February 18, 1994
Dear Everyone:
‘Tis the season for PMP here at work. PMP
stands for "Performance Management Program".
In other words, good ol’ job
evaluation time. At the
"beginning" of the year (March-April), you and your boss sit down and
agree on what you should be doing all year.
Then, at the "end" of the year
(January-February), you sit down again and agree (or agree to disagree)
on how well you did whatever you were going to do.
Next week is "ranking", in which all the bosses with similar workers get
together and "rank" their people based on job performance.
This year, ranking will be done
differently from last year. This
comes as no surprise, since last year was different from the year before
that…and the year before that…and the year before that…and you can see
where this is going.
Consequently, things are just the teensiest bit
tense around here, with
everyone scrambling to get their PMP's done on time.
So, naturally, the pixies picked
this week to go tiptoeing through the PCs.
Wednesday afternoon, “Miranda”
discovered that her entire Application Group, the programs that you use
on the PC, like
Excel and
WordPerfect, had suddenly
vanished!!!
How do you type your PMP when the
word processing program is gone? Not
to mention the electronic PMP form you need to fill out with the word
processor.
No point in calling the PC Coordinator. She
was busy doing her own PMP. Fortunately
for “Miranda”, I knew just enough to get back the bare-bones that she
needed to function. The PC
Coordinator will be in next week (after ranking has started and it's too
late to change anything) to take a look at it.
Yesterday, three more PCs developed varying degrees of colic.
The only one that seemed to be on
its best behavior was mine, probably because it knew I'd clobber it if
it tried anything funny (hit any
key to continue…). Of course,
this is apart from its annoying habit of not connecting with the
keyboard when I turn it on most days. Like
a lot of us, it seems to need a jump start first thing in the morning.
In other news…
CITC (Company Information Technology Company), the computer people, have
long offered courses in PC application software, like "WordPerfect
for Beginners", "Intermediate
Paradox
for Windows", etc. A
recurring problem is that, while most of us could really use the
information, we don't have time to take off from work to take the
classes. This can be very
frustrating when you know
that the PC can do something for you, but you don't know what to tell it
and you don't have time to stop and read the 4-volume User Guide.
So, CITC decided to try a Pilot Program.
They are offering a package of three of the most "popular"
(read: desperately needed) courses over three consecutive Saturdays.
They weren't sure how much of a
response they would get, but people like “Miranda” and I jumped at the
chance. Particularly when I
researched the three courses and discovered that if we took them
separately, they cost $95 more than the package deal.
Not only that, but, because the cafeteria at Company Park (where the
classes take place) is closed on Saturdays, CITC sprung for some pizzas
to be delivered. Costs less and
they feed us, too!
Last Saturday, we took "Windows
for Beginners". We learned is
that there is a lot more to Windows than just pointing and clicking and
playing
Solitaire and changing the colors on your desktop.
There's the
File
Manager, which makes keeping track of all those electronic documents
that you have stored on your hard drive
much easier.
We also learned how to set up Groups, which is why I knew what to do
when “Miranda's” Application Group disappeared on her.
Talk about just in the nick of
time!
Tomorrow, we’ll learn about
Excel for
Windows, which I'm told is very much like
Lotus 123.
This would mean more if I had
something besides the very slightest idea what Lotus can do.
On the home front, “Jeannie” and I went to see
The Getaway
last weekend, a
remake of the
Steve McQueen-Ali
McGraw movie. It's just as
bad as the critics warned you it was. The
only redeeming character in the whole movie is a small, gray kitten with
no lines.
My new HMO keeps sending me offers to join its
Maternity Plus Plan.
All things considered, I think
I'll pass.
Love, as always,
Pete
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