Work Sat Nov 15, 2014

The work blogs are back. I started working at Palo Alto Networks as a Data Entry Specialist contractor. Here we go.

Mon Nov 3: My first day. The commute was terrible. The total drive is 20 minutes to and from work during non-commute times. I drove 35 minutes. I felt good working in a tech company the minute I walked inside the lobby. I felt good going back to a cubicle work environment. Everyone wears photo ID security badges. The work hours are flexible; however, contractors work 40 hours a week. Overtime must be approved by my two managers. I support an engineer and a risk manager.

My orientation started a 9am. I met two other contractors. The first was a Business Analyst for a marketing department. The second was a marketing assistant for the Executive Briefing Center. The contractor liaison verified our I-9, reviewed contractor procedures, and toured the two buildings including the gym, cafeteria, breezeway connector, game room, and break rooms. The break rooms include free bottle water, sodas, snacks, coffee, Keurig coffee, tea, milk, and string cheese for every floor. The snacks included raisins, chips, trail mix, chocolate covered pretzels, cookies, granola bars, and protein bars.

I met my engineer. His cubicle is next to mine. He, another co-worker who trained me, and I went to the Tech Oasis to get my laptop. The Tech Oasis is a walk-in IT helpdesk. I was assigned my laptop, docking station, phone number, and network password. My laptop is installed with Office 2010, Chrome, and Microsoft Lync.

We use Shoretel 230 phones which are the same phones when I worked at Colliers International. I cleaned up the surface and arranged my monitor and docking station. I acquired pens, notepad, and Post-It notes from the supply room. Each cubicle has a whiteboard, an enclosed storage bin, and small shelf on wheels. There are no black markers for the whiteboard because the Sharpies are black colored. I need a desk fan, plants, and a keyboard wrist rest. The air is stagnant, warm, and dry for the entire fifth floor.

The rest of the day was training from my co-worker who transferred to another department tomorrow. I was not her replacement. I replaced an intern. The database used is SAP.

The commute home was too long. I drove for 40 minutes. My 8am-5pm work schedule allows me to see the sunrise when I wake in the morning and the sunset when I drove home from work.

Tue Nov 4: My second monitor arrived. I ate at the cafeteria for the first time. The hours are 11:30am-2pm. There are three stations and a salad bar. Each station features a special of the day. The coffee bar hours are 7:30am-3pm. The seating area is open for the entire day.

One of my buttons on my pants broke when I went to the restroom. I sew it back on later.

I must close the blinds from a window section because the sun shines directly at me at 4pm. I open the blinds before I go home.

My engineer worked at home today. I used the downtown to map the data fields.

I talked to the test engineer in our team. He worked at the company for at least three years. He told me the company is averaging one new hire a day. He started as a contractor. He's full time now.

Wed Nov 5: The morning commute was 20 minutes. The commute on Mon Nov 3 must be an anomaly. I learned each day's commute is different when I worked at Artisan Wine Depot. There must be an accident that prolonged Mon's longer than expected commute.

I placed my plants and fan on my desk. The Vornado Flippi Fan is on my left side. The two plants are on my right side to the right of my phone.

My engineer showed me the tech lab. He continued my training in the database. The data was terrible. I should have expected poor data. It was somewhat similar at Cisco.

I brought Couples by John Updike book to read after lunch.

I drove home using Monroe St. and Scott Blvd. I use the route if I need to shop at Target. Total commute time was 40 minutes.

Thur Nov 6: The morning commute was 20 minutes for the second day in a row. It seemed longer. I met another co-worker named Frank. Another co-worker in the supply-side department let me borrow her spare desk fan and an extension cord. I accepted the extension cord.

My engineer created an upload template to increase efficiently. The more I learned the data, the more complex the data to understand and the more poor the quality. I felt less likely my contract is going to be renewed because the company is paying too much more for someone to maintain poor data. There is too much unnecessary work.

I watched a two-part Magnum PI episode titled "De Ja Vu". I mentioned the two TV episodes because I should have stopped watching after part one. I needed extra sleep. I had difficulty adjusting to my new 8am-5pm work schedule because I slept 6 hours or less each night. In addition, I had experience periods of my stomach growling. I ate Famous Amos cookies and Nature Valley Granola Bars. I choose not to each the protein bar.

I drove home using Lafayette Boulevard. The long signal light at the Central Expwy. intersection and El Camino Real intersection convinced me they were not worth the wait time. I use the route if I need to shop at Costco. Total commute time was 40 minutes.

