Work and the Power of Choice

This has been a pretty good week. Work has been rather busy, as we have deadlines approaching every 1-2 weeks. I should explain what it is I do exactly. Yes, I am a technical writer and I write technical manuals, but what I do is much different, much more intense, and much cooler then writing about microwaves and mattresses--no offense to those who write about microwaves; I am all for anything that teaches you how to cook your burrito without going blind, getting radiation poisoning, or causing an explosion because you never thought to ask whether pots and pans are safe containers. As for those who write about mattresses, I did that for a month, and admit it, you'd rather be counting the screws in the hardwood floor at the Boston Garden.

I write technical manuals for a naval destroyer. There is so much that goes into writing these manuals. There are dozens of systems on the ship, which translates into hundreds of components, which in turn translates into thousands of pages about those components and the systems themselves. These manuals describe everything about the systems and the components, instruct the user on how to install and configure them, and then offer troubleshooting information.

In the 14 months that I have worked for Raytheon, which is in Tewksbury, just 30 miles north of Boston, I have found that the intensity of the job can be traced primarily to one ongoing factor: There are dozens and dozens of people in your department, each of whom have work that depends on the cooperation of people outside the department, even outside the company, who in turn often have priorities and deadlines that don't coincide with those of the project for which you are responsible. The more people you have in that type of situation, the more vital it is to stay on each other's backs, following up on every little task you need them to do and reminding them of every little deadline that needs to be met and why it so important, which can get quite irritating for all parties involved. Even then, deadlines are often missed and/or pushed back, which irritates those with OCD to no end. I should mention my Team Lead is OCD.

Anyway, that's all I can really say about the job, as I deal with a lot of proprietary information. Most of my friends would find the details boring anyway. I can say that I spent this entire week preparing some operational procedures for a Q2 Review. These procedures took so long that I even had to work today, which normally would have been my Friday off. That just means I'll get next Friday off, as well as the next. While I do enjoy my job, this week's task was a little tedious. For the past three months, I have been looking forward to transferring to a position as a technical editor. In this position, I would be performing Q6 Reviews on other people's work, which my Team Lead and my Supervisor both think would be a great fit for me. I was supposed to start last month, but deadlines have been pushed back.

On Monday of this week, my Team Lead told me that because of funding, it could be months before I start my new position. That can be kind of frustrating, but at least that means I have more time to get to know the SMEs involved in the project and gain more in-depth knowledge about these systems. I didn't work much with SMEs last year, as my work was mostly under the direction of my Team Lead, but now my mind is trained well enough to the point that I know what questions I need to ask, and to whom, in any given situation that may arise on the job.

Also this week, I read the book The Giver upon a friend's recommendation. I mention this book because it offered a lot more insight than I previously had about freedom of choice, otherwise known as free agency. Without giving the plot away, I will say that it suggests some very profound implications of living in a society where we are compelled to do good, treat everyone with respect, and shun evil in its entirety, which includes evil deeds, evil thoughts, and exposure to anything that could remotely encourage any actions that are less than ideal. I'll give you a hint on some of those implications: think of the color brown and take note of the emotions you feel while doing so. Also, think of how winter makes you feel. Chances are you probably experience negative emotions, which may or may not have a negative influence on your actions. So just for the sake of caution, what would be the only sure-fire way to avoid those negative emotions altogether? Think about it.

Consequently, while I have always believed that God allows us to make our own choices so that we can grow and find happiness in making the right ones, I now understand just how meaningful and necessary it is to have those things in our lives that can potentially bring us joy or pain based on our choices. God doesn't just want us to find joy in the fact that we chose good over evil and therefore have learned self-mastery. That is a major part of it, but He also wants us to 1) understand the human tendency for choosing evil in most situations because it seems like the natural thing to do in this imperfect world, and 2) comprehend the true power of choice, and how it enables us to create or destroy things, each other, and even ourselves. Once we learn of the human potential and the astronomical contrast between the consequences of good and the consequences of evil, only then will we find ultimate joy.

Even so, I still have mixed feelings about the book's ending. Oh well, at least it got me thinking again.