We woke up good and early today for our regular Saturday routine: We carpooled out to Synchro, dropped Pamela and Bella off, while Isaac and I went to the new semester of Circus School: Today, the kids got measured for their outfits for the big performance in the spring. Of course all these 3-4 year olds could ask was CAN WE WEAR THEM NOW? WHEN? WHEN??? The teachers got them back on track, and they were working as one big group going through a circuit of exercises: Climb up and roll down a hill of mats, then a trapeze swing and dismount, then springing over a barrier, then a balance beam, then a quick bit of juggling (throwing scarves), and at the end, they lined up for a bow. They did this quite a few times, and us parents gave them applause with each bow. They're teaching not just the skills of the circus, but the SHOW too.
We picked up Bella and Pamela afterwards and headed to Keys Cafe downtown St Paul. I went there quite a bit in 2005-2006 when I was doing work for Gillette Children's hospital, which was within walking distance (their new IT location is a bit farther away, alas). I reveled in the caramel roll... oh it's good there. And even better, the kids didn't think it was something they'd want to try, so I got it all.
After lunch, we headed out to the MN Transportation Museum to climb on the big trains. Bella liked the "business car", with sleeping quarters, a big office, several bathrooms, a kitchen, and a salon. The detail was amazing - they knew how to live back then. I didn't see a heater in there, though... brrrrr..... They were having trouble with snow on the tracks, so we missed a ride on the train, but will do a return visit. Also, we rode on a 1954 vintage bus to and from the parking lot. Pretty dang cool.
Then it was back home, and I went off to the Malt Shop - a hangout from when I was a kid. As I was my high school senior class president, I'm organizing the 25th reunion, and had put out an APB on facebook that I would be there from 2-4pm if anyone wanted to give me ideas for the reunion. One guy did show up, and we had a good chat... but the rest were no-shows.
A final errand: As noted before, my Macbook Air had developed a problem: The hinge holding the screen was getting looser and looser, and at a certain point, it cracked and the lid would fall open and closed. Since that update, the ribbon that connects the screen to the brains got loose, so my screen was showing only red and pink hues. It was very hard to use the computer.
Well, they ordered the part, and it came in in 5 days, not 2 weeks. They called me and I dropped it off Friday afternoon, and it was ready to pick up at noon Saturday. They promised 3 weeks, and the whole thing was done in one.
This is simply amazing: Think of any other consumer product: It breaks, you ship it off to the manufacturer for repairs. An Apple breaks, you bring it in and they fix it right there. It sort of blows my mind, and it's just one more reason I love that company. And it makes me doubly happy that I didn't panic and buy another computer. this one is now JUST FINE.
With all that running around, it's nice to be sitting on my couch in front of the fire, with Pamela right across the room. We keep smiling at each other. Yep, it's pretty nice.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Terrible Terrible Jokes about Jenga
What do you call a game with stacked wooden blocks that also analyzes your dreams?
- Karl Junga
What do you call a game with stacked wooden blocks that was a 70s pop psychologist who wrote "Fear of Flying"
- Erica Jonga
What do you call a game with stacked wooden blocks that is also the leader of a brutal dictatorship
- Kim Jenga-il
At this point, Pamela said "I'm done with these now". So that's all I have.
- Karl Junga
What do you call a game with stacked wooden blocks that was a 70s pop psychologist who wrote "Fear of Flying"
- Erica Jonga
What do you call a game with stacked wooden blocks that is also the leader of a brutal dictatorship
- Kim Jenga-il
At this point, Pamela said "I'm done with these now". So that's all I have.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Buried!
You may have heard, we got some snow recently. It collapsed the Metrodome, which was pretty amazing. Actually I'm surprised it never fell before, really. What I love is the parade of "I KNEW it would happen eventually" people - forgetting it had stayed up without much incident for 20 years. That's not a bad roof.
We live in Edina, which means that even in the middle of the storm, we were getting plowed out. On Saturday night, we went out to a big birthday party for a friend, and it was Edina-to-Edina travel, which meant we didn't hit an unplowed stretch. The next day, going to visit my dad to help decorate their Christmas tree, we got hung up by impassable roads thrice and had to back out and find other routes.
It is days like these that I'm happy we invested in Mister Marshmallow, the 4wd Hybrid. We left Clive the Jaguar in the driveway for the first 2 days, but by Monday the roads were clear enough for him to be fishtailing down the road without hitting any snowbanks.
It's amazing to realize that we've hit a month since I started working at the new client (3 weeks technically, but I got wrapped into some meetings while transitioning out of Cleveland). The marker was that my first day in, they were doing a 90-day pre-live assessment, and today I delivered the 60-day pre-live assessment. And the things I know now versus then... whew. To be sitting at the table explaining exactly what the issue is with the Blood and Marrow Transplant Workflows, and what our next steps are... it's pretty cool. In this time, I feel like I've been able to really help the project along - not with any sort of magic, but just in listening, understanding, carrying concerns forward, and helping think of solutions.
