On Long Work Weeks

I wrote this yesterday but couldn’t post it due to technical difficulties…

I had one of those last week. This week isn’t as bad but it is nonetheless busy.

Two weeks ago I spent more than 40 hours shadowing duty supervisors in preparation for being in that position this coming Saturday. I’m also doing that today as I write this with a supervisor working on the North Shore. The time I spent following them around last week was in addition to working my regular 24 hour shift in Newton on Wednesday which, incidentally, will not go away. I worked 16 hours of that yesterday so that I could be here today, and it feels like I’m jamming a lot of stuff into a small space.

Overall it was a rather interesting week. I was simply saturated with information, most of which I’m still processing. That is to be expected, though; like any new endeavor often there is a lot to figure out, at least with respect to doing it right. I got to see things from three different points of view, and their perspectives are certainly unique. And I had no idea just how much the supervisory staff is responsible for. I am, however, aware of that now.

Yesterday was my first real day covering Boston. It was intense; I have no other word that I can use to describe the activity level involved. At the end of the shift I have to document the activity I was involved in, and I can say that the report was considerably longer than I expected it to be.

I was warned that it would be busy, and I observed it when I was riding along with other supervisors so I knew what I getting myself into. And I was not disappointed.

The only thing I would have done differently yesterday (and I had absolutely no control over it) was that I would maybe have not worked. It was my birthday, and I would have liked doing other things, but sometimes we’re expected to do what we don’t want to do. I understand that; after all, I am a year older and maybe a little bit wiser than I was a couple of days ago. And the people I work with, as well as my family and my friends, made it a good day. I had many well-wishers contact me during the course of the day, and I wanted to publicly acknowledge that in this venue.

Thank you all who sent me e-mail or contacted me on my Facebook account; considering where I was and what I was doing, you all made my day a happy one. And I appreciate that.

With any luck I’ll be able to get back on track with blog postings, As of late I’ve been out of my mind and I’m trying to catch up with much of what I’ve had to put on the back burner. so I’ll be spending time this week doing just that.