506 - Module 1

I used The Elements of Style years ago when I was undergrad, but had never heard of On Writing Well, though I note that it’s in its 30th anniversary edition. I really like Zinsser’s simple, common sense advice on writing. I particularly identified with a paragraph at the end of the second chapter on simplicity. Zinsser notes that people often inform professional writers that “they could write a book,” or that they would like to try writing – that is, for fun. In their mind it doesn’t take the hard work and skill required of THEIR profession.

I appreciate Zinsser’s indignation because I hear it nearly every day as well. I work with a group of logisticians and software and network engineers. Part of my job is to listen to their technical explanations and translate it into “English” so the client can track the progress on their program. Some of what my coworkers do, I admit, I don’t understand, but sometimes I think they use consultant speak to make their work sound more mysterious and so beyond my comprehension. To get to the meat of the topic, I have to ask lots of questions and sometimes keep asking the same question in different ways until they can lay aside the jargon and explain to me what they are doing. After many inquiries, I can usually unearth a quote that tells the story.

The problem is, often when I send a piece for their review, they want to undo my work and rewrite the article in their lingo. They also want to flower-up any quotes I may have used in order to ensure that they sound sufficiently intelligent. They can take a great, descriptive quote that conjures an image and makes a scientific topic understandable, and turn it back into a long string of unwieldy words that not even a scientist would use in conversation. Add that to the consultant-ese, and the article is almost unreadable. Detail turns into granular and use turns into leverage – just say it!

My coworkers don’t seem to understand that the biggest part of writing is not putting words on a piece of paper; they are right, anyone can do that. The hard part of writing is arranging those words into coherent sentences and paragraphs so that someone OTHER than perhaps the author’s proud mother would not only want to read, but get something out of it. If no one ever reads your work, you are journaling. As fulfilling and enriching as person journaling may be, not all journals are worthy of being read by anyone but the writer. 

Especially in this era where anyone can write a blog that others can easily access, it makes writing seem effortless and easy, but as Prof. Nichols said in her lecture, “no one will listen to you unless you have a concise and interesting way to say it.”

Meet Mimi

When I’m sipping coffee in a café I’m sure I look like the picture of calm. I might seem to be leisurely surfing the internet on my laptop or writing poetry in my Moleskine notebook, but I only wish that were true! Outward appearances are often deceiving.

That laptop? I’m usually doing homework for one of my graduate courses, proofreading a fact sheet for my office, doing a devotional for my small group, filling out FAFSA forms for my son, researching senior living establishments for my elderly father, or paying bills online. The notebook is full of grocery items and to-do lists, sketches for the mural I’ll soon be painting in my grandson’s new bedroom, ideas for blog posts, and … well, you get the idea.

Yes, I’m a member of the “sandwich generation” and some days I feel like someone has taken a big ol' bite out of me. I was a working mom when my kids were small and I thought I was busy then, but that was nothing compared to now. Back in those days I came home from work and tended to my home and family. Now I have increased responsibility at work that means longer hours, family in four different homes, and a husband who now travels one to two weeks a month. That means I get to mow the grass and fix toilets now too. Hoorah!

Don’t get me wrong. I have a great life. My daughter and son are mostly grown, but we’re a close family so they are still very much in my daily life. In fact my daughter, her husband, two dogs, one cat, and two-year-old Lincoln are living with us for a few months while their new house is being built. My son skipped college because he wanted to do something exciting; he went to dive school for a year and became a commercial diver. After three years he decided he didn’t want to be diving into freezing rivers when he was 50, so he is back in college. He will be home for the summer so I’ll have another victim to film for my media class. The hustle and bustle of a full house is back. 

It’s no longer quiet when I get home from work, but I realize that I missed having people to greet me when I arrive. It’s especially enjoyable to have a little guy around full time. I love seeing Lincoln’s huge adoring smile when he runs to hug me as I walk in the door, and the worst day turns around when I hear his rendition of Itsy Bitsy Spider. There’s no negotiating with a toddler however. Should we watch my instructor’s lecture or Super Why? Super Why wins every time.

Dealing with an 86-year-old man is not much different. My dad likes things his way too. My stepmother died about nine months ago and he has become increasingly depressed, lonely and dependent on me. But unlike Lincoln, when he doesn’t want to do what I want him to, I can’t pick him up like a sack of potatoes and make him go where I say. Dad lives nearly 300 miles from our home so it’s difficult to visit more than once a month. We have plenty of room in our home so I try to get him to come here and visit for a few weeks, but he insists that I come there because he is more comfortable in his house. “Your work gives you vacation time, don’t they,” he always says. So I go.

Of course, when I get there, he chides me that he never gets to see Lincoln. I bring him occasionally, but my daughter is a nurse who works weekends, so if Lincoln comes, it’s me in a car alone for nearly five hours with a toddler. That’s not my idea of a vacation. After my dad greets the little booger for five minutes he goes back to his Cubs game, I spend the rest of the weekend chasing Lincoln away from shelves loaded with breakables and ash trays with burning cigarettes. I’m working on getting Dad to move to a senior center in our town. It’s slow going, but I think I am wearing him down, mainly because he is hungry!

