Continuity Update for March 8

Greetings compadres, and happy birthday to Robin!

This museum-quality artifact was recovered from the recesses of a VPR cabinet and has been restored for display under glass in the new building. Any guesses what it is? (Hint: this is not a kitchen utensil of any kind.)

Approx. 19 inches in length, aluminum construction, partially tarnished, c. 1977. On loan from private collection.

Construction update
The Technology Operations and Engineering group has always been ahead of the curve, and that is true in building construction as well. That wing is closest to finished: desks are nearly assembled, a final punch list of details is being made and a meticulous cleaning is planned for this week. Furniture is also being staged in the programming wing and the newsroom, while construction continues in the lobby, cafe, and Studio One.

Fiber networking is almost complete! If Todd seems especially chipper and excitable, you now know why. Todd is PSYCHED!

The elevator is working! Please note, Joe has firmly declined to give free elevator rides. (Which means paying customers only? News will investigate.)

How alarming
This Wednesday, March 9, the Fire Marshall is slated to be on the premises testing our systems and sealing our Certificate of Occupancy with a kiss.  Testing the fire alarms will not be quiet, as you can imagine. The testing will be confined to a time when we can predictably have mics off: 9:06-9:55 a.m. The testing itself will likely only last 15 minutes during that window. (Backup date is March 10.)

More flexible than a yogi
Applause all around to everyone for keeping calm and carrying on while our current space becomes more rough around the edges. An especially big round of applause goes to Cody, who exemplified the spirit of rallying to help the team last week (and always, really). Without any warning and for reasons beyond complicated, Cody found her office and office window being used as the conduit to run a telecommunications line from the main building to the meeting Trailer for a conference call that couldn't wait. Cold office, warm smile - high five to Cody!

Go back to that thing about the desks

Yep, the office furniture is getting installed! Remember there are two styles of desks: 90-degree desktops and 120-degree desktops. Some parts of the building are further along in their assembly than others, and it's still early to tell how the space will really "feel" but we're definitely getting closer to move-in.

Here's an in-progress peek:

Sweet chair, which slides right under the desktop when it's raised for standing. (Desktop not pictured.)

Heather demonstrates the height of the desk dividers while standing. She was not enthusiastic about being in this photo.

Patti demonstrates how versatile the new desk arrangements are. Beaded privacy curtain for napping to be installed later.

There will be toilet paper! There will be coffee!
Packing up the shared spaces in the current building continues, as you can see all around you. We are planning to keep bathrooms and the kitchen at least minimally functional until the new bathrooms and new kitchen are online and ready for use. Purging and clean out will continue and as we get into late March and early April these spaces may look more forlorn than ever, but we'll strive to keep the basics covered.

Meet Todd, your computer concierge
By now, each of us is assigned a day on which to move, and on that day, one hour of expert assistance from Todd to get your technology from your current desk to your new one. Poor Todd is going to be Atlas pushing the same rock up the same hill 40-50 times over the course of three weeks as he moves each of us to our new homes. So let's agree on a few things:

1. Todd is awesome. We love Todd.
2. Put your appointed hour in your Zimbra calendar. Go ahead and do it right now. Todd says not to invite him; he will show up like a magical genie.
3. Make the best use of his time: be ready to go when he's standing at your desk. Still packing up knick-knacks, wondering if there's room for your Fragile lamp? Set it aside and focus on tech for the hour that you have Todd's time.
4. Bribery is an ugly endeavor but thank-you-chocolate is not.

Moving "Day"
As you saw in the moving day chart, we're talking about Moving Weeks, really.  Even with a slimmed-down single box of possessions, plan on taking some time to enjoy setting up your new desk and its new location in the world. It'll take more than the one hour to move in, and it will take more than one day of leaning back in your chair and breathing in your new surroundings before you might feel certain that you definitely want your stapler on the right.

Try to lighten your workload before and after the day you are moving to make room for settling in. Think of throwing open the windows on the first really great day of spring weather, or running around a new classroom on the first day of school. Moving might seem like a chore, but it can also be a day of oohing and ahhhing and having a blast. The latter is more likely if we're able to lighten our schedules and our demands on each other during those days.

Answers to questions:

Is everyone getting those fancy phones?
Yes, everyone is getting those fancy phones. (A few people around the building have them already. If you are looking at your phone right now and wondering, "Is my phone fancy?" I can almost guarantee the answer is, "no.") Details about switching over your extension and instructions to use the Fancy Phones will be coming much closer to move-in.

Do we communicate with Todd in advance about moving computers?
Heather and Todd are setting up a easy process for each of us to let Todd know what we need help with and what we feel comfortable doing on our own. This will include giving him advance notice on where we want our phones, computer monitors, etc., to be located at our new desks. Details also forthcoming.

Will the desks/counters in Master and Talk be updated as well?
If by 'updated' you mean 'sawed into', then yes! Master and Talk are getting a partial make-over in terms of aesthetics, but a massive renovation in terms of engineering, sightlines, equipment and a bunch of stuff in the ceiling that sounds important. The familiar marbled green furniture stays in both rooms, but one section of the U-shaped tabletop in Master has been lopped off to make space for a new, separate producer workstation. (Photo op in next week's blog!)

Hey, we want more photos now!

Alright then, here we go:

This is the Green Room for Studio One, at the corner where the lobby opens into the Newsroom.

Shiny, shiny marble wall in the front lobby. This wall helps shape the reception desk (at the photographer's immediate right); a coat closet and the kitchen are on the far side of this wall.

 Entrance to Studio One.

Skylight in the front lobby. Even the light has lights!!


















Questions? Comments?
Please use the Comments Section below.

Here's a curiosity I'd love input on: is anyone unsettled or nervous about working in the new space? We (Continuity) keep worrying that staff need support in this transition, but we hear so little from you that I wonder if we're imagining that the move is a cause for worry, when really you are all feeling swell about it.

So, be a pal - let us know what you're excited/nervous/curious about. (And give us your guesses on what that wire instrument pictured at the top is all about!)

Sincerely,
Patti & Continuity Team