You definitely need a paternal female cousin who has followed you around for the last 5-10 years of your life. You start a job at WMATA as a project manager 6 years prior and she meets you at the elevator on your very first day. You wonder how she knows you're even here. But you're happy to see her. You're excited to be reconnected with your father's side of the family. You have your tribe back.
She works in IT - so its plausible she knows you're there on your first day.
You're working at the police department to transform their security program and read the 1000 page report that hasn't been acted upon in 3 years. It has all sorts of infrastructure security issues: open doors, open rail gates and broken card readers. You finish the report in about a month and design a dashboard that aggregates the issues by the most egregious safety/security hazards. This will plan your work and also show your results. You also get access to the card reader system to analyze the alarms found in the report and also manage your improvement over time as you remediate the issues. Your manager teases you that you're "trying to take my job". He's in his 60s and says he's here to "rest and vest". But he dumped the report on your desk on the first day to read and work.
He also explains why you're sitting directly outside of his office. He tells the Chief of Police you must sit outside his office so he can "watch you." You're OK with that because you're there to work.
He watches you and you're moving too fast. The report is done in another week. You enlarge the report and put it on your cubicle wall. And start to do your visual inspections of the rail stations/bus yards you're attacking first.
You remember telling your female cousin of some of the issues you're having with your manager. She sees the report every time she comes to visit you.
When you visit her, you notice she has a leisurely pace to everything she does. She explains she's in the union - so her job is protected. You notice she doesn't get much done. But you mind your business and "stay out the way". Its how you lived your life. And how your aunt has told your mother you should be raised "seen and not heard." This is the contention your mother has with her sister. They argue a lot about you and how you should be "seen" in the family. Your mother says she not raising you to be invisible on any level and that you're free to express yourself; which is why she's worked so hard to keep you in private schools.
You start your remediation efforts working with construction and engineering. Your boss grows more contentious. Now he's roaming the hallways yelling "she's trying to take my job." You have your first conversation in his office where you assure him you don't want his job. You want to work in rail operations. You want to see the trains moving. You want to help select the vendors of the new trains coming. And you see yourself working in planning and upgrades. He doesn't quite believe you. And isn't satisfied in your answer.
Your female cousin shows up again at your desk. She wants to show you a picture she found of your uncles and father at the car lot they started on Rhode Island Ave. You remember being a little girl on Todd Place at the paternal family home and how amazing they all were with the stories of the first cab company and the car lot. You visit the car lot a lot as a kid.
She witnesses one of your manager's temper tantrums about what you're doing. But you continue to work.
Your card reader report shows you've fixed the first gate out of 50 in the report. Your manager is mad. You move on to get your rail certification. You can't do anything on the railway without this certification. Your manager reluctantly approves the class with "I don't even have this cert". But you remind him he gave you the report and he's told you the report is your job.
Your cousin shows up again at your cube.
Your manager now has gotten other officers to bully you. He teases you in the hallways. He laughs at you at the elevator. You go to HR. HR says "he's acting like a clown." Another HR person gives him a heads up. Your manager writes you up. Of course, your cousin is somewhere around. She comes to your cube increasingly more. You eventually lose this job. The grounds are insubordination. You knew it was coming. It was only a matter of time. You've been applying to AWS (which will change your life.)
You're formally fired by the Assistant Chief and Internal Affairs. You're walked off the premises by a junior internal affairs member who looks upset- like he wants to cry. He was so nice to you. You console him. He knows something bad has happened. But he's just doing his job.
Your cousin calls you. And asks "do you want your stuff"?
You talk to your cousin on the phone a lot during COVID. You swap stories about your mothers.
You tell your cousin that you've started a business during COVID. Its a Turo business and its doing well. She bought a house in Williamsburg, VA. And doesn't want to put the miles on her car. So she starts renting yours. She introduces you also to your stalker.
She's twerking outside. Its odd for 55 year old woman to be doing this. And you're wondering who she's doing it for. Your stalker comes outside. She knows him. They hug and she comments on how good he smells. He texts her that he's so happy to see her again. She mentions when he walks away that he likes to be chased. You reply: you only chase your dreams.
She also needs a couch for her house. She asks you for one. You tell her you have a white one you can give her.
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