The Census Is a Fluid Operation

Yesterday I was transferred to NRFU in the production boat, also known as field operations.  I guess you need to use another name for field operations if you are working in the office.  I spent my time QCing EQs, which meant that I checked hundreds of enumerator questionnaires.  You know, those forms the Prince checked for all his enumerators before sending them off to the LCO, or local census office.  After QC, the EQs are received into PBOCS, which stands for paper-based something or other, which means the bar codes are scanned, and 4 items off the form are input.  After that, they are placed in boxes of 300, and then the forms are scanned again, this time in DAPPS, which is the payroll system, which for some reason is the system that logs them in for shipping to whereever they go.  Right now, we're closing in on CQing, but there are thousands to be counted, boxed, and shipped.

CQ is mind-numbingly tedious, broken up by the occasional funny.  One enumerator did not follow instructions and went inside someone's home.  She reported that he started acting "wiery" (sic) after a few minutes, and when she tried to leave, she found the door locked.  (She almost became a troll!  Life imitating art.)  A neighbor said he thought the man was "crazy."  A couple of questionnaires later, she reported that another neighbor had classified the residents as "crazy", but in this case, there also were warrants out for their arrest.  After looking at EQs for hours, these are nuggets that begged to be shared.  It's the way the info is written out that makes them funny. 

My hours changed as well.  They are now 1:30 to 10.  I don't know how long we'll work until 10 o'clock, but I think they'll be cut back soon, and I'll be getting off at 8:30 again.  I had to do a spreadsheet to do my 308 (timesheet) last night.  I worked in payroll from noon until 3:15 yesterday.  That was one 308, which I turned in before I went to production.  I stopped for a 30 minute lunch at 5 o'clock.  Then I did another 308 before leaving at 10.  The hours before 6 o'clock were regular hours.  The hours after 6 o'clock were night differential hours, until I exceeded 8 hours in a day.  Those hours were night differential overtime hours.  But last night was the last night of overtime, at least as far as I know.  The Census is a fluid operation.