We called them “after-action reports.” It was the Y2K season of making significant decisions on systems, computers, and the needs of the pipeline company in Alaska: hardware, software, what-ifs, recovery, backups, Program Changes, testing, system changes, review, recap, and repeating until you got it right.
What was the problem with Y2K? Essentially, old computer systems and hardware were programmed with a two-digit year. “19” was dropped, and the last two years were used. Can a program or hardware adequately function when the year becomes “20”? It depends on the system. Calculations based on dates struggled if you did not consider the century. (19 or 20) Thousands of programs were updated to a 4-digit year, and thousands of hours were spent calculating into the future if the data was processed correctly.
A huge team of expensive people… No failures.
When it comes to money, you want to make the right decisions. It could cost you seriously if you fail.
Emergency help costs more than regular job-toting duties of a team hired for a purpose.
There are times when emergencies happen, and you pay the piper to catch up in real time for what you were unprepared for when the storm blew in.
It’s like having no savings, creditworthiness, or ability to bring fresh dollars (or support) to the table because you are past that season of life. We all grow up and past our ability to handle life.
There is a scene in a movie played by Robin Williams. He is Peter Pan, but only in a grown-up world.
You’ve become a pirate.
Pirates swoop in at the worst time of preparedness and burst the company apart, make a profit, and move on to the next victim.
Sometimes, I feel like a Pirate. That’s not me, and I don’t like that feeling. A pirate sees opportunity, loves a good fight, and the winner takes all. I ask myself the question, would Christ condone this spirit? Probably not. But we also know how difficult it is to realize the next move; some know how to move on better than others. Who gets to make that decision?
This morning, I’m reviewing and recapping many things in life. We’ve hit 50 years of marriage (in 7 days, we take a vacation to celebrate), and I’ll soon be 70. I walked miles last week, but my foot pain kept me moving slower than I liked. I slept in a hotel that was not up to speed for what I liked, except the A/C worked well. Only one or two decent meals, but some good catch-up time. Flying is not fun—let’s drive instead. Too many deadlines are not being met—mostly because I’m overwhelmed by other priorities. There’s more to get done than a single person can handle – and there’s no one to pick up the slack.
Recap? I’m about to be a pirate in my own life to myself. And my world.
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