01:22 - 23.11.05
shakin out the cobwebs
I stayed up until about 4:30 in the am, writing a synopsis of the day's events - yesterday's of course - for the supervisor at the agency. Rule number one. Never send on such material when one is that tired. I reread it just now and it is pretty rambling - no focus. Unfortunately, some days really are like that. They are difficult to capture in any meaningful way. I probably shouldn't have allowed my emotional responses to be included in the discussion, but I was still feeling pretty raw at the time. So there you have it, I'm human too.
The call from the agency person this morning was brief and she sounded strained. She just confirmed that contractually the company had the right to terminate a contract with two weeks notice and had given me three. She stated that my assigned work was completed and that she had been told there just wasn't enough work to keep me busy those last two weeks of this year. Yes of course, that's why I just printed off a list of 1000 boxes to be recalled for assessment after finishing up the ones still sitting in the work area now. Those are the ones where some, or all, of the contents are described as "miscellaneous", "other" or "general". Pretty tough to code those right now. Truth is, that work should go faster because I have done so much prep work beforehand, but there is still the physical reality of going through each box. That will take more than a couple of weeks. Unlike the boxes I am working through now, where there is no inventory at all, these newer boxes will also require less data entry since some record is already there. Right now the material I'm dealing with is all legal records and requires some detailing to capture the contents. Can't push the river, but oh well.
I had several election type calls over the course of the day. The post office rep wanting information about our new office. They have things to deliver - oh joy. The security systems person called to verify what I wanted with respect to alarms and locks for the new space. That has to be completed before the post office delivers those goods. A call from the fellow at EC who has sort of mentored me through the past few weeks. I think he wanted to say good bye before he left to work in another department. From the tone of his voice I suspect the change wasn't exactly voluntary. I can relate pretty strongly to his emotions. I'll try to send a letter to his new supervisor letting them know how much he helped me, without being too gushy. Don't want to oversell his value in case that scares them off either. I think that often people who take the time to do their work well instead of on deadline, when there is no other choice, are percieved as "trying to make their peers look bad". Some of those peers have the same options available to them, but justify their choices by attacking someone else for taking pride in their work. I still don't think that is a bad thing, but that is certainly the message I get a lot. "Let the next person 10 year down the road, clean it up". Yes well, isn't that attitude and practice what created this mess to begin with? Yes I know that's why I have a job. Whatever.
I just worked steadily on the boxes of legal records today. The ones that demand so much extra care. Maybe I should have just gone through the ones like the second in command selected for her tasks. You know those nice accounting boxes where the only thing that needs to be changed from record to record is the date, not the information about the record. There was a fair amount of hositility in the warehouse today, but I'm not certain what the trigger was or what the collective mood arose from. I did hear a lot of comments as I walked past using the B word or other similar epithets for females. Whether it had anything to do with me or not, I don't know. More CDs missing, but I realize that saying anything is a lost cause from the fallout from the first report. All it will mean is more resentment directed toward me. It's odd isn't it. When thieves are caught by the police, they blame them for their punishment or the consequences they face, instead of taking responsibility for their actions. If they hadn't chosen to steal, they wouldn't face jail time or other bad outcomes. They just don't seem to be able to make the connection. In this scenario, it is my fault because I reported the problem, not theirs for stealing. One woman asked me not to walk through her workspace again. I hadn't known I was in her area, being it is the direct entrance to the admin area, but that's fair game too, I suppose. The head of the warehouse still won't even acknowledge my presence, even when I speak to him directly. I guess he has his reasons too. It all feels hostile because of the event a few weeks ago, but it likely isn't linked or intended that way either. Just that Mr Saturn newly retrograde thing going on - limitations internally and restrictions externally.
Good news is that the sun has moved from Scorpio to Sagittarius in the heavens. Always a happier place for me. At home, just tried getting the software actually working now it is all reloaded in to the Elections Canada computer. The modem won't talk to the network and the help desk person allowed the techs don't do evening shifts or weekends. Makes it difficult for the rest of us to do our jobs though. Providing the service, but making it inaccessible based on timing, really isn't a good use of taxpayer dollars. That is a moot point I guess. The poor fellow I was speaking with was the only staff member left on call to support all of us still trying to work based in Western Canada. He used to work for emergency services so he had a very good, calming phone side manner. Something to be thankful for I guess. Good night dear diary I am still really exhausted. Time for bed now.
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