So, I had a pretty interesting week, as far as weeks go or, I should say have gone thus far here at the National Polygon. As you can tell by the length of time since my last post, much time has elapsed... which is not to say that a lot has happened. But wait, I thought I just said that I had an interesting week? Duh... not the same thing!
Okay, so I am stalling. You already know my Monday (Episode 5), and Tuesday I did some stepping out. In anticipation of a lunchtime conference, Tuesday morning I went to the PAC as soon as I arrived at work. On the treadmill, I slaughtered some imaginary competitors to the tunes of my iPod, whipping my sweaty hair about because again I forgot to bring my hat. Then I tossed some weights around and had just enough time to clean up and make it up to the office by 0900. I called JP to let me in the door, but no luck. So, I rang the doorbell and a usually pissed off Master Sergeant let me in. Okay, "pissed off" is a little harsh, maybe she is just possesses a perpetually peeved posture. Yeah, that's it.
At 1030 JP and I headed down to the metro station to meet one of the Colonels we work with (the one who is rarely there). We paced up and down the station looking for him only to realize that the train we needed to catch operates from the platform below us. I'll tell you what, though, we were digging using our SmarTrip cards (I refer to mine as my Smart Rip because the way they tried to combine the words just doesn't make a proper compound word)... they're so easy to use: just make the card kiss the top of the turnstile, and whammo! you're through. It makes me feel so in the know.
When we got down to the lower platform, there isn't a soul down there. We figure the Colonel must have just gotten on the train, so we hop on the next one. I swear, oftentimes we give these O-6s way too much credit -- oh, you'll see. We get on the train and as we are standing there, I start laughing to myself -- not out loud really, just that little sniffing, snickering shiteatingrin thing I tend to do when a thought occurs to me that just cracks me up. The thought hasn't fully morphed into slap my thigh territory yet, however. JP looks from side to side and then kind of insecurely asks me, "What?"
"Well, I am getting a little sick of hearing the same lady's voice on all of these trains: 'Stand back, doors closing. Stand back, doors closing!.' I would really like to hear maybe a different voice for each line... maybe a person from a different part of the country, you know, using a different accent, a regional patois. The red line lady could be a Souther Belle: 'Stand back, y'all, don't get snapped in the doors!' Maybe a surfer for the blue line: 'Dude, Look out, man, doors are closin'.' The green line: 'Waach the caah dawrs...' in a Bahston accent -- you get the idea."
"Yeah, that would be funny. What I would also like is for there to be a little noise of disappointment when someone misses the train," JP offers.
"Whaa-whaa," (like on a game show), I add, "--or 'Sucks to be You!' So we go on like this, senselessly babbling about how much more fun it would be to ride the metro. I mean, would it really cost a whole lot more? Why not make it like Disneyland?
Anyway, we get to our stop, look around for the lost Colonel and then find the building we are supposed to go to and wait in the lobby for the Colonel. And wait and wait and wait and wait-- Oh, there he is, coming up out of the metro station, the dude in the flight suit (DON'T get me STARTED on that bit of misetiquitte that is practiced here in our Nation's Capitol!). We flag him down, sign in, listen to his lame and mumbled excuses for his tardiness and take the elevator up to where we are supposed to attend this conference.
The conference was incidentally very interesting. It was about the numerous works of Arab literature and films that portray themes that are contrary to the violent extremism that dominates and hampers Arabian culture in the region. The presentation and ensuing discussion leaves me feeling so hopeful, warm and philanthropic inside... yet also so helpless when I consider the sheer enormity of the task... what it will take to put these works in a position/venue where they could have a noticeable impact. They're out there, though. I just feel like these works are so many seedlings on a barren mountainside where we dream of having a forest someday...
So, that was a nice break. JP and I went back to the office after that and discussed the merits of bringing a lunch. I hadn't brought a lunch that day, so I acted like I was content to mack down on my protein bar while he ate his juicy Turkey sandwich. While I was doing that, I wrote up a little synopsis of the talk we just heard for the other Colonel -- the one we work for. He was rushing about about something and babbled something about having to go to a meeting and that he would be back for the 1330 meeting we all had (news to me), but also had to pick some up some people (who were running the meeting) and he might not make it back in time for that, they were coming from the metro, so maybe one of us could go meet them if he wasn't back by ten of, did we think that was something we could do?
"Sure, yes, Sir!" I said to be helpful.
"What do they look like?" JP asked.
"Oh, I don't know. There are two of them --in a group of two, two people coming up from the metro. He used to be in the CIA," the Colonel very distractedly tried to explain.
"Oh, that will be easy," I offered, "I'll just ask everybody coming up from the metro to strip and the one that doesn't have a tattoo will be the guy!"
[Chrip chirp] That didn't go over well. Oh well.
"We'll figure it out, Sir." JP said, and the Colonel walked away. "Seriously," he looked at me, "how does he think we can find these people? 'Oh there are two of them,'" he mocked. Good point.
"How about we hold up a sign, like a limo driver in an airport?" I offered again, hoping this joke would go over better than the first.
""Hey! That's a great idea! We'll just make a sign that says [insert name here]. I like it!" Score! Slightly proud of ourselves, we pondered it for another couple of seconds and then sat down at our respective computers and forgot all about it until the Colonel came whirlwinding back through our cubicle farm at 5 minutes 'till 1330. Shoot, where had the time gone!
We went into the conference room and waited for the rest of the folks for the meeting to arrive.
Blah blah blah insert meeting contents here -- the contents actually were fascinating to me, so unlike anything I have dealt with before, but I cannot disclose them in such an open forum as this I am afraid. Suffice it to say that your government is doing some pretty cool and innovative things to counter threats and keep you all safe!
The next morning when I got in, JP and I planned our day around an 1100-1300 Videoteleconference we had to attend for the Colonel. That too was very interesting, funny even at times to see how many people we at the Polygon throw at meetings and how little the other Combatant Commanders seem to give a damn. --just my impression, just my impression.
Later on when I got back to the office I had a little heart to heart with Big Tony. He was all there was really there to talk to and also I figured he would give me an outsider's unbiased view. "So, Tony, tell me if I am off the mark here, okay?"
"Okay," he says as he turns around in his chair to face me, folding his hands like he is going to do the 'here is the church' trick.
"Since nobody has really been able to really explain it to me, I have been trying to figure out just what my job is here." He's still listening. "So, we go to these meetings and conferences and take notes, come back write some shit up for the Colonel; then we surf the Classified and Unclas web and look for people, movements and websites of interest, do a little research and at the end of the week we summarize what we've done and where we've been in a one page document which we feed to the General so she can talk to the higher ups about it and maybe do something about our musings."
"Yeah, that's pretty much it."
"But to WHAT END? I mean I am just used to having a mission to work towards... inspections... targets... something. Everything here is just so vast and nebulous!"
"Yeah, pretty much," Tony nods.
"Oh. Okay. Thanks, Tony."
"No problem."
I go back to my desk, somewhat satisfied about something...
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