Though sometimes I do get a little frustrated. One of my pet peeves is technical people who hide behind jargon. I had a person today who was quite obviously not telling the whole story, and kept dropping little technical terms as to why we would need to make some serious changes to our project or PATIENT SAFETY WAS AT RISK. I was watching the clinical people at the table getting hopeless - they were thinking that OBVIOUSLY what this guy was saying was true, it was technically explainable. I finally unloaded on the guy, letting him know I DO know the tech, and I knew exactly what the problem REALLY was, and that he had 2 ways he could fix it, and that it's not acceptable to put my project at risk like this. He made a look like a fish gasping for water.
It's good to have geek mojo. So we're still on target for our golive in 60 days, and it's going to be tight, no question. But I'm still happy. Almost unreasonably so. People keep waiting for me to crack. They don't know that I've been to Cleveland. Speaking of there, the cut cord remains cut, and they haven't brought me in for anything, which is wonderful. I do still get notes from people I brought in there wondering if I'm in a better place and if I can help them. We shall see.
Speaking of geek (and fish, actually), my poor Macbook Air has a cracked hinge, so the screen flops limply around. Apple said it's a free fix, but it'll be 2-3 weeks. They wanted to hold onto it, but I can't live without a laptop, and while it would have been a wonderfully acceptable excuse for getting that cute tiny 11" Air, I just couldn't do it. What is this... responsibility? It feels weird.
We live in Edina, which means that even in the middle of the storm, we were getting plowed out. On Saturday night, we went out to a big birthday party for a friend, and it was Edina-to-Edina travel, which meant we didn't hit an unplowed stretch. The next day, going to visit my dad to help decorate their Christmas tree, we got hung up by impassable roads thrice and had to back out and find other routes.
It is days like these that I'm happy we invested in Mister Marshmallow, the 4wd Hybrid. We left Clive the Jaguar in the driveway for the first 2 days, but by Monday the roads were clear enough for him to be fishtailing down the road without hitting any snowbanks.
It's amazing to realize that we've hit a month since I started working at the new client (3 weeks technically, but I got wrapped into some meetings while transitioning out of Cleveland). The marker was that my first day in, they were doing a 90-day pre-live assessment, and today I delivered the 60-day pre-live assessment. And the things I know now versus then... whew. To be sitting at the table explaining exactly what the issue is with the Blood and Marrow Transplant Workflows, and what our next steps are... it's pretty cool. In this time, I feel like I've been able to really help the project along - not with any sort of magic, but just in listening, understanding, carrying concerns forward, and helping think of solutions.
Though sometimes I do get a little frustrated. One of my pet peeves is technical people who hide behind jargon. I had a person today who was quite obviously not telling the whole story, and kept dropping little technical terms as to why we would need to make some serious changes to our project or PATIENT SAFETY WAS AT RISK. I was watching the clinical people at the table getting hopeless - they were thinking that OBVIOUSLY what this guy was saying was true, it was technically explainable. I finally unloaded on the guy, letting him know I DO know the tech, and I knew exactly what the problem REALLY was, and that he had 2 ways he could fix it, and that it's not acceptable to put my project at risk like this. He made a look like a fish gasping for water.
It's good to have geek mojo. So we're still on target for our golive in 60 days, and it's going to be tight, no question. But I'm still happy. Almost unreasonably so. People keep waiting for me to crack. They don't know that I've been to Cleveland. Speaking of there, the cut cord remains cut, and they haven't brought me in for anything, which is wonderful. I do still get notes from people I brought in there wondering if I'm in a better place and if I can help them. We shall see.
Speaking of geek (and fish, actually), my poor Macbook Air has a cracked hinge, so the screen flops limply around. Apple said it's a free fix, but it'll be 2-3 weeks. They wanted to hold onto it, but I can't live without a laptop, and while it would have been a wonderfully acceptable excuse for getting that cute tiny 11" Air, I just couldn't do it. What is this... responsibility? It feels weird.
Sunday, December 05, 2010
Not LESS busy...
Hooo eeeee. The past 2 weeks have been a semi-blur. There WAS an airplane trip... I did a one-day in-n-out to Maryland for a possible assessment, which there's no way I'll be able to do in the next 3 months given the insane workload I have right now on the MAIN gig, plus we're trying to wrap up our assessment for Allentown too. BUT I haven't been to a hotel for 2 weeks, and that feels good.
Bella and I took a quick break from Harry Potter to finish up the Spiderwick Chronicles: That was a fun series, but there were some strange daddy things going on - having the big ogre pretend to be the kids' father was a bit alarming to Bella.... but we made it through. We're back on Potter. I note, as a bedtime reader, that JK Rowling has extended each chapter by 4-5 pages from books 1, 2, and 3. You can see she's writing to keep up with her evolving readership, but as a dad who is contending with "just one chapter???" I am worried... and will be prepping my voice with tea with lemon.
Isaac pretty much hasn't stopped jumping up and down since I came home 2 weeks ago. Literally, he's like a superball, bouncing on every surface. He's also in a very "chatterbox" phase, where he is gabbing nonstop, and if you try to let it just wash over you, he will stop and repeat what he is saying and repeat it again and DADDY ARE YOU LISTENING repeat it again until I grunt an acknowledgement. He's on fire right now, and he's getting up at 5:30-6 in the AM, so Mom and Dad are getting the show first thing.
