Some observations while driving in the rain

The weather has taken a turn for winter (again) this past week. And while driving on the freeway I made note of a few things.

• Some people drive entirely. too. fast. when it is pouring down rain.
• Some people drive entirely. too. slow. when it is pouring down rain.
• Why can't the rain fall consistently? Wipers full blast....wipers on slow intermittent....wipers on full blast....wipers on medium intermittent....all within the distance of 1/2 mile. I drove 120 miles that day. Sweet.
• That much water makes me have to pee.
• Semi trucks splash 4x the amount of actual rain falling from the air directly in to your windshield as you drive by them. I drove through 4 tidal waves. Have you ever tried to see through a tidal wave slamming across your windshield?
• I am very thankful that I work indoors. Even bright orange reflective vests are hard to see in torential rain.
• My car is very clean now. On the outside. Rain makes mud that clings to your shoes.
• Talking about all this water makes me have to pee.
• I thought all these showers were supposed to be in April. Where are the May flowers? I'll tell you where they are....washed away with ALL. THIS. RAIN.

I'm ready for summer.

So I have this new job....

and without going in to too much detail, I have to say I am wondering what in the world I was thinking. On my first official nerve-filled-wanna-puke day (after I was released following 2 months of training) one of the directors told me, "You'll find out that this desk is the most satisfying one in the control room." I'll have to trust him on that. To say this job is challenging is probably the biggest understatement I have ever made on this blog. I am the queen of exaggeration (c'mon, people...we all know this) but this new position is seriously kicking. my. mental. butt. I am mental. Okay, *more* mental than normal. I mean, I'm not normal. Whatever normal is.

See? Rambling like a fool. That's what this job has reduced me to. Because we all know I speak only with an air of wisdom and maturity otherwise. Stop laughing.

I suppose I should give you a tidbit of information here. I don't want you to think I am a stressed out mess because I'm making coffee for caffeine-deprived people at 5:00 a.m. Although when you think about that I'm not sure I would want that job, either. I know how I am when I haven't had *my* coffee. It's not pretty.

I've worked for the same company for almost 14 years. Here's the website. It's public, so I'm okay with linking it here. My actual job is related to the California Energy Market so if I give you any more information than that I may have to self-destruct my blog. Plus I could land in prison. And I don't look good in stripes.

For the past 5-1/2 years I was a "Scheduler". My new title is "Generation Dispatcher" and it pretty much sounds exactly like what I do.....dispatch generation within the state of California. Easy enough, right? Yeah. Plus I get to do that within the confines of standards... tariffs... policies... procedures... guidelines... voltage... limits... contingencies... market rules... signing things in blood... giving away my first born... being tortured... etc.

Okay, I'm exaggerating. I haven't signed anything in blood.

I was fortunate enough to be placed on the same crew when I moved to the generation desk. There are 6 crews and 3 gen(eration) dispatchers on each one of the crews. They are referred to as Gen 1, Gen 2, and Gen 3. Gen 1 is the "driver" and dispatches generation to maintain 60 hz on the system. I promise that's as electrically geeky as I get in this post.

This past Friday was my first day "driving". I didn't sleep well. I wanted to throw up. I was nervous and upset. My fellow crew mates were very....ummmm....supportive and understanding and kind and helpful given my state-of-mind. So supportive and understanding and kind that they took this picture of me.

 

If you can't read the sign it says "CAUTION: Student Driver". Yes, my coworkers are THAT nice. Please don't mistake the look on my face for anything other than sheer terror.

You'll be happy to know I survived that first night. And the second one. Then I was off to Gen 2. I still have A. LOT. of things to learn and study. I figure I'll be done learning sometime in 2081. That's 70 years away. I'll be 115.

I'm really hoping to be retired before that.