Fri Nov 7: 18 minutes from home to work on my first foggy day commute. It felt like 25 minutes. I accept an 18 minute to work and up to 40 minutes driving home commute. My average total commute time working at Artisan Wine Depot was 60 minutes.

I saw the Nespresso machine next to the sink in the break room for the first time. The company takes care of their full time and contractors in terms of food and drinks. I was told the company subsidizes the cafeteria prices.

My engineer assigned me cleaning up data.

There was a celebration at the outside quad. The celebration was recognizing a successful fiscal quarter. My engineer's boss plays in a band. The band provided the music. I didn't attend.

Mon Nov 10: I still had problems getting enough sleep. I drove to work at 8:01am. I arrived at work at 8:19am. I still had my parking spot I choose to maximize shade from the trees. The morning was foggy.

My engineer assigned me a new project for his upcoming presentation. There were over 1,000 records to enter. My engineer and I agreed to concentrate on the approximately 250 new records which needed to be entered.

I purchased my lunch at the cafeteria for the first time. I ordered the Carne Asada tacos with rice. The Churros were hard for dessert.

I walked around the gym after lunch. The gym looks good. I can work out here after work. The men's locker room is outside the gym at the walkway next to the game room entrance. Towels and water are provided.

I wonder are engineers terrible at explaining. The manager who trained me at Artisan Wine Depot was terrible. He was an electrical engineer. My engineer told me instructions too late. I started over again. I'm fortunate my limited SQL and past Access experience helped. I admit I'm still rusty at database administration. I also admit I need more self-training. Everything was coming back to me. I must be professional. I must be strong.

Tue Nov 11: The Veteran's Day holiday made the evening commute easier. 26 minutes total time. I continued working on the project which is taking much longer than expected.

I met with the risk manager I start supporting soon. We met for one hour. She introduced me to the database tracking all the suppliers. The database is purchased from an outside company.

Wed Nov 12: I arrived to work at 10:40am because my car needed new front breaks. I found a better parking spot with more afternoon shade.

I brought a clothes hanger to hang my jacket. I didn't want my jacket on my chair. I used three pins to hang my clothes hanger with my jacket inside my cubicle next to my whiteboard. I need more pins when I wear a heavier jacket. One pin couldn't handle the weight. I plan to visit a store to purchase an appropriate cubicle clothes hanger soon.

My first project is stupid. Bad timing was likely. Bad data. Missing data. I'm still learning the meanings for all the data. Perhaps the bad data is the reason why the company hired a data entry contractor instead of a database administrator.

New hand sanitizers stations were installed next to the elevators and next to the break rooms.

I kept my laptop on the docking station after work because Windows 7 updated 28 new updates.

Thur Nov 13: There was a buzz sound inside the break room. The water cooler needed a new five gallon water jug. Another worker told me to open the door on the bottom of the cooler. The water jug is on the bottom of the cooler. The cooler is not the traditional take the jug, turn it upside down, and rest on top of the cooler. There is a pipe inserted inside the jug to pump water.

My late lunch allowed me to hear the beginning of the company's 2015 benefits presentation for their employees. An employee gave me the 2015 benefits book.

Fri No 14: The project was completed before lunch. Most new records were successfully uploaded. My engineer and the SAP administrator were aware some records failed to upload. There were lots of headaches. I worked on UAT after lunch. The SAP Administrator installed new features in the database I was assigned to test.

I talked to the receptionist regarding the policy on personal mail and packages. She said workers must be courteous by picking up our packages after we receive an email stating our packages arrived in the front area. She also said personal packages have already increased for the holiday season. The 2013 holiday season was too much to handle. There are more people in the front reception and in the shipping & receiving today. They are ready handle the anticipated increase in packages arriving. USPS, UPS, and FedEx are acceptable postal services for mail and packages.

I need a mouse pad. My surface gives me problems when I use my mouse. I thought laser mouse don't need a mouse pad. It appears I'm wrong.

I discovered there was an accident when I arrived home. I made a left turn on El Camino Real because traffic stopped moving. Good move. The rest of the drive took around 12-15 minutes. The total commute home was 47 minutes.

I created a personal rule. I must make a left turn at El Camino Real if I anticipate waiting three or more signal cycles to drive through the El Camino Real intersection.

Email: feedbackininblog@innovateinfinitely.com