And you think you work for idiots?
Ok, here's the story...
For about the past 10 years, I've been working on something called a demonstration forest in my district. It's this really neat little trail that wanders through all these forest practice example blocks along a half mile trail through the woods. Well, it's not yet a trail. The example stands have all been cut - in fact, the whole thing was harvested in 2006 and I had very carefully laid out all the example blocks to showcase 15 treatments, but the trail is nothing more than a skid road with stumps sticking up through it.
In order to build the road, I needed money from my district or from our Community Forest Management department (the stewardship guys I get half my paycheck from) to fund it. My primary boss had no interest in using his personnel to build the road and when I approached my CFM supervisor guy, I made the mistake of suggesting that I could even turn the site into a handicapped accessible trail if there was enough money for it (and I mean a LOT of money). The CFM guy loved the ADA compliant idea and told me to get to work on a bid proposal. *sigh*
Well, I wrote a bid proposal and sent it to Harrisburg to see if I could get some more definite funding / plans / ADA compatibility advice and my document was booted around for about a year with no one seeming to take it seriously. At last, after many phone calls, some bribery, some guilting and more whining, I managed to get a verbal commitment from the CFM guy for $90,000 to build it.
For about a month I was funded. Then our budgets got slashed and our department went on a forced diet. I called my CFM guy dreading what he would tell me and when I asked if I was still funded he said 'I'm sorry, no.'
And so, I assumed that 'no' meant I had no money. Fair enough. I'm used to operating that way - I've worked for the feds. :D But here's where things get interesting. In January, my primary boss forwards me an application for a grant that my project would easily qualify for. I look into applying for it and get to work on filling in the blanks and gathering together the materials I need for the application. I've been working on this thing pretty steadily for the better part of two months, and for the last two weeks have done little else.
After crunching all the numbers I can, I finally reach the conclusion that I am still going to be a little short to reach the funding match in in-kind or donated services or materials that I need to qualify for the grant. I'm only $1000 short, so I call up my buddy in Mr. CFM's department to ask if he thinks there's any way the CFM guy might see a way to get me just $1000 to get me by. I've left phone messages and emails for him but he's not replied and I'm thinking he doesn't want to tell me 'no' and is just avoiding me, hence my 'end run'.
My friend in his department agrees to call him and discuss what's going on and later on in the afternoon, I get a call from both of them. Mr. CFM is confused. He has no idea what's been going on. He thought I was fully funded. I reminded him of our last phone conversation where he told me I was no longer funded. He asks me if I got the March 2nd email describing my funding. I look. No March 2nd email. Mr. CFM is confused. He says he's going to talk to his supervisor and find out what is going on then get back to me.
Fast forward to after lunch. Mr. CFM and my buddy call back. They seem pleased. They say that the March 2nd email outlined the fact that I was still funded, and for an amount totaling about $125,000 - more than enough to do what I need without any grant. They say I should have had a copy of that email sent to me by my primary boss, but that, regardless, I am funded. The past two weeks could have been spent writing up the bid package and getting it ready to send out rather than pulling my hair out learning how to apply for this grant.
Now I go to my primary boss. Apparently, he thought I was already getting these upper-echelon, budget related emails and never bothered to forward this one to me. Never mind that my name wasn't in the send to list at the email's header. *ahem* Never mind that he KNOWS I've been working for two weeks on getting this grant app. ready because I 'didn't have any funding other than the grant' and never said a word to counter that statement. Never mind that I ride to work and home with this man every day in our carpool! He couldn't have, maybe, ASKED if I knew about the funding?
O.K. I'm not really pissed. I mean, I'm funded, how can I be pissed? But I'm really feeling taken advantage of right now. It's probably not entirely my primary boss' fault (though I think it mostly is - and it isn't as if I hadn't witnessed other mistakes he's made) but I sure wish SOMEONE along this process that was handled by about 12 people in our Harrisburg and other offices might have once considered copying such pertinent emails to me, the PROJECT COORDINATOR!
*sigh*
I work with nitwits.
Thank you for letting me get that off my chest. You have been most patient.
