Surprise Inspection

I have been having trouble finishing this project I'm working on, so the boss joined me at the client's office this morning to help set me straight. He quickly helped me correct a javascript error (Note to self: = is for assignment; == is for comparison) and then we started diving into COM routines, trying to get Windows and Microsoft Word to dance to our tune.

I won't bore you with the technical details. RH, the information systems manager, noticed that my boss was in the office, so he asked if we could do a demonstration of the system for a handful of people, to which we readily agreed.

About 15 minutes before the demo, the application inexplicably lost its connection with the database. We were pulling our hair out, trying to figure out what could have gone wrong. Finally, I realized that some settings we had made while trying to solve an earlier problem took effect when we restarted the server, making the databases inaccessible. We fixed that and went into the demo only about 10 minutes late.

We walked in and waited for everyone to join us, which turned out to be about nine or ten people. My boss sat down, leaving it to me to conduct the demo, which ran splendidly, despite their balky projection system. There was real excitement about the product and suggestions for further development.

My boss was very complimentary and bought me lunch to celebrate. He was very pleased with how I had managed this presentation we hadn't even planned for and answered everyone's questions and comments.

I really like this job.

Ask not, lest ye be answered

My boss and I are at the client's office this morning, sitting at my computer, when my cell phone starts playing music. I reach down to silence it without looking at it, and he asks, "what was that for?"

"Oh, it's just an alarm to let me know it's time to take my pill," I reply.

"What are you taking medication for?"

"HIV."

Yep. That's right; I disclosed my HIV to my boss, and just that easily. He apologized for having asked the question, saying that he realized that it was nosy just as soon as the words left his mouth, but I assured him that it wasn't a big deal.

We returned to the work at hand, having no time for serious discussion, but I returned to our office at the end of the day to hang out and kill some time before my HIV support group (which ended up being cancelled), so we had some time to talk about it.

He's had employees with HIV before, and he was absolutely sympathetic and assured me that nobody would find out from him. I told him some more about it and he knows a little more about what I've been going through during this time (and why it's so important that I keep my COBRA payments current).

My workplace was the last place where nobody knew of my condition, and I'm feeling pretty good about the talk we had today. Now I know that I have support from my friends, my family and my employer. This is a really big deal for me.

I wonder sometimes if I'm being too reckless; if I will regret sharing with someone in the future. Given human nature, I probably will, but trusts are violated all the time -- I've broken trusts myself. Still, I'm not regretting my decision today.

Database Duo, Together Again

I just got off the phone with LC, another woman that I used to work with at my non-profit job. She and I were database partners-in-crime. She'd tell me what she needed the system to do, and I would protest that I couldn't do that, not in a million years. She'd tell me to get crackin' and I'd figure out some way to make her satisfied. It was a great working relationship and we grew very close.

She and I haven't talked for months, and I feel very badly about that. How hard is it for me to pick up the phone? How much grief would I put myself through if something were to happen to her? Well, tonight I picked up the phone and called her just as she was pulling up into her driveway. Her grandson met her outside with the phone. :-)

We talked for about an hour, and we made a date to talk again next week. I told her much of what I've been going through and she shared her news also. I emailed her a link to my journal here, so she can keep tabs on me; she'll probably be full of observations next week!