So much for having a plan

Last weekend, I ordered a new external hard drive online. When I  made the purchase, I opted to have the item shipped to my office where there is always someone to sign for it.  I live in an apartment where the packages are usually left at the leasing office, which closes at 6pm.  I don't always make it home before 6pm and always leave before the leasing office opens.  I can handle the delayed gratification that comes with shipping but I can't handle the frustration of knowing my items are close but inaccessible.

The Sunday night  purchase included two-day shipping so my hard drive was scheduled to arrive Wednesday. I thought that would work well since I would then be home for the long Thanksgiving weekend with plenty of time to install the drive and move my photo and music files to it.  On Monday, I learned that the meetings I had scheduled for Wednesday were cancelled.  This meant I didn't need to work that day.  Since schools were out on Wednesday, I knew I would rather stay home with my son than go to work while he slept in.  I promptly decided to take the day off.  But, my  package was due to be delivered on Wednesday.

The receptionist was very understanding when I explained the situation.  I asked her to send me a text message when the delivery was made so I could stop by and pick up my stuff.  She was totally agreeable to that and went a step further to give me the second key to her desk.  She would lock up my package if I didn't get to the office before she left for the day.  I could stop by anytime and collect my new hard drive.  It was a great plan.

As it got later in the afternoon on Wednesday, I wondered if she had forgotten me as I had no text, call or email.  I sent her a text.  She replied immediately to let me know that no delivery had been  made on  her watch.  She also noted that if someone else received a delivery while she was at lunch or on a bathroom break, they usually let her know.  Okay, I needed a little patience.

As 5:00 approached, I decided to check the website to confirm that the package was on schedule.  I was surprised to learn that FedEx had delivered the package at about 1:30.  The record indicated that it had been left with the receptionist and signed for by C. Huff.  I don't know anyone by that name at my office but there are a few new folks.  Anyway, I dropped my son at the gym and headed to my office to retrieve my package.

By the time I arrived, just about everyone had left for the day.  There were only a few dedicated souls  who apparently weren't feeding the masses at their house the next day, Thanksgiving, who were still on the job.  I went immediately to my office expecting to see a package sitting on my desk.  Nope. My desk looked just like I had left it.  I check in the cabinets and drawers.  No package.  I moved on to the receptionist's desk armed with the keys to access her locked cabinets.  No package there either.   I walked around checking cubicles and offices throughout the suite.  No luck.  I went back to my desk and looked again.  I logged into my PC and double checked the FedEx tracking information.  The information was the same, signed for by C. Huff.  I pulled out the office phone list.  There was no C. Huff on the list.  Maybe it was delivered to the suite down the hall.  My badge can get me in there, too, so I went snooping. Still no package.

After an hour, I gave up my search.  I called my boss at home.  He's a good guy so I knew he wouldn't mind. I  left a voice mail asking if he had maybe locked up my package in his desk for safe keeping.  He called me  back an hour or so later.  He didn't see the package but he did have information about it.  I share my office with a women who is very responsible.  She had asked the boss about the package.  She wondered if she should take it down the hall on  my behalf assuming that this was a work purchase rather than a personal one. He confirmed that this was not a purchase for the office.  With that information, my helpful roommate  decided she would secure the package by locking it in her desk until Monday.

I tried to make a reasonable plan to get my package by dealing with the one person I expected to have hands on it, our receptionist.  Somehow, my plan fell apart.  Someone whose signature was interpreted as C.Huff was kind enough to intervene, sign of the package and deliver it to my desk.  At that point, my roommate took responsibility for the safety of the package.  She didn't think to give me a call or send me a text.  She  opted to lock it in her desk.  Had I seen this possibility, I would have had it shipped to my home!

Now, I have to decide my next move.  I know where the extra keys are  kept.  I could go to the office, find the spare key, open her desk and get my package.  This is a tempting option.  There is a downside though.  My helpful  roommate would be flipped out to know that it was that easy to violate her space.  The violation would  put our relationship at risk.  We aren't best buds but we get along.  There is a degree of trust between us.  I don't think that trust would be there if I was able to access the locked areas of her desk.  But  I  want my stuff.  I'm angry at her for keeping it from me.  I resent that I have to consider her feelings in this.  I also resent that I wasted an hour looking for the stupid package.  She could have just contacted me! For now, I'm going to sleep on it.  Maybe Thanksgiving will bring clarity.

Efficiencies Lost

Thanks to the wonders of technology scheduling a meeting is as easy as creating an email.  Decide who to invite, the date and time along with a title for the meeting and hit "send."  In an instant, the appointment is set on each invitee's calendar.  It seems to simple.  Maybe even too simple.

I am a mid-level government bureaucratic.  In an attempt to be responsive and accountable, I have set my work calendar  to forward appointments to my Google calendar, which I can  access through my phone.  If someone schedules a 1:00 pm meeting while I am out to lunch, I will know that I need to be back.  I consider this the act of a conscientious employee.  However,  my experience of the last few weeks is causing me to rethink this practice.

I am involved in several regularly scheduled meetings that include senior and executive managers, people who have assistants to schedule meetings and answer the phone.  One would think that with professional assistance, scheduling meetings would be a breeze.  Apparently, some of these people were in the restroom when Appointment Scheduling 101 was covered.  Either that or these assistants have committed the remainder of their careers to their manager.

Why would I draw that conclusion?  Well, here's what happens.  The assistant is directed to schedule a weekly meeting with several individuals including me.  The assistant sends out an email to the invitees indicated that he/she  has been directed to schedule said meeting and that the appointments will  follow. While I consider this an unnecessary step, I don't take issue with it.  My issue is with the appointments that follow.  For the next hour, my phone pings as five years of weekly appointments hit my Gmail account.  That's over 250 appointment messages.  An identical number are in my work email waiting for my acceptance.  Really?  Does anyone really think that I am so responsible and conscientious as to commit to attend meetings in November 2016?  

I have been a government employee for over twenty years.  In that time, I have come to accept that the one constant is change.  Change will occur such that the weekly meeting won't be weekly.  The invitees will no longer hold the positions or have the responsibilities that mandated their attendance.  Most importantly, I will be eligible to retire long before those appointments run out.  With this knowledge, I systematically accept all the appointments through 2012.  I tentatively accept appointments for 2013 and I respectfully decline any appointment beyond that.  I am too optimistic to think that I will still be available every Wednesday morning for a thirty minute meeting on this topic in 2014.