Dad has no culinary skills; he once tried to cook a Hot Pocket, still in its plastic wrapper, in a pan on the stove and he told me he won’t buy lettuce from Krogers because it is too hard – it was cabbage. I signed him up for Meals on Wheels, but he cancelled it after one day saying they gave him broccoli and he doesn’t like broccoli. Although I am definitely not a cook, I ensure that I make all his favorites when I go see him to entice him back to Ohio where I call home.

I know that many people will hear Ohio and think that is has to be the most boring place in the world. So far, that has never been the case for me. I followed my husband all over the US and the world during his Air Force career and every day for me is still full. I’m looking forward to old age when I will finally be able to surf the web for fun and maybe even write poetry. Boredom sounds wonderful to me.

Sample Posts for 506DE

Sample from my blog on creativity:

A Thing of Beauty

My husband and son “live” in the garage. They always have a project going and even when they don’t, they hang out there admiring their “stuff.” Their big project at the moment is rebuilding a ’64 Ford pickup. They have had the truck for several years and do things here and there, but I guess other things kept taking precedence. Although it’s been in pieces for quite a while, a beautifully reupholstered red and gray seat is ready and waiting.

In the past several months or so their interest has suddenly returned and they have been actively working on the body. They decided the frame the truck is on is not what they wanted so they found another truck on Craiglist. This one doesn’t run either (just what we need right?) and not only that, it is LIME GREEN — metallic lime green. They assured me they were just buying it for the frame, not for the body. I was impressed that that very same weekend, they removed the body from the frame. The frame is now in the garage being welded and painted.

Here’s the problem — at least for me. The cab and bed of the green pickup are sitting in our driveway. Thankfully we don’t have a homeowners association, but still it’s starting to look like we live down the street from Loretta Lynn. So, the pieces went on Craiglist last week. Believe it or not, people are actually calling them! So far they have sold a door, some other miscellaneous parts and today, the rest of the cab. I yelled a thank you out the window when the guy came to pick it up. I’m told the bed is sold too and will be hauled away this week.

Needless to say, they are quite proud of themselves. I was in the garage visiting last night and they showed me what they were doing with the extra money they were making from selling pieces. They’ve bought an engine from someone, and were “mocking it up” for me so I can see how great it’s going to look. My son is especially impressed with the Edelbrock valve covers they obtained from my equally packrat-ish brother. I guess the covers are from the late 50′s or early 60′s, are quite hard to come by, and are way cool.

I tried hard to find the beauty in the engine they are so proud of, but that’s what is so intriguing about creativity — it’s different for every person. They just shook their heads as I went back to the house to play with my paper and fabric scraps.

Here's a second sample -- a typical article from my work (not very exciting and I've changed some names and acronyms to protect the innocent):

CAC Creates One-Stop Tool for CAN Information 

Although he has yet to see the EBSS solution live and in action, he’s already sold. When MSgt James Baker became the Change Agent Coordinator (CAC) for the 102nd Air National Guard Fighter Wing at South Bend International Airport in Indiana, he was not sure what to expect.  He delved quickly into researching what the program was all about and it didn’t take long for him to become a believer.  “The single source of data contained in EBSS will change our lives,” he said.

When MSgt Baker took on his CAC duties in October 2010, he found EBSS information in many different places. He decided that he needed to get the Site Transformation Plan, contact lists, fact sheets, and other records   organized and easily accessible, so he experimented with different ideas. Because of its ability to accept so many different formats, he finally settled on a comprehensive Excel spreadsheet to keep track of the data via tabs, attachments and links. Selling new change agents and leaders on the program is a challenge he explained, and keeping the pertinent information at his fingertips in this tool increases his credibility.

“There’s lots of useful material out there, but getting yourself organized to use it efficiently puts you at a big advantage,” said Baker. He stressed that this is a local tool that needs continuous updates, but used effectively, it’s like EBSS itself, a one-stop source for information.

The sergeant has been in government procurement work for a number of years, so working with the antiquated legacy systems is part of his daily life.  “Today, my counterparts and I go to a file in a computer, then to a book on the shelf to pencil down more information, then back to the computer with a floppy disk to access yet another program,” he related. “That’s all done before we even begin to accomplish the simple task we set out to do. EBSS will change all that.”

Bauer is convinced that the system will save the Air Force (AF) time and money.  As a Systems Analyst, he is amazed that they are still utilizing the same computers and programs used more than 26 years ago when he began – computers and programs which cost more and more each year to repair and patch.  But he also understands change will not be easy. He is impressed with the recent comments from the CSAF and other AF leaders who realistically admit that not everything about EBSS will be rosy. Especially at first when not all bases are live, some workers will be doing double data entry. “That won’t make people happy, but this is just too big a job to do all in one swoop.” He continued that no matter how hard or how slow, this HAS to happen. “It will be worth it,” he said.

EBSS Field Agent Jerry Olson praises MSgt Baker for his dogged persistence to make EBSS a success within the Indiana ANG.  “Through all the stops and starts, typical in programs of this magnitude, James has held fast to the vision and goals of EBSS as the enabler to transform supply chain operations within the AF,” explained Olson.  “He’s often been that lone voice of support when others might succumb to negative rumors and skepticism; however, he’s backed by an increasingly optimistic and supportive change agent network,” he continued. “I have no doubt MSgt Baker and the South Bend team will be successful.”