itunes: Kyoto Jazz Massive, Spirit Of The Sun (2002)
It has been 3 weeks since I last blog. Time really flies....
Last week I have a big quarrel with that useless IT manager in my office. Sigh, I just simple dun understand how can someone like him exist in this world. He ought to be caught and keep in cage as an endangered species.
After report A has been established and delivered to my boss (note: this report is not created by the IT manager but it's from my Financial Director stationed in HK) late July, my boss requested for report B to be established as well (background: report B is merely a more detailed format of report A that's all. Report A & B draws data from the SUN Microsystem accounting software by means of a additional software Vision XL, which uses Excel extensively). I related my boss' requirements to him and he promised he will look into it. Nevertheless, I sent him the suggestive format as well as the data fields needed in order to let him have a better understanding of what is required. Since then, we never heard from him and my boss has been checking with me on the status, which I in turn conveyed the message to him verbally. As usual, his excuses would be he has problems with capturing the data fields. Despite of that, we has really never seen any form of report B delivered (be it half complete or not).
By early September, before I went for my 2 weeks of annual reservist training, I sent him an email (cc to my assistant for her to follow up and cc my boss) on all the outstanding tasks, reminding him to take a serious look into them and hopefully by the time when I returned, we can further discuss about it. Throughout these 2 months, nothing has moved and my boss and I received no updates from him at all. Well, he took that email as a sabotage and accusation. He called me on my mobile phone straight away and screamed over the phone. His point was I should not have sent this email and cc to my assistant because he does not want everyone in the office to know that he is not doing his job and he denied of all the outstanding tasks in the email. Strange guy eh? People will only get offended when such email was cc to the boss. Also, is he implying that my assistant will forward my email to everyone in the office? He challenged me for a 'man-to-man' talk when I returned to the office. Haha my colleagues who overheard his screaming all agreed that he is childish and that should be a 'boy-to-boy' talk instead.
The main problem with this guy is that he spends more of his time (90%) doing his outside 'political motivated' grassroot job instead. It’s an open secret, the whole office knows about this and most of the issues pertaining to IT are not done at all, except for the boss' which he will deal them with urgency. He has no shame about it. In addition, due to his after office hours commitments, he usually comes to work averagely 9.45am daily when we should be in the office by 9am. Our office functions on alternate Saturday 9 to 1pm and there are occasions that he came in at 11am.
True enough, he waited patiently for 2 weeks to have a 'boy-to-boy' talk with me. He claimed that he does not like the tone of my email especially the word 'gentle reminder' used, as if I'm blaming him for not doing his work. As a matter of fact, he was not fulfilling his bloody responsibilities at all, so what kind of nonsense is this???!!!!! As much as he argued courageously, my stand was jobs not done means jobs not done and that's straight forward and absolutely no excuses. So I asked him, is there any word in the email saying that I'm blaming him? HAHA he shut his rattling mouth instantly. Wow, I think I'm really cool here, dude! In the end, I questioned him if he does not like me sending email on the outstanding issues this way, what method i should use? He said that in the future, for all the things that I have asked and should I see no development from him, I can freely approach my boss for help and let my boss go to him directly. What stupid statement was that? I laughed and asked him is not it worse than sending emails???? He just kept quiet. But I will sure keep this mind. This incident simply ended this way with report B conveniently forgotten by him. Nevertheless, a few good days later, he came to my room, wanting to apologise, inviting me to step out of my room so that he can do it publicly in front of everyone. Is this necessary? How about a advertising in the papers instead? You created the scene, not me. I did not accept that at all.
Early last week, I heard from sources that he will be taking a 2 weeks long leave from 14th Sep to 29th Sep and my boss, knowing that he will be away, asked me of the status of report B again. So, I waited and sent him an email on 13th Sep morning, asking for any update of report B. YES! I admit I deliberately, intentionally, purposely (all synonyms you can think of) send the email on the eve of his holiday. In the email, I took extra care so that lessons learnt from the last email will not be repeated. That is, no 'gentle reminder', no 'outstanding', no cc to assistant and just cc my boss, just simply asking for updates. Fair and polite enough, right?
