Random Access

Today was good. I slept in and was lazy for a couple of hours. I decided to head down to the inlaws’ for a while; so, I got the bike and rode down there… in the 90°+ weather. Can you say “Hot and sweaty,” boys and girls? It took about :30 for me to get there. And I completely spaced off the fact that they are doing construction on Redwood Road. *yay*

I finally got Jim and Sandi’s digicam properly interfaced with their computer. That was a plus. Adrian came down with a project that he was working on for Jim… and brought my laptop with him (BIGGER PLUS); I’d let him borrow it for a conference that he was attending last week. Sandi fixed a verra tasty dinner of chicken, rice and salad. Adrian left shortly after dinner. Jim and I watched “WHOSE LINE;” I had seen the first ep before. Jim, Sandi, and I sat around and talked for a couple of hours… and then I loaded my bike into Jim’s truck and he brought me home. Have I mentioned that my girlfriend has the 2nd coolest parents in the world? She does. Of course, my mother is coming to SLC this weekend, so it seems that a meeting of the parental units is in the offing. This, I consider a good thing.

Now, I’m sitting here watching “Galaxy Express 999” on Sci-Fi and chatting on IRC… trying to figure out what’s up for Mallday/Movienight.

I’ll probably post something new after DS9. Who knows.

Peace.

Today, work was not pleasant. Yeah, yeah… I know that I was expecting a breeze of a day. What I got was more like a hurricane.

• One city decided to send over 110,000 pieces of Return To Sender mail. We don’t even get that from them on a “normal” day; we usually get about 40-60,000 daily. This was just a *wee* bit out of the ordinary.
• Two cities for whom we were not even supposed to process decided to share their bounty with us.
• The plants whose mail we were supposed to work kept calling to ask “Can we get more people for our mail,” or “How soon will you have it back to us,” and other questions like that. *sigh*

On the plus side: No managers and – even though it seemed like we might – we did not have to call any O.T. for our relatively small crew.

Once again, I have to give credit to our DCOs for the incredible job they did in bringing all of the sites down AND doing it ahead of schedule!!!

After today’s crisis had passed, I decided to tackle making next week’s Operations Schedule. I know that it’s not part of my job to do it, but to be honest: As someone who’s on the workroom floor and knows what we do (and go through) on a day-to-day or hour-to-hour basis, I think that I have a slightly better feel for it than our Ops Manager. Of course, it may be just the sense of oneupmanship. I don’t know. Either way, I did the schedule. And I think it’s pretty damn good. And this week’s schedule was relatively braincramp-free! ::: happy dance:::

Jess’ folks were at the Independence Day celebration held at the University of Utah. I called them around 10:00pm to ask when the fireworks were going to start; they were scheduled to start around 10:20. Perfect.

For those of you who don’t know: Salt Lake City (which is really SLC and a BUNCH of smaller cities/towns that make up the SLC Metro area) is set in a valley between the Wasatch Mountains on the east and the Oquirrh (pronounced “OH-ker”) Mountains on the west. The university, or “The U” as it’s called, is nestled on “The Benches” of the Wasatch. SLC also uses a grid-like addressing system centered on Temple Square. Yeah, I know, who would have guessed THAT?!? The REC (the facility where Jess, Agrobat and I work) is roughly at 200 North and 2200 West. The U is across town about 400 South and 2100 East. (Here, they would say “2nd North, 22nd West” and “4th South, 21st East”)

Since The U is on the mountainside, it’s elevation was high enough to see the fireworks display from work. We let the DCOs log off for a few minutes to enjoy the spectacle. *sigh* Last year, Jess and I were off on the Fourth, so we actually got to GO to the event with her folks – Chicago and They Might Be Giants were there last year; this year, it was Huey Lewis and the News and SheDaisy.

I didn’t finish the schedule until WELL after my shift had ended, but there was NO WAY that I was going to leave half a schedule and come back to find that the second half had been “mysteriously” created in my absence. I decided to wait for Jess to finish up her shift and then follow her home. I went into the room where our mainframes are housed and shot the breeze with Dan, one of our techs. Dan is a veteran and long-time postal employee… but more than that: I think that he’s just a great person to know and he’s fun to talk to. All of our techs are. It was only :15 from the time that I left Jess at Ops until she was done and tracked us down, but we wound up staying about :45 past that just talking to Dan. We talked about things ranging from the economy to the Internet and being in the military. Okay, he and Jess talked about being in the military; I just listened. It was fun. I know that a lot of people may not think of sitting around talking as being “fun,” but it’s not just a matter of words.