Zinsser has finally accepted me back into the house: I think I was a "beloved visitor" for the past year, but now I'm a regular pack member. He's spending more time on my lap now.
And Pamela seems pretty happy to have me around. We've been cooking dinners together, watching Glee, and just hanging out. The house is a bit of a wreck because I think we're both still feeling like we're in mid-exhale. We'll get it together. Plus, we're in the seasonal changeover: We're moving from Turkeys to Christmas for the decorating theme. This decompression is also probably why I've been slow to blog... I'll get back on the stick.
It's been fun working locally - driving in to work has been wonderful, grabbing lunch up in Northeast... there's a lot to love. Great little restaurants like oBento-ya and Uncle Franky's... plus Surdyk's and the Bulldog...
One key thing I'm working out is that the project is definitely behind, and the people are definitely burned out, but I don't think there'll be a problem hitting our date - we can make it. The real problem is what will happen the day after we go live - there's not really a good model in place for support, and they saw that in spades after their first mini-golive 2 months ago. The teams aren't burned out from the work to deliver this new hospital, they're hung over from a support nightmare. That helps me know where to focus my energies - unfortunately, the support model isn't one I have full control over, so I'll just need to be a strong advocate for our team.
Well, no rest for the wicked. Time to get the kiddos ready: Isaac to Swimming, Bella to Church. We have our one and only "friends" Xmas party tonight - a traditional party with people Pamela worked with back when we were first together, so these are people who bring up back to the heady days of the apartment on Harriet and the duplex on Aldrich! History is a good thing.
Bella and I took a quick break from Harry Potter to finish up the Spiderwick Chronicles: That was a fun series, but there were some strange daddy things going on - having the big ogre pretend to be the kids' father was a bit alarming to Bella.... but we made it through. We're back on Potter. I note, as a bedtime reader, that JK Rowling has extended each chapter by 4-5 pages from books 1, 2, and 3. You can see she's writing to keep up with her evolving readership, but as a dad who is contending with "just one chapter???" I am worried... and will be prepping my voice with tea with lemon.
Isaac pretty much hasn't stopped jumping up and down since I came home 2 weeks ago. Literally, he's like a superball, bouncing on every surface. He's also in a very "chatterbox" phase, where he is gabbing nonstop, and if you try to let it just wash over you, he will stop and repeat what he is saying and repeat it again and DADDY ARE YOU LISTENING repeat it again until I grunt an acknowledgement. He's on fire right now, and he's getting up at 5:30-6 in the AM, so Mom and Dad are getting the show first thing.
Zinsser has finally accepted me back into the house: I think I was a "beloved visitor" for the past year, but now I'm a regular pack member. He's spending more time on my lap now.
And Pamela seems pretty happy to have me around. We've been cooking dinners together, watching Glee, and just hanging out. The house is a bit of a wreck because I think we're both still feeling like we're in mid-exhale. We'll get it together. Plus, we're in the seasonal changeover: We're moving from Turkeys to Christmas for the decorating theme. This decompression is also probably why I've been slow to blog... I'll get back on the stick.
It's been fun working locally - driving in to work has been wonderful, grabbing lunch up in Northeast... there's a lot to love. Great little restaurants like oBento-ya and Uncle Franky's... plus Surdyk's and the Bulldog...
One key thing I'm working out is that the project is definitely behind, and the people are definitely burned out, but I don't think there'll be a problem hitting our date - we can make it. The real problem is what will happen the day after we go live - there's not really a good model in place for support, and they saw that in spades after their first mini-golive 2 months ago. The teams aren't burned out from the work to deliver this new hospital, they're hung over from a support nightmare. That helps me know where to focus my energies - unfortunately, the support model isn't one I have full control over, so I'll just need to be a strong advocate for our team.
Well, no rest for the wicked. Time to get the kiddos ready: Isaac to Swimming, Bella to Church. We have our one and only "friends" Xmas party tonight - a traditional party with people Pamela worked with back when we were first together, so these are people who bring up back to the heady days of the apartment on Harriet and the duplex on Aldrich! History is a good thing.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Yep - it was a year almost exactly.
From a blog posting on 11/23/09:
"I got the big gig: I'll be headed to Cleveland to help plan out a 5 year, $100m project, and if they like what we bring to the planning, we're in for the doing. The work is very strategic and high profile, and they're not expecting to see much of me - I'm budgeted for 5 visits from now through February... I have a coworker who will be my eyes and ears on the ground. And that means I'll be around a fair amount more in the next few months...."
Interesting how that turned out, eh?
"I got the big gig: I'll be headed to Cleveland to help plan out a 5 year, $100m project, and if they like what we bring to the planning, we're in for the doing. The work is very strategic and high profile, and they're not expecting to see much of me - I'm budgeted for 5 visits from now through February... I have a coworker who will be my eyes and ears on the ground. And that means I'll be around a fair amount more in the next few months...."
Interesting how that turned out, eh?
A Happy Birthday
Monday was my birthday - turned 43, and where does the time go? I feel like 42 was sucked out of me and left on the shores on Lake Erie... but there were good things in the year. It'll just take me a little time to think of them.
