For the last week or so, I’ve had this feeling that something is not quite right and this afternoon I think I finally figured out what it was. Over the last year or so, my average daily email intake was probably upwards of 100 a day… Now that I’ve moved over to a job that deals mainly with issues inside the organization, I’m down to maybe a dozen (that aren’t just cc’d to me for some reason). Today, I had two… that’s right, two emails. I think the strange feeling I’ve been having is my mind trying to figure out what to do with three hours of extra time during the day that use to be occupied by answering email. For some reason I’m sure something will crop up to fill the void.
Tag Archives: work
Finally…
My four-month odyssey to move from one end of the building to another seems to be complete this week. I say seems, of course, because every advance on this front has been beaten back up till this point. Now, finally, with all my workly possessions moved into my new digs, taking marching orders from my new boss, and only occasional questions from the old, I dare to hope this could be the real deal. I forgot what it was like not to be continually surrounded by procedural dysfunction. I haven’t wanted to beat anyone to death with their own arms for at least three days… and that might just be a personal best.
Feel the power…
ABC News ran a feature tonight about the “greedy” power companies who were turning off the utilities of people who were not paying their bills. Of course they trotted out the usual suspects… The family of 6, the old woman raising her grandchild, etc. All they said of the companies was that they were stopping service because delinquencies drive up the price for paying customers. Yes, Mr and Mrs Dontpaymybills and all the ships at sea, that’s how it works in this country. We trade goods and services for money or the promise of money at some predetermined point in the future. That’s what allows us to not all raise corn and cows to feed ourselves.
I know I rant on this a lot, but I just have a hard time getting past the idea that our countrymen are surprised that they’re expected to pay for the goods and services they consume. I was raised believing that this country was about the right to pursue happiness… Not necessarily the right to have it. In economics, there’s a principle that everyone learns in their 101 class that says “there’s no such thing as a free lunch.” The consequences of basing an economic system on the premise that everyone should have a free lunch if they want one died off with the Soviet Union. Cuba stays afloat because of the tourist dollars generated from capitalist Europe. China’s Communist party stays in power because they have adopted measured amounts of capitalism and that trend is increasing over time.
But, you say the top 1% of earners are running away with the pie. It’s true that their part of the pie has grown, but the entire pie has gotten larger too. There are more millionaires per capita today than at any time in the history of the Republic. That doesn’t mean that these individuals have jobs making $700,000 a year, just that they were smart with what they did with their money. Get out of school making $35k a year, max out your contribution to your IRA and 401k, live under your means, and in 35 years when you’re eligible to retire, guess what… You’re a millionaire too. Work another 5 or 6 years past eligibility, guess what… That’s right, another million. Compound interest and long-term market growth are beautiful things, friends.
So next time you’re watching the nightly news and tempted to sign onto the bandwagon that all our problems are caused by the big, bad corporations, take a look around at the decisions individuals have made that contribute to where they find themselves. The Invisible hand doesn’t just guide the market up, it guides it down too. Get in tune with that and you’ll really feel the power.
Swan Song…
This trip reminded me why I have enjoyed the work in emergency management since I first got the bug five years ago… It’s also reminded me why it’s time for me to go. While I’ve been here smoothing ruffled feathers and talking up our operation, I’ve been constantly peppered with emails from the home office about things that could more easily be handled by others. With a rare few exceptions, everyone in the office is senior to me in terms of years of service by 20-30 years. With that many years of experience stacked up, an office should be able to run for a week without sending major decisions through me for evaluation or to send in a report about how many of our people are working overseas. Sometimes I can’t quite shake the feeling that it’s amateur hour at the icecapades around here.
This trip is probably my last big roundup before moving on to other pastures, but one of the most gratifying things in it all is knowing that my opinions in the field are sought out by senior leaders and people who awed me when I was just starting out. It’s a little humbling… but fortunately, my ego is sufficiently large not to be too deflated by that.
What’s the opposite of the Midas Touch?
It’s been one of those weeks where you seem to have the opposite of the Midas Touch. Instead of turning to gold, everything you touch turns to a big steaming pile of shit. Of course there will be weeks like that from time to time, but this one was just exceptionally bad. I’m just starting to come down from the caffeine-fueled last week of class while on the road and readjusting to life as a semi-normal person. The antibiotics I was taking for a sinus infection didn’t quite get all of the little bastards, so I’m fighting off a sore throat again and not sleeping all that well. So, yeah, generally the week has been a real pisser.
