7 Quick Takes Friday #70

See more 7 Quick Takes Friday contributions at Jennifer Fulwiler's Conversion Diary.

The past week or so is probably best summarized as a series of time periods, overlapping. Some times have been interesting, others disconcerting, and yet others simply an example of the passage of time.

1. A time of accidents. Last week my co-catechist was enroute to our class when a drunk driver pulled out in front of her and she crashed into him, totalling her car and ending in the ditch. Fortunately, she was okay. Unfortunately, she had all our teaching materials with her, so I grabbed a movie from our shelves and after having the kids pray for her showed a movie, arranging the room like a movie theater. The experience was successful -- and we even rummaged chips and drinks from our supply cupboard. The movie was great, and I recommend it to all catechists: Joshua. I won't spoil the movie by relating the plot. This week it was my turn. My brakes did not hold in go-stop-go-stop traffic, and when I ended up in go mode and had to stop quickly, the brakes did not hold, and my car ended up pinned on the trailer hitch of the truck in front of me. Actually, it looked rather obscene. The car is fixable, but it will take a little time and cost a lot of money because I had the chutzpah to take a $1000 deductible. (Seemed reasonable at the time -- I had not been in an accident in twenty years.) The car has 200,000 miles on it, so tomorrow Donnie and I are driving to San Jose to look at a possible replacement car. A new car is not a bad consolation for the experience of an accident.

2. A time of tech! Oh, la, la! The technology that has penetrated my life this week! Bright and early Monday morning, my boss decided to call a web meeting. I came in early to make sure everything was set up alright. That was fortuitous. I had not used the web conferencing program for so long that my password had expired, and I had to ask our tech support folks to call over to the network administrator and have a new one assigned. Whew! I wiggled out of the unexpected Tuesday web conference by assigning it to two of my senior managers, who repeated my Monday experience since their passwords, too, had expired. On Wednesday, I drove to headquarters to attend the ribbon-cutting for our new fancy network (replacing our older, slower model). It was on the way back from there that I had my accident. Thursday morning was spent in flipping slides at a quarterly report-out to my boss. Low tech, not high tech, but tech nonetheless. Today, I got to see some really fancy social network developed by a local institute and being used in helpful ways to put severe limitations on local criminal activity -- pretty neat stuff and well worth the half-hour trip and trek (more trek than trip -- had a long, long walk from a distance parking lot).

3. A time of stress. Did I mention the slide-flipping presentation for my boss? We do this once a quarter. In fact, we call it the quarterly review and analysis, and each of my managers get to stand up and explain his or her accomplishments during the previous quarter. Failures must be analyzed and explained. Although I know my boss pretty well, I have never been able to predict just which items will become sticking points for him. The presentations always go well, in general, and so did this one. I try to ensure that by bringing in pastries and fruit. At least, if the presentation goes sour, there is something tasty in the room to balance the taste left in our mouths!

4. A time of busyness. The past month has been a very busy time. The amount of work this week, though, has been unprecedented -- or so it seemed. We had visitors who needed to be briefed every single day. Well, that is not so uncommon. Many days we have had a visitor in past times. However, this week we have had 2-3 every day. I had to hand off some of the briefings and meetings I would otherwise have liked to attend because I could not be in 2-3 places at the same time. So, I chose the ones that best fit my schedule rather than those that best fit my interest. It did not help that one of my key senior managers has been on a business trip this week and not available to help. Oh, well, as we say at my office, it is better to be overworked than to have no work at all! I also have to admit to some play time. The visitors were balanced with two lunar new year holiday parties. We have a Korean contingent and a Chinese contingent. Both celebrate the lunar new year with food and entertainment. I sent each home an hour early, so I was very popular this week. (At least, some folks got a little less stress than I.)

5. A time of planning. It is amazing that, given the intensity of each moment of the week, that I had any opportunity to think ahead and plan anything at all. However, Tuesday lunch was a wonderful respite: a move from thinking about the past (the quarterly review and analysis) and present (all the visitors and tech and accidents and the like) to some time spent thinking about the future. A colleague and I met for lunch at our favorite local Chinese restaurant and worked out plans to finish a book that I had drafted in 2003, that a publisher still wants, and that my colleague, now that she has completed her doctorate, would like to help me finish and, with her newfound knowledge, is able to do so. We are now trying to move ahead on fast forward, but that is probably more dream than reality. However, my Chinese fortune cookie did tell me that "a dream is about to become a reality."

6.  A time of people. One would think that with all the "stuff" that was going on this week there would have been no time for people, but quite the opposite was true. People issues of all sorts sprang up. On Tuesday I had a mediation meeting with a judge with an employee from another division who wanted to sue our division for not hiring him. Happily, I was able to show beyond a shadow of a doubt that the decision was based on fair criteria, and the employee withdrew his lawsuit. Yes! Other situations, though, were not as happy. One employee whom I have known for years and with whom I have worked clsoely at some times in the past has become seriously ill but is unwilling to take the time off that he needs to get well, if getting well is possible, given that he is now elderly and struggling with diabetes and cancer. He has failed to show up for work, and when he has come in, he has been barely able to walk. We have no system that will force him to take care of himself, so his manager and I have been brainstorming some kind of compassionate approach to support him and still get the work done that needs to be accomplished. Then, two employees who had been fired by another division appealed to me through my boss for a second chance. I was able to accommodate one of them; I felt sorry for the other one because my managers could probably have trained her to work with our teams but I had no opening at all for her. This is not a good time to lose one's job. The saddest of all was my new deputy. He managed to work for me for all of two days, making me quite joyous because he is highly skilled and actually under-placed in my division. My boss's boss quickly realized this and took him to work with him. So, apparently, I will continue to be overworked until a suitable candidate can be found to replace my deputy who left in July. Sigh!

7. A time for critters. Yes, finally, some time to relax enough to enjoy the time with our cats: Murjan, Intrepid, and Simone. Time for a visit to the vet, which they absolutely hate. Simone once bit the vet in her fear. They don't like the carrier even though it is quite large, and often they will be cranky with each other for hours after they return. Vexed by being locked up, I guess. Well, happy surprise, a few weeks ago a new vet (well, the only vet we have) moved into town, and she does home visits. Yes! She came to our house and met our cats. She and Murjan did a fine job of bonding, and she was able to take of all his needs. However, Interpret and Simone did not want to have anything to do with her. She decided to give them some time, and she will come back tomorrow and finish up with their needs. It is so great not to have to pack up the cats and drag them off to a distant city!

Have a great weekend! I think I am going to have a busy one -- new car, insurance claim, vet, visiting Doah, Mass, and more. Still, a change of pace from work is always welcome! Wishing you all rest, peace, and happiness, at least for the next two days!