Started of this day like a shot from a gun! I got there 0830 hrs on the dot, parked my car, and almost literally ran to the build house. I looked at Lou, "Those wall sanded?" "Nope", and then I went straight in and proceeded to sand those walls. Didn't bother with the morning pep talk or introductions, I wanted that job done. Sadly it still took up most of my day.
One of the nice things, for me, with H4H is the low ego environment. Many of you have interacted with me either in a professional setting or in a competitive gaming environment. In any case you'll be familiar with my tendency to lead or, in plainer tongue, my pushiness. Well that pushiness started percolating to the top of my head as I went through my day. I found this one simple truth: The guys in charge are very competent just overwhelmed.
Overwhelmed would imply out of depth or beyond experience or competency which is not the case at all. Overwhelmed by so many things going on at once with people who may or may not be experience or up to speed on current projects. They spend their morning time getting tasks identified, projects initiated, personnel motivated and engaged, as well as any equipment or supply issues. This is just the short list for this blog, the essential point is that there exists more chaos than order at the beginning of every day and it is these people's jobs to change that.
So my pushiness, by any other name, was in fact a small blessing. As I started taking charge of my own activities and influencing those within the same activities I freed up the "bosses" to worry about other things. As they moved onto other areas it left me free to alter processes that effected more than just my own efforts or group. Another benefit of my pushiness is that the gentleman I'd turn to for guidance, "Lou", was now freed up enough to actually put his hand to tools and be productive himself.
I could do a whole lot of Eve Online analogies here but instead I'll just go with one that is most poignant - here with H4H and online gaming. Everyone involved, in either activity, is seeking enjoyment and leadership is rarely enjoyable (barring salary considerations or high ego-defectives). So pitching in to lighten the burden of leaders, usually in small innocuous ways, provides them the opportunity to get some personal level of enjoyment as well.
So this weekend I got to be a bit more "me" in perspective and, in doing so, got to be more impressed with the character of those in charge. One learns to enjoy such rare moments.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Sunday, June 12, 2011
11-Jun-2011 Farmington Build
Well I've been busy since my last H4H day. Busy enough that when I woke up to join the Kingston build I started my day like a chicken with my head cut off. Did not know where anything was: Not my safety glass, not my "trashable" clothes, not my grungy work bag, nothing. Then I checked my email and saw a notice come in, a late one, that we'd have to brown bag it this particular day. Wheeee!!!!!
Well, never did find my spiffy safety glasses but I did find some disposable clothing and grabbed a submarine sandwich from Bread and Butter (in Summersworth) as I dashed up Rte 16 towards Farmington.
The day was simple, we were picking back up where we had previously left off. Given the holiday that came and passed not much had significantly changed. Also the weather has not been cooperating with most of the outdoor work that continues to need some loving. Inside, well way back we hung up the dry wall. A very generous local dry walling contractor donated manpower and experience to taping and mudding the units. Then the walls were sanded and primed. Oooops, one step missed - Wipe down.
See if you do not wipe down the walls all the dust and grit from sanding is still on the walls. Then painting over that leaves a rough texture that is undesirable if not just unprofessional. To correct this the walls need to be re-sanded and then wiped down before the first coat of paint goes on. This is how I spent 95% of my day. Sanding and wiping. My shoulders are quite tired and still did not get all of the house.
The biggest hindrance was only one proper wall sander. If we had a few more we could've had several people doing it and then it would've been done. Since we only had the one, the other bodies were put to use painting the ceilings. Which hindered my progress as it is faster to paint most of the ceilings that it is to sand a room. I kept having to wait for paint to dry before I could move into an area. In the future I'll have to take a stronger lead in the chain of events so that one groups successful activity does not hinder another group's activity. (Sounds crazy but it happens in corporations every day!)
All in all it was loads of fun and at the end you feel great. The cross chatter is nice as well. While I would say that a the bodies that show up are of a wide sampling of the population (Men, women, Democrats, Republicans, etc., etc..) discussion stays amicable, no matter the topic, from our one unifying common ground:
We volunteer our time and energy to benefit someone else. We believe that given the chance, created by us, disadvantaged individuals will strive to be worthy of opportunities presented to them. No matter our differences, that unifies us and makes most other differences pale before it.
After that, is there really anything worth arguing about?
Well, never did find my spiffy safety glasses but I did find some disposable clothing and grabbed a submarine sandwich from Bread and Butter (in Summersworth) as I dashed up Rte 16 towards Farmington.
The day was simple, we were picking back up where we had previously left off. Given the holiday that came and passed not much had significantly changed. Also the weather has not been cooperating with most of the outdoor work that continues to need some loving. Inside, well way back we hung up the dry wall. A very generous local dry walling contractor donated manpower and experience to taping and mudding the units. Then the walls were sanded and primed. Oooops, one step missed - Wipe down.
See if you do not wipe down the walls all the dust and grit from sanding is still on the walls. Then painting over that leaves a rough texture that is undesirable if not just unprofessional. To correct this the walls need to be re-sanded and then wiped down before the first coat of paint goes on. This is how I spent 95% of my day. Sanding and wiping. My shoulders are quite tired and still did not get all of the house.
The biggest hindrance was only one proper wall sander. If we had a few more we could've had several people doing it and then it would've been done. Since we only had the one, the other bodies were put to use painting the ceilings. Which hindered my progress as it is faster to paint most of the ceilings that it is to sand a room. I kept having to wait for paint to dry before I could move into an area. In the future I'll have to take a stronger lead in the chain of events so that one groups successful activity does not hinder another group's activity. (Sounds crazy but it happens in corporations every day!)
All in all it was loads of fun and at the end you feel great. The cross chatter is nice as well. While I would say that a the bodies that show up are of a wide sampling of the population (Men, women, Democrats, Republicans, etc., etc..) discussion stays amicable, no matter the topic, from our one unifying common ground:
We volunteer our time and energy to benefit someone else. We believe that given the chance, created by us, disadvantaged individuals will strive to be worthy of opportunities presented to them. No matter our differences, that unifies us and makes most other differences pale before it.
After that, is there really anything worth arguing about?
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