Transitions Week

Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show...(the opening lines of David Copperfield as written by Charles Dickens;inspired by MTM). Or at least this ACCOUNT will, perhaps, have a reflection on whether I'm going to be the hero in my own life.


The wise man said just walk this way
To the dawn of the light
The wind will blow into your face
As the years pass you by
Hear this voice from deep inside
It's the call of your heart
Close your eyes and your will find
The passage out of the dark~~~"Send Me An Angel"; the Scorpions

So I punch-in, at my place of endeavor,on Monday 28 February, and with my scooter in tow, make my way over to my cubicle. The first cautionary semaphore that goes up is that My Chair is resting up against The Den divider. I'm thinking, alright, I guess somebody used my station on Friday. After all, I'm only an RPT(regular-part-time), so another P/T'er was in that day, and used the cubicle---and a chair more suitable.
As I get into the cubicle area, it is like~~~WHOA!!!! Damned!! What was once mine, as an RPT, belonged to somebody else---IN THE ALTOGETHER. It was like I was in the wrong place because this station, in one day(Friday), had been already set-up, as if to say this person was embedded here---for years. Besides the part & parcel essentials of the trade & craft that would be on all of the desks, the divider surfaces were laced with personal effects. Two things pop in my head. Alright---if I still belong here, where should my location be??? And number two, even as I am an RPT, I did bring in SOME personal-effects. Where in God's name---are they??? Compounding all this angst is that, for some unknown reason everybody, including the supervisors, were coming in, in the low-range speed-setting. So in this period where EVERYTHING seemed in this TIME-WARP-SEQUENCE of suspended animation, I decide I'm going to 'comb' the area for the items---that belonged to me. Including going into one of the drawers, I was able to find 'some' of my personal effects. But not all; gggrrr!!!

Included in this question-mark was an envelope of business cards that amounted to all the networking contacts that I had forged while involved with my volunteer efforts in the Portal Program at The Belle Center. And in conjunction with this were two lengthy journals and names and phone numbers of professional and personal contacts associated with that AmeriCorps Buffalo volunteer initiative. The thought of that possibly being dumped, sickened me. I was trying hard to see all of this as a glass; half-full. In EVERY instance up until now, including NOT having myself and my scooter thrown out of the third-floor-window during that first fire-drill, management and fellow associates all seemed to be supportive. Sooner, or later, somebody SHOULD come in, and shed some light on this mystery.

Gratefully, in due course, Joel does come in. Yes, he says, Friday we made some changes with the sitting arrangements, and 'you' are now sharing the station-area
with another RPT. He, gratefully, went on to say that they took the liberty, on Friday, to place my personal-effects in the left corner of the station-area. He added for me to take my time and get myself settled in, because one of the administrators wanted to walk me through a new application that they felt I was ready
to immerse myself in. I was relieved in doing my set-up, to FIND the business cards and the two journals that reflected my initiatives, thoughts, and successes during The Belle Center period in my life.

The one nuance that I found out very early on with this cubicle is that the hard-drive is an older one. In effect, getting onto, and navigating through, the internet connection is like watching the grass grow. With the County's policy of discouraging personal internet use during company-time, I of course did not want to be observed with my hands-in-the-cookie-jar. So I just pounded away, on my VOTER INQUIRY/EDIT option, all day.

So Wednesday, 1 March 2011, during the course of my activity, Mike S. saunters by my cubicle. Mike S. is the resident computer/IT guru. We are now on a first-name basis. The reason for this is because he recognized me(and my scooter), at a Blues Festival we both coincidentally attended a couple of weeks ago, at Ying's Wings & Things. We briefly exchanged a couple of niceties, and went on taking-in the Festival. This encounter though, allowed me to feel more comfortable in approaching him and mentioning that my particular cubicle had a slower hard-drive. While he initially cautioned me that the premium hard-drives were in short supply, one-half hour later he is back, with a premium hard-drive in his hand ready to install it, on my behalf. It is great to know people, in 'high-places'!!

I actually did have to use it---honestly---to GOOGLE an address to find out if the location that I was working on, was still in Erie County, or was to be classified as out-of-county(OOC). The internet connection cranked right up for me!!

Thursday, 2 March 2011, I, finally, was able to check out some cuisine that I was looking to do---for a few weeks now. And this is Italian cuisine---in Hamburg, NY.
The American Legion Post 527 has a Spaghetti Dinner Night, every Thursday. Since my wife, Donna, was on one of her housekeeping assignments, and I was, in effect, already half-way there---being Downtown, I decided---to give it a try. I found out about this little fellowship refuge originally through the young ladies of the Annunciation High School Class of 1969 Alumni. One of the Class of 1969 Alumni is the wife of the current Commander of the Legion Post. At $6.00 for a full-plate, you couldn't go wrong. It was served on a china plate---not a paper-plate, and the serving was heaping. It was hot, and it had two meatballs to top it off. There was plenty of bread to dunk---and had a salad and a slice of cake for dessert, included. What was really sweet was that one of the aides brought the whole serving, on a cafeteria tray, to my table for me. I didn't have to muss or fuss with a juggling-act, and my scooter.

For Friday 3 March, I decide I am finally going to put out a rally-call for a get-together. Here is the deal. We haven't really been together for awhile, now. Weather, health issues, life, and job-transitions seemed to be putting a damper on possible initiatives.

Looking into the CRYSTAL BALL, I see activities like March Madness, St Patty's Day, and Spring Breaks, getting in the way of attempted fellowships. I was thinking that if I didn't put one on the map now---it may not happen until April, or the Cinco de Mayo!!! The other complication is that the 8th is Fat Tuesday(Mardi Gras), so therefore the 9th is Ash Wednesday.

I am proposing a get-together on Wednesday 9 March 2011, at Malone's~~~7:30PM!!! Those whom want to gather, and still comply with the fasting can JUST DRINK; responsibly!! Others can drink, and dabble in side-orders---like fries. Others can have a fish-fry. And still others can do what they want!!!!

Blaine is a FACEBOOK contact, so I will advise him by way of FACEBOOK EMAIL. And of course our lovable Carm Panaro is computer and phone challenged---so I will send up smoke-signals for him!!

I know Norb has been asking about this~~~and has been trying on his chapeau-ensemble to figure which of his head coverings will be most suitable!! And Blaine has been inquiring, and suggesting a usurpation of my authority, to get one of these under way, as well. I'll, of course, be there with my scooter!! As I have said, this is an effort to have some good friends coming together, after an extended dry-spell. I realize the solemnity of the day, but I thought we could all use a little friendship, fellowship, some crazy stories, and a little laughter.

Oh, don't worry, Ash Wednesday, or not---it will be lively. I already know that many 'different' things are going to be covered!! Including excessive use of the
EXCLAMATION POINT!

Sheathe your Swords!!
--{-=
Hickok
[Taylor Park]
The Promise