Karla Noyes' Captain's Log Series

“Come now, luxuriant Graces, and beautiful-haired Muses.” Sapphos This month we had two executives appointed by our governor: Administrator, and Deputy Administrator. I attended the swearing in ceremony. The crowd was exuberant in their appreciation. The administrator is the colonel I wrote about previously (“No… sir!) and has been acting administrator for 4 months. She had been coming into our office and high-fiving everyone; she announces herself loudly, “Hello, People!” She usually does this on Fridays for sure, when we’re wearing our themed clothing (purple, pink, superheroes, cartoon characters or rock concert T-shirts) but I think her schedule is full and she missed us Friday, or, well, we missed her. I don’t have any experience with the deputy administrator, except that she, too, is retired army, something like the highest rank for a non-commissioned officer? Since this is a political appointment the governor could have put absolutely anyone in these positions, former mili...

This week a 90-year old woman came in the office on her little scooter, frail, dejected and rather grey, like a wilted flower. She had been getting calls from Social Security threatening to cut her off. Her case manager listened to her with sympathy (and nothing else.) I was thinking “Scam!” the case manager in the cubicle behind her, said sotto voce “Scam.” Finally, the really loud, and very friendly, woman in our office went up to her and told her she was being preyed on by scammers, and not to give any information to anyone over the phone. “Remember when Henry passed, Social Security did everything by mail.” She left, still wilted and frail. The next day she wheeled in, very bright, full, smiling and loudly announced she’d gotten a call from someone who said there was a warrant out for her arrest! She was tickled pink that someone thought she’d done something to be arrested for. She left us quietly chortling and proud. (and wary of scammers) You may know that our electric compa...

Work's going well enough. My supervisor and his wife trained dogs for competitive obstacle courses and I think it's influenced his management style - in a good way. Yesterday he laid out a plan for the things I'm expected to become proficient in, with a time-line. It's a relief to see a written plan so we all know the expectations. My concern is that he has slid me into data entry of outside medical invoices and it's incredibly time consuming (and not the best use of my skills, except for 'attention to detail') but I gave the responsibility back to him when I asked him to prioritize what he wants done and when. I'm happy to apply my time wherever he wants and he can experience what is doable. I like him a lot. I think he's one of the best manager I've had and I think his experience training dogs contributes to his effectiveness. He hasn't slipped me any doggy treats, yet. I brought my penny collection (pennies taped to paper sorted by y...