Well, the result is the same. I heard from the show-watchers that he stormed into my boss' room and wanting to explain for that email. My boss just raised his voice and asked him to get out. Of cos, he turned and vent his anger on me. He stormed into my room and asked me to print report A to show that he has done his job. I told him we all knew that report A has long since completed and I'm asking for report B now. That's when he started to deny that he has not been informed of creating report B. HAHA what a joke. I reminded him on the last incident and he asked me for email proof, I showed him that fateful reminding email and seeing that he twisted his words and blamed me for not sending him any official written requests. (LESSON LEARNT: keep all your emails, no matter how trivial the issues are, they are of good use one day.) I told him, that's the end of our conversation and we can forget about the whole thing. He refused and insisted that I should go to the boss and explained that whole thing out since I cannot produce any email evidence. He is simply impossible!!! I turned my back against him to my laptop, start browsing thru my outlook 'sent' folder while he continued to scream and shout as if I have victimised him.
Alas, the good news. Hehe I found and showed it him.
Wow, another big twist of events! Upon seeing the email, he started to scream again and said that from report A I can simply do a drilldown to reach the requirements of report B. I raised my voice and asked him, if this is so, how come he did not specify in the first place? How come for so many months, he did not response to that matter at all? That's when he saw the Vision XL manuals lying on my table, he took the books up and slammed them on the table, hollered and saying what is the use of giving me these manual when I'm not using it. If he has been fatter, probably by now he would have collapsed from stroke haha. The fact is I have tried that before and it was impossible to get report B (the format that my boss wanted) because too many data fields are involved, that's why we need him to create one.
I saw no end to this quarrel and suggested he should explain to the boss immediately. In the act of self defence, he jumped the gun as if he is like some big Counsel from UK, still screaming, bawling and worked up. He self confessed of his humble (YES the word 'humble', only he will use this, really classic) technical knowledge limitation and he even took the initiative to check with SUN hotline and our counterparts in France when working on report A (Huh? Did I hear wrongly? report A is from my Finance Director, not created by him?????!!!!!). He even said he is upset just because 'someone' accused him of not doing his work and told the whole world about it. I believe 'someone' is me haha. He even suggested if my boss finds his work unsatisfactory, he can go ahead and fire him (YA, if I’m the boss, I shall fire straight away!) and he reckoned he will resign before getting fired. Seriously, I dun buy this kind of drama, so does my boss. HAHA my boss simply asked him not to shout in the office and all he interested was where the report was and if he has really done something, showed us even if it was half completed. By then, I really wished my boss had not asked this question at all.
He brought out report A and said that's the best he can do. I raised a point here, report A has been completed and in use since July and I reminded him that we want report B now. This is when he started to repeat the whole story of drilldown report A to get report B (see above). Upon seeing report A, my forgetful boss commented that he has not seen it before. That's when he seized this opportunity to attack me. Speaking even louder than before, he started to act innocence and wanted me to clarify how come I did not send my boss this report. I grew so fed up with him and refused to reply to him and I reminded coldly to my boss that he indeed has this report and has used it before, just that he wants a more detail version (which is report B). That's when he again started his report A drilldown defence for the third time. This time he really pissed me off and I told him straight at his damn face and said he is totally out of point and reminded once more that report A has been done and now we wanted report B. I'm surprised that he did not even comprehend this at all and continue his report A defence. Gosh, indeed what a stubborn incorrigible person he can be???!!!
My boss has been very upset with him that the server was down for the whole morning and for the second time he asked this asshole if he can lower down his volume. Guess what that asshole said? "All right, let's not shout." HAHA did we shout? NO, he is the only one shouting. Silly is not it? Anyway, in the end, my boss grew so fed up with his nonsense and the report A defence, he was willing to compromise and be happy with report A. Well, since my boss has decided not to pursue further, I should just be happy keeping quiet.
This is when he started happily packing all his papers and turned to me, grinned wickedly and sarcastically asked, "So to confirm, there are no more reports to be done and no more reports outstanding right?". I really fumed at his fuck face and I immediately pull out the piece (which contains the template sample of report B) from his stack of papers and threw it onto the table and said sarcastically, "That's the one not done." On the second thought, if I let him off this time, I'm pretty sure my boss will come back to me and ask for report B when he needs to do his analysis. HAHA that's why boss said that on his second consideration, he would still think he needs report B to be completed asap.
I won the battle.
Well, I would really want to thank him for his big-mouth in the final minute. Guess what? Within the next 2 hours, the draft report B format was out. He showed it to me and asked me for comments. I told him of what can be improved and suggested that he should let my boss see it instead. I wondered if he smart enough to know by producing this report, its tight slap across his face for what he said during the argument. This is when he apologise to me for losing his temper and he explained how bad tempered nature he can be and I should check with everyone in this office that his character is like that. I just smiled and walked off. I was thinking, do I really give a damn about it? That's not my problem, he should change his way, not asking me to be considerate towards his bad temper.
Absolutely shameless and incorrigible.
