I did something right...

So... yesterday at work... i spent hours and hours working on the NEXT document that is most likely doomed to go through a TON of reviews and deal with the same BS as my last document. Fun huh? The technical guy... who i... get along with for the most part is probably thinking i am ultimately useless, as he is writing and word-smithing a lot of my document.

Part of the fact is... he was supposed to be helpin out all this time, and i never really called on his help until the end... so in essence... i am just eating up his billed time now. I did apologize for him having to work on it so much, but he said "that's what I'm here for" so I did the thing i wouldn't have done a couple weeks ago... I shut up, said thanks for your time... and left it at that.

So... while i was working on my document... i get a question from the project manager... "I hate to take you away from what you are doing" (which to me sounded like... you should be working on that and concentrating on what you are doing and nothing else, but i need help.

Apparently, the other part of the team, the one doing the patching of the system (which, to be honest, I have had the most experience doing (roughly 8 years...) had a dilemma.

They were patching a system and needed verification that all the files were patched. They needed to get proof from each directory that files have changed. They were attempting to take screenshots of each directory, (100's of directories) consisting of 1000's of files. On each screenshot page they would have to write a description of what's on it, sign and date it. This task, they estimated would take roughly 40 man hours to complete. So they asked me if there was a better way.

Ofcourse there is... take a dos directory listing with sub directories and pipe it to a file. Print that file and attach it to the script, before and after. They looked at me stunned. I essentially took 40 hours worth of work, and reduced it to one command run twice (before and after) for a total of 6 minutes (the time it takes to make the file. Ofcourse... there is printing time which could add upto another 10 minutes (but they do have some pretty fast printers... so maybe less.

They took this idea to the watson technical people to say "is this okay?" to which the answer was, "Brilliant" and so they changed their official scripts and everyone was happy... Even the project manager, who has been liking me less and less, said "good job"

For me, however, all this amounted to nothing, as it does not help me with my document, my deliverable dates, or my overall uselessness at writing "book reports." It did, however, prove to myself, and i think the project manager, that I am indeed, NOT useless, and i essentially saved CSC $1000+ dollars ((20 hours * 2 consultants)*hourly rate = $$$$$$$ and LOTS of weekend work)

I was cosmically rewarded for my genius (which, was not new genius, i came up with this technique while at UCB) by getting an email from Delta. I have been confirmed to get an upgrade to first class for my flight home tomorrow! =) that equals, free movies and games, a cold sandwich with a brownie, free alcohol (which i don't really partake in) and a bigger more comfortable seat!

now... if they only gave me a business writer to help tune my document... i would be all set.