Den Hoopingarner

The packout went smoothly after all

January 8, 2014 by Den Hoopingarner Leave a Comment

So I didn’t have to worry after all. The transport company got back to me (after I gave them a reminder phone call), and arranged for the moving company to come and pack up my stuff.

The moving guys arrived on time this morning, and got all my UAB (unaccompanied air baggage) packed up. I had an “allowance” of 250 pounds. Most people pack clothes and household necessities. I had a pile of clothes, books, and my desktop computer.

We are given strict instructions not to pack up our stuff, to let the movers do it. I guess that’s for security reasons.

I didn’t have a lot of stuff to pack, so they finished in about an hour. The total weight: 123 pounds. They fit it all into a big box and loaded it onto their truck.

The package will be shipped by air to my hotel in DC. We are told that it could take anywhere from 3 days to a month for the package to arrive. One person didn’t get his UAB until his initial training was almost over (six weeks). I didn’t ship any of my work wardrobe, and kept back some casual clothes, just in case the package doesn’t arrive until later. I would hate to have to wear suits on the weekends.

My desk looks empty without my computer on it, and there is a shelf and another half empty.

I took some old clothes to the Goodwill this afternoon.

I’m trying not to feel morbid about this process. I keep thinking about what this feels like. I keep reminding myself what Thoreau wrote about simplifying your life, and tell myself that I’m getting rid of stuff that I don’t need.

“Our life is frittered away by detail. Simplify, simplify, simplify! I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand; instead of a million count half a dozen, and keep your accounts on your thumb-nail.”

Less stuff = a simpler life.

I’m also reminded of this classic George Carlin bit about a place for your stuff:

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=JLoge6QzcGY&app=m

Getting anxious about packing out

January 7, 2014 by Den Hoopingarner Leave a Comment

The State Department contracts with packing companies to help new hires pack up their belongings and ship them to wherever it sends its Foreign Service officers. We are keeping the house, so I don’t have a lot of things to pack. My couch, refrigerator, bed, are all saying in East Lansing. Still, there are some things that I don’t need right now, but will want eventually, such as books and summer clothes. I was given very explicit instructions not to pack my own household things, the packing company has to do it. This rule probably has to do with the need to use appropriate packing materials, the need to balance the weight of packages, and the like.

The company that was assigned to do my things is located in Indianapolis. They were hit with the same snopocalypse, so they were out of the office yesterday (Monday). I left a voicemail and email, and asked them to call me today (Tuesday) ASAP, because my pack-out day is scheduled for tomorrow.

Yikes.

A pattern is emerging for how the government makes arrangements. The pattern seems to be: wait, wait, wait, wait, do it now!

Getting used to this pattern will be hard for a Type-A personality who likes to be independent and in control.

Strange flight arrangements

January 4, 2014 by Den Hoopingarner Leave a Comment

The State Department mandates that for official travel, employees must make their travel arrangements through a travel agency that the department contracts with. As soon as I received my travel orders, I called the travel agency to make my airplane reservations for my travel to Washington DC. The agent that I talked with said that the only airline that I could take out of Lansing was Sun Country. It’s a regional airline that only flies to select cities. The good thing about flying Sun Country is that it flies directly from Lansing to DC. I don’t need to connect in Detroit. The bad thing is that the airline has only one daily flight from Lansing to DC, and it leaves at…7:50 pm.

When I heard that I had to take a regional airline, I was worried that the airline would have a fleet of turboprop airplanes. However, my reservation shows that my flight will be on a Boeing 737.

I had wanted to arrive in DC on the afternoon of the day before training starts, so that I could get settled in and meet a few of my classmates. With these arrangements, though, I will land in DC at 9:20 pm. By the time I get my luggage, and take a taxi to the hotel, it will be quite late.

It would have been better if I could have flown on Delta, with more flight options. I guess that the government made a deal with Sun Country to give the department a better price on flights. It’s cheaper for the government, but less convenient for the traveller. I’m not complaining, though. Travel is expensive, and I’m not buying the ticket this time.

A beginning to mark an ending

January 3, 2014 by Den Hoopingarner 1 Comment

Friday, January 3, 2013, 7:31 am.

Today is my last day at the credit union. Next week is dedicated to packing and last-minute shopping. On Sunday the 12th I will get on an airplane for Washington, DC, and say good-bye to East Lansing.

My travel orders came through yesterday morning. It is a confusing document. I can’t understand a lot of it. But I have been told that I don’t need to understand it. For now, all I need to know is that I need to provide copies of it often. When I made my flight reservation, the travel agency that the State Department contracts with needed a copy. I might need to send a copy to the hotel, I will have to check with them. I was advised to make three or four copies and bring them with me to DC. Of course I will need more than four copies in total, but we were assured that there were opportunities to print off copies at the training center, so the three or four copies were to last us until we actually begin training.

Today will be marked by sprinting to finish up my projects at work, an exit interview this afternoon with Human Resources to take care of departure paperwork, mainly to settle up my benefits and unused vacation time, and turn in my gate card and access card.

