1442 words (5 minute read)

Deja Vu

January 7, 2020

This time of year I often find myself looking back on the past and pondering what went right and wrong. What I could have done better. How my decisions have impacted my life. And how things will be different going forward.

This week has me traveling to a familiar customer site. I’ve been to this site before. About a year or so ago I was here helping a customer navigate some technical challenges. During my last visit we made small steps to correct a larger problem. I was asked back this week to take more steps or corrective measures to ensure that we maintain the customer and provide a roadmap for success going forward. It’s a beautiful college campus in Southern California. The campus is mostly vacant as the students are on winter break for another couple of weeks. There is snow on the mountains that surround the campus and the weather is amazing. Maintenance staff are busy grooming the grounds with their riding lawn mowers and leaf blowers. These are all positive factors for having a successful week of work. 

Our task this week is very similar to what we did a year ago. The college is utilizing our products in the student dorms and apartments. I have to enter the residence armed with my laptop, tweak some configurations and verify that everything is operating as designed. Sounds easy enough, and typically it is. What makes it sometimes challenging is navigating the often cramped student living conditions.

Last year we were working in the dorms. These were multi-story buildings that housed co-ed students. Each of the dorm rooms had two beds, two desks and enough space for a small fridge and possibly a TV. I didn’t spend much time in college. After a couple of years half heartedly attending community college. Then coasting my way through a technical college (and never graduating), I never got to experience, the dorm life.

Going into this a year ago I didn’t really know what to expect. I was informed beforehand that we will be entering rooms that “should” be vacant, but will have student belongings in them. The students for the most part were off campus visiting their families or staying with friends as this was also a holiday break. Our process was always the same. I knock loudly on the door and announce myself as “maintenance.”  I wait 15 or so seconds, then knock loudly again and announce myself as “maintenance.” Then I repeat one last time this process to ensure that if someone is in the room at least they know why I’m entering. If we get no answer, we use our all access card and enter the residence.

In my 45 years of life I’ve seen some stuff. I witnessed a couple having sex in an airport stairwell. I’ve been awakened by an old man with a shotgun pointed at my parents. Said good morning to a gentlemen and moments later witnessed him jump off a 9-story parking garage killing himself. I thought that my life experiences to this point had prepared me to enter a college dorm. I mean, how bad could it be?  What could possibly shock these eyes?

I drastically underestimated my threshold for shock. I can’t put my finger on what disturbs me most. Was it the enormous bright blue dildo hanging from the ceiling of one room?  Was it the student that was sleeping butt ass naked on top of his sheets? Maybe it’s the blatant disregard for clean living conditions and the stench of locker room.

Thankfully my time in each of these hell holes is limited to a few minutes. I always leave the door propped open so there are no surprises. I also do this to air out the room a bit. I insist that I have someone with me to reduce the possibility of allegations of theft, harassment or things much worse. It’s also for the safety of myself and the students. The thought of a female student walking into her room and seeing a strange grey haired dude with a laptop in hand sends chills down my spine. The optics are bad, very bad. 

Floor after floor we are making good progress. I go in, hold my breath, make my configuration changes, verify operation, close door and exhale. Things were very routine other than the decor in the room. The process was always the same. I was in a zone at this point and not really paying attention to the surroundings. By this point I had lost interest in observing the next oddity and focused on the task at hand.

The configuration of each floor was identical. The dorm rooms themselves were on the perimeter of each floor. In the center of each floor was the community bathrooms and showers. Each floor was designated for either male or female students. On the female student floors I did pay particular attention to not enter a room without first ensuring that it was vacant. On the rare occasion that there was a female student present we would ask permission to enter the room and work. They were always very welcoming. We would get in and out of the room as quickly as possible and again always leaving the door wide open to make everyone feel more comfortable.

Things are going great. Everything is going according to plan. We’re working on the top floor of this dorm. This is our last floor to do in this building. We are feeling good about our efforts. It just so happens to be a female student floor. My escort (working partner, not that kind of escort) is in a room with me doing what he needs to do. I’m standing with laptop in hand in the doorway to the room making my changes. Then I hear a female voice. It startles me a bit as we haven’t seen anyone on this floor. I can sense by her tone that she is a bit concerned. I look up and see this young woman approaching wearing nothing but a towel. Her hair is wet and apparently I’m blocking the entry to her room.

This is an absolute worse case scenario in my mind. Two dudes working in a dorm room of a female student who was just showering. I can only imagine what may be going through her mind. I immediately apologize and tell my working partner that we need to leave the floor now. The young woman is totally cool about the situation, enters her room and closes the door. We leave the building and I never returned. Our saving grace was that the college had notified all of the students that we would be working in the building prior to our arrival. But still, it was a very awkward situation.

This week I’m working in a different area of the campus. I’m working with a few counterparts on the student apartments. The process for entering the “unoccupied” rooms is the same. Knock loudly, announce as maintenance, repeat 3 times and then enter. Once inside, door remains open, make configuration changes, verify operation and leave. Really the only difference is the layout of the rooms. These apartments are much larger with a living room, kitchen and four separate rooms for students to sleep in. They also have two bathrooms in each of the apartments. They are laid out like apartments with entry from outside. Much of the shocking decor is the same. Some apartments are cleaner than others. Some smell like a grow facility for pot. And others are very nicely kept and smell surprisingly nice.

Today while working in one of the apartments with my work partner a female student entered. Again the students were notified that we’d be working in these locations so it shouldn’t be too much of a shock for the students. I looked up as I heard her approaching and said hello and asked if her if she would prefer we leave. She politely said no, please continue. She then looked at me for a moment and said, “wow, deja vu.”  I looked back at her confused and said “pardon.” She chuckled a bit and said, “at least this time I’m wearing more than a towel.” I’m sure I turned red as the memory came back to me. Not quite sure what to say I elected to say nothing at all. 

Tomorrow is another day of the dorm life, we’ll have to see how it goes. I’ll report back with any interesting experiences.