Monday, November 07, 2005

It's Official! (Unofficially)


Three months ago I was thrilled to be offered the opportunity to work on a short-term basis for a different team in our IT department while someone was on leave and then otherwise occupied with a big upgrade project.

I had been working as a regular ol' Techie up till then, for the past two & a half years or so. When I took the Techie job initially, it was a bit of a step back for me but it suited me because the money was good and it meant I didn't have to drive an hour & a half each way to work each day. I could take the train instead and get there in a little over half an hour with no traffic stress (I am slightly prone to road rage). Also, it was a permanent job, whereas I'd spent the previous year working on a contract basis, which was a little too uncertain for my liking, living as I was in a new country and all.
So it was a very practical decision.

But let's be honest - a job that involves a lot of crawling on desks checking cabling, and carrying computers and other bits of hardware around the place, is not really the ideal job for a thirty-something woman.
And I was b.o.r.e.d. out of my mind!

So last year I bit the bullet, paid the money, took unpaid leave and did two courses to help me start along the path of becoming a DBA - still in IT, still technical but not so physical, and more desk-based and brainpower-oriented.
And I made it known that this was what I wanted.
And then I waited.
And waited.
And waited.

And finally the opportunity came up to use my newly acquired knowledge (albeit really rusty by then) and I jumped at the chance.

Well, ladies and gents, it turns out patience does eventually pay off. (I wouldn't normally know much about this because patience is not exactly one of my strong points, but anyhoo...)

*** ! ... CUE FANFARE ... ! ***

Today, after weeks of wondering, and a complete restructure of our IT department, I was asked if I would like to stay on in the DBA team permanently.
Would I ever..!!!
Bounce


Now, it won't be official as such until the new organisational chart is released (hopefully sometime this week) but it's official to me.

And tomorrow I will do what I promised myself I would do if I got to stay in this job.
For the first time in my three years of employment I will wear a skirt to work.
'Cos you see, it's not really practical for a Techie to wear a skirt (you just never know when you're gonna end up crawling under desks, y'know?!).
But hey, I'm (unofficially) officially not a Techie anymore!

So there ya go - all is not doom and gloom (until you look outside and see one of our lovely Irish storms raging but that's a completely different matter).
It turns out Mondays can be good days too.

11 comments:

anne said...

Well done! Woo-hoo! Congrats! I could go on. But I'll show some dignity.
Take a picture of you in the skirt, so we know you didn't lie, OK?

LiVEwiRe said...

Way to go!!! You must be so proud, oh, and thrilled! I know I'm proud of you - you really went through alot to get where you wanted to be, but now I'm hoping that it will bring you everthing you wanted and more. Including skirts! ;)

Ben O. said...

Nice job Terri - way to look into the future and do what you need to do to get things done.

Ben O.

Hey - whatever happened to your writing? Didn't you win a prize or something for a short story?

ChittyChittyBangBang! said...

Whoo-hoo... well done Terri!!!! I am thrilled for you.
Pity its winter out there, but that should not stop you from wearing that skirt.
Go get 'em Tiger!

Framesby 86 said...

CONGRATULATIONS!!!! Geluk. Mooi man!!! Lekker!!!!How many more ways can I express how happy I am for you. About the skirt, I'm with Anne - I want to see a picture!!!

Terri said...

Undr - thanks buddy, whatever you said to him obviously worked. BTW, you in latex mini, yeah baby!
Anne - Photo may be forthcoming if I remember about it before I switch to jeans when I get home this evening, hehe.
LiVEwIRe - Yep, I guess I'm proud of me too!
Ben - Still writing, and hoping that'll be my long-term thing... I posted my prize-winning story here
Chitty - Ja it wouldn't be a skimpy thing like you might find in SA, but rather a tailored wool one to be worn with knee-length boots. Ew, sounds like something your 70-yr old stalker would wear... will definitely try remember to take pic tonight.
Buddess - Ag, dankie Skattie! :-)

Oh PS... turns out my suede boots are reasonably waterproof, yay!

DelBoy said...

Just like a good Guinness - "good things come to those that wait"

Congrats Cuz. We'll have to celebrate soon!

Linda said...

YEAH!!!! CONGRATS!!! WAY TO GO TERRI!! I think we need to see the pic of Undr in the skirt also! hee hee :)

L said...

Congrats! Terri! OOOH LA LA Terri in a skirt!

Ben O. said...

Hey Terri - your story is wonderful. I left a comment on that page below it. Nice stuff.

Thanks for sharing it with me.

Ben O.

Terri said...

Del - Celebrate? Absolutely!
Linda - I'll see what I can do - we'll have to put some pressure on Undr, methinks :-)
Lori - Ooh La La is right! 'Tis a rare occasion indeed.
Ben - You're very welcome. And when I get round to posting another one, you'll be (among) the first to know.

miskf - 'SMS-alese' for My Skirt Fits :-)