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Things I learnt at Flag - '97-'99

Andrew

Patron with Honors
During my time at Flag as an Outer Org Trainee (OOT) I had many cognitions and discoveries. If you are currently at Flag or soon to go there, well lets face it you will be in ethics shortly for being on this site but after you get out you may be able to use some of this info.

1) The student Motel security guards actually attend the events. During events or immediately afterwards you can walk back to the motel, lay low in your room and then surface AFTER the first bus load of OOT's arrive. Unless you would rather sell stuff - your chocie.

2) If someone is unaccountted for (ie absent) from your cont at muster always orignate in good tone 40 that you will go look for them. You can then skip the muster and commence aimlessly wandering about. If you do find them then both of you can go be the first in line to catch the earlier bus back to the motels or have an early dinner. If you have flexible ethics and a partner you may take it in turns for one to go missing and the other to go looking.

3) Work/Study can be your friend. It is remarkable how little terminals within Flag actually communicate with each other. Usually you can make deals to put off your workstudy for a few days to finish your course and then make it up at the end of your course. It then becomes a matter of playing one off against the other so that both areas think that you are with the other one. Just like you used to do with your Mum and Dad at home. - Unless you were a Scio Staff's kid in which case you may want to google "Mum" and "Dad" to find out what they are...

4) After you have completed a course you are put on a routing form to follow. There's usually a few good hours to a week that can be had off by simply not going to the next step. You'll want to have a good excuse like Work/Study or helping out on course drilling, twinning, etc.

5) There is a very cool record shop half way between the CB and the student motels. Check it out.

6) Try not to piss off the D/Snr C/S within your first few days. I did this and subsequently had to resort to all sorts of crafitiness to bypass her and get my Liberty Requests approved.

7) Irregulary one off assignments can be milked for many months. A request to do reno's on the Intern Room at the FH one Friday night enabled me to get out of Friday night cleaning for many months right up unti I left. It's always best if you arrange to go "Straight there" so you can skip the muster as well.

8) A well positioned towel will subdue the lamp in your room enough for the security not to notice it but will give you enough light to read.

9) You room and your room mates are of utmost importance. Ideally you need to get into a room with the fewest beds and then ensure your fellow inmates are of a similar ethics level to your own. When someone leaves it is absolutely critical to chose and move in your own room mate before you get some new schlub that insists on writing KR's. When it comes to room transfers it is usually best to move first then CSW or do ammends after the fact. The Motel I/C will usually be rightly suspicous of what you are up to deny your requests on principle.

10) LRH quite rightly states that the biggest crime in this universe is usually for just being there. This goes double at Flag. The better you are at being justifiably absent the less trouble you'll get in. Another way to put this is "Misery loves company" If a Snr of any sort can off load some of there work onto you they will. So practice your stealthy exits.

11) Do not fart within earshot of the D/Captain while they are talking to a member of the public. For some reason they don't find it amusing...
 

Alanzo

Bardo Tulpa
Excellent advice, Andrew!

You need to talk to Guiseppe on this board. He's Italian.

He knows all the ins and outs of PAC base, the two of you could write a manual for new Sea Org staff!
 

Neo

Silver Meritorious Patron
That's very good, and very funny, advice.

Mind you, I'm never gonna need it now :p

Good to see that you learnt to work the system. That's how I survived my time on staff. Especially hanging around people of a similar ethics level - the unwritten rule - I wont KR you if you don't KR me :D
 

Thalkirst

Patron with Honors
Great post, it brings back memories...

Yeah, during my Sea Org carreer I also learnt a thing or two about skillfully avoiding rules.

So here are my advices for new SO members :)

1) A recruitment or regging tour provides wonderful opportunities for loafing and having some time off. Especially, if there are no resources to give you the dreaded RMSC (returning msnaire sec check) or you are good at faking F/Ns.

2) The Sea Org Internet filter can simply be bypassed by installing a second operating system on the internet computer, and using its browser to access "content not otherwise available". :whistling:

3) You just have to be a little bit upstat, so you don't have to complete all cycles before Thursday 14:00, leave something for next week. Also, when you crash your stat, crash it completely. The next week will be hell, but thereafter it will be much easier with the small increase game.

4) Building up mutual out-ruds with the CO is a good self-defense (except when a CMO Ethics mission hits your base).

5) Convince the SSO to program you so you can do "Esto steps" in your study time - there is one which requires you to go Normal or above on each dynamic. Which includes the first - so you can officially to pursue your own interests in your study time.