So how did I celebrate my birthday?
I got up early, had some peanut butter toast and 3 shots of expresso... hit the road and pulled up to the new client. I worked a full day, had a lot of meetings, got connected to my new teams... Had a quick lunch at Uncle Franky's northeast burger and dog shop. I was out the door at 5:30, and stopped on the way home at the King and I thai restaurant.
The family was waiting, and we all enjoyed some Pad Thai, Cream Cheese rolls, Mock Duck eggrolls, and whatever #34 is (chicken in spicy roasted pepper and cashew sauce). It was great. I read the kids stories lay with them to get to sleep, and turned in early.
It was a perfect day for me. I was in town, I had family time, I was with the new client... I know there's a TON of work needed for this project, but it't not impossible, and just being here was great.
Here's looking for a fun 43!
So how did I celebrate my birthday?
I got up early, had some peanut butter toast and 3 shots of expresso... hit the road and pulled up to the new client. I worked a full day, had a lot of meetings, got connected to my new teams... Had a quick lunch at Uncle Franky's northeast burger and dog shop. I was out the door at 5:30, and stopped on the way home at the King and I thai restaurant.
The family was waiting, and we all enjoyed some Pad Thai, Cream Cheese rolls, Mock Duck eggrolls, and whatever #34 is (chicken in spicy roasted pepper and cashew sauce). It was great. I read the kids stories lay with them to get to sleep, and turned in early.
It was a perfect day for me. I was in town, I had family time, I was with the new client... I know there's a TON of work needed for this project, but it't not impossible, and just being here was great.
Here's looking for a fun 43!
Friday, November 19, 2010
And the NEW.
While I have spent a couple of days at the new client, today was really my "landing day" - I'll be fully committed to them from here on out. And it was a GOOD day - I achieved everything I set out to do, and honestly, while it feels like a huge project, I feel really good about being able to help them get across the finish line.
This is an Epic project, and a lot of them were onsite this week to help with building the system... So I got to meet some of them.
One asked, somewhat shyly, if I was "the guy who blogged about Epic?". I confessed I was, and she lit up - "I KNEW it! We heard a new guy was coming in from Cleveland, and we all thought it was probably you!". It was quite the brush with celebrity... ;->
I can already tell that the team is just dynamite. I'm going to enjoy this gig... REALLY!
And not just because it's 5 minutes from Uncle Franky's.
This is an Epic project, and a lot of them were onsite this week to help with building the system... So I got to meet some of them.
One asked, somewhat shyly, if I was "the guy who blogged about Epic?". I confessed I was, and she lit up - "I KNEW it! We heard a new guy was coming in from Cleveland, and we all thought it was probably you!". It was quite the brush with celebrity... ;->
I can already tell that the team is just dynamite. I'm going to enjoy this gig... REALLY!
And not just because it's 5 minutes from Uncle Franky's.
The Change
This was it - the week it all changed. It was my last week in Cleveland.
Looking back, it was a bit of a ride: I started in December, and it was supposed to be 3 months, 50% onsite. By January, it had accelerated to every week onsite, and by February, I was in an interim Director role. I was supposed to be done by March, then May, then September... And each time, there looked like some glimmer of hope that I could go, and each time there was some circumstance that kept me in place.
I've complained in the past - but I'm done with that. It was work, and yes, there was severe and deep dysfunction in the client, but looking back, I don't know if it was WORSE than any other. The issue was that the core WORK I was doing was stressful at a time when me and the family were ready for me to come home. And the work itself after the start became a lot of people management. A LOT.
Last Friday I spent an hour on the phone with two of my team members, listening to their sides of a dispute, and recommending "communication strategies" to keep them both on the team and not killing eachother. It was a big team - almost 40 reported directly to me, over 70 on the whole team. 30 were contractors I was responsible for managing, so I also did a lot of travel approvals, room and car rate negotiations, explanation of the per diem policy... and the obligatory "being nice to their salespeople" thing. Actually that was pretty easy, having been on the other side. More than one told me I was the best client to work with they'd had in years, because I knew their life. If this was a local gig, I probably could have stuck with it, but add to this it was travel... it was too much.
Anyway, we set this week as my last week: The client was in fact no closer than they ever had been to replacing me... we were getting ready for another Lucy Football Pull, and another round of "gosh, what will we do - just 3 more months". Well, Bella and Isaac and Pamela let me know they had enough. It was really time to recognize that there IS no good time... and they needed me more. I agreed.
Happily I didn't have to leave my consulting company to make this work: We swapped me out for another person in the firm... someone who will do a great job taking them to the next stage. She's also a lot tougher than I am, and will probably leave a different impression with the team.
On Monday I had a going away party. My bosses gave me tearful hugs. Actual tearful hugs, and hugs without the back patting. It was a little odd, but hey. And I had co-workers toasting me, getting drunker and drunker and standing and making declarations like "JIM YOU ARE A GOOD MAN. A GOOD SOUL, AND WE ARE HONORED TO HAVE WORKED FOR YOU". It was like an irish wake... with me still out of the pine box. Fortunately the pub was just a couple of blocks from my hotel, so I was able to celebrate AND walk home.
