For the past week, I worked full 7 days for a report that is to be meant for a school's biannual update. The report is actually a compilation of 3 persons' works (a Junior's, a Senior's, and mine), and at first, I was supposed to be the one who collate all the works. I was told this on last last Sunday (20 Feb) and Prof said that he "would like to see it by last February", which I assumed that today it should have been submitted to him.
So, since that last last Sunday, I totally put myself into making the report. Because I believe that the deadline is rather tight ahead. It was quite tiring work (making the report), because firstly, Prof asked a review of a current building design guideline to be put in the report, and since Prof never asked to whom, I assumed that's my work, and I found no previous work about that that I could copy (:P), so I gotta work on it, and secondly, after my colleagues' part arrived to me, I found even more troubles, because it seems that my colleagues did not see how the report is going to be "logic". So, my brain was totally working on "how" to make the report logic, and it really absorb my time. Collating works is totally not easy, esp when you really want it to be good. (Anw, this is the first time my Prof ask me to be responsible of such thing, so of course I'd like to use this time to boost my performance).
Well, days went by, (and I worked fully in Saturday and Sunday too, making table of contents, number of pages, creating abstract and such), after a few editing after comments from my colleagues (the junior and the senior), the report was submitted to the Prof by my senior colleague at 2 pm today (and I feel my body is having fever today, I know I'm going to be sick). And of course I know that my work doesn't end just like that. Since it is just submitted, I expect some update in my email regarding editing of report after Prof's comments.
So, as expected, an email came regarding the report from my senior. But I felt so angry after reading the email. My senior said:
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From: "Senior"
Sent: Monday, February 28, 2011 2:09 PM
To: "Me"
Cc: "Prof"
Subject: report
Hi "Me",
Can you please send me the report of Word format. Prof. asked me to check the English and I need to edit the report. Thank you.
Best regards,
"Senior"
From: "Prof"
Sent: 2011年2月28日 15:47
To: "Senior"
Subject: report
Dear "Senior"
Have you read through the report and sort out the English part?
Please try to do that first before I read it. How is your family?
Thank you.
"Prof"
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My senior said he needed to edit the report. I found it so rude. How come he can just say he "need to edit" the report. Hello! Those are my words in the report that I have spent my time just to write nicely and in orderly manner. At first when I sent to him for him to see (I finished yesterday night (830pm) actually, so I have sent to others by then in "pdf" format, cos "Words" format seems messy), he said nothing about the language usage. Means, he WAS OK with what I wrote. But, just because Prof asked :"Hello, have you checked the language usage in the report?" And he said he wanted to edit it? NO WAY!! How if he really edit and change the words composition I have worked on?!?!?! And furthermore, Prof DON'T ask us to EDIT! Hello.. he just asked whether the report HAS BEEN CHECKED AGAIN. Ok, so I replied "nicely" to him saying that that's not what Prof meant. But he replied to me like this:
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From: "Senior"
Sent: Monday, February 28, 2011 4:28 PM
To: "Me"
Subject: RE: report
As shown below in the email sent by Prof. , he asked me to check English first before he reads it. If you are very confident that there is no English errors in this report. Please tell Prof. directly that there is no need to check again for me. If not, please send me the Chapters 1, 2, 4 and 5. Thank you!
Best regards,
"Senior"
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What the %$^&#$^%! Of course, I am confident. He even asked only my part that is to be sent to him. So, you think yours don't contain logic error?? I am the one edited the report, including your part, so that it would be logically sound, you know!! (ok lah, disclaimer: overall his part contain no logic error, because it is an excerpt of the paper he has written before, however i need to edit them to fit into the report). And furthermore, you have cc-ed Prof asking about the works to be sent to you at the first time (see above first email). So, I believe (if my Prof is "really" clever), Prof knows that it is me who do everything, yeah! But still, as my senior said, I said directly to the Prof that I'm confident about the report, and that I am the one who collated the report, bla bla bla. Huff.. no comment reply from Prof yet, I hope it really means good. #expectingfor"important"emailtomorrow
Hm, it's 530pm now. The conversation between the senior and me has stopped. Just need to wait for Prof's comments about the report. Still need to present this Wed, akh, no update yet! Works, works, works.. I hope that it is right for me to defend myself in front of my Senior #onlybosscancorrectme
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Anw, has any of my friends here wondering how come from Prof ask me to collate the work at first then my senior is the one in the end seem to be responsible?
So, on last Friday morning (it means almost report deadline), Prof emailed (I translated to human language so that everybody can understand) like this:
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From: "Prof"
Sent: 2011年2月25日 7:40
To: "Senior"; "Me"; "Junior"
Cc: "Another Senior Going to Write His Thesis"
Subject: RE: Design guideline
Dear "Me", "Junior, "Senior"
ALARM! ALARM! ALARM!
There is a change in current design guideline. We have to put it in the report.
*Panic**Panic**Panic*
"Senior", I assign you to be in charge of the whole report.
Regards,
"Prof"
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Prof sent that kind of email after 5 days I have been working on the report and reviewing the guideline as what he said to me firstly. The review of the guideline has been finished by me, hey! And how come Prof can say like that, has he forgotten that he firstly asked me to do all the works?? How come he can ask somebody else to be responsible without even asking me?? Well, there was some kind of misunderstanding with him since the beginning of my PhD, so actually, though upset, I'm not surprised that he still doesn't trust me. So anyway.. I replied "to" my senior "cc-ed" my Prof the parts that I have finished working on saying that I'm still working on other parts and hope to be able to be sent to my-senior-in-charge by time.
Well, on that Friday, because I was really still working on collating the parts so that the report would be logic, I asked for discussion with the senior and the junior about the direction of the report (I was stucked then). And meeting the Junior, only to find out that actually the Senior is not in town since that last last Sunday, until the next ONE MONTH!! And my Prof still asked him to be in-charge, while I know that by middle of this month, the report has to be submitted to an organization, means that the in-charge will still be not in town. HAHAHA, I JUST LAUGH at that! This is EVEN FUNNIER than GAGS! Works can't stop following you even you are in holiday, hahahaha! Oh, no, I dun't wanna be like that one day, but I can't stop laughing!!
Disclaimer: the person writing this has no bad intention or bad relationship with the Senior, basically she was just angry about the way the world treated her works. #worksonlyonweekdays
