Road

To quote a band I truly loathe,
"I wish the real world would just stop hassling me."

God I feel so dirty quoting them. But on with the post.

As you may have noticed from the epic movie marathon that took place last weekend, I didn't get the normal three-day vacation. In fact, I worked through it. Our company had a huge deadline that passed successfully yesterday, so the last few months have been a little hectic around here.

The work I did this weekend was reviewed more thoroughly than in the practice runs we had been doing for the last 8 or 9 months. Why they waited until the deadline to do this, I'll never know. Obviously, the more heavily scrutinized a program is, the more bugs they're going to find. That's just the way it is when you're a programmer. I have no problem with this. The more testing that takes place, the better the product you'll have at the end. It's life. It's simple.

So I wasn't surprised when there were a few bugs in the work I did this weekend. It happens. What did surprise me was the actions of a particular co-worker with whom I had worked on this project. Not only was she making excuses the entire day, she was even kind enough to point every finger squarely at me. And, to be honest, I was more than a little shocked. This is somebody who I've worked with for over a year-- six months on this project alone-- and she's throwing me under the bus at every chance she gets. Thanks a lot. Catch U Next Tuesday.

I don't play that game.

The way I see it, you have two options when something goes wrong. You can either A) Make excuses and point fingers, or B) Do everything in your power to help out and fix it. I chose option B. I don't regret it.

It may be that in the business world, a world filled with weasels and beaurocracies, that the former option is the way to go. I blame my parents for not steering me down that path. They should have told me not to stand up for myself. I should have learned to deflect blame, not accept it. I could have read from the book that explains the advantages gained when somebody has their back to you. Way to go, mom and dad.

Maybe I'm being naive. Maybe this is just how it is, and I have to learn how to accept it. I'll know in time. But until then, I'm keeping a middle finger in a certain general direction.

At least I'm not bitter.

You've reached the bottom of the glass.
Check out the archives on the right side of the page for more.

All material Copyright © 2005 Brad C., sole publisher of this blog