For some reason...

...I continue to look up my email address when someone asks me on the
phone. As if I don't have it memorized. As if I haven't been working
this job for 7 months. As if I'm an idiot. I've gotten to the point
where I can do it so fast that I don't even interrupt the flow of
conversation.

And let's talk about conversation a little bit. I call people on the
phone a lot, a hell of a lot. And usually I'm telling them bad news.
So my phone manner is changing. I've gotten to the point where I'm
just reciting previously stated lines, I'm not even sure that really
counts as communicating. Does it? All I know is I've begun to notice
I'm doing it.

But I'm not doing it as bad as all the other agencies! Yesterday, I
called a guy from the Army Corps. I'd say it was like speaking to a
machine. I'd say something, and before I could finish, he'd start in
on one of his obviously rote response....that took probably 2 minutes
to finish!

Me: "I was wondering if this sandstone quarry -- " ("project that I'm
reviewing is in jurisdictional waters of the U.S" I didn't get to
finish)

Corps Guy: "Well, if you're talking about a quarry you'll want to
talk to the KDHE Surface Mining section. There's a guy there named
XXXX. Have you met XXXX?"

Me: -- (0.25 second pause)

CG: "Yeah, he's the one who does quarries on the state level, we
primarily get involved only if there are jurisdictional waters of the
U.S. being effected. What county did you say this was in?"

Me: "Uh...Wilson."

CG: "Well the only DWR notice I've gotten recently from Wilson county
is a stream crossing near Fredonia. Is this a stream crossing?"

Me: -- (no pause)

CG: "But we don't get every DWR notice, you might have been confused
about that. You know the DWR covers some stuff we don't cover? For
instance they've..."

Ok, I'm going to end this here, but just imagine that conversation
going on for twenty minutes before I managed to convey the concept
that no, this is a sandstone quarry and NO this wasn't a DWR notice,
and yes XXXX and I go way back...at least a month.

Then I called the State Conservation office and, you're not going to
believe this, but I spent a half hour on the phone before the person I
was talking to realized I wasn't trying to build a sandstone quarry
myself.

One time I called an engineer with my own agency, and guess what, I
spent 30 minutes on the phone being told over and over again "what do
you want from me?" with different inflections until I finally started
laughing into the phone and told him I'd get back to him. Seriously,
what part of "A map showing the footprint of the project" is hard to
understand!??!

But no, I never scream or yell or get upset at these people, even when
I really, really should, because I'm a representative of the great
state of Kansas, and to be honest, it feels like getting stabbed in
the back when the state represents me by voting to build a new coal
plant and forgetting the environment part of the "Energy and
Environment" committee.

Sooo....That went to kind of a weird place. I'm going to be honest,
writing this was kind of a roller coaster in itself.