Bugs = Bane

Being part of the IT world, especially software development, means I am not a stranger to bugs…either of my own making *blush*, someone else’s fault *glare* or just plain vanilla mysterious bugs which pop out of the blue when you least expect it. *swats at bugs in programs of other people*

But now, its just not bugs in the systems I’ve been trying to test (yes Virginia, even a PM is obliged once in a while to help test system versions out for release), I’ve been laid low by this fever/chills/tonsilitis/cough/colds/watery eyes combo.

The bad thing is that I can’t also keep on going on sick leave because the mountain of emails waiting for me at the office is steadily increasing and my personal laptop is emulating a dodo at this moment.

So here I am at the office, praying to the saint-in-charge of pesky germs (maybe Michael the Archangel with his sword pointing at these microbes) that I get well soon because I really want to eat good food and taste it. All these antibiotics are messing with my natural healthy appetite for viands and desserts. Imagine I ate 2 bars of home-made brownies made by a kumare of mine and it just really tasted like I was chewing on paper…the shock of it!

Bad as it was, there was only 1 minute and 35 seconds (yes, counted em!)  when I felt sorry for myself while I was swaddled in my blankets and sweating the fever out. I really missed my mom at that point. *sigh* Strangely I didn’t miss having a boyfriend who could commiserate with my woes during that time, which goes to show…blood is really thicker than water.

Its always been my theory though that if you just lie down in bed day after day with your sickness, you just get more sick…..sick of the room, sick of the bland taste of porridge which you have to cook coz you are living on your own, sick of the tv shows and reruns and sick of the sickness. So its good to be up and about even if one is not completely well.

Of course, now that I am in the office, I miss my sick bed, man its really weird…

– Oct 18, ’06 3:14 PM

Murphy’s Law on a Weekend

Sept 29, 2006 Friday –

– Aftermath of the storm: status is the same. However, water flooded from kitchen sink in my unit. Had to mop 3 times before I noticed that I was wrong: it wasn’t the ref which was defrosting, it was the plumbing underneath my sink. No electricity yet. Ratszzzzz…but at least I got the maintenance guy to shut the supply to my sink..I just had to lug water to the sink…in bottles…water bottles…so I can wash my dirty dishes…

– On vacation leave but had to go to office due to telecon with US client at around 11 pm on Friday. Can I have a clone made?

– Friday night in Makati is a killer. Its traffic everywhere, whether Makati-inbound or outbound. Took 1 hour to wait for a taxi in Glorietta…this after finding out there was still no MRT (the hard way: took the jeepney coz no taxi in my street, climbed up the *puff, puff* stairs, to see the gates closed…..well silly me, to be optimistic about power lines in Makati City being restored. GOOD NEWS: driver was kind enough not to ask for higher taxi fare after looking at my face..hehehe

– Passed by toppled billboards in Edsa…tsk..tsk.. those poor souls crushed underneath…at least I’m alive and sweating like a pig here in the taxi…

– Presentation problems…unpreparedness and bugs flying around in programs…no dinner (the saddest part of all in my day)

– Some team members had to go home early coz transpo was difficult coz of the storm aftermath, which left me a couple of heads short for the presentation of their pages…which were not perfect…*sigh*

– Left with 3 developers in my team. The client didn’t understand my email that the telecon was 10 pm Philtime. Saving grace was that it pushed through. At last..FTR…..though I think everybody was just plain sleepy except for the client, who mercifully did not complain too much about the bugs in the pages…

– Finished up around 3 a.m. on Saturday morning with no dinner and grumbling stomach…
GOOD NEWS: my youngest developer gave me his cake…small but still better than nothing…my digestive system danced around and I could have swallowed it in 1 gulp..hehehe..instead I paced myself..though I’m sure close friends could have cackled in glee looking at my state that morning…unkempt hair and racoon eyes…

– Climbed 11 flights of stairs up to my unit coz at 2 am all electricity from gen set was cut off…GOOD NEWS: the condo owner left me an emergency light that afternoon as mine was the only unit which had no light connected to the gen set…and really, some parts of the stairwell were in total darkness *play music from the horror Norman Bates motel movie…*..sprinted up the last 2 flights of stairs due to my scaring myself with the tune I had whistled…ehehehe

– slept 2 hours. Got up to take down still wet laundry and finish packing and eat leftovers. Threw the rest away…GOOD NEWS: may koryente na po! bad news: I had to go to the airport at once so I could not enjoy the electric fan or aircon…

– arrived at airport for 10 am flight with 1 hour to spare. HORRORS! Flight was non-existent in any notice board…as in nada…none..kaput…

– it was hot as hell at the domestic airport, computer systems were down, lines were longer than the Great Wall of China (exaggerated..but it felt that way)…Cebu Pacific didn’t even inform me that my flight was either rebooked or moved and nobody knew what happened to my flight…can somebody say “grrrrrrrrrrr”?

– finally got thru after some deft maneuvering and gutsy glaring…while leaving my big bag unattended…good thing nobody attempted to steal it…I think would-be thieves were too hot and bothered…*cough*

– I got through..but…only to be subjected to no electricity, darkness, heat and smelly stuff when the gen set was turned off when I was in the pre-departure area. Is this is a conspiracy?

– GOOD NEWS: some sweaty guys took their shirts off
– BAD NEWS: the guys who took theirs off really, really shouldn’t have done so (repeat 10 times)…not unless they were Brad Pitt…hmph!

– delayed 3 hours for take-off…dozed off in my seat with my eyes open…yeah..go figure

– GOOD NEWS: electricity turned on…just when I was about to aboard the flight…what in the world gives?

– arrived in Cebu, cranky, headachey, crochety, hungry and sleepy

I found out 2 days later…my flight was moved to 2:55 pm…and nobody was the wiser…

I hate Murphy…but at least..am in my beloved Cebu…hot, humid, little island of mine…

– Oct 5, ’06 1:54 AM