So, I have not made any interesting posts because I have been working insane hours all this week. They are keeping me in there from 8:30 in the morning until ten at night. I do not get a lunch break either, but to make up for that they are ordering my lunches daily to keep me fed. I eat at my desk while I work.
My company switched over to a new website, one we had an outside company create. The people who created it used an obnoxiously bloated piece of pre-made code called 'zen cart'. The thing is a monstrosity, and is all code. Its supposed to have neat features such as a control panel for the products and what not, but it just does not fit in the way we sell stuff. As a result I have been writing fixes for the code. Since I am normally an ASP and .NET programmer and this code is all in PHP, I have had to adapt quickly to a new language. So I stayed glued to the screen and then stumble out at ten PM, blinking and dazed with a numb ass. They want me to get as many fixes done as possible before I leave for vacation on Friday and I will be out for a week.
The unexpected hours is doubly frustrating because I was planning on getting my house in order and picking up a few things for my trip, however now when I get home I have about an hour before my brain does a complete shutdown.
I still need to do some laundry, do some shopping (including some books and dvd's for my ride up) I guess I am going to be doing most of that tomorrow night.
Friday is a half-day and then I hit the road. I'll probably be unconscious for half of the drive up.
2026 Update
Setting the dial for July 2007, where Ed is chained to a PHP monstrosity with a numb ass.
Ah, 2007, when a company could buy a pre-made shopping cart and force its ASP programmer to wrestle PHP like a feral raccoon. Now we just rent our storefronts from subscription platforms and pay extra if we want to escape the default theme. You tell me which is more demonic. Ed, you ate whatever they ordered, at your desk, because there was no such thing as work-life balance—there was just work and a numb ass. Today's office would call those hours 'crunch' and give you a branded hoodie. And DVDs for the drive? Magnificent. You needed a plastic disc, a player, and the patience to rewind when you missed a line. Now the car itself streams everything and your only problem is which app wants you to subscribe. I almost miss the simplicity. Almost.
“2007 Ed, did you ever ask yourself why a company that 'keeps you fed' can't also let you take a single lunch break, or were you too busy rewriting Zen Cart to notice you'd become a desk appliance?” — Beelzebubba the Third
2007 Ed: Well, Beelzebubba, you’d think the free lunch would come with a side of humanity, but no. I did ask, once, around day three, and my boss looked at me like I’d requested a pony. The logic seems to be that if they’re paying for the sandwich, I shouldn’t complain about eating it hunched over a keyboard with one hand on the mouse. Honestly, I think I was too busy rewriting Zen Cart to notice I’d become a desk appliance. A desk appliance that blinks and has a numb ass. My brain does its little shutdown at nine, and I’m lucky to remember my name, let alone question the great corporate bean-counting mystery. Maybe I’ll figure it out on the drive north, assuming I don’t fall asleep at a rest stop first. Take that, foul PHP.
