It all ends here?
yes it did :)
We brought both our A games that night and though his A game is better than mine, I had better luck as I took the game at 12-8 and the series at 4-2. The first 7 games took place in AMF Tropical then shifted to Eastwood for the finale. The sudden shift of table speed proved to be a big factor as plenty of speed shots went wild. I took the early lead with a golden break, a fluked nine and a two-nine combo. Pao's rally came up short.
Told ya it ends here...
(I just felt like there's more to write about my team than in my previous entry...)
Today is officially the last day of the R2 Backend team. After 6 months of development and 1 month of support, we'll all now be reassigned to other teams. I've said it before and I'll say it again: I'll miss the R2 backend team.
I've only been to two major application development teams - one I was the project overall lead and one I was a sublead a.k.a. "The Right Hand of Ceej and the Keeper of Codes". Here are some characteristics or attitudes my team have that I wish my futures teams will have as well:
Synergy. 1 + 1 = 3. As I said before, the team isn't composed of rocket scientists. We have a fashion model for a team lead, a jolly fat comedian for one of the subleads and half the rest of the team didn't even take computer related courses in college... and yet we deployed something that some overpaid computer techies couldn't. As I said - "Very effective as a team". Notice that task assignments are most of the time sent to two or more people? ;)
Win together, Lose together. A good test for a team is to see how they treat each other in defeat. We're weren't perfect. Tao lang. We had our down moments but there was absolutely no blaming, no fighting. Not even a hint of it.
Covering each other's backs. Like I said, tao lang. It was uncanny that whenever someone missed something, it's automatically covered by someone else. Automatically. No raising to the management that you missed it, no more explanations why it was missed, no blaming - just fix (and a gentle reminder).
One's problem is everyone else's. and I'm not talking about work related problems. It's funny how everyone is so affected by everyone else's problems and how they want to help. Kaaway ng isa, kaaway ng backend :P I have a feeling that if someone insulted me, Ceej and the others will be downstairs waiting with crowbars. "The backend mafia"
We all go home or nobody goes home. If one does OT because of an issue, some are there to help and to keep you company. If he or she does have to leave, it always come with the words/phrases "sorry" or "sure ka ok ka lang dyan?" and they will text you at 11pm to check if you've completed the task and if you're already home.
... and the cool thing is, none of these were discussed, written, introduced or anything...
I'll really miss working with you guys. I know I'll just be a cube away but it won't be the same (since I'm now joining the dark side hehehe). I've been doing a lot of reflection about the team throughout the week and so I guess I have plenty of thoughts and emotion to share (para akong magreresign/maroroll-off na no? hehe). It's just that working this past week without most of you guys made me realize these things. So once again thanks for wild ride, thanks for looking out for me, thanks for making me see the bright side of dark times, thanks for teaching me things not found in books... thanks for everything.
Thanks, really. 
Ceej's farewell dinner @ Gilligan's (from top left: mags & des; ceej, mags & ching; knoll,gegs & des; knoll, gegs & ceej; me & ceej; ceej & mags, des & ceej, me & ching)
*not included: Les, Iris and Allan. Di kayo sumama e :P
It was a close game as the score was knotted 6 or 7 times throughout the game. Pao was able to string up some consecutive racks for a 9-11 advantage. I tried to muster up a big rally but came up short at the end as Pao took game 5: 12-10 but is still down in the series 2-3.
He just played better, period. I had the flu that time but it was not
an excuse to take the bonehead shots I tried. Oh well, I get another
chance at Game 6. :D
My official entry to the FUCION newsletter... I wrote this one while running some DTS packages.
The structure looks awfully familiar doesn't it? :) Any Edgar Allan Poe fans there?
Deployment Weekend from the 22nd Floor
Three-thirty in the morning, weekend to deploy, I was working
Never have I even attempted to work this late before
My brain was off and sleeping and yet somehow the rest were working
Struggling, barely breathing, working in the dark twenty second floor
Sounds of keyboard keys clacking and the whirr of the fan for my Pentium four
Just that and nothing more
Russell of Fidelity, IM’d that he’s done with step twenty three
Twenty three completed steps from an SR that had twenty four
The end so close so near, I begin to pack up my stuff, my gear
With just a mind to clear and one last step, ETC is set to four
The one last step: “Run a DTS located in server .154”
Just that and nothing more
Before Russ started sleeping, he had the DTS up and running
Logged off the Reports server and left it for me to monitor
And so at four, I was watching a gray progress bar progressing
Animated gear was moving, percent complete of twenty four
“A few more minutes and I’ll be out of the twenty second floor”
Go home, sleep and nothing more
Five minutes it was fifty and five more minutes it was eighty
My gear was packed, trash thrown out while waiting for just twenty more
Eighty became eighty-one, as the start of the end has begun
Three more percent were gone as I was staring at an eighty four
But after thirty minutes, gear was moving but still showed eighty four
Never moved, never more
“Ah! A test of patience!” I walked around and soaked in the silence
Silence that was rare in this always lively twenty second floor
No pantry meetings, no keyboards clacking, no cheerful morning greetings
Quiet, dreary and boring, nothing else here for me to explore
I went back to my cube, with the DTS still showing eighty four
Never moved, never more
Panic level somewhere near Max, “Ok lang yan” sit and relax
One hour has elapsed, never has this package run so long before
I promised not to start worrying but one hour this has been running
Finally, progress bar moving, no longer was it eighty four
To my horror, it restarted! And now it displayed twenty-four
Just that and nothing more
Four different languages of shouting and cursing with stomping
Killed the silence that used to linger in this twenty second floor
The words still echoing as my eyes saw but never believing
It was just there blinding as it moved and stuck again at eighty four
“Move! Get this thing over with!” I impatiently started to roar
Quoth the DTS “Nevermore”
“Put an end to this sorrow, I promise to optimize you tomorrow”
More promises I made, but all seemed the package shrugged and ignored
Whiteboard marked pointed, “Avada Kedavra” I shouted
But again it restarted, and muttered “Act like you’re twenty four!”
“Commence kicking” said my brain but then a loud beep – someone’s at the door
‘twas my lead, Lure and no one more
A lighter beep sounded, “DTS Package successfully completed”
Lure said “O, tapos na pala,kala ko uwi ka ng four?”
“Completed na migration, pero bago ang celebration,”
“Dapat may verification, lalo sa server .154”
I said, “Sure, pero bakit ka nagra-rhyme? Para kang tumutula.”
He just worked, smirked and nothing more…
