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shadowkatI don't know why but that title came to me as oddly fitting. Often my titles make more sense to me than anyone else.
My shingles was bothering me today - even though it's faded and there are no new breakouts or blisters forming. Just residual stings and itches along the left arm.
I think it is stress related?
Let's see what can I tell you about work?
* Hosted five back to back teams meetings today (oral presentations)- and at one point, I realized I might as well be trying to host meetings with a bunch of feral street cats. The "presenters" (outside firms) were fine, it was the people in my own organization that were giving me a headache. To matters worse - they decided for kicks and giggles - to add another meeting to the mix, and another site for us to talk, also a separate chat, all at the same time as each meeting. I got lost. One of them tried to bully me into putting my camera on - but I told him to call HR if he an issue with it, because the NYS policy is "cameras are optional". During the fifth meeting - one of them muted me, which was funny considering - I created the meeting and own it.
I got up at one point and grabbed lunch from the kitchen. Also ran to the bathroom. I decided they didn't need me or care.
When a fight broke out in the first meeting between the perturbed and somewhat blind-sighted presenter and well the project team - I knew we were in trouble. BYT and I had panic attacks and tried to figure out how to stop it in the chat, along with lawyer - we got nowhere.
After that the meetings were kind of boring...but I'd lost all semblance of control over these people. And just ceded it to BYT for the most part.
* Answered millions of questions via email all while hosting the meetings.
The Financial Auditors reviewing the presenting firms financial information were nit-picking to death.
And after all that? I have three more meetings to deal with tomorrow along with everything else. We're trying to award three different projects at the same time before the end of the year. And only one of them seems to not have any major issues.
By the end of the day - I wanted to throw the project team out of a moving train at high velocity.
I tell mother about this.
Mother: Okay I get confused. You're work is about as convoluted as a soap opera. And insane.
This is what happens when you have politicians dictating your organization's year end goals.
***
Commute.
By the end of the day, I just wanted to relax on the train, sleep, and read, and listen to music.
Halfway to Bergen Street Station (I'm at Church - which is nine stations away), the train stalled. It stalled for about twenty-five minutes, with garbled messages here and there. Then finally we heard - "train has been delayed due to an NYPD investigation at (garbled) station". After about ten more minutes. A conductor passed up with his walkie talkie and entered the front of the train - the engineer and caboose conductor had a chat. They came out and delivered the bad news to the rest of us.
"We're going to have to go back to Hoyt-Schmerhorn, because of an unauthorized passenger on the tracks at Smith-9th Street. The NYPD are investigating. But we can't move forward, so we all have to go backwards."
ME: Why don't you just go around? The F train is going express and skipping the station?
Conductors: We can't move forward and have to go in reverse, that's it.
Sigh. Bloody Transit. To give you some context? Smith-9th Street Station is actually above ground on the viaduct. It's where I see all the pretty views. It's about 5 pm, maybe slightly later - so dark outside. And the station in question is about two stations away. It's Fulton-Hoyt-Bergen-Carroll-Smith/9th - 4th Ave - 7th Ave - 15th Street - Prospect Park - Fort Hamilton Parkway- Church. (About 11 stops). We were stuck between Hoyt and Bergen, and being sent back to Hoyt. While it is possible to walk home from Hoyt, I'd get lost. It's dark. And I haven't done it before. And it is approximately...1 hour and 27 minute walk or 3.8 miles. Basically, I'd have gotten lost. It's cold. It's dark. And I had brain fog.
So alternatives? I chat up the conductor first to see if the G train is going back into service at any point? Half the passengers left to grab the C to Jay Street to jump on the F. The other half stayed. I decided to high tail it to the F - to try my luck. It was about the same - except more crowded. So took the A back to Hoyt, and jumped on a C to Layfayette, then walked from Portland and Layfette to Atlantic Terminal. I'd basically come full circle. (I'm aware of the irony.). I took the Q - apparently the Q/B and D were also having issues. They'd removed a train with mechanical troubles from the B line somewhere near Brighton Beach on Dekalb Avenue.
But the Q was running fine. So I jumped on the Q.
I do not normally take the Q because it is a twelve to fifteen minute walk (depending) and across not one but two major intersections, one of which is Ocean Parkway (which adds time). Also not as well lit - since through a highly residential section of the city (think little Greenwitch, CT with green lawns and million dollar multi-family homes).
But luckily there was no rain, and I was more energized than I'd been at 4:30. So, I took the semi-packed Q train to Beverly, and walked home.
Got in around 6:09 pm - the typically 45 minute to hour commute, took two hours.
See? This is why you shouldn't go on the tracks for any reason or throw anything on the tracks. They have been having issues with people jumping on the tracks of late, or being pushed on the tracks. To such an extent, that they are experimenting with ways to make it impossible to go on the tracks - such as barrier walls that slide open to get on and off trains - similar to what they do in Japan.
But it apparently isn't working or is too expensive to install? It's worth noting that the transportation industry is always on the verge of bankruptcy, regardless of type (planes, trains, ships, subways, roads, buses). Why? The American Public doesn't like investing in public transportation or roads for that matter. Public Football Stadiums - yes. Public Transportation - no. The American Public deserves to be stuck for eternity in gridlock. Preferably grid lock with massive pot holes. Trying to desperately get to a football game - but never ever reaching it.
Ooh, I should write a short story about that - no wait they already did for Doctor Who - it was called Grid Lock.
My shingles was bothering me today - even though it's faded and there are no new breakouts or blisters forming. Just residual stings and itches along the left arm.
I think it is stress related?
Let's see what can I tell you about work?
