Monte

This job is killing me. I’m not a creator anymore, I’m purely a doer: someone who does what they’re told with little to no input and no creativity. There’s really no time for creativity anymore with all the fixing I have to do—I’m just a doer and a fixer.

A client of ours appointed me to redesign their online calendar application which my company had originally developed. So I did some research and cited some other online calendar applications to improve upon what we already had. I reorganized and simplified the user interface, I cleaned up the graphics and threw in some thoughtful features like automatically generated maps of event locations and a dynamic details pane. The process was very exciting for me and a much needed change from the normal routine of doing and fixing I had grown so accustomed to. And in the process, I discovered that I really am passionate about interface design and “user experience.” When I showed the mockups of the newly redesigned calendar to the client, they were instantly impressed with the proposal. In fact, their exact words were, “Tell [your boss] I want it, and I’ll pay whatever he needs to get it.”

My boss, however, did not share in the client’s excitement. Actually, he was irritated and immediately started pointing out things (he thought) wouldn’t work and said that the project would be much too difficult to undertake. It wasn’t the response I was hoping for, and it got me to thinking, “Why do I work for a company where creativity is shunned and the product’s usefulness is sacrificed for the sake of ease?”

Now I understand I’m not a programmer, so I’m in no position to judge exactly how feasible my design is; however, I am certain there was nothing in my design that was beyond the scope of logic.

I’m now on my second cup of Lady Grey.

We have a new guy at work now doing sales. He moved into my old cubicle with the Mac mini that my boss had bought especially for me which now sits unused. From my office window I saw the new guy sitting in his chair staring down at the floor with nothing to do. Apparently he was waiting for “IT” to set up a “box”. Curiously, that’s what IT calls them. They’re never referred to as computers or PCs. I guess calling it a PC would imply it’s for personal use which might give the employees the wrong idea. So we have austere and professional names for them like boxes, workstations, and machines.

So while IT was busy setting up the “box” for the new guy (which apparently is an all-day thing), I thought I’d speed the process along by offering up the Mac mini. I setup a user account for the new guy, showed him how to log in and access the Internet, and I never heard a peep from him the rest of the day. The next afternoon, I looked up from my desk and saw IT carrying the “box” over to the new guy’s desk. My office door was closed, but I could hear the new guy ask, “What’s the difference between this and the one I already have?” And before IT even had a chance to respond (with some bull shit excuse), I jumped up from my chair, swung my door open and yelled, “Nothing! There is no difference, and don’t let them tell you otherwise!”

I realize my reaction may have been a bit extreme, but let me point out a few things: 1) The Mac and the “box” do the same exact things, 2) the Mac was there when it was needed, 3) both computers have Microsoft Office, and 4) the new guy will not be using any Windows-specific applications. So why replace an already functioning solution with another? IT gave the same tired excuse: “If it breaks, I won’t know how to fix it.” Are you not a God-damned computer geek? It’s a fucking computer—you troubleshoot it the same damn way you would any other computer. Don’t tell me you can’t figure out how to setup email and Internet, which by-the-way is the only thing the new guy will ever use. And that’s what pisses me off the most. No one ever bothered to ask the new guy what his computing needs would be. No one even bothered to ask him if even knew how to use a computer, which he doesn’t. That’s what I hate about IT departments today—the complete disregard for the users and their individual needs. They just slap the same damn image on all computers, hand them out, and walk away.

In a nutshell, the Mac would have been the best solution for the guy, but no one gave a rat’s ass.

I’ve finished my tea, so goodnight.