Working in customer support means relying on a variety of skills. But at the root of it all, my job is to solve problems. Sometimes a problem has a simple solution and other times the solution is far more complex. Then there are those times where the journey to get to a solution is far longer than the solution itself. This week was a good example of that. Twice, I took a long road to a simple fix.

No Network. No problem.

The first time was a customer had a problem accessing anything on the network from his laptop. The customer called in to the help desk and saying this is a critical issue because he had meetings to attend later in the morning and couldn’t access anything on the network.

This meant no internet. No email. No shared network drives. The customer could log-in only due to the laptop caching his credentials.

I opened up the network connections and saw the laptop had a valid IP address for our wired network. And I also saw an active VPN connection. This was strange since I had just booted the computer and had not connected to the VPN yet.

I attempted to close the connection. Access is Denied. I attempted to disable the connection. Access is Denied. I tried to launch the VPN client and got an error stating it was already open and running. It was not.

I could not access either my network account nor my administrative network account due to the computer not being able to access network servers to authenticate me.

I could not access the local administrator account because the password is scrambled for security and the laptop is encrypted so none of the password reset tools work without decrypting the laptop. Decryption takes 6+ hours and encryption takes the same. Not an option for my customer.

I did have access to a program called Privilege Manager which enables my customer to run most applications with administrator rights. This was my way in.

I had the customer enter their password and opened a command prompt. From there, I typed explorer /separate to open a new Windows Explorer window.

I then opened network connections and disabled the VPN connection. As soon as I did that, network connectivity was restored. I opened Outlook and new mail flowed in. I opened Firefox and the start page loaded.

My customer was thrilled. I had fixed his problem in time for his meeting.

But I didn’t stop there. I noticed the VPN client was out of date so I took a few moments to download and install an updated VPN client. I ran an automated tool called PatchMyPC and updated Java, Flash and other common applications automatically.

I resolved my customer’s problem in the time he needed it done and I proactively upgraded Java and Flash to close security holes. The tool also upgraded Acrobat Reader which was a couple of versions old.

A bit of prevention goes a long way and prevents possible calls in the future which means my customer can keep working and not have to call me in the future for something I could have prevented.

Part of my job is to limit the number of times my customers need to call me for help.

Virtual Private Networking.

The second time was a customer needed to use the company’s VPN connection from home. This story has a great moral to it and is a clear case of making a Rookie Mistake and an example of thinking outside the box to find a creative solution.

I installed the VPN client for the customer and tested its interaction with the ID cards we’re required to use for accessing the VPN off-site and everything worked beautifully. The two-factor authentication was authenticating. The PIN card was being read and authenticated with the VPN servers.

The customer took the computer home to test and was still experiencing problems. The computer in question is a 1st Generation MacBook Air. This computer has one USB port.

This would not be a problem in most cases. However, in our environment the wireless on site does not work with the offsite VPN because it’s redundant. In order to test the offsite connection from on site, I needed to plug into our network. Again, not a problem most of the time but the MacBook Air has no network port.

In order to test this computer with the customer I would need to connect the USB ID card reader and a USB network dongle to plug into the network. I needed to plug these two devices into a computer with only one USB port.

I did not have a USB hub to connect to the computer. Nor does it have any other ports to plug into. The computer has only 1 USB, 1 Micro-DVI and 1 headphone port on it.

I tried a variety of keyboards with USB ports on them but they didn’t have enough power for either the network dongle or the card reader so while one would work, the other would fail.

As a last resort, I tried an aluminum Apple keyboard. I didn’t hold much hope as I had tried older Apple keyboards and been unsuccessful each time.

However, this time it worked. I plugged the keyboard into the MacBook Air with a network dongle plugged into one USB port and an ID reader on the other USB port. It all worked.

I wired into the network and got a connection. Then I inserted the customer’s ID card and it read the card and requested the PIN which the customer entered and the VPN client connected.

Then I explained to the customer to connect at home she would only need to connect to her wireless network and open the VPN client then insert her card into the reader.

And this is where my Rookie Mistake occurred. After we had done all of this, she mentioned she was trying to get access to the Remote Desktop environment from the laptop.

This requires a network connection and then launching the Mac version of Remote Desktop to a virtual Window environment with her username and password. She had no need for the VPN client, the ID card to log-in or anything of the elaborate testing setup.

I thought I understood what she wanted. But as it turns out, I did not. Just because a customer asks for something such as “I can’t access the VPN from home.” Be sure to clarify and make sure you’re fixing the problem the customer is actually having instead of fixing a separate problem that the customer wasn’t even aware existed.

After hearing about the new podcast Pat Dryburgh has started I was intrigued. Hundred Down is his journey to losing 100 pounds.

I’ve had this same battle with my weight for years and I’ll win some minor battles and then fall back into my bad habits. Upon finding Hundred Down this evening, I subscribed to the podcast and have listened to all four episodes in a row.

I was inspired to follow in his footsteps and use this as a motivation to take better control of my life and weight. After a number of false starts, I am going to dedicate myself to getting 10,000 steps every single day and tracking my progress with my Fitbit I’ve had for a year now.

I know what I am capable of and how I can get to where I need to be. I’m just not doing it.

I am going to start eating better. I am going to cut down on soda again. I was only drinking diet for the longest time but now have started drinking regular sodas. Mountain Dew White Out and Voltage have led me astray all too easily.

