May 25 - Training Day

May 25, 2013 Training Day

Today will be my first shift as a Residence Coordinator. It starts at 1 PM. In the afteroon, we do most of the cleaning. Then we're off from 5 till 10. I call this period the Intermission. The rest of the day runs from 10 PM to 2 AM, and consists mostly of night patrol. Quiet hours run from 10 PM to 7 AM, and our goal is to enforce this. Also, we make sure no one has open containers of alcohol in public areas, and that no one under 21 has any alcohol at all.

Since I'm still mentally on Eastern time, and haven't yet adjusted to this shift, I woke up at 7:30. With hours to spare, part of me feels I should be out doing exciting Yellowstone things. Trouble is, it takes about a month to get used to living at this altitude. My breathing is slightly irregular. Every once in awhile, I feel compelled to exhale heavily, and expel whatever air is in my lungs at the time. Presumably, it's gotten stale. My energy level isn't great as a result. So I need to conserve what I have for work, especially today – first impressions being what they are.

Each day starts with a short, informal meeting in the Personnel Office. In theory, this is partly so we can review events of the previous day. So far, things have been quiet, and there have no events needing review. We also discuss things that are scheduled for the upcoming day, which happens to be safety inspections in Goldeneye. This isn't my assigned dorm, but I'm supposed to go along to observe. Also, you're always supposed to have two Personnel staffers on hand anytime you open a resident's door.

Basically what happens is the RC knocks twice while announcing their purpose. If no one is in the room, they use their master key while announcing their entry through the cracked door. If we hear no squeals, we check for fire hazards: furniture or décor closer than 6 inches from the baseboard heater, anything on or within 18 inches of the sprinkler, or anything that heats up that was left plugged in. We also check that everyone uses surge protectors rather than extension cords and make sure the smoke detector battery light is on.

I feel gratified to find the first violation, a heating pad left plugged in. I've established RC cred. We unplug it, and a violation gets taped to the door. If someone is present, we don't leave a note. We just explain that the blankets can't be so close to the heater, or that the coffeemaker has to be unplugged, not just turned off. The problem is, the area is prone to power outages. And devices like these have been known to overload and ignite when power is restored.

 

While we're conducting the inspection, I can't help looking around a bit. I'm surprised at how much stuff some people brought with them. Several have matching comforters & pillow shams, many have microwaves &/or mini-fridges, and one even has one of those shelving units that fit above a toilet tank. That's furniture, not just decor. I suppose if you return for multiple seasons, you want the comforts of home. Goldeneye houses a lot of retirees who come back every year.

Only one floor needs inspection, and I still have half a shift when we're done. I was told to go look for Mark once we're done. He's been an RC for awhile, so it's decided that I should shadow him for a couple of days.

Our first priority is vacuuming, but most of the machines aren't working right. As he puts it, we're vacuum-challenged. Once I get started, I can easily see why. There's no landscaping in Yellowstone, in keeping with the wilderness preserve concept. As a result, the area around the hotel and the dorms is covered mostly in sand and gravel, with some rocks thrown in for variety. You can't help tracking it in. There's quite a lot of noise when the vacuum sucks it up, a symphony of hisses and rattles and pops. It gives me flashbacks of playing with one of these: 

Thank you, mini/eng!

After awhile, something from the safety training session comes back to me. We were told never to sweep up mouse droppings. They can carry hanta virus, which can become airborne if vacuumed. The pattern of the carpet includes small black spots that look exactly like mouse droppings. If you tried, you couldn't come up with better camouflage.

At 10 PM night patrol begins. On a typical evening, this consists mostly of telling people to be quiet. You're not supposed to be able to hear anyone inside a room from about 15 feet away.

The second floor of Pelican houses people under 21, so booze is forbidden there. We're supposed to watch for that, and no one can drink alcohol from an open container in public areas. According to the manual, we should also be prepared to encounter property crime, suicidal residents, sexual assault and/or domestic violence. For major stuff, we call Security &/or the law enforcement rangers (NPS), or if anyone becomes belligerent or threatening.

On occasion, people might just need to talk. Many of them are young, and away from home for the first time.

None of that happens on this night, though. Mostly, Mark & I just sit around BSing. He's from Loudon County, which, like Columbia, is part of the extended Capital Region. We weren't exactly neighbors back home, but fins some mutual favorite places to discuss. So my first night passes eventfully.