Ownership

It was a long work week for me. As I went through the grind, I realized that some of my coworkers lack a sense of ownership. I work in the IT industry where we are on call almost all the time (so it seems). My team, in particular, is responsible for a platform 24x7. We rotate that responsibility between the five of us. Three of us work day and evening shifts and then there are two dedicated guys - one handles over night and the other handles the weekend coverage - that never comes into the office. This disconnect could be key.

It's starting to come to light that there is a lack of ownership in our support mentality. "Oh, someone else will see that alert or page that has come in and will take care of it. It certainly isn't MY responsibility. Heck, I have other things to do." It seems individuals are content collecting a paycheck and will do the least amount of work possible to maintain employment. Maybe this is commonplace in the American workplace? As their manager, I feel that I must keep an eye on things even though they are paid a healthy salary to sit on a pager and simply respond should it go off. Fact - that comes with the territory.

SLA. We have an expectation on our team that we will respond to an alert or page within 15 minutes of receiving it. It does not mean the issue will be resolved in 15 minutes, but rather that we will acknowledge it and start on the path to resolution. We will work the issue in real time and provide status. Recently, there has been a rash of missed opportunities to show ownership. Missed pages, poorly executed deliverables, foul language, smoking grass - poor caddying. Do you want to be replaced by the NOC? Just keep it up.

How do I instill ownership? It's got to be the toughest task I've ever had. I must be particularly bad at it. If I were responsible for something and my superior asked me about something I missed, I'd damn well make sure I don't miss it the next time. That's just me. I'm not like others. Others didn't have a father that would follow up on topics to make sure you had your act together. I consider myself blessed to have that instilled in me. Why do I get myself all worked up? It's only a job...

I have seen caffeine...

...and it is good. It's odd, I don't feel nearly as buzzed as I expected to be. My mind quickly came out of the fog that is morning, but I expected a much stronger reaction after 40 days of detox. Hmmm.

Lent is over, happy Good Friday

OK, so I have a theological debate on my hands here. Lent officially ended last night upon celebration of the Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday. We then launch into the shortest of liturgical seasons - The Triduum (Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday). This begs the question - when can I have caffeine again...?

I've done my due diligence and it seems there are several ways to look at this:
1)Lent ended last night, so I am free of my obligation to give up caffeine
2)Today is Good Friday, a day of abstinence and fasting, so it would not be exactly in order to delve right back into my sacrifice on a day that should be directed towards suffering with Jesus

Oh, the Catholic torment I go through. This forum has interesting banter about just such topic:
http://forums.catholic.com/showthread.php?t=216582

I received my basis for the end of Lent from here:
http://www.americancatholic.org/newsletters/CU/ac0302.asp#F8
http://www.catholic-church.org/st.paulcathedralpgh/current/minist-ref.shtml#lent

Impact

I'm starting to really crave caffeine. Only one more week..

Legit

My fatherhood has been legitimized. I now officially feel like a dad. I took the train home from work to a different stop to pick up Amanda at day care. Like a big boy, I was able to pack her up and drive her home safely with our car that Katie left behind while dropping her off earlier this morning. It's quite a nice system we have going.
I now feel like a man. I used to think you're not a man until you buy a home. Then it was not until you take a wife. This is the real deal - being a father.

Big day today

First day Katie went back to work and our first foray into day care for Amanda.

Bjorn

I'm using the BabyBjorn for the first time - it's pretty cool. Up until now, I've only used the over-the-shoulder-baby-holder called the sling. Nice to have an extra weapon in the baby wrangling business.
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2267522

Enough

When will dreary winter end? This is getting old. We are pushing into our 6th month of chilly weather with very few days of sunshine. We all know the inevitable spring and summer *will* arrive. It's only a matter of time.

Weather and excercise

I hate running outdoors in the cold weather, it makes my ear drums hurt. Yesterday, it was in the upper 50's or the first time in quite a while and I decided to go for my first run in over four months. What have I been doing for the past four months you ask? We'll, I've been adjusting to being a father and Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, etc. I hurt today in places that I have not felt soreness for four months. It's painful, but kind of refreshing at the same time.

Happy Spring

Meteorological spring begins. I can feel it in the air.