Taking One For The Team

I made a tactical error the other night and now my conscience is making me pay for it.

When I came in Lt Chipmunk asked me if I knew anything about the Control Center. I said "I can open the gates and the doors and stuff. But I don't know anything about doing count or any of the computer stuff."

He said he didn't have anybody who knew what they were doing to work up there so he was putting one brand new guy and Bilderberger up there. Neither one of which knows beans about working the Control Center.

All I could see was a massive train wreck and I threw up my hands and said "No thanks. I'll go work 30 house where I'm supposed to."

Since Sgt Puddle called out they stuck Sgt Banty up there. He knows how to do count and has a fair grip on working the place but not the experience that Puddle has. Banty has only been up there a couple of times. Both counts cleared and on time, (thanks in part to the lovely Miz Twang who came up to help even though she was on light duty) but for most of the evening I heard repeated radio calls to have gates and doors opened and several radio calls that got missed altogether.

Anyway, I felt horrible that I had left Banty in that position. I should have gone up there and helped. But I wasn't aware of all the facts until it was too late.

So today I talked to Sgt Puddle and Lt Baby Boy and said to go ahead and start putting me up there so I can learn that stuff.

I really don't want to. It actually scares the crap out of me thinking that I might be responsible for making all of those numbers come out right. It is so easy to screw up in the Control Center and ruin everybody's day. That's why I have avoided being up there this long. Actually just thinking about it gave me the heebie jeebies.

But we are running out of people who know how to work up there. All it takes is for one or two people to call out at the same time and we could end up royally screwed.

So I'm going to do it. The best I can, anyway. Not bidding on the post, just willing to act as a fill-in when they need somebody now and then. As much as I like the crew up there, I don't think I'm the right person to be up there full time.

I'm just not the kind of person you want to be locked into a twenty foot square glass room with for eight hours, if you get my drift. Not all the time, anyway.

I figure if I can put aside my personal fears for awhile and avoid making one night go bad then it will be worth it.

Damn. I'm just a freaking prince, aint I? <-- Note, if you will, the sarcastic sneer on my lips.

**sigh**

Okay, now that my moment of self pity is out of the way, let's look at the calendar.

Thursday will be Bad Poetry Day (There once was a man from Nantucket...), Birth Control Pill Day (really?), Mail Order Catalog Day (Yay!) and Cupcake Day. Yum!