August 07, 2002 - 10:38 a.m.
First off � have to give a huge thanks to Jen for the spiffy new site design. What can I say, I was in the right place at the right time when she was looking for something to do � I benefited greatly.
Pennsic madness. As others have mentioned, land grab was last weekend and like so many years it was hot and filled with a large amount of work. But oh the rewards.
In the instant gratification mode, Sunday afternoon I was able to look out on a camp that has a courtyard, a fabu building for a kitchen � completed with countertops, stainless steel sinks, shelves, windows and charm. We have 2 working showers and the joy of a vanity sink. There is something fundamentally right with the knowledge that no one will be brushing their teeth in the kitchen sink this year.
And then in the looking forward to gratification mode there is the knowledge that I will get into BigRed (yes BidRed, the truck that I sold, that I am borrowing for the war so that Cu and Padraiga can borrow BigBlack, yes my life is always this complex) and arrive a Pennsic fully assembled. Complete with rugs on the floor and a bed all made. It is that same feeling as coming home after a long business trip � my stuff in the places that I put it. All wiggly goodness.
So � this is my diary, and this is my place to rant. The PR (purchase request) process at my job is FUNDAMENTALLY FLAWED!!!! Here Iam the new employee in the department. My boss is out of town and I am trying desperately to get a PR into the system. To say that getting the capital budget numbers was � impossible does not begin to describe the ainxt. Did I mention that NO WHERE are the processed defined, the forms that you need listed out, the signature process defined? So I finally chase down the guy that is supposed to review this for me. His admin tells me he might be albe to LOOK at it (not review and approve, bug glance at the sheet of paper) late next week. The fiscal year ends this month!!!
Being the clever person I am I refer the e-mail thread to another (blissfully sympathetic) co-worker with a paniced plea. He gets told that, oops sorry � we have closed the books for the fiscal year. Try again next year. 3 months of arguing with a vendor for a quote, negotating procing and adapter cards, working with the internal team to make sure that the capital funds are really in the budget and you closed the WHAT without mentioning it to me? Issues, I have such issues with this. No I have a subscription. Okay, breathe � in with the Ghandi � climbing off the tower. Thank heavens for co-workers that are willing to step into this quagmire and help fight a battle that I am sure will extend into and possibly through my vacation.
Ugh � I still have rock dust under my finger nails, how gross is that. I was carving and fussing in the shop last night. Trying to squeeze in a few more projects before conceeding that it really is time to get things wrapped up and packed for war. Last night I had a dream that Cu, Padraiga and Clint got to my place tomorrow night and I had nothing packed. No revise that � Last night I had a nightmare that � Mental note, must get the garb packed today so that I don�t get lost in my shop tomorrow night and forget to pack.
What can I say, it seems to be some strange inverse correlation. (Bah, too much review of metric data at the office, inverse correlations � I see histograms!!!) The more years I am around the SCA, the more Pennsics I attend the more project I seem to find that just have to get done before the war. You would think it would be the other way around. That things would accumulate over time and that the durable goods would remain and be the infrastructure for the coming years . And it does work like that, but unfortunately the other thing that happens is that my tastes and wants run faster than my infrastructure building. Each year it is a want for some new thing � a better table, some new happy garb, a gambeson for my sweetie, some more belt mounts � it never ends. And then there is the list that I invariably take on for making things for other people, cause �sure, I must have the time, what can I possibly need ofr war that I didn�t have last year?� Someday I will learn. Someday after Pennsic I will list out all of the summer projects and stun us all, self included and all the craziness that I managed to pull off. Right now � I fear that list.
Well must conquer the last bits of work before vacation � later folks.
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