Is there anything better in the world…
Somewhere out there the wind is blowing. Somewhere the world is coming apart at the seams. The phone doesn’t stop ringing and email flies across the country. … Sometime between teleconferences you look up… and smile… A warning order rattles off the printer. A nod, a word, and you can throw a team into the fight. Your crew is busy… and you’re in charge. Some days you hold it together by sheer force of personality, but know what? You’re a goddamn emergency manager… Is there anything better in the world?
Update in 30 words or less…
It’s been a busy week. Not bad, just busy. Mundane work stuff, really, so I will spare you all the details. On another note, The Soprano’s + HD = Love.
Not what I was expecting…
I’ve been holding off on writing this one for a few weeks now. The Army works in mysterious ways and human resource types adhere to a time-table that they alone know. Last Friday, I was asked formally to accept an offer to be the #2 for Plans and Ops. My portfolio is said to include all emergencies in the US, its territories, and dependencies. The plans for how we respond to earthquakes, wildfires, and terrorist attacks will have my fingerprints all over them. In planning sessions with other agencies, I can speak for and commit the organization to courses of action without racing up the chain for approval. The technical description is Lead Civil Planner, but it’s de facto Deputy Chief, Plans and Ops. HR has the paperwork in the queue and I’m expecting the final word to come down before the end of the year.
It’s the job I moved here to chase. The title bump and pay raise are the goal that kept me focused through the post-Christmas move last year and the only slightly organized chaos of creating an organization out of a half dozen empty rooms. It’s why my desk at home is covered almost every weekend with briefing books and white papers.
This should be a moment of supreme satisfaction. The capstone event of a five year race. Hell, most federal employees cap out at a GS-10 or -11 after a 25 or 30 year career. Even if I were to kick back and rest on my notional laurels, the sheer weight of attrition will keep me on an upward glidepath… Not necessarily because I’m the best, but because I happen to be holding the right grade. The whole thing feels a little hollow, really. I spend my life being prepared for the eventualities, but I wasn’t prepared for that. How’s that for irony.
P.S. Yeah, I know I shouldn’t be bitching about this, so tomorrow morning, I’m gonna suck it up and drive on until I figure out what’s next.
Unexpected turn of events…
My current boss has been “acting” in his position for the last year or so. Although he was one of three interviewed for the position, if I had been taking bets, he would have been the dark horse candidate, with the odds of him being selected being very long. While he has been “acting,” he’s been formally occupying the job that I really wanted… effectively meaning the only way I get promoted is if he gets promoted.
As of about 20 minutes ago, the word is officially on the street. The “old man” is getting officially kicked upstairs to the big office, freeing up “my” new position. There are still plenty of wickets to get through, but assuming that there are no serious hang-ups, a significant assumption when talking about a federal job, my promotion could come through sometime after the middle of next month.
I’ll still be playing with hurricanes, charging across the country at a moment’s notice, and probably having even less free time than I do now, but in the end, it’s the job that feels right. It’s the one that I’ve sacrificed for and the one that I’ve driven myself into the ground chasing. It’s here now, just flitting into reach. It’s here now and God help me, I want it. I know I’ve sure as hell earned it.
Fingers crossed…
I just found out I’m in the running for a new job/promotion. Actually it’s the job I was doing before I moved into my current one. They finally got around to opening it at the right pay grade and in the parlance of the HR pukes, I was “referred” for the position… Which basically means I should get the chance to interview for the position. I’m a little torn because it’s not an “emergency” job, which is what we all know I really want to be doing, but it’s more money, a straight 40-hour work-week, much less chance of getting called on a Friday morning to fly off to cover one crisis or another, and it puts me one step closer to wearing the gold keystone that’s been my goal since coming to work in government.
Basically, if they offer me the position, I don’t know that I can really turn it down. I’d have a better sense of things if I knew a promotion in my current assignment would be coming up, but since there’s someone currently sitting in the job I really want, this seems like the next best option. A la Woodward and Bernstein, my plan is to “follow the money..”
However, I’m putting the cart way before the horse here, so I’ll just keep my fingers crossed and see where I land when everything shakes out.
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