9:00am - Today I officially started my new job. I woke up at the usual time after a typically restless Sunday night/Monday morning. I did my usual stint at the gym, where several colleagues wished me well and offered me various insights on how to (and how not to) behave in my new capacity. A reasonable synthesis of their suggestions would be to keep my mouth shut as much as possible, listen carefully, take copious notes, and say nothing bad about anybody ever. Nobody said the job would be easy.
I got to my office at the usual time (just before 8am) and started packing. I'd taken a few things home in boxes on Friday and forgot to bring them back. As a result, I needed more. After filling up two boxes, I figured it was time for a coffee break, so I grabbed Prasad and we walked and talked our way to the Physics coffee bar for what will probably be our last jaunt along that route.
Then, it was back to the office to check email (I was down to 40 items in my inbox!!!) and then to start packing again. Judy found me the extra boxes I needed.
2:00pm - I boxed up about 60% of my stuff and then went through my one file drawer. After about 45 minutes, I realized that it would take me as long to go through the files and shred or give away things that I find there as it would to pack up everything I had to put in boxes. I found and gave Chris & Tony each a copy of a manager PDFs that I worked up for them back in 2002 that apparently never got processed. I don't remember why at this late date. I also stumbled upon and gave Kevin his original position description form (PDF), the announcement for his position, and a listing of members on the search committee that recommended him.
Around 11:30, I took a trip with Lou in one of OIT's vans to Patuxent to drop off the first load of boxes. The office still had a bunch of stuff in it that we (and Lynn) had to move to make room for all my stuff. We carried the leftovers to an old (vacant) office once inhabited by the previous Deputy CIO but now was simply a storeroom. After removing most of the items left by the previous inhabitant, we deposited my boxes in the new office and drove back to the old one.
After eating a quick lunch, I continued shredding documents, which included resumes, student applications, "congratulations on your raise" letters, PDFs, position information forms (PIFs), productivity review documents (PRDs), workman's comp forms, and all sorts of sundry paperwork containing social security numbers and other eyes-only information. The total was close to six inches worth (many shredder trays full), and it took the best part of two hours to go through it all.
Lou dropped by again to see how I was doing. I was almost done packing, and he took my last bit of documents to be shredded (another inch) with him to bulk dispatch of it and said he'd return in about a half hour. All that remained to do was to detach and unplug the computers and monitors and various cables.
8:30pm - Lou and I made our second trip around 2:30pm. It wasn't quite as smooth as the first. One of the monitor screens got scratched, probably because we were in more of a hurry and simply wanted to get the move over with. Once all the boxes were in my new office, it was nearly impossible to move without tripping over something. I picked a box at random to unpack and placed its contents, mostly stuffed animals and mugs, on the empty bookshelf. Then I decided to take a break and knocked on the CIO's half-open office door. Joseph was there and greeted me at the door, beckoning me inside. All I had intended to do was to drop in and say hello, but he took the opportunity to give me some specific, near-term marching orders. I think I spent about 45 minutes with him before taking my leave, returning to my office, and resuming my unpacking activities. At 5pm, I was nearly done, but decided at that time that I preferred my old chair to the one in the new office. I asked Lynn if there was a vehicle I could borrow and she gave me the key to the CIO's van. I drove to the old building and parked at the loading dock. Andrew and Tom were still at work, and I bid them yet another final farewell as I wheeled the chair (and wastepaper basket and wall clock) to the van. It was dark by the time I got back to the Patuxent Building. I wheeled the chair into the building, then into the elevator, and finally down the hall to my office. Since I didn't have the key to the vacant office of the Deputy, I wheeled the old chair up to the door, placing an old laser printer that had also been in the office on the seat top. Then I emptied the boxes, folded them up, and went home. I could have gone to class instead (COMM 300, Theory of Communication), but I was too tired.
I made it home around 7:15pm, made myself some cereal for dinner, read the latest issue of "Entertainment Weekly," wrote this, read a chapter in "Imitation of Life," and went to bed. Tomorrow I'll set up my computers. Hopefully, the Internet connection in the office will be working. Hopefully, the phone will also work.
Monday, January 31, 2011
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