"Luck is the residue of design"

I felt lucky Friday as my work day began at TVC.....we had spent a large portion of the last two months preparing for the 4th of July weekend......both TLE and I had terrible memories from the past two years......each time things just spun out of control and by the end of the long weekend we were all (the entire staff) basket cases.  History only has significance if you learn from it, and I believe TLE and I have learned from the mistakes made the past two years.  We came to TVC this year with the intention of implementing new ideas that we hoped would lead to a more serene 4th of July experience for not only the staff, but our guests.

As I began my first round of the day I did not feel the same foreboding I had in 2014 and 2015......I felt confident we had designed a good plan.  Of course, there are plans and then there is reality, but as Branch Rickey famously said....."Luck is the residue of design"....I love that quote, because is so succinctly, and accurately describes how Friday went.  Maybe we were lucky, but I think what we experienced was a combination of design and a little luck.

We were expecting 185 arrivals Friday with another 110 on Saturday.  By 2:30 we had 85 arrivals left.  The first 100 went quite smoothly.....of course there were a few unhappy people, but TLE and the office staff made them happy again.  We had 5 computers manned most of the day with TLE acting as 'quarterback', so to speak.  She greeted the customers and directed them to our staff members depending on their needs who processed them quickly and efficiently.  I kept the entrance under control, and still made my rounds.  I guided our first 6 'Overflow' guests to their sites, and they were very pleased with how organized it was.  Robert, our manager, had 3 additional dumpsters delivered in addition to the 3 he had delivered last week, and one went out to the 'Overflow' area......the garbage trucks arrived mid morning to empty everything so we could begin the weekend with lots of capacity for effluent.

 The finished product in 'Overflow'

Each 'Overflow' site post has the reminder that there are no campfires and cooking allowed in 'Overflow'

I didn't clock out until 4:30 pm, but when I left all was under control.  TLE had gone in first thing in the morning to open up, but around 9 she went home for a few hours, and then returned to work until 7 pm....again, just to be sure all continued to go smoothly, and when she came home she had a good report.  I really admire her, and the others who work the registration desk, because things can get quite hectic in there with a lot of people milling around waiting their turn to purchase items, or complete their registration.  Personally I prefer to be outside where it does not feel claustrophobic......

Something new we are also doing this year is we are covering the hours from 1 am to 7 am with security patrols.  In the past we have had numerous noise complaints after hours and we are determined that will not happen again.  The only way to assure that is to have Rangers patrolling, so Miguel (head ranger), Pierce and I are splitting that 6 hour time period into 3 two hour shifts....I am up so early because I am taking the 5 am to 7 am shift.....I'll just go from that shift to my normal shift.  Pierce is on until 1 am anyway, so he is just extending his shift until 3 am, and then Miguel is taking the 3 am to 5 am shift.  As I sit here typing my daily blog entry all I can hear are the 'Sounds of Silence'........no police helicopters, and/or El Dorado County Sheriffs officers needed this year.

Well, 3 more days to go.......fingers crossed, and hoping our design continues to produce that residue called luck! 

Thanks for stopping by!