Baton Rouge Day 83

Well I have been in Baton Rouge for eighty three days now still working with the Red Cross doing disaster relief for Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. As exciting as that sounds (and at times believe me, it has been), it is just like most office jobs with a few exceptions:

1. Our "office" building is half of an empty Wal-Mart.
2. My "desk" is behind what was once the Layaway counter when the building was a Wal-Mart.
3. The staff health office (kind of like the school nurse) is in what used to be the pharmacy.
4. Our entrance is through what used to be the garden center, which is surrounded by chain link fencing approximately ten feet tall, topped with razor wire; kind of gives the place a weird pseudo-concentration camp atmosphere.
5. We have armed guards at the front and back entrances to the building. (This really was once a necessity; the volunteers had several run-ins with angry clients early in the relief operation ... I can definitely see where the frustration comes from, but violence?)

So what do I do all day in the converted Wal-Mart? Well officially and most recently I have been given the title Disaster Reserve Coordinator of Computer Operations. Quite a grand title; the Red Cross is just like any other organization that has impressive sounding titles that don't necessarily mean anything. This has only been my title for a month or so since I have been added to the payroll as a paid employee rather than a volunteer. I am actually doing the exact same job as I was as a volunteer which is the Response Technology Team Customer Service Supervisor. This one sounds a little better, but still pretty grand. What I do is this:

• I maintain the phone directory for the entire disaster relief operation, which is quite a job. People are constantly needing numbers updated as staff shifts out every three weeks or so. (Plus the occasional person insists that their impressive sounding title is incorrect.)
• I answer any technology related questions coming into our department from the field or here at headquarters. (Just at headquarters we have approximately 220 computers in use, so you can imagine the password/network/printer issues dealt with here. Luckily, I am NOT the person (usually) going to work on the issues with the customers; that is Ben.)
• I maintain the inventory program used to track all of the technology items used in the relief operation.
• I do various other "office" tasks when needed.

Below are some pictures of my "office."

The picture above is a picture of me sitting on the counter and Jeff (background) and Matt (foreground) "working" at the Red Cross headquarters in Baton Rouge.

This is another picture of my desk area. Included in the picture are all of the nifty "wall art" that I have scavenged from various places in the building. Note the cool "Awareness Center" sign. Also visible in this picture are the beautiful roses that my sweetheart Ben got for me just because I had had a bad day.