SUMMER... August, at work (Part88a)

I think the best thing I could say after my first week in the Civil Service department was that I had a job. The other Personnel Technicians (PT’s) were nice enough but I was spoiled by the way the Data Processing department had worked with everyone willing to pitch in to help whoever needed it. It was clear, after only one week, that this group was quite protective of their own “territory”. I did like Sonny because he was a little less “up-tight” than the others. In one respect I think he liked me because I was soon to free him from the somewhat dreaded “Manic Monday” duty of administering the Clerk Typist exams.

To better prepare myself for the job I requested and received permission to take the exam. It was made up of ten separate parts with ten questions in each. Seven of the sections had multiple choice questions. Two were true/false and the third was a fill-in type. The applicants were given ninety minutes to finish the exam. Vi administered the test giving me the whole “spiel” that the applicants got. She said she needed the experience since she would be assuming the lead position as soon as I was trained. Not to belittle the exam as it was created by a professional testing firm but it took me less than an hour. It was mostly common sense material and someone with a middle school education should’ve been able to pass it (and no, I didn’t get 100%). There was one section that I particularly liked and that was the one where you had to pick out the one wrong answer. To get the right answer you had to have read the instructions.

That next Monday the exam was scheduled to be given at the County Center. When the building was built they built it with ample space for expansion and we used some of that space. It was in the wing that housed the Surrogate Court and had it’s own entryway. I met Vi and Sonny at 8:30am and Mrs K met us at the office where she gave us the exams. They were pre numbered and we were charged with accounting for each and every one. I’d been told that there would be around 40 people show up but we had space for about 60. I was basically an observer. As they signed in It seemed that the majority of the women were in their late 30’s to early 40’s with a few teens and 20’s thrown in. They were all wearing dresses or skirts and blouses and if there was any question as to age it could be told by the length of them.

The chairs were convertible to desks by pulling the writing surface up from along side. Sonny asked me to help get them placed and as we did it he had a sly smile on his face. He showed me how to do it and as he did he explained that it it was done a certain way that there was a good chance for a “reward”. I didn’t know what he meant. I’d only worked with him for four days and hadn’t gotten a real “handle” on his personality. So I did it his way and waited... but not for long.

As the ladies took their seats he pulled me aside and away from Vi. He whispered to me that if I took a seat at the registration table and then bent down as if to get something from the box beside it and looked up, there was a good chance for my “reward”. I did as he suggested and sure enough there were a few little white triangles within range. I was liking the job a lot more... and had a different opinion of Sonny from that time on. He gave me a few minutes there before he wanted the spot.

The written exam was in the morning and, for those who passed it, there was the practical or typing exam in the afternoon. About 2/3 of the women passed the written portion and were back for the typing. We had portable typing desks and IBM Selectrics for them to use. As in the morning, Sonny showed me how to position the desks and then where to go while the women typed. It was better in the morning but it still was fun.

Because we were at the County Center we were able to return to the office before 5pm. Sonny warned me that it would be different the next week because the venue was about 30 miles to the West and there would be twice as many women to test. He said it with a gleam in his eye. As soon as I was fully trained he wouldn’t have to do it any more. I wondered just what was in store for me.

The only female in the office worth looking at was the busty receptionist. I won’t deny that I, as well as the other guys, took a look every time she walked by but that’s all anyone could or would see. The other PT’s were actually annoyed with her because she was often away from her desk which meant they had to get up from what they were doing to go answer questions from walk ins or to answer her phone.

Tuesday was mostly devoted to scoring the typing test and creating the list of those who passed. It was easy to see that Sonny wanted no part of it as he gave me his share to check. In one way I was puzzled about his attitude towards the whole Clerk Typist program. I found it a bit mundane but it was certainly better than working on the Dog Catcher exam.

Speaking about that, I’d made contact with a local Veterinarian and gotten some good material about dog handling. I really was making progress and on Friday was able to administer the Beta version to some of the PT’s. Friday was also the day that Sonny, Vi and I had to get our materials for the Monday Clerk Typing test together and to sign out a vehicle from the motor pool. Sonny was very thorough with his instructions to me because if he and Vi felt I was trained well enough he’d be excused from the duty. Actually, I was getting excited about the upcoming Monday.

To be continued...