Summer is here, 1 June already. It's amazingly cool for June in Israel. Global climatic change may be giving us more rain and lower temperatures, contrary to what we are expecting here.
The mild weather was a blessing yesterday. At long last we took our pensioners, the older members of our congregation, on a little excursion around Jerusalem. It was something I first promised one of them way back in February and by the time it matured, this trip grew to twelve elderly people, a van and driver, a tour guide, and me. I don't think we ever did something like this before in our congregation, but it went so well that we think we would like to do it again, once per year. While the kids have a group and do things together, the elderly only have a prayer group and are not able to get about on their own. We agree they deserve some attention as much as the kids, perhaps more so.
We took them to the Israel Museum to see the model of Jeruslaem in the 2nd Temple Period and briefly, the Dead Sea Scrolls, a national treasure. This is where I learned that in a group of 12 elders, somebody has to pee about once every 15 minutes. Okay....Some on canes, some on walkers, some holding each other up, but the weather was fine and they were having a whale of a good time.
Once around the model and the scrolls was as much walking as they could do, and were tired. (I was amused by one tiny woman with great determination and a wheeled walker who toddled along with the best of us and never seemed to get tired out, manuvering over steps and bumps. I never realized what an obstacle course a normal walk can be when you are crippled.) We next went to the national botanical garden, where a small train solved our walking problems. Normally the train is for kids, but it worked out very well for our pensioners too. I attach a photo.
Oh, they had a good time with the train, and the garden guide probably enjoyed the quiet and appreciative audience. After the train ride, we took them to dinner in the restaurant at the garden, a nice meal with pasta and salads and cake. They enjoyed the fellowship and the meal, and clearly afterward were ready for a post prandial nap, so the driver and the guide took them home and I made my way back to the museum, and later an early evening movie with a friend. I was suprised how much I enjoyed this day myself. While I am not very good with children and don't particuarly care for them, the elderly intrigue me and I often find them funny. Also they appreciate attention one hell of a lot more than kids do.
I needed this break. The week was tough. I successfully went nose to nose with the head of computer services on needs and problems I wanted to address since last October. After checking some costs with a techinician, I was appalled to realize that an upgrade costing about 250 usd would have enabled my office computer to do the necessary work I was unable to do in the last two years. Another 1400 usd woud upgrade my whole database network to necessary standards. For this I have been suffering, and the organization has been wasting my salary because I didn't have the hardware to do my job right?
Well, both my immediate boss and our division director have no real understanding of technical matters, which is part of the reason I had problems. So my homework in the last two weeks was to prepare a crystal clear presention of the problems and what it takes to fix them. Then I got the written support of two senior technical people in the computer services (not their director), and put the whole material in front of my boss and separately, our director, and went over it with them so they understood it. Then we had our meeting with the computer services head who has been such a thorn in my flesh.
Well, my homework paid off because this time he was a pussycat. He was neatly cornered, his own staff supported me, my bosses supported me, and all we had to do was work out the timetable for fixing the mess. I will admit, when clobbered he goes down gracefully. I am even gettiing a new office computer out of this rather than an upgrade. We also have an understanding that whatever his master plan will be, it does not interfere with the work I have to do for my division. We got that in writing, too.
Sheesh, I am no good at this kind of nonsense, but I am learning. Since I have no real powers of persuasion, my method involves careful preparation and documentation, then priming key people one on one before crunch time. In the meeting, I sit quietly, my work is done, and if I open my mouth I am likely to get pissed off or get someone else pissed off. So I don't say much at that time unless really necessary. I don't have the diplomatic skills and I get very annoyed with stupidity, even more at deliberate manipulative obtuseness.
However, once again it has registered with some people in the organization that I'm 100% business from start to finish. If I raise an issue, it is because it is a problem, and I mean to fix it. Otherwise I don't bother people. I'm not a gossip, I don't socialize, I come to my office and take my lunch at my desk and work hard. If I have a problem to solve, I give it my best shot and usually solve it eventually, although it takes the patience of Job to actually solve a problem in our government civil service.
