the technical pains

Problem 1:
Keyboard that spews out numbers when characters are typed, and vice versa.

Root Cause :
Water spilt accidentally onto keyboard while trying to work on the floor at my cousin's place in Chicago and trying to grab the water from the table above

Impact :
Many hours wasted trying to delete extra numbers when characters are typed, and vice versa
Unnecessary stress due to loss of productivity and having to catch up with work causing more stress

Solution :
Managed to finally get the Dell technician to come on site to replace with a new keyboard. Now I can bring the laptop to meetings and not be embarrassed when I type with the projector on, and having to explain why I have a keyboard that spews out numbers when characters are typed, and vice versa.


Problem 2 :
Erratic wifi at the client site

Root Cause :
2 wifi devices installed in the company laptop

Impact : 
Many hours wasted trying to copy and paste IM conversations with client and colleagues
Many hours wasted trying to wait for emails to be sent out, giving the impression of lack of timely responses
Unnecessary stress due to loss of productivity and having to introduce other tasks while waiting for wifi to be up again, throwing original schedule off balance causing more stress

Solution :
Managed to get Remote Support from Dalian who speaks with an American accent to take control of my laptop, figured out the root cause, uninstalled the extra wifi device. Now I have almost uninterrupted wifi at the office and don't have to feel frustrated having to explain why I'm offline all the time.


Problem 3 :
Having to plug in all cables (external monitor, external keyboard, power plug and mouse) manually

Root Cause :
Not docking station installed at my cubicle

Impact : 
Many minutes wasted trying to plug and unplug cables when there's up to 6-8 meetings in a day to be attended
Unnecessary stress due to loss of productivity

Solution :
Managed to get approval from the client to get their Helpdesk to install a docking station for me. Now I can easily dock the laptop and get started on work immediately, or vice versa when I need to dash off for meetings with the laptop.



Benefits of solving the above :
I think I can safely say that even though the above seem very minor on their own, they did add considerable stress because when I finally had all of the above sorted out (in various stages throughout the past few weeks), I could breathe a sigh of relief.

Yes I could have thought of those solutions earlier, and made some time to solve them, but just didn't think of them when I'm swamped with work. Note to self : To fix the leaking roof before the roof collapses and cause even worse damage and stress!