Friday, October 26, 2007

it's not magic

I am working on some programming. It sounds fairly simple: create a bunch of custom documents for each of our speakers for a course and email them a packet. But a speaker can be a guest, or staff (different set of documents for each), some documents have to be merged on a per talk basis, some on a per speaker basis, some of the documents are compound docs (page 1 merges with speakers, page 2 -4 have to repeat for each talk, the last page is static, etc).

So I have a process that: merges to word, breaks apart the merges by speakers or talks, shoving the now individual docs into a folder or each speaker, then converts docs to pdfs, then makes multiple pdfs into single pdfs, then zipping contents of each speaker's folder, then attaches and emails with a customized email to each speaker and then cleans up after itself.

So, I have users wondering why this took so long to create, others that are like "thanks - can we change this 1 document here so that it does x?" etc.

I want someone, anyone, to recognize what a huge challenge this was, and how f***ing amazing I am for coming up with a solution at all. We have gotten to the point where they just expect me to solve everything, and so take my efforts for granted.

Like I wave my hands, and MAGIC -- we have new code.

4 comments:

elsie said...

Hey, you know I recognize your hard work, and the desire to thwap your oblivious coworkers upside the head with something blunt when they Just Don't Get It.

And you've summed up in one post the reason I'm getting out of this biz. Tired of performing miracles routinely with no recognition.

Would you like my magic wand when I'm done? (No kidding - I have *2* of them on my desk ...)

elsie said...

Oh, and I forgot the tiara on my desk. Would you like that, too? :)

RaineS said...

THANKS. And no thanks on the tiara or the wand. I want them to think I'm a genius, not weirder than I am.....

Kitten Herder said...

In a recent meeting, some end-user made a 'request' of our team and my boss jokingly said that she would have to find her bag of pixie dust to take care of it (since it was a HUGE amount of work). Because it amused me, a few weeks later I presented her with a 8oz bag of pink & white glitter with a stylized tag on it which reads:

"Grade A Pixie Dust"

on the reverese it says:

"Warning, continued use may increase client expectations."

She was so happy. You would have thought I'd given her a five pound chocolate fudge cake.