23:07 - 13.09.05
One step forward, two back
I caught the earlier train this morning, so we made good time into work this morning. Looked up from my workstation about 15 minutes later to see a security guard standing in the elevator lobby by the door to the emergency stairwell. He was talking into his headset and looking very serious. Then he turned and walked through the door into my section of the records center. I was the only staff member on site at the time and I was feeling a little uncomfortable about being alone all of a sudden. I gave him a quizzical look, but it was apparent that he didn't want a discussion right then. Fine. Just over two hours later the fire alarm started up. Really loud and there were several unknown males all in uniform swarming our floor. Oh great. Listened to the instruction overhead and realized we were only being directed to go to the crossover floor. That is a precautionary evacuation, not the real deal, in terms of critical situations, so I calmed down considerably and realized that that was why that one guard had been around earlier. Phew. You see in the split second between the alarm going off and the realzation of the situation, I was recalling a dream I had exactly one year ago - give or take a month I guess. I was working in the office complex directly east of the building I am in now, but on the further side away from this one. It was still summery weather with a bright sunny sky. It seemed it was near lunch time, because there was the heavy pedestrian foot traffic occurring and I was among them. Heard a loud explosion and looked up to find the source. I could see one of the towers in the building I work in now starting to crumble and then there were chunks of it falling down on to the traffic below. I watched a piece of metal completely decapitate a woman wearing a cream trench coat. She had been at the corner waiting to cross over to that building. That made me want to vomit and it did this morning too. As I watched the progression of the destruction, I realized that some of the large chunks of building were shooting out sideways before falling down and some were coming perilously close to one of the towers in the building I was working in one year ago. I woke up in a cold sweat at that point and vowed I wouldn't be crossing at that intersection anytime in the next decade.
Amazing how quickly I forgot that part, since I cross at that corner at least a few time a week. Today when the alarm went off, I was thinking that maybe finding a quiet corner in the lower part of that stairway might be a very smart thing to do. Of course there are always things like toxic fumes and fire to worry about, but somehow that seemed the lesser of two evils at that point. I gathered up my bag, cellphone and my access card, locked off my computer screen, and headed out. The loud supervisor is a fire warden, so I wanted to verify which stairway we were to use. She said to take any one we wanted. Actually, in our emergency training when I first started the health and safety trainer had been very specific about only using the one unless cut off from it. Everyone else was milling about, so I headed for the one he mentioned and the other women followed right behind. It was only when we reached the cross over floor that I realized I had forgotten my inhaler and my coat at my desk. So much for surviving smoke or toxic fumes, eh? Can't wait for the full blown drill with a few hundred people to cope with instead of just the staff from one floor. I think our lone male regular had the right idea. He left immediately - no questions, no waiting for anyone else to follow. In a real emergency seconds are life and death. Got to remember that instead of trying to guess whether the fellow in the one uniform comes from that branch of the government or the other. Maybe that's why I forgot my inhaler. In a real emergency those guys carry oxygen with them, right? I knew that.
Worked through part of lunch then headed for a walk by the river. It is still incredibly high. There was snow in the mountain this weekend and it appears some of it must have melted. Normally one can see the fish hiding in the depressions on the river bed, even though it is quite deep in places. Not today. That sandy, churning quality that tells you it would be very dangerous to try your luck in swimming in it. I think the water was moving faster than the vehicles one roadway over. No red lights maybe. Cut back through China Town and the one really big Asian mall. Window shopped, then headed back to work. I had ordered in some boxes because the descriptions on the data base were even stranger than usual. The contents were even moreso, given the department they were supposed to come from. Showed them to the one supervisor who is responsible for those. We eventually had a conference of four going, trying to work out what was going on and also how to move forward. I was sitting back on my heels Japanese style, sifting through the contents and dredging up examples, as the others looked and strategized. The one supervisor disappeared then returned to say that my supervisor had ordered us to do nothing with the contents. That is fine, except that part of the discussion was about liability issues inherent in doing nothing. Some of them are significant. The original supervisor I had approached gave me a quizzical look and said, "but that's illegal, if what we think is true." The response was that is a project for down the road. Ok fine. As long as there is a firm commitment to follow through no problem, but due diligence requires the issue to be raised and also to be resolved. Hmmmm.
Got home and found a voicemail from the regional rep for Elections Canada. Why hasn't your assistant booked for her training in Ottawa either this week or next. Called my assistant already knowing the answer, but she was even more frustrated than I was about it. No one had contacted her or sent any information, even though her information for payroll would provide all the contact information they need. No one had contacted me either. Her hubby travels a lot and they have children in school. She can't just drop everything at ECs whim, but that was the expectation. In addition, a two day meeting is scheduled for the last week in September - mandatory and on weekdays. The regional rep wanted to know why I hadn't confirmed my attendance yet for that. Well, my job is in transition and so is the company I work for right now. I can't afford to lose work and even moreso, I can't afford to lose a job. More than one Returning Officer has found that to be the case when so much time is demanded from them with little warning. I asked her why we could not meet on a weekend. Well Ottawa wants all Returning Officers in their ridings the last week of September and all tasks are to be completed no later than October 3. Hmmmmmmm. Can't they be a little flexible since it is our livings that are in question. The answer was a flat no. "Take a sick day or a vacation day". Consultants aren't given those. "Well then you'll have to risk being dismissed if the company objects to the timing". Well then is EC going to put me on retainer. "No of course not". Well will they compensate me for lost wages until I can find other work. "No of course not". Right. Think cleaning litter boxes sounds like a good way to get rid of the frustration. One pile of manure easily removed any way.
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