Saying good-bye to my co-workers will be bittersweet. I have enjoyed my time at the credit union. I work with some good, nice, funny and friendly people here. Credit unions are different from for-profit businesses. Because the focus is on member experience, the organization puts the interests of members first. That shows in many ways, from the quality of service that we provide, to long-term strategic directions of the organization. I can be proud to have been a part of the credit union for the last 18 months.

When I began work here, right after losing my job at the university, I was still mourning the end of my academic career. I still regret the circumstances of leaving that job. Two things make that experience less painful. Of course, moving on to the Foreign Service is the more significant factor. I am very excited to begin that new career. But my tenure at the credit union has been meaningful. When I arrived here, I was wounded by the way that I was downsized by the university, and the way that my bosses handled the situation. Right away when I began working here, I was impressed with the competent management, the professionalism and thoroughness of the human resources department, and the collegiality of my co-workers. I have experienced a working environment that is healthy and productive, and that nurtures its employees. I have to say that I did not experience that feeling at the university.

Here is an example of the different working environment at the credit union. A few weeks after I started working here, my boss’ boss knocked on the door to my office, and leaned against the door frame. “Hello, Dennie,” he said. For some reason, I instantly became wary, like I was preparing to be reprimanded or to have an unreasonable request made of me. I returned the greeting, and he asked “How are you settling in here?” Fine, I answered, waiting for the other show to drop. Then he smiled, and said that he just stopped by to see how I was doing. He wished me a good day, and that was that.

I had to reflect on why that exchange freaked me out. After a few days, I realized that in over 17 years of working at the university, the only time that my boss came to my office to see me was when she was going to ask me to do something that I didn’t want to do, or when I did something wrong and she had come to scold me. At the credit union, I had to accustom myself to my boss actually caring about me as a person.

I am incredibly excited to begin my new career in the Foreign Service. I am sure that it is the best fit for my abilities and ambitions, and I have not doubt that the experience will be rewarding and challenging. But if this opportunity had fallen through, I think that I could have been happy, albeit in a different way, at the credit union.

So I am finishing my career here with mixed feelings. I can’t wait to see what the next chapter of my life brings, but at the same time, I’m turning this page with some sadness.

Onward and upward….

Housing is settled

December 31, 2013 by Den Hoopingarner Leave a Comment

My housing arrangements for training in DC have been made. During initial training, the State Department pays a per diem to cover housing and meals. The per diem can be split into two parts. The first part is for housing, the second is for meals and other expenses. Trainees are given the choice to take the entire per diem, and make our own housing arrangements, or forego the housing allowance and stay in a long-term residence hotel that the government contacts with.

I decided that dealing with a new career in a new city without my family would be stressful enough, and I shouldn’t take on the additional stress of trying to find a place to live, so I chose the government-sponsored housing option. The housing complex that I chose to live in is called Oakwood Apartments. It’s located in Virginia, in the suburbs of DC, a few miles from the training center where classes are held. My housing per diem will go directly to Oakwood; I don’t have to do any paperwork for my housing.

The process of signing up for housing at Oakwood was easy and pleasant. I had to do some back-and-forth emails with the housing department at State to confirm my eligibility for the program, then I could communicate directly with the staff at Oakwood. The people that I talked with were helpful and friendly. They have a lot of experience in dealing with new hires to the Foreign Service, and anticipated most of my questions. After making my arrangements with Oakwood, I was sure that choosing the government-sponsored housing program was the right decision. There are so many unknowns with this career change, it makes sense to minimize the variables wherever I can. Even though I always try to think for myself and make my own decisions, sometimes it’s better to stay with the herd.

Oakwood assigned me to a one-bedroom “apartment” that has a kitchen. The complex’s website shows pictures that make the apartment look quite comfortable. Of course, you have to be careful with website pictures of hotel rooms. In my previous career, I stayed in a lot of hotel rooms, and looked at a lot of hotel websites. After years of being fooled and disappointed, I have developed a policy to help me evaluate pictures and anticipate the quality of the hotel. My rule is to look at the good parts and reduce them by half, then find all the negative aspects that I can and double them. The place has a fitness center? Great, the pictures look good. But half of the machines are probably broken, and the room probably smells bad. Those cabinets look tacky; they’re probably worn and dirty as well. With this cynical (realistic) aproach, I get a more accurate picture of what the place really will be like. Still, even after applying my rubrik, the apartment looks fine.

The complex also provides a shuttle service between the hotel and the training center, so I don’t have to worry about transportation. The complex is a few blocks from the Metro station. DC has a good subway system, so getting into the city for sightseeing should not be hard. Evan and I are already talking about spring break in DC. That should be “fun.”

Now that I have a place to live once I get there, next is the task of getting there. I can’t make my travel arrangements until I get my travel authorization from State. This authorization is also known as “travel orders.” I have to have my travel orders before the travel agency that State contacts with with purchase my ticket. That will be my next adventure.