For about the past 10 years, I've been working on something called a demonstration forest in my district. It's this really neat little trail that wanders through all these forest practice example blocks along a half mile trail through the woods. Well, it's not yet a trail. The example stands have all been cut - in fact, the whole thing was harvested in 2006 and I had very carefully laid out all the example blocks to showcase 15 treatments, but the trail is nothing more than a skid road with stumps sticking up through it.
In order to build the road, I needed money from my district or from our Community Forest Management department (the stewardship guys I get half my paycheck from) to fund it. My primary boss had no interest in using his personnel to build the road and when I approached my CFM supervisor guy, I made the mistake of suggesting that I could even turn the site into a handicapped accessible trail if there was enough money for it (and I mean a LOT of money). The CFM guy loved the ADA compliant idea and told me to get to work on a bid proposal. *sigh*
Well, I wrote a bid proposal and sent it to Harrisburg to see if I could get some more definite funding / plans / ADA compatibility advice and my document was booted around for about a year with no one seeming to take it seriously. At last, after many phone calls, some bribery, some guilting and more whining, I managed to get a verbal commitment from the CFM guy for $90,000 to build it.
For about a month I was funded. Then our budgets got slashed and our department went on a forced diet. I called my CFM guy dreading what he would tell me and when I asked if I was still funded he said 'I'm sorry, no.'
And so, I assumed that 'no' meant I had no money. Fair enough. I'm used to operating that way - I've worked for the feds. :D But here's where things get interesting. In January, my primary boss forwards me an application for a grant that my project would easily qualify for. I look into applying for it and get to work on filling in the blanks and gathering together the materials I need for the application. I've been working on this thing pretty steadily for the better part of two months, and for the last two weeks have done little else.
After crunching all the numbers I can, I finally reach the conclusion that I am still going to be a little short to reach the funding match in in-kind or donated services or materials that I need to qualify for the grant. I'm only $1000 short, so I call up my buddy in Mr. CFM's department to ask if he thinks there's any way the CFM guy might see a way to get me just $1000 to get me by. I've left phone messages and emails for him but he's not replied and I'm thinking he doesn't want to tell me 'no' and is just avoiding me, hence my 'end run'.
My friend in his department agrees to call him and discuss what's going on and later on in the afternoon, I get a call from both of them. Mr. CFM is confused. He has no idea what's been going on. He thought I was fully funded. I reminded him of our last phone conversation where he told me I was no longer funded. He asks me if I got the March 2nd email describing my funding. I look. No March 2nd email. Mr. CFM is confused. He says he's going to talk to his supervisor and find out what is going on then get back to me.
Fast forward to after lunch. Mr. CFM and my buddy call back. They seem pleased. They say that the March 2nd email outlined the fact that I was still funded, and for an amount totaling about $125,000 - more than enough to do what I need without any grant. They say I should have had a copy of that email sent to me by my primary boss, but that, regardless, I am funded. The past two weeks could have been spent writing up the bid package and getting it ready to send out rather than pulling my hair out learning how to apply for this grant.
Now I go to my primary boss. Apparently, he thought I was already getting these upper-echelon, budget related emails and never bothered to forward this one to me. Never mind that my name wasn't in the send to list at the email's header. *ahem* Never mind that he KNOWS I've been working for two weeks on getting this grant app. ready because I 'didn't have any funding other than the grant' and never said a word to counter that statement. Never mind that I ride to work and home with this man every day in our carpool! He couldn't have, maybe, ASKED if I knew about the funding?
O.K. I'm not really pissed. I mean, I'm funded, how can I be pissed? But I'm really feeling taken advantage of right now. It's probably not entirely my primary boss' fault (though I think it mostly is - and it isn't as if I hadn't witnessed other mistakes he's made) but I sure wish SOMEONE along this process that was handled by about 12 people in our Harrisburg and other offices might have once considered copying such pertinent emails to me, the PROJECT COORDINATOR!
*sigh*
I work with nitwits.
Thank you for letting me get that off my chest. You have been most patient.