My Run-in with ‘orlando wiet’
So, someone asked me about ‘orlando wiet’. It’s funny how names or phrases stick in your head, even years later. This wasn’t some big project or anything, more like a weird little bump in the road back in, oh, maybe 2018? I think it was.
I remember getting this task list, scribbled down real quick by my manager at the time. We were working on updating some old internal documentation system. Pretty boring stuff, honestly. Most items were clear, like ‘update user guides’ or ‘check image links’. But then there was this one line item: ‘check orlando wiet status’.
I stared at it for a good while. Orlando Wiet? Sounded like a person. Did we hire someone named Orlando Wiet? Was he a consultant? Why did I need to check his status? Seemed odd for a documentation update task.
My first step, naturally, was asking the guy next to me. Dave. Super helpful guy, usually knew everything. I showed him the note. He just squinted at it, shook his head. “Never heard of him,” he said. Okay, so not a new hire probably.
Then I thought, maybe it’s some kind of software? Or a server? We had tons of weird internal names for things. So, I did the next logical thing:
- I searched our internal network drives. Nothing.
- I checked the company directory. No Orlando Wiet.
- I even looked through old project folders, thinking maybe it was an old codename. Still nothing.
This took up like, half an hour. Just chasing this weird name. I was getting a bit frustrated, you know? Felt like I was on a wild goose chase while actual work was piling up. Finally, I decided to just go ask the manager directly. He was always busy, so I usually tried to figure things out myself first.
I found him grabbing coffee. Showed him the note. “This ‘orlando wiet’ thing,” I started, “I can’t find any info on it. Who is he? Or what is it?”
He looked at the note, then started laughing. Not a small chuckle, like a full laugh. Took me a second. Then he pointed at the scribbled note. “That’s not ‘orlando wiet’,” he said, still laughing. “That’s ‘Orlando WT‘. WT for Water Tower. It’s the backup server stack we nicknamed ‘Water Tower’ because it’s in that awkward tall rack by the window in the old server room. I just need you to ping it, check if it’s online.”
My handwriting is terrible, especially when rushed,” he added. Orlando WT. Not Orlando Wiet. It was just bad handwriting and a weird nickname.
So yeah. That was my big encounter with ‘orlando wiet’. Wasn’t a person, wasn’t a secret project. Just a messy note about pinging a server rack named after a water tower. Spent half an hour being confused over absolutely nothing. It’s kind of a reminder, I guess. Sometimes the simplest explanation is the right one, and communication, clear communication, is pretty important. Or at least legible handwriting.
