As you know, I started a new job last September. It was a job I have worked for - went to school for, for the last several years. Some might call it my dream job. I never really expected to get it. But, I did.
However, I was also quite aware that a job as a land use planner is not something one simply studies for and it's all good. No. Planning, like engineering, law, medicine, trades, and so on, is something one must learn by both doing and through one's mentor. It is too highly technical to simply read a book or write an exam, bam! you are a planner.
But, that is nearly what I needed to do. I spent a scant four months last summer while I finished my thesis in an amazing Planning Department at a County nearby. The County did the planning for five of the seven lower-tier municipalities in their jurisdiction. They were also a commenting agency for the other two. The department had a staff of twelve people: one department director, two policy planners, four development planners, two GIS technicians, one Secretary-Treasurer of Land Division and two administrators. So many people to learn from.
And learn I did. I sucked up each delicious moment like a thirsty sponge.
Très cliché .
No matter how much I learned and how well I did my job I was not able to become an expert in one summer. It just wasn't humanly possible. I'm not a machine.
But I did thrive. It was amazing. The bonus was, I also finished my Master's Degree that summer. The sleepless nights, the long commutes and the time away from my husband and kids - it wasn't in vain.
The only thing was, my contract would, and did, end. By June - less than halfway through, I began to panic. What if I didn't get a permanent job? A summer contract is great, but I would need to have a permanent job to pay off my student loan.
I began to apply to every planning job in Ontario and beyond. I was prepared to apply for jobs in Alberta if I had to. It didn't matter if I was really qualified - they may have asked for a wealth of experience, but I applied anyway. And I even had a few interviews.
Despite my anxiety, I did get an amazing job offer. The job was a planner for a small municipality, not too far from home. I could commute a reasonable distance and best of all (or worst of all) I was THE planner - the head of the department. Does it matter that the department only has one person? (Giggle now if you wish.)
I knew it would be hard, even when I contemplated applying in the first place. I consulted with other planners - could I actually pull it off? Who would I call if I were stuck? It appeared there were enough experts I knew out there to help in such circumstances. And I promised not to wear any one person out. I knew there was a reason I spent so much effort networking with other planners in my area.
But that was before. Little did I know that in addition to the regular, normal hard, there was a different sort of hard. The kind of hard, which occurs when an organization, person or other creature goes through a crisis of epic proportions. There is the hard one encounters learning a new and difficult skill, then there is the hard that one endures when one does so in a less-than-perfect, perhaps over-the-top, climacteric situation that does not seem to end. Crisis after crisis.
This municipality was going through a transformation. There was everything from critical errors left over from previous poor planning decisions by consultants (who I replaced), to controversial developments, litigation, divisiveness among Council, neighbour conflict, racism and even Aboriginal land rights conflict.
And, I shan't forget, there is the OMB.
The Ontario Municipal Board (aka OMB) is a lands tribunal which hears disputes concerning municipal land and resources decisions. At the OMB Developers may appeal decisions of Municipal Councils on their planning applications (for example if Council refuses to grant permission for a development) or neighbours may also appeal the decision of Council relating to a development. Many in Ontario will remember hearing about OMB decisions concerning Walmart developments (they usually win).
The OMB is an unusual creature. Other provinces don't have an equivalent. It's an Ontario thing.
Well, I know for a fact that a planner may practice for years before being involved in an OMB hearing. Not me. Only six months into the job, I was accepted as an expert witness at the OMB. After nine and a quarter hours it was over. Phew.
Two more such hearings loom in the near future.
So, it is hard. A different kind of hard for me. I was used to the kind of hard where one can start over tomorrow with a different result. Or, the kind of hard where one can leave at the end of the day, relax and renew. After all, tomorrow is another day, right?
Not this time. I have found a whole new kind of hard. I know I can do it. After all, I am a fighter. I must be; I'm still here.
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