Everyone was saying, 'it can't get any worse,' yet it did.
Usually on these days which have misfortune sprinkled about, I check my baggage at the door before I walk into work. Come on, no matter how awful my day, there is always someone else in Cleveland, in my family, in the building or in another part of the world who is having a much worse day.
My boss imparts wise words of wisdom: 'if you are up, everyone else will be up and if you are down, you bring down the room'--basically telling me to 'put on a happy face!'
And most days I do!
I am a very upbeat person. I'm the girl who leads the cheers, helps anyone who needs help, rallies the troops, comes up with solutions for impossible conundrums, and jokes when the tension is thickest. Most days I DO check my baggage at the gate.
Not today. It was an awful work day. And, what made it more frustrating is that NONE of the crap happened on my watch. I did not cause any of it. But, I had to handle it.
I made a call to make sure I could salvage a story. To make matters worse, the police dispatcher for this particular city (who shall remain nameless) was, well suffice it to say, NOT A VERY NICE PERSON!
I could not log on the computer.
I had one of those head aches that causes one to vomit. Sorry, I know that's graphic, but that's how I felt and what I did!
Once the computer made up its mind to let me in, the information center started rolling and never stopped....
There was quite a bit of "stuff" that got lopped on my lap the FIRST 10 minutes of my shift including:
- Westlake dashcam/audio tapes
- Parma Hts fatal fire
- Brunswick fire (turned out to be a truck into a store)
- tracking down Westlake shooting vigil details
- Bonna shooting arrest and mug shot disseminated
- Alliance dead body update
- FOW interview subject arriving in the front lobby to my surprise
- Jory Aebly family statement and Wall of Hope details
- Peyton Moodt developments
- staying up-to-date on the missing boaters /local survivor
This is my job. This is what I do. And I'm told I do it well, though there are many days and times I make mistakes. I'm not perfect. And, to boot, I LOVE doing it! I was cranking out information, putting pictures into avid pics, circulating updates, and so much more.
Ironically, a compliment only added fuel to the fire. On any other day, it would have been taken in the proper spirit. I received a very nice commendation from someone who congratulated me. He said, 'you are totally firing on all pistons today! Nice work!' Absolutely wonderful praise!
Sounds great, huh? It is a TREMENDOUS compliment. But, this is what I do everyday. THIS IS HOW I ROLL. I fire on all pistons every day. It's unfortunate that many tireless efforts sometimes get lost in the shuffle.
I am so blessed though. What I DO have going for me during my shift is a great group of co-workers who rock! I thank God for them every single day. We celebrate our great days, push each other to our limits on a daily basis, and help each other survive the dicey days. There are MANY and I do not mean to slight anyone by not mentioning someone....but the folks who really helped douse the flames TODAY included web folks Leigh and Marc.....editor Matt, the dynamic duo of Chris Tye and videographer Chris Kunz.....followed up by Dave Summers and videographer Mark Smilor......videographers Dan Medsker and Randy White.....Jess....fearless Director Frank.....Aaron the intern.....pinch-hitting Producer Carrie (in for the ailing Dan, who is a ROCK!)......and my MVP's who come through EVERY SINGLE DAY--Jim Donovan and Yak (thanks for the ice cream sandwich, you guys!!)....My headache is gone, the other bodily unpleasantness spoken of before have ceased. Sounds of laughter began emanating throughout the room shortly after 730pm and we kicked a lot of booty! No matter what a struggle it was to get there, at the end of the day, I know the effort put forth by my peeps and really that is all that matters, isn't it!!!
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