(no subject)
02.17.04
As a County Employee, I am expected to set an example of civic virtue by being courteous and following the law. Of course, there are many levels of law, and so I do my best. But there are two very basic laws that are nearly impossible to get away from, and so in order to set the good example, these laws are stringently followed. These two laws are gravity and Murphy's.
Certainly, I understand that in the real world, things often do not go as planned. But at the county, we have down to a science. We're real pros at things going wrong. I'm not talking the cliched "Government employees are idiots" here, either. I have seen very competent, skilled people improvise field solutions that would leave McGuyver spinning. Yet, it doesn't matter because at the very moment the problem is fixed, there tends to be an avalanche of completely unrelated problems.
Today was a day like that. Nothing major, nothing exploded, caught fire. But it started the very moment my alarm went off at 3:30. I fell back asleep.
Still, I would have been at work by 5, but of course, another problem arose. So I was a few minutes late.
Fast forward through a series minor but compounding problems and you'll find me just getting back to the "yard" at 6 PM. 13 hour day instead of the normal 10. I still have to ride my bike home, too.
Hopefully, this day ended when I got a flat tire about a block from home.
I am writing to say that all this rolled off my back. See, the compounding problems let to a very happy thing. My wife and kids drove by as I was driving the dump truck, pulling a bulldozer. Now, you have to understand that my kids love heavy equipment and big trucks. Especially Ethan. I made their day. Ethan couldn't stop talking about it all day. As they were alongside, the look on his face was ecstatic and incredulous; not only was his daddy driving a dump truck, but he was pulling a big bulldozer. Of course, as they had to get off the freeway, I caught a glimpse of his face and I knew he was thinking 'Wait Daddy, you're supposed to be stopping so that you can take me with you.
This made my day. It probably made my week. For those of you wondering what I was doing with the dozer, I was simply doing some re-hab to severely impacted areas.
Did I mention. . .never mind. The Benadryl is starting to kick in.
As a County Employee, I am expected to set an example of civic virtue by being courteous and following the law. Of course, there are many levels of law, and so I do my best. But there are two very basic laws that are nearly impossible to get away from, and so in order to set the good example, these laws are stringently followed. These two laws are gravity and Murphy's.
Certainly, I understand that in the real world, things often do not go as planned. But at the county, we have down to a science. We're real pros at things going wrong. I'm not talking the cliched "Government employees are idiots" here, either. I have seen very competent, skilled people improvise field solutions that would leave McGuyver spinning. Yet, it doesn't matter because at the very moment the problem is fixed, there tends to be an avalanche of completely unrelated problems.
Today was a day like that. Nothing major, nothing exploded, caught fire. But it started the very moment my alarm went off at 3:30. I fell back asleep.
Still, I would have been at work by 5, but of course, another problem arose. So I was a few minutes late.
Fast forward through a series minor but compounding problems and you'll find me just getting back to the "yard" at 6 PM. 13 hour day instead of the normal 10. I still have to ride my bike home, too.
Hopefully, this day ended when I got a flat tire about a block from home.
I am writing to say that all this rolled off my back. See, the compounding problems let to a very happy thing. My wife and kids drove by as I was driving the dump truck, pulling a bulldozer. Now, you have to understand that my kids love heavy equipment and big trucks. Especially Ethan. I made their day. Ethan couldn't stop talking about it all day. As they were alongside, the look on his face was ecstatic and incredulous; not only was his daddy driving a dump truck, but he was pulling a big bulldozer. Of course, as they had to get off the freeway, I caught a glimpse of his face and I knew he was thinking 'Wait Daddy, you're supposed to be stopping so that you can take me with you.
This made my day. It probably made my week. For those of you wondering what I was doing with the dozer, I was simply doing some re-hab to severely impacted areas.
Did I mention. . .never mind. The Benadryl is starting to kick in.