1:09 a.m. - 2003-06-26
Hmmmmm
On Tuesday morning, the summer student I have been working with and I, were dividing some technical data into geographic locations The material was from the boxes sent from the field offices overseas. No one has worked with it in-house except the two of us. We were using some of the maps on site for this purpose and discussing our decisions out loud. That afternoon, one of the scientists working with that specialty team approached us and asked if he could see some of the material we had worked on that morning - he had been in the records center at that time pulling files. He took what he needed after I recorded the material and he checked out some existing files. First thing this morning, I e-mailed him to let him know that more of the same material had been found later that day.
First thing this morning T2 and B came by C's office, where I was teaching her how to identify some of the technical documents. T2 said in future that I was to direct all clients to B or D and that I was not to interact with them. I just noted that the material the scientist wanted was not something that anyone was aware of because it was still uncatalogued in the boxes. She also told me all of the material the student and I had put on the table would have to be moved - in the next 5 minutes, because someone else wanted to use it. C helped me move it so it was done on time. An hour later T2 came back and said the person in question had changed their minds and would take their work to their office - I could use the table.
This afternoon, the same summer student and I were working with the boxes from the field offices only the type of data was different. This was corporate/legal records. I pulled one box off the shelf that I had inventoried early in April and signed off across the lid of the box. I had listed the contents of the box in my daybook since there was no inventory attached to the box. When I opened it today those documents were gone and had been replaced by project management files from the existing documented files. None had been checked out. Some had notes on the outside of the folder that seemed to be directions to someone for their treatment. I checked a couple of other boxes nearby and found some of the documents that had originally been in that box in one. I showed the material to C and B. B's comment was that yes it was strange but nothing could be done about it. She directed me to just put the existing files back on the shelf.
I really don't care anymore two days and counting. What still bothers me though is the treatment of the summer students. The one who shares my phone is getting married in late August. The first thing she mentioned to her supervisor, C2, was that she would need a couple of weeks off at the time of her wedding. That was the beginning of May. This morning she was told her contract was being terminated at the end of July because of that time off. I know she had planned to use the money she earned for wedding expenses and for her university fees come fall. Tough to have a month's worth of income suddenly removed from her budget. Her father is a scientist with the company and has come by daily to ensure she is doing ok. He was sent off overseas yesterday and won't be back for a couple of weeks. Hmmmmmmmm.
In our project meeting yesterday I was talking about the project the youngest summer student was working on with my support. He has gone through about 15 boxes of data, and probably reduced the workload for whoever catalogues it by a week or two depending on their level of expertise with respect to the data. Both B and D insisted he was too dumb to do anything well. It was hard to control my tongue at that point. Neither of them could do the job and the student is the only one of the group I can actually have a real conversation with about that material - half his family specializes in that field. They sat there talking about what really simple no-mind jobs they could find for him and basically cut him down as a person as well as a worker. They will be the ones who write a report on his personnel file as well as the young woman who shares my phone, influencing hiring and placement decisions about them in the future. In the meeting I spoke up several times about their work and personality and was told by T2 that she wouldn't discuss it with me - she knows what she knows.
In my weekly horoscope from my favorite astrologer www.astrofish.net, it is suggested that in the work arena, I might want to consider setting off some firecrackers while people aren't looking - or something that would have the equivalent effect. Hmmmmm. Permission - I'll have to think about that.
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