Meet and Greet

I finally got there! I received the call that my security clearance had gone through. I was to meet one of the supervisors at 7:30 on Monday morning for an orientation session. The facility at Woodlawn is 10 miles from my home, but I had no idea how long it would take to get there. For 25 years I had passed under the Baltimore Beltway on my way to the office and hospital. That underpass is about 4 miles from Social Security and there were very few days I recall over those years that the traffic overhead was not backed up. I left 45 minutes for the drive but got there in 15, despite the rolling backup for the final 5 miles. I had a book to read so I had something to do with the half hour I found myself with. Of course, once 7:30 rolled around my contact person was nowhere to be seen. (Note to self: Never have a third party arrange where you will meet a second party). I finally started wandering around the outside of the building and found my contract officer waiting for me at another entrance. I received a quick tour of the first floor and was taken to the security office where I had my id badge picture taken. Of course, she spelled my name wrong on the first attempt and that card had to be destroyed. I also found out later in the day that she had kept my driver's license, so I had to drive the 10 miles again on Tuesday to pick it up. We took the elevator up to my new department, and I began meeting people. It was actually a bit amusing, each one of them greeting me with: "It's so good to finally meet you!" I guess so. My name had been kicking around that office for 8 months.
I remained attentive and tried to listen carefully for the things they were saying and what they weren't saying overtly. I was cautioned that I would be controlling millions of dollars in funding on a regular basis. What flashed through my mind? Well, for 25 years my career involved taking care of people and making small and large decisions that had major impact on their lives and health. Many of those decisions resulted in worry and lost sleep for me. I'm predicting from the outset that, though I intend on being fair and thorough in the evaluative process, I will not lose any sleep over this job, nor will I worry about my decisions. Let's see how that works out. Anyway, I ran into a number of docs of other specialties who work there. There were a few of my old professors, now VERY gray, and there was a friend just a few years older than me. We actually went to camp together back in the 1960's. He had the distinction back then of being able to swim three complete pool lengths underwater. I'm bettin' he can't do that now. I'll be starting formal orientation on the 22nd.

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