Being

The best-kept secrets become mysteries

Table of Contents

• Remembering.
• Continuing, in a vacuum.
• Into yet another void.
• Ides of March.
• Early in June of 1997.
• Change is the only constant.

1995

When last we left off it was December 27th, 1994 and the book Calm, which I was at the time

(so much so that I had little to say, not much more than "jotting it down", so to speak), had just been

finished.

Cobbled down thoughts are the beginning of this effort as well, tentatively titled Real Time, mistake

number one, naming the effort too soon. The title brings into play technical matters, such as writing a

book called Real Time would require no changes to that effort, which is not how I do what I do.

The book, effort, what ever you want to call it changes as it goes along, things are connected, a theme

develops. Real Time could not be done by me at this time, another day, another way, perhaps.

The title changed a second time to Tired (painting included), as the description, within, points out.

The final title for this effort came to Being, with the start and finish dates upon either end. I choose

to finish a major combination edit of all works which took place from April

of 1998 through September1998. This effort and the next, Now, were combined Expansions.

On we go.

In 1991 I had decided to get out of the computer systems development business because there was

nothing new for me to do. I went to the Photochemicals Manufacturing Department as an assistant

to the Division Manager, assigned to put "empowered work teams" into place.

The Division Manager left six months into the efforts and for the next three years we re-thought the

structures, changing them, improving them, several times.

In 1994 we had what some called a "breakdown", which wasn't really a breakdown but more a serious

challenge to inadequate support functions.

Trying to get people to THINK about what we suppose to be doing rather than react to what computers

told us to do was at the heart of the matter. We failed to get them to think, and their activities, political

and otherwise, resulted in several people, the Division Manager, Production Manager and Quality

Manager, were relieved of their duties.

The new Division Manager was brought in to straighten out "things", but lasted only eight months

before being sent to "straighten out the French" (good luck, says I). His assigned Production and

Quality Manager, he'd combined the job for an easy headcount reduction (didn't matter that it was

an impossible effort for one person), stayed in place for just a day or two shy of two years (see

Judy Carlson, Department Manager). We made progress and much success was enjoyed.

The next Division Manager and the new Department Manager began a period of cost cutting and

business mumbo jumbo starting in June of 1997.

Diversions is about trying to deal with all of that while continuing on with all of this.

This is dedicated to my wife Judy, who puts up with me sitting here, writing as she says “about your self, who cares?”

Well, I do.