Chapter 1: First steps, baby steps

7. The president’s Midnight Messaging Mission

It was an evening like no other when we received that 5pm call that would take us on an unexpected adventure. The US president would be visiting a luxurious 6-star hotel by Lake Como, and it seemed he couldn’t bear to be without his favorite messaging system. In true tech support fashion, my colleague Max and I found ourselves rushing there (an hour drive from Milan) to install the hardware and software necessary to meet the president’s demands, all under the veil of night, so that the day after it would all be up and running.

Max, with his rebel look and perpetual tan, and I, equipped with a trusty toolbox, navigated the winding roads of Lake Como in our quest to set up this makeshift command center in the heart of opulence. As we arrived, we were greeted by the hotel staff, who looked at us with a mixture of curiosity and confusion.

Max couldn’t resist a sarcastic quip, “I hope they have a red carpet rolled out for us, too.”

We were ushered into the hotel’s extravagant meeting room, where we quickly set up the necessary equipment, praying that the president’s need for communication was as urgent as they made it out to be, and then headed into our comfort space: the datacenter, where all the opulence was suddenly gone, and we were back with our dusty and noisy servers! After a few hours of late-night work, we finally managed to get the messaging system up and running to presidential standards.

As the first rays of dawn broke over the tranquil waters of Lake Como, Max and I exchanged exhausted but triumphant glances. We had saved the day (or rather, the night) for the President and our company. It wasn’t every day that you got to play tech superhero with such a scenic backdrop. We thought maybe they would offer us a room, or at least breakfast, but no – just a thank you and goodbye.  Max grinned, rubbing his hands together in mock excitement. “Well, another glamorous night on the job. Who would’ve thought we’d be the IT heroes of a presidential rendezvous?” We headed straight back to the office for our 9am coffee, sharing stories of our impromptu adventure with our colleagues, who couldn’t help but chuckle at the surreal nature of our work.

That time when the US president was visiting a 6 stars hotel by lake Como and suddenly their staff decided he could not do without his favorite messaging system on the internal telephone line. Me and my colleague Max then had to run during the night to install the hardware and the software in this mega fancy hotel – and then came back at dawn with a job well done and having seen a beautiful sunrise by the lake.