6) When assigned to MEST work, ask for the galley and befriend the Chief Cook. At least you will eat properly for a while... :)
 

Dulloldfart

Squirrel Extraordinaire
He knows all the ins and outs of PAC base, the two of you could write a manual for new Sea Org staff!

I remember writing a guide for new students that was published in my university student "paper" (mimeo'd sheets in 1969). It was entitled "A Guide for Freshers: What to Do, What Not to Do, and How to Roll a Joint". (true story)

Paul
 

marty

Patron with Honors
Andrew,

I related to all those things with great familiarity. "Out ethics room 10" we used to call ourselves. Reading to 1am was common. We carefully guarded who came into our room so as to preserve our ethics level. Didnt want any KR writing Schlutz as you say.

We also familiarised with the guards movements. At the right moment slipping out of the room down to the end that over looked the canal. Kind of a well ventilated visual dead spot that permited a cigarrete.

Another great escape when things were getting a bit intense was ISO. By fudging your temperature you could spend easily up to two weeks in isolated bliss.

Nice to know other rooms got up to similar antics.

When I went back in 2002 I found the scene had tightened up considerably with the younger MAAs from the base actually staying at the hotels as well.
They would wander around long after lights out.
 

Alanzo

Bardo Tulpa
I remember writing a guide for new students that was published in my university student "paper" (mimeo'd sheets in 1969). It was entitled "A Guide for Freshers: What to Do, What Not to Do, and How to Roll a Joint". (true story)

Paul

A new layer to Paul that I did not know existed!
 

Lulu Belle

Moonbat
Oh god, Andrew.

Your post really struck a chord with me.

I was a long time Sea Org member in PAC.

"Pockets of time" was what I used to think of as my survival strategy.

You never, ever had the time you needed to even survive. Time to sleep. Time to clean your room. Time to eat. Time to do anything.

So you had to do anything and everything you could to create these personal time pockets.

Some of my little tricks:

Laundry: There was a tunnel in PAC that connected the main (berthing) building with the service orgs. In the early morning before post, I would grab my laundry and run to the laundry room and dump it there before muster. Later on when I got a chance, I would sneak out of the org through the tunnel to the laundry room to throw it in the wash, then later to put it in the drier. This got my laundry done during the week and avoided the crowds during hygiene time on the weekend.

Sleep: If there was any way to get away with it, I (like everyone else) would sneak up to my room during study time to grab a nap. In PAC when I was there, you could sometimes arrange to go on course at some other org than the one where you worked. That made it a lot easier. You would tell your org you were on study; you would tell the org where you were on course you were on post. Leaving you free to lay down for an hour or two.

I had an office that locked, so there were times I actually locked the door of my office during study time and laid down on the floor and slept.

There were guys in tech who took this even further. Oh, the power of an "In Session" sign. I heard a story (maybe an Urban Legend) of a guy in Qual who took a week off that no one knew about, by leaving an "In Session" sign on his door the entire week. No one even knew he was missing.

Best sleeping story: The "Orientation" film. When it came out, staff were ordered to see it 10 times. My girlfriend and I would go off during study time to a different org to watch the film. So we could sleep through it. Unfortunately, she snored. :D

Events: I don't even want to go into here what a nightmare they were. My girlfriend and I would get there, then when they started, we would slip out and go around the corner to the coffee shop and sped the evening there until they were almost over. Then slip back in.

These are only a few examples. I know it wasn't just me. My life on staff consisted of constantly trying to find a way to create new "pockets". Because you simply couldn't live otherwise...
 

sandygirl

Silver Meritorious Patron
You know guys.....these posts are funny and clever.

But they also make me really sad.....how can people live that way? I think I am now entering my "hope the church crashes and burns" phase.

I used to be live and let live.:duh: :duh:
 

Andrew

Patron with Honors
Thanks for all the great feedback.

"Pockets of time" is such an apt expression. I love it.

I'll probably go back and add in some more over the next few weeks when I have time.

I want to get around to writing up my story but I thought I'd start with this sort of flippant list.

One of the things I found absolutely awful while I was there was this tendency for everyone to become so serious. I really would like to Bitch-Slap Ron for that Jokers and Degraders policy as way too many people didn't understand it properly and tried to use it to justify them eliminating your fun.

I'll leave you all with one more thought:

Sleeping in the bottom bunk is a definite liability when the guy above you sleeps naked. No man needs to wake-up, open his eyes and see a flacid willy travelling past him. Thank You to Andrew in Sydney Org for that one!
 

