Photo Day Fiasco

My Thesis project: supply-chain of hospital stock

Today was a those really stressful day; one of those days that makes me wonder, 'Why the heck am I doing this engineering thing anyway?'  To make matters worse, the most ridiculous thing happened, but I'll get to that in a second...

For starters, I had my first 'tiff' at the hospital with the ward clerk, (a person who is CRUCIAL to the success of my project). Let me put it this way, if I don't get her to do her job and do it well, then I had just better go home, curl up in bed and watch Gossip Girl!    But no, I decided instead to loaf my way back to the office, grumbling, and just do the work myself...The problem is that it's not sustainable if I do it! So I mooched around for a bit, cursing my fate until I thought, 'Wait, this person is just a clerk in a smelly, dirty trauma ward. You have a mission and that is to save this sick hospital for the patients who need it! You need to find a way to make this work.' So I took it straight to the top! The Superintendent (who calls me 'the little lady with big ideas') was more than willing to listen, and tomorrow we're calling a few key people in, including the clerk, and finding a solution!

After that, I went to lunch with the MBA student who is doing an action research project on how the hospital is adopting and adapting to the Lean Changes that are happening (i.e. the changes I'm making!). So we go to long street, and sit in this nice cafe, but I was starving so I suggest we find some place better.  Down the street, I'm drawn in by the smell of falaffel and end up making us go to a really dodgy take away for a schwarma!  Well, being interviewed at a dirty table with Indian music playing in the background was not ideal, I realize only after I had ordered and paid for the meal! But it was ok...until the phone rang!

DW:   Engineer-Chic, where the hell are you?

EC:    Oh, just having lunch on long street

DW: er...you do know that today is class photo day and you're missing it!


EC:  Aaaah! Oh *N%# ! I completely forgot! Stall them I'll be there in like ten minutes!

So Ms MBA races me in her fancy car to campus and I gallop into the place, falling and clutching at my belongings, hair flying everywhere, to see my entire class assembled in neat rows and formal clothing.  The group erupts in shouts of "Wait!" as I tumble into a row, and push my way right into the center (of course!), just in time for the final, 'wacky' photo.

I tried to stand very straight and proper! Hopefully they can photoshop me into the rest. Well, at least I made one!


Photo's like this line the corridor in the Mech Eng Department...Apart from the clothes and colour (of the picture and the people), not much has changed...Well, not we have 4 girls



All in all, standing there amongst these 100 or so guys all dressed up in suits and ties (well there are like 3 other girls too), knowing that I'd come that far with these awesome people, and shared so much joy and suffering...and that at the end of this year, they are all gonna go off and do great things, and that I was there amongst them..I made it, I Survived!  well, it made me feel quite special! I'm trilled that I'm an engineer! Even though it was a rough day, I couldn't see myself anywhere else!

Ooooh! And I got my new (second-hand) washing machine yesterday! I worked like a charm but the outlet pipe lipped out of the sink and flooded my whole kitchen. Again. Sigh...it never ends...