Trees for the Forest

It doesn't matter what industry, environment, work setting, job site or group of people you work with - if you work with them long enough, you start to use words that are common to the job you do. And if you work in this area long enough, the words become their own language. After awhile, you do not even notice that this language means nothing to anyone else, except the people typical to your environment.
     If you work long enough in the forest, you do not see the trees for what they are. They are all "trees". You do not see them for the pines, oaks, elms, maples, birches..... they are "just" trees. When someone new comes to work in your forest, you tell them to go over to that tree and do what ever you do.  Trouble is, when you come back, you have found that this new person went over to that tree, when you meant the other tree!  Now if you had taken two minutes to explain that you wanted the "pine" worked on and not the "maple" you would have saved both of you a lot of time and frustration!  The medical industry is the worst for this....  You walk into their world typically because you need help! (why else would you go there?) And before you know it, your head is spinning because these people in front of you are so lost in their environment and language, they do not even see that you have NO idea what they are saying. Then they get frustrated with you, think we are all idiots and they wonder how we even survive.....
     Trees for the forest. Next time someone walks into your forest, take the time to help them understand the difference in "trees" in your world. Explain the oaks and the elms. Help them to understand. Save yourself both some time. We have survived in the forest since the beginning of time. I don't think the trees have changed, I think we just have too many forests now.  James M. Swem

The Last Few Weeks....

1,062 days ago, my right foot was crushed by a tractor trailer. I was out of work 488 days. The company I had worked for wanted me to violate my doctors orders and come back to work before I was released. From their point of view, they gave me enough time for the family medical leave act and because they were a small company, they needed to fill my position. Less then two weeks I was going to be released back to work.I was told they "restructured".
     While looking for work I filed an online application and resume for a large engineering firm in the area, to work in their panel shop. As it worked out my next job was actually with a company I had worked with years prior in their panel shop. As they were running low on work, I got a phone call from the large engineering firm and they wanted to know if I was still interested in an interview? I took the interview and ended up with a job position one step higher than what I had interviewed for!
     54 days ago I lost my job. Terminated. Living in this great state of New York, I filed for unemployment as you are supposed to. With a few weeks delay, and many hours spent pushing number buttons on the phone, I was granted unemployment. As a prior service vet you get to check an extra box. A few weeks later, I got invited to one of there 'vets welcome, this is what we can help you with' blah blah blah seminars. They said if we had any questions we could stick around afterwards for some one on one questions. When it came time to leave, twenty some odd people fled like the ship was going down! I stuck around. I had questions. They had a few things that seemed interesting to me! Met a vet rep., gave him the brief 'here's what I am thinking, what can we do?',  made an appointment for a few days later and went in and talked with the man. Because I prefer to research my own questions, try and find the answers and see if my path is sound - I had come up with few answers, found a good path, but just could not find how to get form here to there, I put my stuff in a folder and off I went to see the man!
     During our meeting, he handed me two piles of paper on the "how to's" of getting from here to there, part A.  While we talked, the other vet rep was listening, stuck in his four cents worth and agreed i had a sound plan! But.....   I am mostly an electrician. Why not get some schooling for low voltage, LED, and solar applications??  Seems to be the next thing coming...  and with my background, maybe I could find a few grants and start my own business ??  Helping other vets??  AWESOME !!  Uncle Sam has monies to send me back to school. You have to be enrolled in a full time program. All of the low voltage, LED and solar programs are "certifications" - pay the money, take the course, pass the test, get the certification. Now you are qualified to do it! Fine. Not "full time" enrollment. So while both vet reps are whacking the shit out of their keyboards, trying to find the answers, somewhere in the back of my head, plan "C" was stirring up dust. How do we get from here to there?  The money uncle sam is offering will pay for "some" school.....  Last time I wanted to start my own business, one of the questions was, "how much business experience do you have?"  hmmmm  Our local community college offers a business course....  what if I go back to school and get a degree in business?  I leaned in behind my vet rep and said,'what if i go to OCC for business administration?'  The clouds parted, the angels sang and my vet rep was doing the end zone goal football slam down field dance right there in the office !!!   File for the government stuff online, go up to the college next week, talk to the Office of Veteran's Affairs up there and it looks like I will going back to college for a two year degree in Business Technology... Go figure? Whoda thunk it?

     It has been a busy "last few weeks" !