I’m am trying not to complain.

No, seriously, I am trying not to complain.

Like, really trying.

Not my usual “sorta funny, sarcastic comments that don’t completely sound like complaining but deep down … it’s complaining”.    This is actually me trying not to complain.  Seriously, how do you people who don’t complain get through life.  This is really hard.  But here it goes …

I’m doing a lot of traveling with this new job.  Like, a lot.

This week I am on my fourth out of town trip in the last six weeks.  Two more to do before the end of June.  That’s six trips in eight weeks.  I’ve performed out of town audits for three-quarters of the months of May & June.  Before you sarcastically ask what I was doing those two weeks I had off … local audits, so shut it.

In fact, I am on a mad crazy auditing pace.  Loyal Bear Feeders know that through most of my career, I’ve been a supplier quality auditor – this is in fact the third job I have directly held that role (fourth if you accept I sat on the other side of an audit too).  Before I lost what my total auditing count was, I did capture that the most audits I did in a calendar year was 45 way back in 2005.  I am sitting at 12 for 2017; which doesn’t sound as competitive until I tell you that I was only released to begin auditing in mid-April.  I am on pace to do over 50 audits this year … 50 in just under 8 months.

Part of the trick to this all is that most are coming at us quicker than we can plan for.  Currently, JPL is deep into the full onslaught of getting assemblies put together for the Mars 2020 rover; as well as other projects hitting critical points in their development.  It’s at those points where developers realize that a supplier is needed, they need to get working in short order, and before that – some bozo needs to get out there to give them the thumbs up by faking like he knows something (or, you know, sending someone smarter than me).

Truth is, we doubt this pace will continue.  Already we are trying to shift that workload.  I am doing a bunch in part because when I started I had the time to get trained in a new area our other auditors didn’t have the time to do – and that area blew up on us.  So when they get trained that workload will reduce.  Plus we are looking to hire a couple more people to audit, some of which are actually knowledgeable in the fields I keep finding myself faking it in.  Legitimately, my travel schedule and auditing schedule should back off significantly by the fall or early winter.

Of course in the meantime, I have to be ready to do all this traveling.  New York this past week, San Diego the week before, Colorado the week before that.  This next week a day trip to San Jose.  Week after a couple days in New Hampshire (yeah … that will be new and different).  Then a little bit of a break so I can close on the new house before heading out to San Jose & … wait for it … Iowa.  By that time, I am sure I would have had a slew of new stuff to go do.  Fingers crossed I can manage it.

But one thing we know for sure … I will probably complain about it.