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2006-07-21 - 12:46 p.m.

Death by papercuts

Well, y�all are no fun. No guess at all on which was Roland�s smart-ass remark.


I know EMTs call regular transports �frequently flyers.� I wonder what the vet calls them. Maybe I�ll ask this afternoon as our kitty is still sick, so off to the vet for the fourth time in a week.

He�s not drinking. We�ve managed to hand feed him a bit, but he�s really not eating on his own. Not drinking means we do some IV fluids as a precaution. Yet, our little puzzle shows no signs of dehydration nor has he lost weight.

Antibotics are killing the e tail end of an infection. Also, he has a lump near his spine that wasn�t there two weeks ago, and he�s limping. The vets, being sensible people, want him to be perky and eating before removing what physical exam indicates is probably a benign cyst. Best to be healthy before surgery.

Okay, I�m obviously worried about my cat.


In other news, I am still trying to catch up from vacation. Leave for a week and 300 emails arrive. For Christ�s sake, I left my left for one hour yesterday and got 35 emails. Yes, all non-spam.

So, let�s vent my spleen with Theo�s rules on email etiquette:

It is not a sin to take more than 24 hours to respond to email. There�s no circle in hell for that.

Don�t assume I�ve read your email the moment you send it. If you�re that excited about the subject, call.

I don�t autocheck my email. It�s too disruptive to have alerts flashing at you all day. I check it at breaks in my work when it�s convenient for me. This means (gasp) I will not see your message in < 5 minutes. Don�t presume to send me email that needs an immediate answer.


Don�t send me 38 pages of data then call me to an impromptu meeting about it less than 45 minutes after you sent it. I will not give you an answer. I�m sorry if that�s inconvenient for your work flow; sometimes it�s my job to say no. Perhaps if you�d left me alone I would be looking through the information so you could get an answer rather than a cranky Theo and a delay of game penalty.

And while we�re on the need for immediate gratification, think about whether you really to send that email. I didn�t need to wade through and delete the 10 email long thread frantically trying to arrange a meeting so you could say �we�ve already had that meeting� by the monthly report deadline. I just had to overrule everyone and insist we do real work rather than wasting time.

There are a lot of real emergencies in our business; don�t make them up. Inconveniencing someone when we can extend their deadline is not one of them.

Don�t embed information in a subject line that�s 400 characters long and get cranky at me cause the information got truncated by my email. 400 characters means it belongs in the body.

Don�t copy me on the end of an email thread that�s already eight replies deep, expect me to wade back through it all and magically infer what information or questions you want me to respond to. It�s presumptious and it won't happen.

And while we�re on email threads here�s my 10/10 rule � any discussion that copies 10+ people for more than 10 replies needs to stop. See, this is the time to arrange a meeting.


Now Pennsic looms. If I get to go. I have two potential business trips between now and mid August, important ones too dammit. Also, having just taken a vacation, it�s even harder to break loose. Fun to effort ratio is shaky, and I wonder if we can leave the cat.

Anyway, I�ve had no time to do anything, not a project, not a thing, except camp steward stuff on our yahoogroup. Which leads me to modify my first rule of email:

It is not a sin to take more than 24 hours to respond to email. However, if you�ve asked me to organize your vacation, and agreed that you would get the information through email, I do expect a reply within four to six weeks. Otherwise, you should�ve requested alternate contact.

[Nobody get dramatic about this. I�m just venting cause I�ve had a week of �death by papercuts.� Love my camp, and a handful of slow responses is typical, but I�m crazy busy. Don�t make me hunt you down. Six weeks is adequate lead time.]

Hmmmm. This may be why my matriarchy nickname has evolved into �Theo is Green Leader. We fear Green Leader.� Nobody likes me when I�m angry.

My QoC is so far away.


Aaaah. I feel better. Nice to dump it out even if no one will read it.

Perhaps I will stop by the liquor store, by random hard alcohol and see what cocktail I can make. This will be less fun without the pillowcases, but I'm sure I can manage.

Scribble to Theo

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