Touring OmniTI

Posted by santosj on November 18, 2006

It was by chance and this crazy post that caught the attention of Laura Thomson that I was able to visit OmniTI. To me, the professional world exists at another level above average existence. I never thought I would be able to tour any business establishment, so I didn’t think to ask in a sane matter. It is impressive that any company would open their doors to the average person who is not a customer.

The Talk

I was expecting, just to be shown around, ask a few questions about how the place was run, and be kicked out the door. However, I think it was a treat to actually sit down and have a discussion with Laura, George, and Wez after the tour. It was fun to engage in a PHP discussion without having the other person just nod. Talked about PHP and some other stuff.

The Tour

Why it was exciting?

To be able to meet some prominent developers and leaders of PHP, who wouldn’t be excited?

It might not sound like much, or at least it didn’t seem like much to the people I told, but from an academic perspective, it was a chance to see what it like in a professional development office. There is some anxiety to not knowing what happens at a professional workplace and leaves much to the imagination. I really had no idea what to expect and I can imagine that if I ever do get a professional job that the place would look something like OmniTI, until I do get a professional job and find it is exactly like Dilbert.

The details

I was kind of shocked at how the developers worked in such an open space. One without cubicles and with wavy desks. It does help to lighten the mood, in my opinion. It is quite depressing to be confined to a tight space, maddening even. I had to clean cubicles, it was depressing just being in there just for a few seconds. I think it is just the idea of isolation in a room full of people. You could die and no one would know until they either smelled your corpse or walked by.

The layout was logical, keeping the “work” and the “client” areas away from each other. However, the “boss” areas are quite close to the work area, so slacking off probably isn’t an issue, since you can’t hide, like you can in a cubicle.

I probably should have said something about not being able to hear, but I mostly caught the gist of the speaker. Well, it wasn’t that I couldn’t pick up and understand the complete conversation. I did miss a few joke cues, because it took to long to realize what was being said was a joke. It is one regret that I keep forgetting that it is okay to tell people that I have a hearing problem.

Wez was cool.

Yeah, Chris had left before I arrived, but Wez was there, which was just as cool. What was also cool was that Laura invited him to join in on the tour, so I had two people showing me around. Wez did reference a few things on my blog, both good and bad.

Wez was the complete opposite of what I imagined. I kind of thought he would be wider and shorter, but no, he is a giant (at least 6 feet) and skinny. Reminded me of a friend I have, except Wez is skinnier. It is the shirts I think, which is why I tuck my shirts in. I’m fat, but eh, I don’t want to look any bigger than I am now.

I do have frustrations with PDO, but it is mostly from learning something new. I thought it was and still is a great feature to have in PHP. I’m glad I had a chance to clarify that to him personally.

“We aren’t going to let you leave here alive.”

I didn’t reply to this for two reasons. The first reason was that I knew it was a joke, which was stated later in the tour. The second was that I had thought to say, “Yeah, I would like to see that happen,” or, “Whatever you want to do,” but I thought about it and it didn’t seem like a good idea to test fate and find that they had a Plan B “just in case.” I would have been more concerned if they knocked me out and I woke up tied to a table and suddenly hear a chainsaw starting in the background.

I also didn’t want to say, “Yeah, I say that all the time too,” and freak out the host, it is never good to potentially freak out the host. I discuss killing people all the time, so it wasn’t a big deal to me. For me, if I was really going to kill, then I wouldn’t tell it to their face, unless I was about to pull the trigger.

I do have a mental list (as to not leave evidence), but it is doubtful that I’ll ever kill them. Torture, yeah maybe. I think torture is more fun anyway. You can only kill someone once, but you can torture them for as long as you think they should live. It also leaves hope that they might make it out alive, which you can crush under the weight of a bullet hitting them in the heart. Make sure you laugh, it is more crazy that way.

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