• It’s seeing a glimmer of recognition…
• or the twinkle in someone’s eyes as they recall a fond memory…
• or hearing the rise and fall of their voice as they get into and behind their point…
• or just learning something new…

THAT is what I find “fun” about “just talking.”

And, though he probably won’t see this: Thanks to Dan for taking the time to talk with us.

We finished up our conversation, Jess and I got into our cars, and we were off! I’m glad that it was dark and that no one could see my singing (or at least making an attempt to sing) “Synchronicity II,” but I don’t think that it would have stopped if someone did.

Now, I’m off to meet Lord Morpheus and roam around The Dreaming.

Peace.

Happy Fourth of July!

I may not say it that often, but I think that it’s a wonderful privilege to live in a country where we are free to be different from each other and where that difference is recognized and appreciated. I’m not an idealist – I know that there are a number of closed-minded people in America (and the world), but I respect their right to be entitled to their own opinions – whether I agree with them or not. One of the things that I think that makes us great (ok, a little idealism here) is: We are all the same and yet we are different enough that we can all bring different ideas to the table and agree, disagree, or even agree to disagree about an issue… and at the end of the day, we can sit around the same table and at ourselves with our friends, neighbors and compatriots.

So once again, Happy Fourth of July and Happy Birthday, America. “God shed His Grace on thee.”

And now, back to our regularly scheduled LiveJournal…

Today at work was pretty smooth until the last few hours. We had more mail than we were expecting, so we had to call O.T. on everyone whose shift ended after 11:30pm. Although there was the requisite bitching and moaning, they were pretty good about it. AND, they keyed a helluva lot of mail… quickly and efficiently! We were able to cancel O.T. at 1am. And there was much rejoicing.

I came home and watched DS9. I know: it’s SO out of character for me to do that. It was one of my all-time favorite episodes “Trials and Tribble-ations.” In it, the DS9 crew goes old school and meets Kirk and the original crew – It’s a blast! Lots of in-jokes and other silliness. As usual, I watched it and chatted on IRC with a friend of mine; he hadn’t seen this episode before. I think that this made it even more fun because he’s a Kirk fan and I’m a Sisko fan (actually, I’m an Avery Brooks fan… but I won’t split hairs here). I think that they should package both episodes (“The Trouble with Tribbles” from the original series and “Trials and Tribble-ations” from DS9) together.

I guess that this is the point where I openly admit: I’m a Star Trek geek. It’s not like you couldn’t have pieced that together from my previous posts. I’m an overgrown Toys ‘R’ Us kid, too. Go figure.

Special Note To the Goddess of Victory: Everything will be fine. Just take your time and don’t try to rush things – enjoy the process even though it is difficult and may not always go just the way you want. You can bend my ear anytime you need someone to listen or to give non-critical feedback. As Sting said: “If I ever lose my faith in you…”

Well, it’s early and I have to get up later… I know what you’re probably thinking: “Isn’t the Post Office closed on the Fourth?”

• The short answer: No.
• The long answer: Customer service operations (your local station or branch and carrier service) do not operate on holidays and Sundays, but the USPS works 24/7/365… or 366 on a Leap Year. Just because your mail isn’t delivered on a given day doesn’t mean that mail isn’t processed on that day – that’s how we can make sure that it’s delivered the next day. And, as one of the people “behind the scenes,” I get to go to work tomorrow… um…. today.

I guess that means that I should at least make an effort to get some sleep.

More later.

Peace.

I got to bed about 4:15 this morning and read some of Hush Money, a Spenser novel by Robert B. Parker. Jess called around 4:30 to say that she’d be late (click HERE to read why). I read a little more, then went to sleep. I must have been COMPLETELY out of it, because I don’t remember her coming in. I vaguely remember rolling over at some point after the sun was up and asking her when she got in. I didn’t set the alarm – intentionally – and slept in. That’s the ONE benefit of working 5:30 – 2am today: Oversleeping was not too big a concern. I woke up somewhere around 12:30 or 12:40… and then just laid there. Staring at the ceiling. Watching the clock. Contemplating the mysteries of navel lint. Whatever. Around 1:10, Sandi called to ask me to look up some flight information for our Disneyland trip – their DSL connection was being temperamental. This was as good a reason as any to get up, so I did.

After looking up the flight details, I took care of the daily hygiene ritual and contemplated the mysteries of navel lint again. No, that’s not right… Oh, yeah, I contemplated what I wanted to eat for “breakfast.” Half an hour later, I still haven’t eaten. Oh, well.

