Simply Complicated Planning

Today is a good day and a good time to plan.

I'm going to go ahead and warn you right now that this entry's gonna be a tad... wordy. With not a lot of pictures, either. As such, you skimming chuckleheads can go frak yourself appreciate my honesty and leave (y'all are jerks), while those of you who have nothing better to do can read on.

This was a good dinner last night. Burgers, fries, and beer. Fun combo.

So, if you're still here: thank you. Also, grab something to grub on while you read. You'll need it.





CURRENT MUSIC:
Nobuo Uematsu - "SeeD"
Final Fantasy VIII Original Soundtrack

"SeeD" is best heard as background music for any sort of mission briefing, debate, game plan or that idle time between discussing the course of action and actually executing said course of action. Despite the militaristic sound it has (that repeated drum melody coupled with the woodwinds gives it that sound, you know?), it works in virtually any kind of meeting where a "what next" discussion occurs. Whether you're making a plan to hijack a train carrying a tyrannical leader, mapping out your next fly-by route through a star system controlled by an evil empire, or debating the pros and cons between eating waffles or pancakes for breakfast, it fits perfectly with all stages of planning.

(If this is your third case of déjà vu from "SeeD," then not only have you seen this thrice already, but you probably are a tad obsessed with my life. Not that I'm not flattered or anything, but you should probably get yourself checked out, because I'm not kidding about this showing up thrice before.)

As I've got some meticulous planning to take care of today, it would only make sense for a track like this to show up.





Afternoon, everyone. If you're still here, then you're probably wondering what I'm planning. Well, you're about to find out!





A Mastermind of Organized Chaos
(Because while it's an oxymoron, "organized chaos" is by far the best way to plan things.)

I'm the kind of guy who plans things out by not planning things out. Didn't make sense? Don't worry; it will in a second. By this, I mean that whenever I'm the one spearheading plans, I usually map out a basic itinerary and schedule that covers the main points of the day. Sushi at 1300? Okay. Bowling after so-and-so gets off work at roughly 2030? Meet up at the bowling alley at 2100, then. You're off on Sunday and want to hang out? Okay; let's get lunch before I go in to work.

Now, there are times where I get meticulous with the execution of said plans. (This is more true with past events I did about two years prior.) Some people that're attending the sushi meet-up have work at 1500, so they'll split early. One hitched a ride with me, so I'll have to cut the festivities short. So-and-so can carpool for both sushi and bowling because she loves to drive for no reason. The person going to lunch with me doesn't have a car, so that means I'll have to factor extra time for pick-up and drop-off. I take in these factors and make them work out in the best way possible. Doing so helps make sure everything is orderly when the plans are executed.

Other times (read: nowadays), I create a skeleton plan that has the basics and only the basics on it. Sushi at 1300. Bowling at 2100. Lunch the next day before work. Notice how there's plenty of free time left in-between each of the tasks and that not all of them have times fleshed out. It allows for spur-of-the-moment planning. It also allows for anyone and everyone to chime in with a "Plan B" in case the main plan goes awry. It keeps the day loose and limber - which is a perfect way to have fun.

I've found that using a combination of both the "meticulous micromanaging" and "letting the cards lie as they are" methods of planning plans works best. While the former ensures that everything planned out is done, the latter allows for flexibility for any last-second changes.

Which makes planning easier for me, now. Now, I don't necessarily need to have my plans be 100% - I just need to know what's going on. I jot down the main points of the plan and form a vague skeleton outline, and then flesh things out and figure how things will go from there. (Depending on how (time-)sensitive each point is, the deadline for fleshing things out can range from days to hours before the plan is executed.)

As an example, let's take a look at my next day off: Tuesday. Here's my agenda for the day:

• laundry
• DMV visit for registration renewal
• lunch
• hang out with a work friend to get some stuff off his PC
• dinner date:
  
  • The Amazing Spider-Man
  • dinner (time permitting)
  • hang out (time permitting)
• ponies

Notice how there's no times. While some of this list probably needs some time written down (example: the dinner date and maybe the DMV), it's still noted that it's going to happen. I have a basic timeframe lined up, but I know that outside factors can play a last-second disruption. For instance, maybe there's nobody there at the DMV on Tuesday. Conversely, there could be fifteen thousand people visiting and maybe two DMV staff working at any one time (because let's face it: those bastards shoot the breeze way too much at our expense). Also, depending on what time I select for the showing of Spider-Man, that may affect where and when dinner is procured.

Despite the factors, it's still a nice, ironed-out plan - ready to be executed in an orderly fashion, yet flexible enough to adapt to the situation if the need arises.





Vacationeering Setup
(Because no plan ever survives first contact.)

So after waking up after sleeping in today (I went to sleep at roughly 0130 and woke up at 1100ish), I realized that I had to flesh a few things out if I want the next few weeks to turn out okay.

What's that? Why am I planning out the next few weeks? Well, I'm not. Most of the upcoming weeks are pretty much fleshed out to the point where it looks like this:

• wake up
• run errands (if any)
• do stuff / go work
• sleep

Ironed out and still flexible.

However, there is one particular week I need to worry about: August 5-11.

This is the calendar I've been staring at for the last four hours.
(Calendar custom-created on timeanddate.com and color-altered by yours truly.)

What is this image, you ask? Well, that's what I have to worry about. Target's scheduling system basically makes it so that if you want to request any day off, you have to do it three weeks in advance. Using the modified picture above, allow me to explain.

Today (the 15^th) is in yellow. This entire week has been planned out - and as such, the rest of the week is in a reddish-pink color - nobody can request those days off. (The grayed-out days? My days off.)

Next week (22-28 July) is one week in advance. As such, the schedule has also been mapped out and posted on the board for Target team members to view. (Grayed-out days also represent days off.)

The week after that (29 July - 04 August) is the second week in advance. This schedule has not been created yet as the HR team has to go over requested days off from team members and what not. Usually, they post the new schedule on Thursday or Friday. It's been marked orange to represent the week that's under construction and also to show that nobody can request those days off any more.

Now comes the interesting part: August 5 to the 11 (highlighted in green). This week is the earliest week that anyone in the store can request off and still get it approved. The deadline for requesting off anything from August 5 onward is this Saturday, July 21.

Now what's the dilemma, you ask? As you've probably noticed by now, August 12 through 19 have been marked in sky blue (with the 16^th marked in blue). I've placed a request for a vacation on those days, and so far it looks as though it'll be approved. Eight days of awesome time off (with one of them as my birfday!)... but for some reason, I'm debating about starting that vacation early. Which is where the green week (05-11 August) comes in. I'm debating whether or not to request some of those days off (I'm looking at that Friday and Saturday).

That doesn't seem harmless. I know. The real problem is that I used a sizable chunk of my vacation hours back in April - so as such, taking a longer break from work could really spell problems for me financially speaking. But at the same time... it's a vacation...! A vacation with my birthday in it...! What to do!? *laughs*





Well, I'm going to keep "panicking" over this issue. You go finish scarfing your food. Until the 'morrow, everyone!