The week was a whirlwind of activity. In the middle of the week, I actually had a big presentation for my client in Allentown too, a preliminary findings review that had me up to 1am drawing data flow pictures. And I tried to hit all of my favorite restaurants: Breakfasts at LA Pete's, Dunkin, the Hotel Lobby, and Starbucks. Lunches at Aladdin's, the Winking Lizard, and Heidi's deli. Dinners at Romano's (a good fill in for Geraci's), Lola, and Hoggy's. I missed a final visit to Taza (lebanese), and Mike's Cozmic Subs... but it was a good round-up.
The flight home was on time and uneventful. I had a good conversation with a woman who is also consulting in Cleveland, and knows some of the people I'll be working with in Minneapolis. She gave me some good info.
As the flight came in, for the first time, we approached from the north EAST, and circled around to South West, and back in to the airport. So it was a long orbit around downtown, which stayed just in view out my window on the left side of the plane. A lingering sight to say "welcome home".
I got home in time to read another chapter of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkeban to Bella (the chapter with the Knight Bus - we were laughing a lot at my attempt to do the cockney voice of the bus conductor). And it was good to be home.
Looking back, it was a bit of a ride: I started in December, and it was supposed to be 3 months, 50% onsite. By January, it had accelerated to every week onsite, and by February, I was in an interim Director role. I was supposed to be done by March, then May, then September... And each time, there looked like some glimmer of hope that I could go, and each time there was some circumstance that kept me in place.
I've complained in the past - but I'm done with that. It was work, and yes, there was severe and deep dysfunction in the client, but looking back, I don't know if it was WORSE than any other. The issue was that the core WORK I was doing was stressful at a time when me and the family were ready for me to come home. And the work itself after the start became a lot of people management. A LOT.
Last Friday I spent an hour on the phone with two of my team members, listening to their sides of a dispute, and recommending "communication strategies" to keep them both on the team and not killing eachother. It was a big team - almost 40 reported directly to me, over 70 on the whole team. 30 were contractors I was responsible for managing, so I also did a lot of travel approvals, room and car rate negotiations, explanation of the per diem policy... and the obligatory "being nice to their salespeople" thing. Actually that was pretty easy, having been on the other side. More than one told me I was the best client to work with they'd had in years, because I knew their life. If this was a local gig, I probably could have stuck with it, but add to this it was travel... it was too much.
Anyway, we set this week as my last week: The client was in fact no closer than they ever had been to replacing me... we were getting ready for another Lucy Football Pull, and another round of "gosh, what will we do - just 3 more months". Well, Bella and Isaac and Pamela let me know they had enough. It was really time to recognize that there IS no good time... and they needed me more. I agreed.
Happily I didn't have to leave my consulting company to make this work: We swapped me out for another person in the firm... someone who will do a great job taking them to the next stage. She's also a lot tougher than I am, and will probably leave a different impression with the team.
On Monday I had a going away party. My bosses gave me tearful hugs. Actual tearful hugs, and hugs without the back patting. It was a little odd, but hey. And I had co-workers toasting me, getting drunker and drunker and standing and making declarations like "JIM YOU ARE A GOOD MAN. A GOOD SOUL, AND WE ARE HONORED TO HAVE WORKED FOR YOU". It was like an irish wake... with me still out of the pine box. Fortunately the pub was just a couple of blocks from my hotel, so I was able to celebrate AND walk home.
The week was a whirlwind of activity. In the middle of the week, I actually had a big presentation for my client in Allentown too, a preliminary findings review that had me up to 1am drawing data flow pictures. And I tried to hit all of my favorite restaurants: Breakfasts at LA Pete's, Dunkin, the Hotel Lobby, and Starbucks. Lunches at Aladdin's, the Winking Lizard, and Heidi's deli. Dinners at Romano's (a good fill in for Geraci's), Lola, and Hoggy's. I missed a final visit to Taza (lebanese), and Mike's Cozmic Subs... but it was a good round-up.
The flight home was on time and uneventful. I had a good conversation with a woman who is also consulting in Cleveland, and knows some of the people I'll be working with in Minneapolis. She gave me some good info.
As the flight came in, for the first time, we approached from the north EAST, and circled around to South West, and back in to the airport. So it was a long orbit around downtown, which stayed just in view out my window on the left side of the plane. A lingering sight to say "welcome home".
I got home in time to read another chapter of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkeban to Bella (the chapter with the Knight Bus - we were laughing a lot at my attempt to do the cockney voice of the bus conductor). And it was good to be home.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Falling Apart
Since Thursday morning when the gig was finally and truly "got", Pamela and I have been threatening to have a "celebration" - let's open some champagne! Let's kick up our heels!
Hasn't really worked out that way yet: Thursday the kids were good and wound up and I didn't emerge from Bella's room until almost 10, and Pamela was already in bed. Friday, Pamela fell asleep on the couch while I was teaching Bella double-deck solitaire before 8pm. About 4 sips were taken from the bottle of bubbly we did open.
Today, the exhaustion perhaps was explained, as she was laid low mid-afternoon by a stomach flu.
