NOTES FROM A DIFFERENT TRENCH - V2/#3
by Linda Olmstead
“Must be willing to travel.” That’s one of the pre-requisites for my Telecommunications Systems Analyst position. Last month I was all over the state, taking commercial air flights and renting cars on State accounts, which are new experiences for me. I felt like a grown-up. Sometimes, I don’t feel that much like an adult, given the restraints on taking action. Too many simple things require approval from my supervisor, or our Commander, or his chief. It’s been difficult to step back from some of the autonomy I had as a Comm Center supervisor for so many years. Plus the paper trails one has to maintain in this role.
Quick synopsis of the process: This has happened. I think we should take this action. I considered these alternatives. May I have approval to move forward with this decision?
In my former incarnation in the Comm Center, I mostly just did it and informed my Commander of what I had to do, and, sometimes, why.
Okay, okay, okay. I’m oversimplifying things. There are plenty of tasks to handle without having to tell anybody anything. Just Get ‘Er Done.
But, now and then, there’s something exciting coming to fruition and telling the users about it isn’t supposed to happen before upper management learns the project is on the cusp of completion. You see, this is a Headquarters command, and the field commands are our “customers.” Passing along good news (and sometimes, the bad news) belongs to the Big Bosses.
Darn. Especially darn because I committed that infraction just this week. My Commander gently reminded me “this is one of those instances” when upper management should receive information before it’s given to the field.
[Abashed expression]
Doncha just love “learning experiences?”
There’s also a more restrictive dress code. Thank goodness for Casual Fridays, because some of my attire is not quite as “business professional” as is expected for someone in an Headquarters assignment. I have to save denim pants AND denim dresses or skirts for Friday wear. Designer sweatshirts with appliqués also do not meet the grade for Monday through Thursday, no matter how nice the skirt or trousers paired with them appear. I’ve learned to set out the next day’s attire the night before, because mornings are not the best time for me to make clothing decisions for work.
This may appear to be a very minor--or even basic--issue to some of y’all, but I spent more than 27 years in Comm Centers, assigned to late afternoon or night shifts. Yes, as a supervisor, I usually wore “lady-like” stuff during regular, “public,” business hours, but there was a whole lot of denim and quite a few sweatshirts sporting the department’s logo in that wardrobe. There were just too many times I’ve had to crawl under a radio or call-taker console to wiggle a connection, plug in new equipment, or replace cables. Lots of circumstances which would – and did!--dirty a skirt or blouse. And yet, now I’m a peon and have to dress to a higher standard.
However, when traveling to other sites to coordinate replacement telephone system installations, and/or renovations which involve installing Modular System Furniture, casual tops, sweatshirts and blue jeans are perfectly acceptable. This may be one reason why I like the travel opportunities inherent in my position. [dimpling] I’ve just never been a “clothes horse.”
There are seven of us in this job classification, providing Telecommunications systems (phone and radio) support for our large department and its many facilities throughout the state. It’s separated into nine Divisions, each with multiple Area Offices, a Comm Centers or two or three, and radio transmission sites. These Divisions are divided into North and South groups, each supported by a Technical Services Unit. TSU-South has three analysts to cover four Divisions, while TSU-North’s four analysts cover five Divisions. This means we each are assigned a specific Division (large geographic chunk o’ territory) and we “share” the spare. Right now, we’re short an analyst in TSU-North.
Obviously, stuff doesn’t stop needing repair or other attention just because there isn’t an analyst handling that Division. So we pick up that slack, too.
My assigned Division includes 25 separate facilities (two of which are Comm Centers), but not counting any remote, radio transmitter sites. I’d have to get out a topographical map to count those. In the past three months, I’ve traveled within and outside “my” Division. Two recent trips involved catching flights at 0600 hrs. Aaaack! It’s almost like the days when I would have to get up in the middle of the night to cover some overtime at a console. But…. Better. Except that, unlike plugging in a headset 20 minutes after leaving home, there’s still a whole lot of time in transit before actual work begins. That’s tiresome.
Overnight trips--especially those longer than just a single night away from home--are fairly interesting. As long as the hotel has Internet access, that is! During the day, interacting with personnel around the state is something I enjoy a great deal. (For the most part, anyway--although there are some “challenging” personalities with unrealistic expectations out there, they’re nothing compared to the public’s belief in “what 9-1-1 should do for them.” Nor are their wishes related to immediate danger to life or property.) It’s not surprising that my blood pressure has lowered in the past year, since I promoted out of my Comm Center.
Driving departmental pool vehicles hither and yon is not as comfy as traveling in a rented car. Thank goodness for upgrades; I’ve been able to drive a PT Cruiser and a Buick Lucerne, both 2009 models. Otherwise, day trips for which one can drive five or less hours one way are usually relegated to pool vehicles: two Jeeps Cherokees, one Dodge Caravan, and a Ford Taurus. All unmarked (I knew you’d ask) and each a few years old. Gotta use the Jeeps for trips to transmitter sites, but otherwise, it’s catch as catch can. There are more than 20 people in our Section who may need to go somewhere on state business, and we also share the pool vehicles with another, smaller Section.
I love what I do. I’m expanding my skill set, which I find rewarding. There are still a myriad of opportunities to exchange “war stories” with other folks, which I’ve always enjoyed. Most of ‘em speak the same, familiar language as do I, while clerical personnel may need to have aural brevity codes translated into (clear text) conversations.
Happy to be here, proud to serve.