Free to shine

Shiny & Free
Sleep: If there was any way to get away with it, I (like everyone else) would sneak up to my room during study time to grab a nap. In PAC when I was there, you could sometimes arrange to go on course at some other org than the one where you worked. That made it a lot easier. You would tell your org you were on study; you would tell the org where you were on course you were on post. Leaving you free to lay down for an hour or two.

I had an office that locked, so there were times I actually locked the door of my office during study time and laid down on the floor and slept.

There were guys in tech who took this even further. Oh, the power of an "In Session" sign. I heard a story (maybe an Urban Legend) of a guy in Qual who took a week off that no one knew about, by leaving an "In Session" sign on his door the entire week. No one even knew he was missing.

Best sleeping story: The "Orientation" film. When it came out, staff were ordered to see it 10 times. My girlfriend and I would go off during study time to a different org to watch the film. So we could sleep through it. Unfortunately, she snored. :D

Lulu you reminded me of my sleeping story. Heavily pregnant (not in SO) I used to sneak off to my car, get in the back and cover myself with a blanket, lock the doors and sleep for an hour or so. Every day. Of course my senior soon figured that out, and luckily for me she was a mother too, and turned a blind eye most of the time when I "went for a small walk". :coolwink: There was still some humanity back then, at times.
 

Pixie

Crusader
You know guys.....these posts are funny and clever.

But they also make me really sad.....how can people live that way? I think I am now entering my "hope the church crashes and burns" phase.

I used to be live and let live.:duh: :duh:

Hey thanks for that, I'm glad I'm not the only one beginning to experience 'evil thoughts' towards the 'church'. It's about all I can think of this last couple of days, perhaps it's the energy building coming up to the protests.. but oh.. the things I thought of cannot be repeated here.. :omg:

Yes, the stories, we'd have been better treated in prison.
 

Pixie

Crusader
Thanks for all the great feedback.

"Pockets of time" is such an apt expression. I love it.

I'll probably go back and add in some more over the next few weeks when I have time.

I want to get around to writing up my story but I thought I'd start with this sort of flippant list.

One of the things I found absolutely awful while I was there was this tendency for everyone to become so serious. I really would like to Bitch-Slap Ron for that Jokers and Degraders policy as way too many people didn't understand it properly and tried to use it to justify them eliminating your fun.

I'll leave you all with one more thought:

Sleeping in the bottom bunk is a definite liability when the guy above you sleeps naked. No man needs to wake-up, open his eyes and see a flacid willy travelling past him. Thank You to Andrew in Sydney Org for that one!

Ugh!! That reminds me of when I went for 'tech training', the girls slept in what could only be discribed as a fancy shed, there were twelve of us in this tiny room, the bunkbeds were three high, so the person on the top was so close to the ceiling, they couldn't turn over in the night. We had no heating and to say it was freezing was an understatement.
 

Wisened One

Crusader
Lulubell, FTS: Oh yes, pockets of time..your stories remind me of things we use to do on Staff:

Since hubby and I were Div 6 together, we were always out of the Org selling books, doing Promo, bodyrouting, etc...

Well: We had a Book van. And we used to go park, then take an hour sleeping in the back of the van while everyone was at the Org during after-dinner Muster...

Events: God, those times were when we got to EAT for free! :yes: We were always hungry and living on cuban coffee (and here with me being 88 lbs at the time!?). Ya think I could afford to diet? :no:
And we got married on Dec 31st JUST so we could miss New Years Eve Events every year to celebrate our Anniversary..(which consisted of sleeping since we never had money to do much...).

And during Bodyrouting, I would browse in the nearby shops sometimes, lol.

Pockets of time...remember when all of us could do MORE stuff in five minutes than most people could do in 30 minutes? Time used to stretch out forever when working from 8am till 11 or 12 at night...
 

petraph33

Patron with Honors
Thanks for all the great feedback.

"Pockets of time" is such an apt expression. I love it.

I'll probably go back and add in some more over the next few weeks when I have time.

I want to get around to writing up my story but I thought I'd start with this sort of flippant list.

...

Can't wait for your story Andrew, let's go - whenever you are ready of course... :surf:
 

nexus100

Gold Meritorious Patron
I remember writing a guide for new students that was published in my university student "paper" (mimeo'd sheets in 1969). It was entitled "A Guide for Freshers: What to Do, What Not to Do, and How to Roll a Joint". (true story)

Paul

Far out! Roll a couple of bummers and leave them on the side table.
 
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