Client in the office - behave

That was the message from our office administrator. Once again, there was no warning until the client was actually in the office so I wasn't able to dress properly. But "behave"? Seriously, "behave?"

You're not having enough fun

So I heard that the head of my department went off at the company meeting this afternoon. He was complaining because he didn't get a satisfactory response from team members in organizing a product ship party. It's weird that nobody wanted to participate in the ship party but it's even weirder that management would complain about it.

Friday again

What a long, hard week. Now it's friday afternoon and hardly anybody is in the office. By 2 pm I can count that there are fewer than half of the people in the office. The people who are here are working hard including the head of my department who is sitting in his office presumably to make sure that his few remaining employees are not "goofing off." According to sources, the CEO and VP are out drinking beeer at Jack's, a nearby bar.

An office all my own

I'm told that everyone used to have their own office except temporary employees but I can't figure out how they decide who gets and office now and who doesn't. All the developers seem to have their own office including the temporary contractors. All of the QA department is crammed into a lab that doesn't even have cubicles. The head of the department is in an ajoining office that is about twice as big as any other office in the place. This week one of the QA engineers moved into his own office. I'm told this is because he needs a place where he can nap without being disturbed I guess for some medical condition. I'm sure it's necessary but what message does that send to the rest of the staff?

Beer

The company keg ran out a couple of days ago. A couple of the peope here took charge of getting a new one. They were in charge of collecting the money and getting people's preferences. One of them wrote a program to count votes and there was a huge email discussion that spanned most of the day. It all culminated in a large crowd of people gathered outside the guys office debating beers. The keg will arrive this afternoon.

Client in the office

I got to work this morning and the first thing I read was an email telling me that a client was in the office today. Great. I am totally underdressed today to be interacting with clients. Of course, when I look around, so is everybody else. This company does not follow the normal rules of professional business conduct.

Icy stare

Wednesday afternoon is "Cake Time". Everyone gathers in the recreation room and enjoys cake and talk to everyone. This time some people moved over to the foosball table and played for a while. It didn't take long before the head of my department looked in without saying anything and then leaving. Within seconds, everyone in the department said "I better get back to work." Of course, I followed suite, but I don't understand it. If the company wants us to relax and enjoy ourselves for a while, then why send the department head out to keep everyone in line?

10 years and no window

Today's is one of the engineers 10th anniversary working for the company. The weird thing is that he doesn't have a window office while other engineers with only 2 or 3 years working here do. I guess he didn't want a window office.

16 Years

The company celebrates it's 16th anniversary this week. I bet the founders have a lot to be proud of. Great products they've created that are still in use. Longtime employees who are justly rewarded. A stellar reputation in the community and industry.