The Countdown

For anyone who has a job they're ready to move on from, and currently awaiting the start date for the job they're ready to move into, you know how I'm feeling.
I don't really like to think about the Tminus 20 hours of worktime I have left since that only makes the clock arms at work move like molasses uphill. So I've done pretty well just ignoring the whole thing til I'm finished & then I hope to breathe a gigantic sigh of relief & not feel goofy in the tiniest degreee about the cheezeball grin plastered to my face for the next 24 hours.

Not to say that my current job isn't interesting and quite enjoyable in its own element. Being a 911 Operator has exposed me to stuff I never imagined I would have to hear & discern . . . drunk people who are funny, drunk people who are irate (by the way they lose the ability to reason & seem to repeat their favorite cuss words a LOT), sober people who are irate & incredibly insulting (& who know combinations of swearwords which they must've mastered while working as sailors on the open sea), couples who won't stop screaming at each other, 9 year olds with issues so severe you could swear an angry elephant and pack of wild hyenas are making all the noise in the background, kids threatening parents with knives, horrific accidents including vehicles rolling over (and sometimes people walking away after being ejected) or tragedies of children being run over or crushed by large pieces of furniture, structure fires, non-breathers, psychiatric patients who are not quite 'crazy' enough to need to be in a facility and who loooove to call and talk or yell at us, information calls, complaint calls on officers, animal calls, party calls, thefts, burglaries, robberies (there really is a difference between the last three!) . . . pretty much anything you can imagine in the crime and public safety world, we've been a part of.
911 Operators are the first line of contact in emergencies for the police and fire department, and we are responsible for entering accurate calls for service, relaying only the important information (but not missing any of it), verifying information (which seems to infuriate many callers by wasting those precious 3-5 seconds of ensuring we have their address correct), maintaining our professionalism and composure when being slandered and verbally attacked, and when our callers' worst nightmare was just found to be their reality - we keep them with us (emotionally especially) until officers or medics are there to take over . . . we're responsible for a LOT and our liability is extremely high. Say something against the written policy & you can be held liable in a court of law with no one backing you up (reeeaaallly frustrating when you have a rare situation there's no policy on yet - think mom & child both unconscious in the pool & hubby asking 'who should I pull out first?' or someone asking if it's okay to let someone with a severe head injury fall asleep (policy doesn't tell us what to advise) . . . so we have to master the art of expressing concern, sympathy, reason, and confidence in our information & abilities in order to honestly say 'I'm not a medical professional & I don't have any answer for you there, but paramedics are enroute and they will be able to let you know.' Even if a 911 Operator has a background as a nurse or paramedic, they are not allowed to give information outside the policy to our callers. Well, I guess we're all allowed, but we won't be defended if something goes awry and we go to court for any reason. Basically, it's a really thin line we learn to tread.
I'm leaving this job for a second time, and going to a secretarial position for a second time. And there is still a part of me (it's a smaller part this 2nd time around) that is saddened by the realization that I won't be the voice over 911 any longer. It truly is a fantastic job, full of intrigue, fascination, adrenaline, and hope. My beef with it is that is also is a SHIFT-WORK job, with no guarantee of holidays off (ever, no matter how much senority you have) unless you have chosen those days as your regular days off.
I learned quickly that Christmas Eve & New Years Eve (& Christmas & New Years) fall on the same days of the week. Thanksgiving is okay to be sacrificed because the potluck at the communications center is outstanding. Cinco De Mayo (especially when it's on a weekend night) is a superb day to put in a vacation slip for, well in advance if you can - unless you can speak Spanish & then it's not so big of a deal. And Easter - if you would like to celebrate it as a Religious holiday & maintain a spirit of calm reflection and reverence - should not be done while at work. No one you talk to on the phone shares these sentiments, and family fights resulting in 911 calls often erupt with large family gatherings.
It was my dream job 7 years ago when I first started and was single, and I am grateful beyond expression for the friendships forged through long quiet graveyard nights and hectic non-stop afternoon shifts (especially during the anthrax and 9-11 horrors). The experience earned and refining of character has been gradual and highly appreciated by myself. Funny how I can let the name-calling, cussing, and yelling roll right off my back at work, but in a personal setting with people I know, just an exasperated sigh or tone of voice can leave me feeling horrible and in tears. It's kinda like I've acquired a specialized armor which waits invisibly at the door to my job and automatically slips on and off as I enter and exit - so subtley done, in fact, that I've never even noticed. In fact, I'm sure of it. It's a gift we're granted as we work each day, and the longer we're there, the harder the reinforcement becomes.
Anyway - 2 10 hour shifts is all I have left of the 911 world, and I am beyond elated to be calling my new job my workplace 'home' for the next stage in my career-life. I'm still working with the police department, just in a different area where my love of paperwork, forms, and data entry (and weekends and holidays) will all be indulged. I'll have my own desk and space, and can breathe easily through the shift-changes taking effect all around me. I think I'm pretty darn lucky to be in this place again, and to have received so much love, support, and understanding along the way. Family members & friends, THANK YOU for your patience during my daylight REM sleep and for my mix-ups with the days and dates (it's my Friday...Um but it's Monday, right). Thank you for not calling me early in the morning (which I know is really 10:00 but is like 3AM for me) and for being willing to adjust your timing to my schedule every 3-4 months. I have been truly, incredibly blessed, in so many ways, and although it's a little early, wave goodbye to a great job with sucky schedules. (I know, I know, it's only sucky if you don't have 7-8 years worth of senority to choose the schedule you wanted, or don't get your vacation slip signed when you're due to leave the country tomorrow and you only need 2 hours of your time covered, or you have to work on the holidays because your name wasn't drawn in the 'holiday lottery', or can't get time off on short notice for an important family gathering or event - or to pick up your child. You're Right.)