Sixteen more work hours and it’s the weekend. I have no idea what fun our Ops Manager who does the supervisor schedule has planned for me next week… and I probably won’t know until Thursday. Hopefully, she will remember that I had asked for this weekend off – since my parents are coming out for a visit. This leaves the potential for one of three things:

• I won’t get the weekend off and have to snap my foot off in someone’s ass.
• I’ll get the weekend off and won’t have to snap my foot off in someone’s ass.
• I won’t supervise next week – and will be keying – so, it won’t matter… but still snap off a little something, for good measure.

I’d better get something to eat and finish getting the work duds together. OH YEAH! That reminds me…

I wanted to take a minute to rant about a pet peeve: PERSONAL SPACE. I am a FIRM believer that everyone is entitled to their own space. I like to think of it as a personal bubble that is not to be invaded unless you give someone permission to enter it. Friends and family are generally okay to get within contact range without asking. People that you are only passingly familiar with? No. Back off. If I want you inside my space, you’ll be invited. Yesterday, I decided to wear a pair of braces (suspenders) with my pants instead of a belt. NOTE: It is just WRONG to wear a belt AND braces together. Period. I had at least two people who complemented me on them… and then came up and felt them. *GRRR* Rather than read them up one side and down the other, I rode out the wave of irritation with all the grace and aplomb I could muster. I even thanked them for the complements. *sigh* Sorry… had to get that off my chest. What I really wanted to say was: Please, don’t assume that just because you THINK that you know someone that you are automatically granted access to their space. Everyone deserves the right to have whatever sized boundaries that they choose – or even need – between them and the next person. For some, it’s a few feet; for others, a few inches. Mine seems to be about a foot… and then you’re crossing the DEW (Distant Early Warning) Line. After all, does it really take THAT much extra effort to ask?

::: end of rant :::

For more information on where the term “DEW Line” comes from, click HERE

That’s it for now.

Peace.

Work.

*sigh*

Long story, short version:

LOTS of mail.
We called overtime.
DCOs grumbled.
DCOs processed mail.
Lots of mail went away.
We canceled overtime.
Overtime DCOs went home.
More mail went away.
We sent DCOs home.
The end.

It turns out that I was slightly mistaken about senior managers being there today: Our Industrial Engineer (#4 in the chain-of-command) was there until 6:30pm and the two Ops Managers stuck their heads in the door on their way home from the training class that they attended. So… effectively: No senior managers. One more day of this, one day of NO managers, and then it’s my weekend!

I just want to say that I have the coolest girlfriend in the world and she has the 2nd coolest parents in the world. I finally made it down there this afternoon and Sandi sent me to work with some home cookin’ for dinner – pork chops, steamed veggies, and rice. Jess even stopped at the store on her way to work and bought me a Gatorade Frost. Someone at work saw my lunch and said that I was spoiled. My response: “Yup! Rotten!!!”

Anyway, today was pretty painless, so I am going to get my dinner (fish fillets and fries), have a Corona, and watch The Sisko Show….um, I mean “Deep Space Nine.”

More later.

Peace.

Not much to report so far….

Woke up…
Went through the morning hygiene rituals…
Ironed clothes…
Decided that Pizza Hut will most likely prepare my lunch today…

Heading down to the inlaws’ for a few before work.

On the plus side: It’s my “Wednesday,” and that can’t be a bad thing.

More later.

Peace.

My day:
I left a little early, stopped and Beans & Brews, and had a nice leisurely drive to work. Got to work and there was mail, the keyers were there, everyone was happy. Look: it’s my delusion, so shut up!!! Anyway, all was happy and a typically slow Sunday… and then all Hell decided to break loose. So to speak. ::: genuflect :::

We had lots – did I mention “PLENTY” – of DCOs on duty.
Mail ran out – which is normally a “good” thing.
The sites said that they didn’t have anything to send us.
*Yay*
So…. we asked people if they wanted to go home early. That helped. A little.
We SENT people home early. That helped even less.
We moaned and wailed and cast auguries. This may not have helped, per se, but we were desperate.

Finally, the mail picked up a bit and we were able to balance the keyer-to-mail ratio. And all was good again. And there was much rejoicing… mostly from me. THEN, I started working on the Operations schedule.

SIDEBAR: We have three senior managers: the facility manager and two operations managers. We report to the Ops Managers who, in turn, report to the facility manager. One of the Ops Managers is responsible for scheduling supervisors and for creating our Operations Schedule.

