Visitation

I went back to visit my work friends today. Seems a little strange, having to be a visitor at the place where I used to work. It makes major changes in how you have to conduct yourself.

For instance, when I worked there, I walked in the front door, and flashed my badge. The security guards (sometimes) made sure the face on the badge matched the one on my head, and I walked past them into the building. Once in the building, I had the run of all floors occupied by my organization.

Now, I am all but strip-searched before I can get past them. I have to empty my pockets into a basket that gets X-rayed - looking for WMD's in my jeans, I guess - then I have to go through a metal detector, to make sure I didn't leave a quarter in my pocket. After that, I have to sign in at the guard station, stating who I am, what my business is, who I'm there to see, and what part of the building I am planning to be in. If the guard is satisfied with my responses, I'm issued a badge for the building. Then, in order to actually get in to see my friends, I have to take the elevator to the lowest floor in the building that my old organization occupies, and sign in again, get another badge, and have the receptionist call an escort to take me to wherever it is I'm supposed to go.

Quite a difference, huh? In the blink of an eye, I went from being a highly-trusted employee, with over 30 yers of dedicated service, to a potential terrorist who requires constant supervision whenever he is in the office! Amazing.

Fortunately, a number of people there still remember me, if not fondly, at least without rancour. Everyone said I look good, relaxed even. My first observation to one of my former peers was that he didn't. That is a highly-stressed environment.

Upper management tends to place their supervisors in untenable positions, then expects them to work miracles. Ain't gonna happen. What can, and often does happen under those circumstances, is smoke and mirrors. All that it accomplishes is creation of the illusion of progress, while floating on a sea of chaos.

Anyway, I did get to see and have lunch with at least some of my friends. It seems that some of them still believe that I know things that might help them. Maybe I do, but things are beginning to slip away.

I worry about them and the environment they have to work in. Life is too short for that much stress. I'll probably visit again soon, just to let them know I care about them.

Mariner.