All I wanted to do was get to the other side of the interstate.
This week, we got moved to a different office across town, and in this new space, I don't know my way around. There is an center with a few shops right across the highway, and I decided on the first day that I wanted to stop by there on my way home. The road that I use to get back onto the highway is not well marked. The brilliant traffic engineers responsible for this masterpiece created a series of access tunnels under the highway that would make a hobbit proud. It is a warren of unmarked burrows, and each one takes you to a different magical place.
My first entry took me on an epic, and completely unexpected, journey along the highway to the west. I honestly have no idea how.
A half hour, three illegal left hand turns later, and a few near misses with massive buses and trucks, and I am back where I started. Second try at the intersection: OK, the left road took me the wrong way, so I will try the middle road, which will surely take me across.
And suddenly I am headed eastward on the highway. And again..... I honestly have no idea how - I am convinced that the passage through the space-time continuum at this location does not follow normal rules of physics. I swear there were four left-hand turns underneath the Escher print of a highway, and the road bent inward on itself, and I emerged in front of a tractor trailer who was barreling merrily along at 95 miles an hour.
Five miles up the road, I gave up trying to turn around and simply went to the hotel, figuring I would try again tomorrow.
Tomorrow didn't get any better. Trying to navigate around rather than through, I tried another passage which took me in the wrong direction for a mile, then looped under, over and through, sending me back on the same eastward path to my hotel.
Now mind you, after a 12 hour day, I am not upset to find myself headed to the room. But this was getting a little crazy.
The next morning, I leave the hotel early with the express desire to make it there, look around, and figure it out IN THE MORNINGTIME, when I was fresh. It was the first time it has been daylight when I was trying to make the run. And I saw the sign that explained everything.
This is the sign.
Believe me, it is neither as simple nor as straightforward as it appears.
Much of the work here in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria is like that. We refer to our work as flying the plane while we build it, and it is an apt analogy. To fix the power grid, you need materials and crews. The exciting bit is that you cannot wait until you know what you need to put in the order for materials or crews. How many power poles do you need? How many miles of wire?
Dunno.
It takes three weeks to get the stuff here, so while you are figuring it out, let's put in the first order. You place an order for too much materials, you end up with stuff left over. You order just the right amount, and you can't finish the job, because there will be damaged stuff along the way. How do you get it right.
Same with the people. Contract a bunch of crews for the work. How many people do you need?
Dunno.
Get the people here, and we'll figure it out. More than we need. And if they have to sit and wait while we get the stuff here, then we'll figure that out, too. Maybe they can clear the area around the poles. And scavenge broken towers for reusable materials.
In traffic here, there is no room for self doubt. There is no place for hesitation, for making sure before you commit. You plunge into an intersection, you spend some time in prayer while you are doing it, and you try to vector your response to make it right.
In the work here, it is just the same. We are working like crazy. We are vectoring in on the right solution. We are acting, ordering, and contracting, and we are committing large amounts of money to restore electrical power in Puerto Rico. And we find out - every two weeks - that we now have better information, and the solution looks different than we thought it would.
The path we are on is chaotic, and the road is filled with potholes and crazy drivers. The road map doesn't help. My phone lost power, and was mispronouncing all the road names anyway. I may be currently going the wrong direction (and at least once, the wrong way down a one-way street). But the end goal is clear.
I eventually got to the other side of the road, and got to the store. But more importantly, I now have a clearer understanding of the intersection. I still miss my turn sometimes, but I can make the adjustments I need. I also know to anticipate my mistakes, and recognize them earlier.
We know where we want to get, and we are all trying to get there.
It is the light at the end of the tunnel. Always the light. We are the Power Grid Restoration team.
Estamos aqui.
This week, we got moved to a different office across town, and in this new space, I don't know my way around. There is an center with a few shops right across the highway, and I decided on the first day that I wanted to stop by there on my way home. The road that I use to get back onto the highway is not well marked. The brilliant traffic engineers responsible for this masterpiece created a series of access tunnels under the highway that would make a hobbit proud. It is a warren of unmarked burrows, and each one takes you to a different magical place.
My first entry took me on an epic, and completely unexpected, journey along the highway to the west. I honestly have no idea how.
A half hour, three illegal left hand turns later, and a few near misses with massive buses and trucks, and I am back where I started. Second try at the intersection: OK, the left road took me the wrong way, so I will try the middle road, which will surely take me across.
And suddenly I am headed eastward on the highway. And again..... I honestly have no idea how - I am convinced that the passage through the space-time continuum at this location does not follow normal rules of physics. I swear there were four left-hand turns underneath the Escher print of a highway, and the road bent inward on itself, and I emerged in front of a tractor trailer who was barreling merrily along at 95 miles an hour.
Five miles up the road, I gave up trying to turn around and simply went to the hotel, figuring I would try again tomorrow.
Tomorrow didn't get any better. Trying to navigate around rather than through, I tried another passage which took me in the wrong direction for a mile, then looped under, over and through, sending me back on the same eastward path to my hotel.
Now mind you, after a 12 hour day, I am not upset to find myself headed to the room. But this was getting a little crazy.
The next morning, I leave the hotel early with the express desire to make it there, look around, and figure it out IN THE MORNINGTIME, when I was fresh. It was the first time it has been daylight when I was trying to make the run. And I saw the sign that explained everything.
This is the sign.
 |
| Trouble Ahead |
Much of the work here in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria is like that. We refer to our work as flying the plane while we build it, and it is an apt analogy. To fix the power grid, you need materials and crews. The exciting bit is that you cannot wait until you know what you need to put in the order for materials or crews. How many power poles do you need? How many miles of wire?
Dunno.
It takes three weeks to get the stuff here, so while you are figuring it out, let's put in the first order. You place an order for too much materials, you end up with stuff left over. You order just the right amount, and you can't finish the job, because there will be damaged stuff along the way. How do you get it right.
Same with the people. Contract a bunch of crews for the work. How many people do you need?
Dunno.
Get the people here, and we'll figure it out. More than we need. And if they have to sit and wait while we get the stuff here, then we'll figure that out, too. Maybe they can clear the area around the poles. And scavenge broken towers for reusable materials.
In traffic here, there is no room for self doubt. There is no place for hesitation, for making sure before you commit. You plunge into an intersection, you spend some time in prayer while you are doing it, and you try to vector your response to make it right.
In the work here, it is just the same. We are working like crazy. We are vectoring in on the right solution. We are acting, ordering, and contracting, and we are committing large amounts of money to restore electrical power in Puerto Rico. And we find out - every two weeks - that we now have better information, and the solution looks different than we thought it would.
The path we are on is chaotic, and the road is filled with potholes and crazy drivers. The road map doesn't help. My phone lost power, and was mispronouncing all the road names anyway. I may be currently going the wrong direction (and at least once, the wrong way down a one-way street). But the end goal is clear.
I eventually got to the other side of the road, and got to the store. But more importantly, I now have a clearer understanding of the intersection. I still miss my turn sometimes, but I can make the adjustments I need. I also know to anticipate my mistakes, and recognize them earlier.
We know where we want to get, and we are all trying to get there.
It is the light at the end of the tunnel. Always the light. We are the Power Grid Restoration team.
Estamos aqui.
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