The past two days have gone in a flash. The work has if anything been varied : interior design, office management, shopping, PC & WiFi network management, man-with-van and general all round goffer.
The interior design was required to theme Team Nigeria (NGR) office from what it was - a white painted space which will eventually will be a shop on the ground floor of a block flats. On the OLV (Olympic Village) these spaces are snappily called Retail Units. We are in Retail Unit 8 inside Seaside 1.
NGR Office
I borrowed some artefacts, pictures and wax cloth from friends to give the space an African feel with the emphasis on Nigeria thru a liberal use of NGR’s flag. What do you think?
Team Australia
Team UK
Shopping & Office management meant stocking an office from scratch; staples & stapler, scissors, pens, envelopes, blue-tak, mouse pads, tea-coffee-sugar-powered-milk-biscuits, scissors, pins, post-it-notes, clip boards, folders and so on. There’s one place you can purchased all of this at simple, direct price proposition – Poundland and the 99p Shop – don’t be fooled by the price it’s all good often branded or at least good enough to take us thru the Games – two weeks – so what if the stapler is not going to be around in six months but neither is the Games!
With the office supplies sorted or at least established we now needed to have the PCs and MACs share a printer. Apple’s AirExpress solved all our problems after a time wasting, moral sapping start attempting to network all – PCs, printers and MACs - using Windows 7’s Homegroup feature #fail. Once I realized (Doh!) the printer had an Ethernet port and the AirExpress had an extra Ethernet port it was plain sailing. Now there’s Wifi accessible by the all the delegation (and we NOC Assistants!), the MACs and the PCs all share a printer – everyone connected and happy – and the up and down speed seems fine or rather no complaints from users on speed or rather lack of speed.
Man-With-Van
My other NOC Assistants had been there several times this was my first visit to the Big Yellow Box in Stratford which NGR is using as a store. Went there in one of NGR’s Citrone people carriers quite easy to drive despite being manual – found the electronic hand brake odd - much smell of burning rubber when I used it last – couldn’t and don’t see the benefit of this feature.
NGR Store
Everything has been just fantastic so far except for one minor problem.
For the past three nights I have left OLV using an exit close to Stratford International DLR where I can catch a train direct to Woolwich Arsenal, there I take the Southeastern train the two stops to Abbey Wood - an hour or so door to door.
When I use OLV’s WorkForce Entrance (WFE) this adds 30mins to my journey as I have get to and from Stratford’s Main Station to WFE – 15 min walk or bus ride.
On Monday night attempting to leave OLV via the Stratford International DLR I was a asked to turn around and use WFE by a particularly officious Games Maker. He acted as thou the courtesy and consideration Games Makers have be trained to offer to the Athletes and Officials clearly did not extend to me – a Games Maker – I just needed to be told what to do and would blindly obey. I was at the end of a long shift - tired – the prospect of an additional upto 25 mins ( 10 min walk across OLV , then 15 mins to Stratford Station) to my journey I didn’t relish so I wasn’t going to WFE lightly, without some good reason. He then went into broken record mode repeating himself #fail. Reluctantly I turned around; I had to pass by NGR’s office on the way to WFE. I couldn’t pass the opportunity to share my distain for that Jobsworth Games Maker on the plus side I picked up a lift to Stratford International DLR recovering some of my wasted time.
Ironically, the rules changed overnight now as Games Maker aka Worker if I’m leaving OLV after 9pm you CAN now use the Stratford International DLR exit !
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