(Un)Civil Service

April 24, 2008 at 3:22 pm (Rants, Work)

Many years ago when I was hired by BOCES I was told that some day I would need to take a Civil Service test for my position; I had already worked for another BOCES in a Civil Service capacity, so it came as no surprise to me. Years went past and my colleagues and I waited knowing that eventually we would be classified by the Civil Service gods; when the day finally came it was an experience none of us will forget.

Classifying people like us is tough because we do a little of everything. That, coupled with the fact that the folks who staff the Albany County Civil Service Department bring a new meaning to the term incompetent, and you have a recipe for some serious stress. Some of my colleagues have worked for BOCES for over twenty years, but rather than grandfathering them in, they had to take a test in order to keep their jobs. If someone off the street scored higher than they did, they would be out of a job!

There were a lot of other anxiety-producing rules and directives that went along with this classification process. The people reviewing the applications were apparently masochists; one of the programmers’ application for Civil Service status was denied because she had a degree in Mathematics, not Programming. It did not matter to them that she had been programming for us for seven years! Seniority for everyone was set at zero; we were able to keep our years in the retirement system, but as far as Civil Service was concerned our start date is the day we were given permanent status. And after reaching permanent status we had to be on probation for a year.

You would think our administration would be mighty concerned at the prospect of potentially losing a lot of employees, but instead we were greeted by the gallic shrug of management. Most of them are high enough on the food chain to be exempt from tests. Some people did actually get hired by their respective districts or took different positions to avoid taking the chance of losing their jobs.

I am happy to report that I finally reached permanent status as a Network Administrator, but it doesn’t end there. A few weeks ago I found out that my district was planning on posting my job at a higher rate, effectively giving me a raise. Nifty, huh? Except I can’t apply for my own job because the Senior Network Administrator exam I took and passed does not count!

Isn’t Civil Service great?

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The Rituals of Spring

April 24, 2008 at 2:25 pm (Life)

It’s probably safe to say that spring is officially here. Everyone has their own personal benchmarks for this, and mine usually revolve around some of the spring rituals I perform every year.

The first ritual is the stowing of the snow shovels. This is always done with a certain amount of trepidation because I’m not superstitious, but rather very aware of nature’s fickle ways. It would be a bummer to put the shovels away only to have to unearth them a week or two later. Sending the shovels to the farthest reaches of my property is like putting a period at the end of a sentence; I do not want to have to revise.

Several years ago I discovered drip irrigation which works really well, but requires some attention in the spring. There are always some emitters that don’t make it through the winter, the mainline tubing sometimes heaves up out of the ground and critters have been known to chew holes in some of the tubing, but once the leaks are spotted and repaired it’s a beautiful thing. I learned early in the game to do a leak check before the plants get too tall or it’s like wrestling an anaconda in the jungle.

The final ceremony (and my personal favorite) is putting the screens in the windows. Of course this means washing every window in the place, but it’s a small price to pay for fresh air and the sound of the birds in the morning. I have to tolerate a little more street noise with the storms off, but when the lilacs and roses start to bloom and their scent wafts into the house, it’s all worth it.

Let the summer begin.

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The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

April 19, 2008 at 9:42 am (Life)

No, it’s not Christmas….it’s spring, and gardeners everywhere are rejoicing. Finally free from the ice and cold of winter we can look forward to at least six months of grubbing, weeding and dead heading. I went out last weekend and surveyed the ravages winter left behind and am pleased to report that fatalities have so far been minimal.

I lost a couple of roses this winter, but rather than feel badly I mentally cross those varieties off my list. Roses are my favorite, but I have little use for fussy types preferring instead the robust roses of the rugosa and David Austin variety which bloom repeatedly and don’t need constant spraying. There are no fancy foam rose covers in my garden; it’s tough love all the way.

After the rose inspection I check on all the first year plants. These are things that were new to the garden last year and sometimes results are mixed. A Japanese maple purchased at the end of the season at half price did very well as did a “Black Lace” elderberry which was definitely not half price. A couple of the evergreens I planted last year got pretty badly chewed up by the deer, but the parts that remain look healthy. Apparently they will have to get little burlap coats next winter like the rhododendrons do.

It will be a few weeks before the status of the “stay abeds” will be known. Those are the plants that wait until they are sure winter is past before announcing themselves, such as the hibiscus, the butterfly bush and caryopteris. Until then I must exercise some restraint and resist the urge to pronounce them prematurely dead.

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A Little Slice of Life

April 3, 2008 at 3:39 pm (Life)

This is an actual snippet of an email received from my daughter. I swear.

Yes, I may go home and paint the linen closet. I really need to stop reading Design*Sponge.

Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you look at it) she has inherited my compulsive urge to fix things, make things and generally repurpose everything around her, usually on the cheap. If you ever see her with a can of spray paint in her hand do not stand still for very long because you will be turned into a lamp. She is constantly devouring ideas from the web, magazines and HGTV, and her impeccably neat apartment looks like something out of a magazine.

I don’t expect her to outgrow this mania; at 47 I’m still remodeling, rebuilding and replanting everything in sight. These things happen in bursts, but happen they do. My latest project, a slipcover for my couch, will be posted soon. My parents are to blame for this do-it-yourself obsession; I’m sure I was the only kid in grade school who had a radial arm saw in her dining room. Remodeling was a fact of life for me, and it still gives me a curious sense of satisfaction to create something. I’m glad the apple hasn’t fallen too far from the tree.

Actually, Sean would make a great lamp if you could find the right shade.

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