I’ve always been a
fan of the A-team but I looked back at the time between coming home
from college, working at Andy Frain and going to Devry, I realized
that I developed into a Hannibal Smith. Always coming up with a great
plan to defeat something in the way.
Coming home after
that year at Arkansas I was told by my mother. If you are going to
stay here get a job or get in school. I did both. I went to school at
Harold Washington and worked at airport for Andy Frain. The latter
with the help of my mother who met someone that worked at the office.
So now I’m in the grind. I just did the minimum, not really
standing out not really doing anything other than what I had to do.
I stayed working at
the airport for 8 years. I began to have another way of being
creative. I started to have these feelings about certain rules they
had. One in particular was the rules for shaving. I use to get told I
could punch in until I shaved. So I was curious and looked at the
actual rule and there wasn’t really any. It was just something
about it being per United (Airlines) rule. Well I went to ask someone
from United the rule. In hearing It I saw the loophole and decided to
test it.
The loophole was if
you had time off and you grew a beard you couldn’t be told to
shave. So when I took my vacation I came back with a goatee. They
asked me to shave it. I recited the rule to them. I could tell by the
looks on there face they knew I was right. I was still told to shave.
I got by that day without shaving by reaching around inside the door
and punching in and walking out of the breakroom, but the next day I
knew I wasn’t going to get away with it. I brought my shaver with
me just in case. Of course I was told to shave. I waited until they
were almost going to tell me to go home. I went into the bathroom
across the hall and shaved. Came back and did the same thing like
yesterday. The lead stopped me and told me to come in the room and
when she saw me shaved, she chuckled a little and told me to punch
in.
I knew going this
route would get me disciplined, suspended or fired. So I came up with
a plan to do surveys and have the people I transported in wheelchairs
to fill them out. The overwhelming majority of them said as long as
its neat and clean. I went back with my finding and was told they
didn’t want change anything. In face while I was doing what I was
doing they were busy changing the rule to a Frian rule about shaving
so the debate would be over. I might not have won but hey my creative
blossom grow a little and instead of being in that little box its in
a bigger one. I felt good.
During those years I
was bouncing around from school to school. Not really finding the one
I was comfortable with building up a debt to learn technology. During
that time I went to Devry, inspired by the commercials I believed it
was the right place for me. Looking back and laugh but this was
another chance for my creativity to grow, maybe not in an artistic
way but if you ask my classmates it was pure genius.
I was in a
programming language class and this instructor on the first day gave
this strange speech to the class. In short she was saying she was the
only teacher of this programming language in this school and she had
more seniority that the department head. I guess she was trying to
say we couldn’t complain about her. After that I was a little put
of by this. Why the heck did she have to say all that. I found out
quickly why.
She didn’t like to
stay after the class so she would tell everyone to keep their notes
out to the end of class. When the end of class came she bolted out
the room down to her desk and out the door. So of course the students
thinking she would be at her desk for questions got there to an empty
chair. We asked the other instructor where she was. He smiled and
pointed out the window were we could see her car pulling out the
parking space.
Its time for
creative measures. So I got together with a few of me classmates and
we hatched this idea that I would sit somewhere were she couldn’t
directly see me. I would put up my notes before class ended and I
would leave right behind her. When class ended she left and I was
right behind her. She looked back and had that damn he got me look. I
got her at the desk and asked some questions until everyone else
showed up.
The next class she
watched me, even told me you better keep your notes out or you will
miss something. So I told someone else to do what I did. It worked.
So we continued to do a different person everyday. Even the rest of
the class caught on and some of them would do it too. That plan save
a lot of people and I was proud of it.
I had some other
times where I showed this same nack for coming up with plans but
these where the most memorable. So the take is there is always a way
to get things done. Don’t let anyone make you think there is no way
to do something about it.