Most of the senior managers and some of the supervisors are going to a training class on Monday and Tuesday. No problem. We had enough coverage from the remaining supervisors. I made a phone call to one of the supervisors, Mike, to remind him that he was opening tomorrow morning. He called back a few minutes later… to tell me that he was still on vacation until Tuesday.

BRAINCRAMP

So… I called our facility manager and gave her all the good news, which she took far better than I expected. Good!!! She also authorized me to change supervisors’ schedules… since our Ops Manager apparently forgot a few details. *sigh* So I called Mike back and told him that his vacation was still intact. Then I called two of the supervisors whose schedules I had to adjust: One was fine with the changes, the other told me that he couldn’t… and why. His reasons were VERY valid – he’s in charge of our probationary people and he has a plethoric buttload of reviews that he has to complete in the next two days. So… back to the drawing board.

BRAINCRAMP

I finally mananged to get the schedules for Monday and Tuesday done. Then, Wednesday’s schedule, which was pretty easy… since only three of us are working at Ops on Wednesday; there’s another supervisor who will be there, but she has to devote her time to preparing the keyers’ schedule. Three down, two to go. Fortunately, they went very quickly. All that remained was to print up a few copies, email copies to the staff and managers and call it a night. Which I did as quickly as I could.

Jess, Angie, Scott and a couple of others went to go see “Tomb Raider” for Movienight II. Sounds like they had fun. Have I mentioned: “I [heart] my job” lately? I do. Tons. More than words can express, sometimes. But life goes on… and so shall I.

More later.

Peace.

For the first time in I don’t remember how long: I made it to bed before sun-up!!! Actually a couple of minutes past 4am. Slept alright; had a dream a few hours that was slightly… disturbing, so I woke up and wasn’t exactly anxious to get back to sleep. But I drifted off… only to be awakened by an ICQ message alert, of all things, 14 minutes before the alarm was supposed to go off. No rest for the wicked, it seems.

Now, it’s time to start thinking about what to wear today. And, it’s definitely a liquid caffeine day. CONFESSION: I dropped yesterday’s mocha on the way to lunch. It ran across the floor in a mini-flood of frozen coffee goodness. Today’s mocha will be revered. It will be given the care and attention that it deserves. It shall slide down my gullet and provide chilling refreshment and I shall drink deeply it’s caffeinated goodness. ::: bliss :::

Well, off to the races.

Peace.

Just getting in from bowling. First time I’ve gone in over a month… and it showed in my scores. *sigh*

Work wasn’t Hellish tonight; of course, I wasn’t the closing supervisor, so I could be way off-base with that assessment. When I got there, there was mail to process and people to process it. This is a good thing. Then there was very little mail and too many people, so we sent some home early… then we forced others out. Shortly thereafter, we hit a nice balance of mail-to-DCOs. Life was good again. Around 10 or so, one of the sites called and said that they had 28,000 piece of high-priority “Triple R” mail that they needed us to process. *sigh* On top of this, other sites were also sharing their bounty with us. Oh, joy. We didn’t have to make anyone stay past the normally scheduled end of shift, but it looked a little off-kilter for a while.

But I’m not there now.

After work, went bowling with Jess and Scott and a couple of other friends. As I mentioned before, it had been a while since my bowling balls have seen the proverbial light of day. It showed. I’m normally a fairly consistent 150 and above bowler. Not tonight. There were two games that I had to break down and covertly use my superhuman abilities just to break 100.

Following bowling, we went to Denny’s for a bite to eat. Tonight was one of those rare ones where I wasn’t terribly hungry, so all I had was a carafe of grapefruit juice and two English muffins.

Now, I’m home and about to hit the rack… after a quick, but refreshing, trip to the shower. Oh, the joys of supervising. But the one thing that keeps me moving forward through the workday grind: The upper management staff may not be there for my workweek. Ok, ok, ok… I really do like most of the people that I work with – my managers included – but there are those times… well, you know. Don’t deny it. You know. And if you don’t know, then you may just be someone whose subordinates are saying… or NOT saying… the same things that I am. Just a thought.

Well, away to slough of the dirt and worries of the day and to wander in search of Lord Morpheus and the other denizens of The Dreaming. (SIDEBAR: Pick up a copy of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman: Preludes and Nocturnes or go to the local library, Borders or Barnes & Noble, get a copy and read it in the coffee shop.)

Peace.