A little update
everything seems super urgent in my head…and then I put thought to word and it doesn’t seem so critical. So, I’m going to throw some nonsense at the wall and we’ll see what sticks.
Two weeks ago, my boss, the best supervisor I have ever had, told us she is leaving for another job at the end of the month. I am incredibly happy for her in every possible way. She will be close to family and out of the poop storm that has typified our working hours for the last year and a half. I am deeply upset because I cannot think of doing my job without her. I am happy to see someone I care about going in a better direction. I am terrified for what her loss represents for the agency and my future.
More generally, I’ve come to realize that I’m not going to get what I want in my current roll unless there are some major changes-changes which require a fundamental leadership and priority realignment agency-wide. I’m currently doing three jobs that would normally be assigned to 3 or 4 individual full-time employees. It’s too much for me to handle, especially since there isn’t any training available for the most technical aspects. I’ve come to resent the expectation that I will just carry on indefinitely doing far more than I was hired to do at the same pay and title. Even if I was paid appropriately for my responsibilities, mission creep has made it impossible to get all my work done to a reasonable standard in a reasonable time-frame. This situation comes down to the fact that many of us, especially the most adaptive and technically capable, reached outside of our comfort zones and job descriptions to make our agency work a year ago; However, now that our jury-rigged processes are keeping the institution afloat, there is little interest in taking those emergency measures and building a more sustainable stable model. So, while I love the work I was hired to do, I’m actively looking for something else. The stress is not great but the process of evaluating my priorities and skills has forced me to clarify what I want out of my working life. Applying for new jobs isn’t fun but I am glad I am taking proactive steps before everything implodes.
In response to those challenges I’ve been throwing myself into several projects to distract myself. I’ve been using a google Pixel III phone since January because I’ve always wanted to get out of the apple ecosystem and I’d heard the new android OS was accessible. It didn’t hurt that I’ve been falling into Google’s orbit with their home speakers, my Chromebook, and their productivity suite for the last 2 years. It’s been a great experience overall. There are some definite differences between the pixel and my old iPhone 8 such as the fact that the base text dictation system using the voice assistant with the phone locked isn’t great but the dictation system when editing into a new text box in the messages app is fantastic. The google assistant is amazing. I turned my iPhone in to my carrier last week and I don’t regret the decision. I’m also playing with a refurbished Bluetooth Samsung Galaxy smart watch courtesy of Amazon. It’s nice to have the option of handling basic tasks like reading notifications, responding to texts, checking the time, and answering phone calls without having to unclip my phone from my belt. The rotating bezel is well executed and integrated into the operating system. The text-to-speech utility works great for my purposes. There are some third-party games and apps that aren’t accessible but the items I care about work flawlessly. I’ll write an in-depth review after I’ve had some more experience under my belt.
I’ve been getting into gaming a bit more…which is to say I’ve made it a priority. I had a little bit of extra funds around tax return season (self-deferred Santa time) and decided I’d make one last try at competitive Warhammer 40,000. The current game is better than ever. I found a reasonably priced painter/assembler and a gaming company that sells at a huge discount…so I’m going to give it a try…one…last…time. I’ve been listening to podcasts, reading articles, and generally getting myself together. My local gaming store runs 1 tournament a month so as of July, I hope to be back into the mix after an 8-year break.
I have been playing monthly frost grave with a friend as part of the folio mini campaigns book. Gaming, even if only a couple times a month, has been cathartic. This experience has brought home how much I love reoccurring gaming be it RPGs or toy soldiers. I used to run/play dragon storm several times a week and just never got back into the habit. I’m considering running some dungeon world on Thursday evenings for knights of the braille to scratch that itch. I need to do some test work with skype, twitch, and my various technology platforms but that’s the goal.
Finally, I’ve solved for some of my transportation issues-thank the gods. A couple months ago it was pointed out to me that there is a light rail station within 2 blocks of work. I am honestly ticked at myself for not looking into this option earlier. I took the commuter bus to and from work every day for 17 years-you’d think I would have given public transportation a look when paratransit started falling apart. The state’s disability car service is having serious problems after one of the three program contractors screwed up and lost the ability to drive customers. My morning ride has been ok so far but the afternoon has spectacularly fallen apart with two- or three-hour delays before pickup becoming commonplace-and that’s before we get into the one or two hours ride itself. I had a friend help me with orientation mobility and haven’t looked back since. It’s freeing to know that I am in control of the rest of my day when I leave work. Heck, I pick when I leave the building-not paratransit.
The trip takes roughly 90 minutes between the train ride and the transfer to a bus but I’ll take the guaranteed 90-minute trip over the variable hour to four hours ride any day. I’d take it in the morning too except that my local bus only runs on the hour between 4am and 7am so I’d have to get up a half hour earlier to make the schedule work-and who wants to do that?
So that’s life in the free state for now. I’m looking for jobs, catching some gaming, and taking control of my transportation. The job thing has me seriously stressed out but I’m working on that. I’m headed in a good direction even if it doesn’t always feel like it.