Still, if we're going to be doing nothing, it's a great day to do it: Huge heavy snow fell across the area, and the trees and power lines were ill prepared. We lost a gorgeous tree across the street, and there were fallen branches everywhere, plus the odd live wire.
The Jaguar proved it's complete ineptness in snow yet again, and I went through my annual "I'm SELLING THIS THING and buying a 4x4" rant (I love the car 350 days of the year, but those other 15 I hate it a whole lot). But I did need to use the car, as Pamela took Bella to Synchro swimming in the AM, and I finally took Isaac to the doctor to see about his rampant mucus (like 10 days of runny nose and phlegmy cough). The doctor assured me it wasn't pneumonia - likely just some bacteria who are having a long party in his sinuses and need to get spanked with some antibiotics. So Isaac is on the meds, and conked out.
Bella and Jenny are having a sleepover tonight: Bella is right now sewing together a bear from felt that she designed and cut out, and is now stuffing and stitching. And sewing buttons on for eyes, which are huge, mismatched, and mental. She's wonderful.
I think it's about time for me to ship those girls up off to bed now...
Hasn't really worked out that way yet: Thursday the kids were good and wound up and I didn't emerge from Bella's room until almost 10, and Pamela was already in bed. Friday, Pamela fell asleep on the couch while I was teaching Bella double-deck solitaire before 8pm. About 4 sips were taken from the bottle of bubbly we did open.
Today, the exhaustion perhaps was explained, as she was laid low mid-afternoon by a stomach flu.
Still, if we're going to be doing nothing, it's a great day to do it: Huge heavy snow fell across the area, and the trees and power lines were ill prepared. We lost a gorgeous tree across the street, and there were fallen branches everywhere, plus the odd live wire.
The Jaguar proved it's complete ineptness in snow yet again, and I went through my annual "I'm SELLING THIS THING and buying a 4x4" rant (I love the car 350 days of the year, but those other 15 I hate it a whole lot). But I did need to use the car, as Pamela took Bella to Synchro swimming in the AM, and I finally took Isaac to the doctor to see about his rampant mucus (like 10 days of runny nose and phlegmy cough). The doctor assured me it wasn't pneumonia - likely just some bacteria who are having a long party in his sinuses and need to get spanked with some antibiotics. So Isaac is on the meds, and conked out.
Bella and Jenny are having a sleepover tonight: Bella is right now sewing together a bear from felt that she designed and cut out, and is now stuffing and stitching. And sewing buttons on for eyes, which are huge, mismatched, and mental. She's wonderful.
I think it's about time for me to ship those girls up off to bed now...
Things to report...
Sorry for going quiet on the blog these past weeks - there have been things afoot that I have been afraid to announce prematurely or jinx, but I'm ready now.
Part One: I made the decision that I needed to get off the road no matter what, and started the process with Cleveland. I didn't have anything else lined up, but we set an end-date, which is next Friday, Nov 19. Of course Cleveland was shocked and unhappy, but I feel that my reason is really unassailable: Traveling has been too hard on my family (and on me), and it's not what I want to do. If I was leaving to go to another traveling gig, I think they would be right to be peeved. But I'm getting OFF the airplane thing.
So in that light, Cleveland has shown some good colors, and everyone has been wonderfully supportive. I'm still feeling a bit conflicted - like somehow I'm supposed to have been able to "tough this out", but it was just too hard. On everyone.
Part Two: Having made that decision, I finally decided to find a local gig: I did this back in May when I thought I was leaving the first time, and had several good gigs lined up, and had to back away from them. So until I really knew I was leaving, I didn't want to get anyone started.
Fortunately, it was only a few days into looking that I found something: A big health system in the Twin Cities is going Epic, and they FIRED a key project manager, and the team is somewhat dispirited, and there's an immoveable deadline. I would point you to the blog postings surrounding summer 2006 for a similar engagement in North Minneapolis, and how I was able to deliver on that.
So I did a phone screen 2 weeks ago, went in for an in-person interview on Monday, got the job and was asked to start Wednesday (I'm working from Mpls this week). On Tuesday they called and said there was one more person I needed to interview, so could I come in on Thursday instead? SURE. I interviewed Thursday, and got an email asking me to come in at 1pm for the rest of the day.
And so I am officially "on the job". And happily, it's a clinically-focused project, instead of Revenue Cycle, so I actually will have more fun with it. At the same time, I'm wrapping up Cleveland this next week (my final trip out!), so I have two jobs - always a good time... And I start my birthday week fresh with just the one job, and no airplanes needed.
Two other advantages to this gig: When I've needed to do little one-day trips to New Orleans or Allentown, it has always been tough arranging travel to Cleveland, then to these places (and always via Detroit), then back. My one-shots will be a lot easier from this Delta Hub. Plus the place I'm starting uses the ROWE (Results Oriented Work Environment) philosophy, which means "we don't care where you are as long as the work is getting done". So conference calls won't be a problem.
And I don't think that planning around a 1 night trip every 2-3 weeks to one of my little strategic gigs is inconsistent with "getting off the road" - the ROAD I'm trying to get off is the one where I'm away 3 nights and 4 days from my family every dang week.
