Sure it was easy, after I softened it up for you!

Pilot fish is neck deep in a complicated IT issue that requires her total concentration when her boss, the IT manager, comes into her office looking for help -- and right now.

"She said she was trying to fix one of our LiDAR imaging systems," says fish. "It was not starting. She told me she had tried everything and she wanted me to look at it."

Fish explains that she's right in the middle of an issue and will look at the LiDAR problem as soon as she can.

However, that's not good enough for the boss, who wants this dealt with immediately.

So fish leaves her complicated issue behind and heads for the door -- where she sees the boss heading in the opposite direction from the imaging system.

Where are you going? fish calls after her.

"I'm late for an appointment to get my nails done," boss replies.

Fish just shakes her head, then heads off to look at the LiDAR system. Sure enough, it refuses to start.

Then fish begins her troubleshooting. First question: Is it plugged in?

When the boss finally returns, fish asks how long she spent working on the problem.

"Her answer surprised me: 45 minutes," fish says. "When she asked me what was wrong with it, I told her it was a simple fix that took me all of 30 seconds: I plugged it into the wall. Works every time!

"Needless to say, while I was not her favorite person to begin with, after that she had it in for me as I was competition for her. I never made it to IT manager there, but I did become IT manager and GIS analyst at another company."

Tell Sharky your story the quick and easy way -- just send me your true tale of IT life at sharky@computerworld.com. You'll snag a snazzy Shark shirt if I use it. Add your comments below, and read some great old tales in the Sharkives.

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Copyright © 2014 IDG Communications, Inc.

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