* Hosted five back to back teams meetings today (oral presentations)- and at one point, I realized I might as well be trying to host meetings with a bunch of feral street cats. The "presenters" (outside firms) were fine, it was the people in my own organization that were giving me a headache. To matters worse - they decided for kicks and giggles - to add another meeting to the mix, and another site for us to talk, also a separate chat, all at the same time as each meeting. I got lost. One of them tried to bully me into putting my camera on - but I told him to call HR if he an issue with it, because the NYS policy is "cameras are optional". During the fifth meeting - one of them muted me, which was funny considering - I created the meeting and own it.
I got up at one point and grabbed lunch from the kitchen. Also ran to the bathroom. I decided they didn't need me or care.
When a fight broke out in the first meeting between the perturbed and somewhat blind-sighted presenter and well the project team - I knew we were in trouble. BYT and I had panic attacks and tried to figure out how to stop it in the chat, along with lawyer - we got nowhere.
After that the meetings were kind of boring...but I'd lost all semblance of control over these people. And just ceded it to BYT for the most part.
* Answered millions of questions via email all while hosting the meetings.
The Financial Auditors reviewing the presenting firms financial information were nit-picking to death.
And after all that? I have three more meetings to deal with tomorrow along with everything else. We're trying to award three different projects at the same time before the end of the year. And only one of them seems to not have any major issues.
By the end of the day - I wanted to throw the project team out of a moving train at high velocity.
I tell mother about this.
Mother: Okay I get confused. You're work is about as convoluted as a soap opera. And insane.
This is what happens when you have politicians dictating your organization's year end goals.
***
Commute.
By the end of the day, I just wanted to relax on the train, sleep, and read, and listen to music.
Halfway to Bergen Street Station (I'm at Church - which is nine stations away), the train stalled. It stalled for about twenty-five minutes, with garbled messages here and there. Then finally we heard - "train has been delayed due to an NYPD investigation at (garbled) station". After about ten more minutes. A conductor passed up with his walkie talkie and entered the front of the train - the engineer and caboose conductor had a chat. They came out and delivered the bad news to the rest of us.
"We're going to have to go back to Hoyt-Schmerhorn, because of an unauthorized passenger on the tracks at Smith-9th Street. The NYPD are investigating. But we can't move forward, so we all have to go backwards."
ME: Why don't you just go around? The F train is going express and skipping the station?
Conductors: We can't move forward and have to go in reverse, that's it.
Sigh. Bloody Transit. To give you some context? Smith-9th Street Station is actually above ground on the viaduct. It's where I see all the pretty views. It's about 5 pm, maybe slightly later - so dark outside. And the station in question is about two stations away. It's Fulton-Hoyt-Bergen-Carroll-Smith/9th - 4th Ave - 7th Ave - 15th Street - Prospect Park - Fort Hamilton Parkway- Church. (About 11 stops). We were stuck between Hoyt and Bergen, and being sent back to Hoyt. While it is possible to walk home from Hoyt, I'd get lost. It's dark. And I haven't done it before. And it is approximately...1 hour and 27 minute walk or 3.8 miles. Basically, I'd have gotten lost. It's cold. It's dark. And I had brain fog.
So alternatives? I chat up the conductor first to see if the G train is going back into service at any point? Half the passengers left to grab the C to Jay Street to jump on the F. The other half stayed. I decided to high tail it to the F - to try my luck. It was about the same - except more crowded. So took the A back to Hoyt, and jumped on a C to Layfayette, then walked from Portland and Layfette to Atlantic Terminal. I'd basically come full circle. (I'm aware of the irony.). I took the Q - apparently the Q/B and D were also having issues. They'd removed a train with mechanical troubles from the B line somewhere near Brighton Beach on Dekalb Avenue.
But the Q was running fine. So I jumped on the Q.
I do not normally take the Q because it is a twelve to fifteen minute walk (depending) and across not one but two major intersections, one of which is Ocean Parkway (which adds time). Also not as well lit - since through a highly residential section of the city (think little Greenwitch, CT with green lawns and million dollar multi-family homes).
But luckily there was no rain, and I was more energized than I'd been at 4:30. So, I took the semi-packed Q train to Beverly, and walked home.
Got in around 6:09 pm - the typically 45 minute to hour commute, took two hours.
See? This is why you shouldn't go on the tracks for any reason or throw anything on the tracks. They have been having issues with people jumping on the tracks of late, or being pushed on the tracks. To such an extent, that they are experimenting with ways to make it impossible to go on the tracks - such as barrier walls that slide open to get on and off trains - similar to what they do in Japan.
But it apparently isn't working or is too expensive to install? It's worth noting that the transportation industry is always on the verge of bankruptcy, regardless of type (planes, trains, ships, subways, roads, buses). Why? The American Public doesn't like investing in public transportation or roads for that matter. Public Football Stadiums - yes. Public Transportation - no. The American Public deserves to be stuck for eternity in gridlock. Preferably grid lock with massive pot holes. Trying to desperately get to a football game - but never ever reaching it.
Ooh, I should write a short story about that - no wait they already did for Doctor Who - it was called Grid Lock.
no subject
Date: 2023-12-08 09:04 am (UTC)We do get announcements of 'Persons on the track' here too and then holdups because of that - which honestly Deutsche Bahn doesn't need considering how many delays or cancelled trains there are already. I guess some are suicides but there are also Instagram people who take photos of themselves on train tracks, and stupid kids like the ones I used to see when I took a train from Sprendlingen when I was teaching English there for a while - rather than go through the underground walkway to the platform on the far side, they would walk down a slope and across the tracks, and honestly one kid VERY nearly got hit, because he was crossing when the train was already a bit late AND had a bike with him. I can imagine how terrified the poor driver was. Thankfully they have now put up a huge fence where that slope is so the brats can't access the tracks quite as easily now.