Two weeks ago, my boss, the best supervisor I have ever had, told us she is leaving for another job at the end of the month. I am incredibly happy for her in every possible way. She will be close to family and out of the poop storm that has typified our working hours for the last year and a half. I am deeply upset because I cannot think of doing my job without her. I am happy to see someone I care about going in a better direction. I am terrified for what her loss represents for the agency and my future.
More generally, I’ve come to realize that I’m not going to get what I want in my current roll unless there are some major changes-changes which require a fundamental leadership and priority realignment agency-wide. I’m currently doing three jobs that would normally be assigned to 3 or 4 individual full-time employees. It’s too much for me to handle, especially since there isn’t any training available for the most technical aspects. I’ve come to resent the expectation that I will just carry on indefinitely doing far more than I was hired to do at the same pay and title. Even if I was paid appropriately for my responsibilities, mission creep has made it impossible to get all my work done to a reasonable standard in a reasonable time-frame. This situation comes down to the fact that many of us, especially the most adaptive and technically capable, reached outside of our comfort zones and job descriptions to make our agency work a year ago; However, now that our jury-rigged processes are keeping the institution afloat, there is little interest in taking those emergency measures and building a more sustainable stable model. So, while I love the work I was hired to do, I’m actively looking for something else. The stress is not great but the process of evaluating my priorities and skills has forced me to clarify what I want out of my working life. Applying for new jobs isn’t fun but I am glad I am taking proactive steps before everything implodes.
In response to those challenges I’ve been throwing myself into several projects to distract myself. I’ve been using a google Pixel III phone since January because I’ve always wanted to get out of the apple ecosystem and I’d heard the new android OS was accessible. It didn’t hurt that I’ve been falling into Google’s orbit with their home speakers, my Chromebook, and their productivity suite for the last 2 years. It’s been a great experience overall. There are some definite differences between the pixel and my old iPhone 8 such as the fact that the base text dictation system using the voice assistant with the phone locked isn’t great but the dictation system when editing into a new text box in the messages app is fantastic. The google assistant is amazing. I turned my iPhone in to my carrier last week and I don’t regret the decision. I’m also playing with a refurbished Bluetooth Samsung Galaxy smart watch courtesy of Amazon. It’s nice to have the option of handling basic tasks like reading notifications, responding to texts, checking the time, and answering phone calls without having to unclip my phone from my belt. The rotating bezel is well executed and integrated into the operating system. The text-to-speech utility works great for my purposes. There are some third-party games and apps that aren’t accessible but the items I care about work flawlessly. I’ll write an in-depth review after I’ve had some more experience under my belt.
I’ve been getting into gaming a bit more…which is to say I’ve made it a priority. I had a little bit of extra funds around tax return season (self-deferred Santa time) and decided I’d make one last try at competitive Warhammer 40,000. The current game is better than ever. I found a reasonably priced painter/assembler and a gaming company that sells at a huge discount…so I’m going to give it a try…one…last…time. I’ve been listening to podcasts, reading articles, and generally getting myself together. My local gaming store runs 1 tournament a month so as of July, I hope to be back into the mix after an 8-year break.
I have been playing monthly frost grave with a friend as part of the folio mini campaigns book. Gaming, even if only a couple times a month, has been cathartic. This experience has brought home how much I love reoccurring gaming be it RPGs or toy soldiers. I used to run/play dragon storm several times a week and just never got back into the habit. I’m considering running some dungeon world on Thursday evenings for knights of the braille to scratch that itch. I need to do some test work with skype, twitch, and my various technology platforms but that’s the goal.
Finally, I’ve solved for some of my transportation issues-thank the gods. A couple months ago it was pointed out to me that there is a light rail station within 2 blocks of work. I am honestly ticked at myself for not looking into this option earlier. I took the commuter bus to and from work every day for 17 years-you’d think I would have given public transportation a look when paratransit started falling apart. The state’s disability car service is having serious problems after one of the three program contractors screwed up and lost the ability to drive customers. My morning ride has been ok so far but the afternoon has spectacularly fallen apart with two- or three-hour delays before pickup becoming commonplace-and that’s before we get into the one or two hours ride itself. I had a friend help me with orientation mobility and haven’t looked back since. It’s freeing to know that I am in control of the rest of my day when I leave work. Heck, I pick when I leave the building-not paratransit.
The trip takes roughly 90 minutes between the train ride and the transfer to a bus but I’ll take the guaranteed 90-minute trip over the variable hour to four hours ride any day. I’d take it in the morning too except that my local bus only runs on the hour between 4am and 7am so I’d have to get up a half hour earlier to make the schedule work-and who wants to do that?
So that’s life in the free state for now. I’m looking for jobs, catching some gaming, and taking control of my transportation. The job thing has me seriously stressed out but I’m working on that. I’m headed in a good direction even if it doesn’t always feel like it.