Is it just me or has this blog suddenly turned into high noon in the dessert? I mean, really, I think I just saw a tumbleweed blow by. I know you’re wondering where I've been and what in the world has happened; believe me, I’ve been wondering the exact same things- great minds think alike, you know!
I’d love to say that I’ve spent the last two weeks on a tropical island sipping fruity drinks out of frosty glasses. I’d like to tell you that I channeled my inner Pippy Longstocking and ran away with the circus. Sadly, I can’t do either of those.
The truth of the matter is that I have been crazy busy with work. Work seriously gets in the way of my fun but I can’t say there’s ever a dull moment.
Every three years, the national assessment team comes in for several days to verify we’re doing what we’re supposed to be doing. A huge part of my job is to prepare a mountain of information for this visit and coordinate everything while the team is here, answer their questions, keep them happy, etc. etc. I spent months preparing. I was ready. Typical, expected stuff? Check. Bells? Check. Whistles? Check. I was so prepared, I went to a concert the night before without a care in the world. That’ll teach me…
Saturday, April 16, started out perfectly. I was up and at the office early, excited and anxiously awaiting the arrival of the team. Then the phone rang. Uh, oh. A cancelled, rebooked, delayed, and rerouted flight postponed the team’s arrival by about seven hours. OK, no problem. I’ll revise the schedule. So on to Plan B we went.
And then an F-3 tornado blew through downtown a few blocks from my office, knocking out power, internet, and everything connected to the IT network. Unable to get to any electronic information or documentation the team might need, I was teetering between “panic” and “pretend you’re a professional”. Plan C, where are you?
And, most of the roads were blocked by downed trees and power lines so there was a moment in time over the weekend when I was rerouted into the unsavory area of downtown where I had to stop and ask what I can only assume was an “entrepreneurial pharmaceutical salesman” for directions around the closed roads. He kindly offered to “hook a girl up”. Maybe I should have asked him if he had a Plan D in his pocket?
And, in dealing with the aftermath of the storms, about 70% of my coworkers (many of whom were scheduled to have some sort of interaction with the assessment team) found themselves deployed to devastated areas. I think by this point, I was on Plan G or H maybe. I wish it were but flying by the seat of my pants isn’t really my forte so by the time the team left on Tuesday, the 19th, I was just hoping the Plan was still in the first half of the alphabet.
Since they left, I’ve been trying to work a Plan that includes a nap but it should come as no surprise that that hasn’t happened yet either. I’ve heard it said that a bad plan is better than no plan… I’d really just like a plan that comes together.
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