No more fatty sodas. Until I can cut caffeine out of my life, entirely, diet sodas only. And water, lots more water. I go through cycles where I’ll drink lots of water then get tired of it and stop drinking so much. Even if I mix in flavorings to it, or filter it through the Brita filter.

The recent addition of a Sodastream has been a boon to my water drinking. Not because of the soda I am making. I love seltzer water. So I’ve been making my own and drinking large bottles of that nearly every night.

I need to start eating better too. That’s another area I was doing very well at, then I fell off the wagon as well. I’ve been eating more sweets and snacking more. I’ve been eating more packaged foods and allowing the sleepiness and laziness to take over.

Sleep.

That is the biggest change I need to make. I am averaging 5 hours of sleep per night during the week. This is making me chronically overtired and I rely on caffeine to get me through the day.

I need to find a way to sleep more and sleep better. Going to sleep after 1am and waking up at 7am everyday is not sustainable.

I am hoping the changes in diet, exercise and food will let me live the life I want to live and make the changes I want to see in myself.

No one is going to do it for me. I need to do it for myself.

So here I go…

When I was a boy, my dentist would grade my flossing and brushing. After each visit, I would receive a grade just like I did in school. The goal was an A and with that A came a gift certificate to the local mall.

I think it was $5 to the arcade or the mall in general. It wasn’t a lot to an adult but to a boy, this was a lot of money. But it never worked for me. I wasn’t motivated by money. Even money I could have easily gotten.

I had no internal motivation for flossing. I would brush fairly well, but no better than C or B- quality. My school grades were much higher but I was chastised every 6 months for my poor oral care grades.

Each time after his chiding, he would reiterate the gift certificate and tell me exactly what I had to do to earn it and be an A+ caretaker of my teeth.

But I wasn’t motivated. I didn’t see the point. My teeth were fine. I was a kid. I was stupid.

Later in life, I’ve struggled to develop a flossing habit. I’m an A+ brusher but I still hover around a C in flossing.

I’ve tried water picks. I’ve tried picks that are easier to use than floss in my eyes. I’ve tried to motivate myself in a number of ways.

Nothing has really worked.

I am trying something new. I downloaded an app for my iPhone called Lift. The idea behind the app is to choose a couple of things I want to make a habit out of. Then I can check them off each day as I do them.

I am encouraged to build a streak, and I can interact with other people trying to do the same thing. I am not using it for the social aspect because I want to interact with people. But by making it a social experience I can pretend other people are watching me.

And judging me when I fail to meet my goals for the day. This idea of being watched and judged is going to keep me motivated. Building a streak to make something like flossing a habit instead of a struggle is the main goal.

This is only day one of my experience but I am liking Lift so far and it’s very quick and simple to remember. I have a notification set for each of my habits to alert me at different times of the day.

This is important because I want to take my multivitamin in the morning then read before bed. I get an alert for both at the times I’ve selected.

The most important thing for a new system to be successful in my life is it must adapt to my life, not force me to adapt to the app. Lift does this perfectly and I am very happy with it so far.

Hopefully in a month I will have healthier teeth, walked everyday, read a book and written everyday and taken my vitamins.

Are you working on habits in your own life? How are you trying to make changes to better yourself?

I look out this windows every work day. Sometimes it’s sunny. Other times rainy or snowy.

Often times the sky is blue, the clouds are white and the wind blowing through the trees beckons me to them.

This window sits at the end of a long hallway.

Even on gray days like today, my view out this window is enticing. I work in a basement most of the day. No windows. No light. It’s only when I venture out of my lair to run tickets and see customers do I get to enjoy a view outside.

Something other than pixels. Screens. Beige. Dreary, stained basement carpet. It’s nice to look at something more. Something alive and moving.

The basement office is always stagnant. Everyday it’s the same colors, smells, sights and sounds.

Outside is vibrant and alive.

Whenever I are this window, I wish I could walk up to it and fly right through it out to the sky. To soar among the treetops.

To feel the wind on my face. To hear the bustling world below. To see the colors and sights. To smell the air.

To be free of this basement. To be free of my bonds and responsibilities.

To fly free.

I love going to the movies. I go on a weekday night, not too late, and not to anything too new. I like going to a quiet theater.

There are no teenagers. There are no children. There are few adults and they are respectful. There is no opening night crowd, though those have their place too.

There is nothing to distract me from the movie. It’s just me, my snacks and the movie.

I love going to the movies because it’s a quiet time where I can turn off the outside world and be transported to a new one. I allow the suspension of disbelief to overtake me.

I liken the experience to the iPad. There is only time and space for one thing at a time. There is no internet to pull my attention. No one is going to call, email or talk to me.

I am sitting in that dark room, staring at the screen, completely taken in by the new world I am living in for the next couple of hours.

I enjoy that movies seem to be getting longer. I remember a time when most would barely clock in at 90 minutes, and often times barely run over an hour.

Looking over the list tonight, most were at least two hours and Lincoln clocking in at 2.5 hours. I like the longer movies because I get more involved in the story when there is more story to tell.

Two hours are about perfect to tell a story and not skip any key parts. It’s also not so long as to cause lulls in the plot.

Part of the film that drags on far too long and feels disjointed with the story with a perfect way to lose the

Movie theaters are magic and I relive that magic every time I visit.