With the decision made and the safe landing spot found, I must say that my stress level is just plummeting. And I'm having a lot more fun with the kids - I can step outside myself and see that for months, my Fri-Sat-Sun time with them was tinged with a sadness of trying to "fit this in" before heading away again. This week, the fun has been less "pressured" - like "we're just hanging out like we always do, and always will". It's a subtle difference, but it feels wonderful.
I'll make it through this week in Cleveland. Things are getting better. They ARE better.
Part One: I made the decision that I needed to get off the road no matter what, and started the process with Cleveland. I didn't have anything else lined up, but we set an end-date, which is next Friday, Nov 19. Of course Cleveland was shocked and unhappy, but I feel that my reason is really unassailable: Traveling has been too hard on my family (and on me), and it's not what I want to do. If I was leaving to go to another traveling gig, I think they would be right to be peeved. But I'm getting OFF the airplane thing.
So in that light, Cleveland has shown some good colors, and everyone has been wonderfully supportive. I'm still feeling a bit conflicted - like somehow I'm supposed to have been able to "tough this out", but it was just too hard. On everyone.
Part Two: Having made that decision, I finally decided to find a local gig: I did this back in May when I thought I was leaving the first time, and had several good gigs lined up, and had to back away from them. So until I really knew I was leaving, I didn't want to get anyone started.
Fortunately, it was only a few days into looking that I found something: A big health system in the Twin Cities is going Epic, and they FIRED a key project manager, and the team is somewhat dispirited, and there's an immoveable deadline. I would point you to the blog postings surrounding summer 2006 for a similar engagement in North Minneapolis, and how I was able to deliver on that.
So I did a phone screen 2 weeks ago, went in for an in-person interview on Monday, got the job and was asked to start Wednesday (I'm working from Mpls this week). On Tuesday they called and said there was one more person I needed to interview, so could I come in on Thursday instead? SURE. I interviewed Thursday, and got an email asking me to come in at 1pm for the rest of the day.
And so I am officially "on the job". And happily, it's a clinically-focused project, instead of Revenue Cycle, so I actually will have more fun with it. At the same time, I'm wrapping up Cleveland this next week (my final trip out!), so I have two jobs - always a good time... And I start my birthday week fresh with just the one job, and no airplanes needed.
Two other advantages to this gig: When I've needed to do little one-day trips to New Orleans or Allentown, it has always been tough arranging travel to Cleveland, then to these places (and always via Detroit), then back. My one-shots will be a lot easier from this Delta Hub. Plus the place I'm starting uses the ROWE (Results Oriented Work Environment) philosophy, which means "we don't care where you are as long as the work is getting done". So conference calls won't be a problem.
And I don't think that planning around a 1 night trip every 2-3 weeks to one of my little strategic gigs is inconsistent with "getting off the road" - the ROAD I'm trying to get off is the one where I'm away 3 nights and 4 days from my family every dang week.
With the decision made and the safe landing spot found, I must say that my stress level is just plummeting. And I'm having a lot more fun with the kids - I can step outside myself and see that for months, my Fri-Sat-Sun time with them was tinged with a sadness of trying to "fit this in" before heading away again. This week, the fun has been less "pressured" - like "we're just hanging out like we always do, and always will". It's a subtle difference, but it feels wonderful.
I'll make it through this week in Cleveland. Things are getting better. They ARE better.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Bella's Art Show
A spontaneous thing this week at School:
Bella and her classmates were all doing art, and Bella issued a challenge that they should all do pictures of monsters/aliens. So everyone did, except for some kids who wanted to do other things, so Bella said "ok, it's just anything you want to do, but it's a grand contest". Everyone nominated Bella to be the judge, so the kids all gave Bella their art work, and she brought it home for judging.
She was worried about ranking them first to last, but said not to worry, her piece would take last place because it wouldn't be fair otherwise. But then she got the idea that instead of ranking them, she'd find something that each picture was "best" of - most colorful, craziest eyes, most hearts, longest tongue, and she'd do the awards that way.
She spent a lot of time coming up with the awards, and brought her first batch of judged works back to school.
But instead of making a big deal out the contest, she just put the results into the kid's take home shelves, for them to find at the end of the day.
And of course, everyone is giving her more and more artwork for the contest, and Bella loves being asked her opinion.
There are a few things I love:
1) Bella organized this.
2) Bella decided to accentuate the positive and look for the good in everything
3) Bella didn't want to use this for any glory - she just popped them into the boxes. She doesn't even know what people's reactions are.
This whole thing just has made me so happy and proud of my girl.
Bella and her classmates were all doing art, and Bella issued a challenge that they should all do pictures of monsters/aliens. So everyone did, except for some kids who wanted to do other things, so Bella said "ok, it's just anything you want to do, but it's a grand contest". Everyone nominated Bella to be the judge, so the kids all gave Bella their art work, and she brought it home for judging.
She was worried about ranking them first to last, but said not to worry, her piece would take last place because it wouldn't be fair otherwise. But then she got the idea that instead of ranking them, she'd find something that each picture was "best" of - most colorful, craziest eyes, most hearts, longest tongue, and she'd do the awards that way.
She spent a lot of time coming up with the awards, and brought her first batch of judged works back to school.
