Continuity Update for March 14

This is Moving Day! For our Traffic, Operations, Engineering friends, that is. Can you believe this day is here?! Here is Liz Fullerton's desk:
 

And this is the cleanest you will ever see the new engineering workshop:

Come to the former Green Room outside of Master Control today at 2:30

Celebrate the first move-ins - bring a pie, eat a pie!

Pretty much every day between now and mid-April, somebody will be moving into a new desk.

Hard hat update
As of Monday, these areas will no longer require hard hats:

• Green Room
• TOE wing
• Master Control
• Talk Studio

And, the door from the side parking lot into the TOE wing will be an official, usable entrance as of Monday.

Construction update

Look at that lobby!

The Certificate of Occupancy has been issued! I suppose that is obvious, given the note above that we are planning to occupy part of the building today.  Work continues at an astonishing pace, and these are just a few cool details among many:

• A "folding glass" security wall has been installed at the rear of the lobby. The floor-to-ceiling glass panels slide out sideways to create a separation between the public lobby around Studio One and the rest of the facility. When we have public events, the wall helps prevent visitors from wandering off through the building. 
• During normal business hours, it can also be utilized to cordon off the newsroom like a zoo exhibit. (Kidding.) (Sort of.)
• Slate flooring has been installed in the welcome lobby (previously mis-identified at limestone - sorry!)
• Bathroom stalls have gone in
• Lots of construction work continues in Studio One and its control room

Pop quiz!
Actually, not a quiz but a questionnaire we need you to fill out. Keep an eye on your email for a message from Heather and Todd that includes a technology survey. This will be your way to let Todd know what technology you have at your current desk that you need his help moving at  your appointed move hour. Please complete this form by Tuesday so Todd can start planning for your seamless transition.

April 15th
All building procedures that we use now will stay in effect until April 15. This means entering through the current front door, using our current keys and keypad codes, keeping our mailboxes, parking where we're parking. A lot of things will change after April 15 - see below for how we're planning for that. (Also, do your taxes.)

Move details
On March 21-22, you will be asked to visit your future desk and use the provided stickers to indicate where you'd like your monitor, computer and phone to go at your new workstation.

Now that we're getting the chance to really visualize the size and shape of our new desks, the request to pare down your stuff is landing with more impact. Please remember that your goal is get your stuff to fit into one box and one pedestal filing cabinet; these are the half-size cabinets that fit under a desk. (The jargon for this is "ped", which sounds like "pet" when all the folks who are sick right now talk about them.)

If you need two "peds" then you'll bring one with you from your current desk, to join the new ped that's waiting for you. (Again, a new pet will not be waiting for you at your desk.) If the things that you need to do your job do not fit in these constraints, talk to your Move Coordinator to work out a solution. The solution may involve a group hug to give you encouragement to purge more. (Hugs! *Gasp!*)

We are planning a Move Meeting to dispense a LOT of information to get you oriented to the new building. These are some of the topics we'll cover:

• how to use the new phones
• map of printer locations and their names
• building security, keys, passcards
• light switches
• compost and recycling
• windows and security

What is missing from this list?
Please think through the details of your daily life in the current building and help us imagine the questions we don't have answers to yet. Almost any question that begins, "How do I...?" is REALLY helpful for you to ask as soon as possible. Please seek out your Move Coordinator, or post a question to the Comments Section below. Your input is valuable here because we can't anticipate everything. (I mean, we're good - but we're not that good.)

Still MORE move details
On your Move Day, you will carry your box of stuff to your new desk; we don’t have movers or professional helpers to carry your desk items. (But knowing VPR, I bet someone will help you out if you need it!)  Movers will be hired for large stacking file cabinets and common area items. If you have something of this nature that you need help with, let your Move Coordinator know ASAP.

How noisy is "noisy"?
Remember way back when the foundation was first being dug and we kept asking the construction team, is your idea of noise the same as our idea of noise? Most of our concerns about on air disruption didn't come to pass (*most) and for that we're grateful.

But now we have a new noise balance to achieve: how we'll all work together for the next five months until the final phase of renovation allows all of us to settle into our permanent spaces.

Off the top, we want to give our thanks that many of you have expressed this concern in terms of, "What can I do to not create a problem for my coworkers?" Which is a world of difference from, "Why can't those people just work the way I do?"

Angela shares some of her concerns this way:

"My primary concern is that News will be too loud for the other departments working near us. I'm positive this is something you guys have talked about -- and perhaps News' reputation is actually worse than the noise we make day-to-day. But I'm actually pretty worried that I will either a) annoy my colleagues or b) have to be unnaturally quiet, and it will change the way I collaborate with Taylor, JD, you and others. Other than that I'm psyched!"

So please, reflect on this and add some comments below that will help us all start thinking and working toward a harmonious future in our beautiful (shared) space.

And, of course, photos!

Barrel ceiling in the Green Room got a nice cedar treatment!

Sweet new sound board in Master glows with different colors to indicate when a mic is on or off. Seriously, that is rad.

New workstation seeks resident. Excellent natural light, flexible surface height. Available 3/21.

These cabinets will form a kitchen, and that kitchen will have coffee.

Now that's a DOOR! These guys are waiting to be installed in Studio One's control room.

Future home of VPR music staff.

One of 3 upstairs meeting rooms. Chairs that roll, windows, technology. You might never want the meeting to end.

(Insert metaphor here.)