Here comes the ...weeekend.

It has been a long week. It sort of started off slow and then climaxed on Tuesday with an urgent deadline with reports to fly about like a toast from the toaster at the breakfast shop on a Sunday morning.  On Thursday I got a polite fly in the ear for failing to send off an important letter. (and attached 30 page document) and that was swiftly followed by another proposal to complete sooner than the first batch of reports.

As stressful as it is to preform and produce quality written documentation, there is a certain thrill that goes with completing a report, printing it in all it's colourful, formatted glory, binding it and wrapping it and dropping it at the front desk for DHL delivery. The fulfilling feeling of completion (on a small level).

I have learned that in the line of work I am in that a lot of the time the delivery deadlines for reports can occassionally be flexible. We argue with the client that yes, the design report is over due but here is the draft report and as you can see, the quality is rather splendid. Or we simply deliver it in teh dead of night and pretend that teh deadline meant by teh end of day and not on the day itself. Or else we offer to present the report in person and buy ourselves a few days.

However when we are competing for new work with proposals, the (future) clients are not forgiving. The proposal HAS TO be in the box before the specified time and date or else it is "thanks for playing, try harder next time."

And therefore, some of the most stressful, leaky eye inducing times I have had in this office have been from assembling proposals because irrespective of how big or small the job is or how well the rest of the team works, the time can not be negotiated and often, lengthy levels of over time must take place.

Anyhow, in between dodging the possibility of being on a plane to a far corner Mozambique on Sunday and getting ensnared into a progress meeting in Botswana instead, this proposal sits on my desk and lurks in the corner of my eye saying "Don't forget me! or else you will regret it."

Often I have no idea whether I am a good engineer (I suspect that in my moments of brilliance I may be). I see myself more of a creative lateral thinking innovator. (Give me a problem and I'll provide 5 solutions, 4 will be ridiculous and physics defying solutions and the 5th one will be unique and some way in which you will never have thought of before. - trouble is getting people to take you seriously throught the first four overripe fruit solutions before you produce the gem).

 

One thing I do know for certain (based on experience of it's importance) is how to produce a report that is a pleasure to read. A report that you can read, get distracted and not lose your place in a mire of words and graphs and tables. A report that glows with inner well-formatted radiance. MSWord is my ever willing toy boy on a good day. (and my elusive unwilling grumpy old man on a bad day)

And so back to the orignal story of my week. My work weeks are accelerating but I look forward to the thrill of another freshly produced proposal by the sweat of my brow and the ever affirming response from the man in charge "Good Job Miss Engineer".