The result of all this is that a lot of people can't stand me but they need me. I'm not a buddy type, my reserve is interpreted here as arrogance, and yet they know I am responsible and serious, so they want me there when the buck stops. I guess in any organization there will be people like this, and if you remove them, the system goes down like a house of cards, while the socially skillful are standing there sucking their fingers.
Okay, that's life. I'm looking forward to Holland next month, the one time this year I get to spread my wings and fly among professionals. A big congress of landscape ecologists is gathering from all over the world. I also have research concerns in the university city where the meeting is held. I've been making preparations for months now. While I won't be in the first rank of the congress, I will make a respectable member of the second rank and it will be a pleasure to listen to the tops in my field, many of whom I know personally. This knocks the dust out of my brain and for a short time I can get the taste of politics out of my mouth. For two weeks I will get to dance with the princes, and then it's back to Jerusalem and Cinderella sits in the ashes until the next trip....
That's it for now.
shabbat shalom,
Linda
I needed this break. The week was tough. I successfully went nose to nose with the head of computer services on needs and problems I wanted to address since last October. After checking some costs with a techinician, I was appalled to realize that an upgrade costing about 250 usd would have enabled my office computer to do the necessary work I was unable to do in the last two years. Another 1400 usd woud upgrade my whole database network to necessary standards. For this I have been suffering, and the organization has been wasting my salary because I didn't have the hardware to do my job right?
Well, both my immediate boss and our division director have no real understanding of technical matters, which is part of the reason I had problems. So my homework in the last two weeks was to prepare a crystal clear presention of the problems and what it takes to fix them. Then I got the written support of two senior technical people in the computer services (not their director), and put the whole material in front of my boss and separately, our director, and went over it with them so they understood it. Then we had our meeting with the computer services head who has been such a thorn in my flesh.
Well, my homework paid off because this time he was a pussycat. He was neatly cornered, his own staff supported me, my bosses supported me, and all we had to do was work out the timetable for fixing the mess. I will admit, when clobbered he goes down gracefully. I am even gettiing a new office computer out of this rather than an upgrade. We also have an understanding that whatever his master plan will be, it does not interfere with the work I have to do for my division. We got that in writing, too.
Sheesh, I am no good at this kind of nonsense, but I am learning. Since I have no real powers of persuasion, my method involves careful preparation and documentation, then priming key people one on one before crunch time. In the meeting, I sit quietly, my work is done, and if I open my mouth I am likely to get pissed off or get someone else pissed off. So I don't say much at that time unless really necessary. I don't have the diplomatic skills and I get very annoyed with stupidity, even more at deliberate manipulative obtuseness.
However, once again it has registered with some people in the organization that I'm 100% business from start to finish. If I raise an issue, it is because it is a problem, and I mean to fix it. Otherwise I don't bother people. I'm not a gossip, I don't socialize, I come to my office and take my lunch at my desk and work hard. If I have a problem to solve, I give it my best shot and usually solve it eventually, although it takes the patience of Job to actually solve a problem in our government civil service.
The result of all this is that a lot of people can't stand me but they need me. I'm not a buddy type, my reserve is interpreted here as arrogance, and yet they know I am responsible and serious, so they want me there when the buck stops. I guess in any organization there will be people like this, and if you remove them, the system goes down like a house of cards, while the socially skillful are standing there sucking their fingers.
Okay, that's life. I'm looking forward to Holland next month, the one time this year I get to spread my wings and fly among professionals. A big congress of landscape ecologists is gathering from all over the world. I also have research concerns in the university city where the meeting is held. I've been making preparations for months now. While I won't be in the first rank of the congress, I will make a respectable member of the second rank and it will be a pleasure to listen to the tops in my field, many of whom I know personally. This knocks the dust out of my brain and for a short time I can get the taste of politics out of my mouth. For two weeks I will get to dance with the princes, and then it's back to Jerusalem and Cinderella sits in the ashes until the next trip....
That's it for now.
shabbat shalom,
Linda
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