But instead of making a big deal out the contest, she just put the results into the kid's take home shelves, for them to find at the end of the day.
And of course, everyone is giving her more and more artwork for the contest, and Bella loves being asked her opinion.
There are a few things I love:
1) Bella organized this.
2) Bella decided to accentuate the positive and look for the good in everything
3) Bella didn't want to use this for any glory - she just popped them into the boxes. She doesn't even know what people's reactions are.
This whole thing just has made me so happy and proud of my girl.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
My Dream Job
I had the following dream last night. Analysis is welcome, but not required.
I have been called by one of my partners (Dan C) in my company to meet him at a large house in New Hampshire for a consulting gig. Dan and I sit down with a man, who is very concerned: His daughter is at college and he's afraid she may get herself into trouble - she needs role model and cautionary tale wrapped into one.
So my assignment is to dress up as a teenage girl, enroll in this college, and befriend his daughter. But I will also be pregnant, so that I can be a warning to her about the dangers of fast living in college. It's a 3 month gig, and when can I start?
I look to Dan and say "really, me? I don't look very good as a girl" (which is something in real life Pamela has told me more than a few times). Dan raises his eyebrows and says "look at our company - who else do we have?"
And so I start to work out the logistics - if I'm living in a girl's dorm, how will I secretly shave? When will I put on my pregnancy pillow? How will I get up to speed on the music these kids like these days? Will this work?
Fortunately I woke up before this scheme got out of the planning stages.
I have been called by one of my partners (Dan C) in my company to meet him at a large house in New Hampshire for a consulting gig. Dan and I sit down with a man, who is very concerned: His daughter is at college and he's afraid she may get herself into trouble - she needs role model and cautionary tale wrapped into one.
So my assignment is to dress up as a teenage girl, enroll in this college, and befriend his daughter. But I will also be pregnant, so that I can be a warning to her about the dangers of fast living in college. It's a 3 month gig, and when can I start?
I look to Dan and say "really, me? I don't look very good as a girl" (which is something in real life Pamela has told me more than a few times). Dan raises his eyebrows and says "look at our company - who else do we have?"
And so I start to work out the logistics - if I'm living in a girl's dorm, how will I secretly shave? When will I put on my pregnancy pillow? How will I get up to speed on the music these kids like these days? Will this work?
Fortunately I woke up before this scheme got out of the planning stages.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Back to last week...
I'm sitting at the pool while Bella gets going with Synchronized Swimming, and am thinking about where I was just one week ago...
Where we left off was a great week, leading into the weekend:
We got up early and started the 13 block walk from Canal street to the funky arts area on Frenchman Street. We met the whole gang and set out on a guided tour of New Orleans neighborhoods on cruiser bikes (single speed, fat tires, comfy seats). We visited the artsy neighborhoods, the upper ninth ward, Treme,, and skirted through part of the French Quarter too: We talked about the history and culture of the area, learned some things about Katrina, architecture, and more... In 3 hours we only rode about 8 miles total, but we snaked through areas that were beautiful and rich in culture, but off of the beaten path. We all agreed this was maybe one of the best tours we'd ever been on.
If you're ever down there, these guys are worth every penny: The Confederacy of Cruisers
Pamela and I sort of forgot that the bike tour was taking place OUTSIDE, so we didn't properly apply sunscreen. We were good and red by the end. We all set out to find lunch, and were stymied time after time to find a table for our group of nine... So after 45 min of trying, we agreed to split up and catch as catch can.
Of course within 15 minutes, we were all at the same restaurant, sitting at two tops and the counter, mere feet from one another. It was pretty amusing.
In the evening, we piled into a cab (literally - it was 10 of us in one minivan cab, sitting on laps), and headed to the Garden District. After a little walkaround, we had dinner. An aperitif on the menu I couldn't pass up: BACON INFUSED BOURBON. It was actually pretty delicious, but you don't want to think too hard about how it was done.
To close the evening, we went back up to Frenchman St to the Spotted Cat (or the "Potted Cactus" as I malaproped) jazz club, where the brass band was veering between T-Bone Burnett style "brother where art thou" country jazz numbers and wild Klezmer songs, with the crowd breaking into impromptu hora dancing.
It was a raucous end of a fun week, and it was the "perfect" New Orleans music experience to end the night on (much better than the burlesque from the night before). We stayed FAR FAR away from Bourbon Street on our walk home, to keep the good feeling going.
Sunday we slept in and had a nice late breakfast at the Stanley restaurant off of Jackson Square, then met up with Papa who had driven for two straight days to attend a conference down there plus do some pro-bono gold leaf work for a church. We wandered through some royal street antique stores, and parted ways for us to head to the airport.
We got home, with Isaac asleep and Bella waiting up for us. I got to cuddle her to sleep, and it recharged my batteries.
At least until I got up at 4am to head back to the airport for my week in hell. But that's another update.
Where we left off was a great week, leading into the weekend:
We got up early and started the 13 block walk from Canal street to the funky arts area on Frenchman Street. We met the whole gang and set out on a guided tour of New Orleans neighborhoods on cruiser bikes (single speed, fat tires, comfy seats). We visited the artsy neighborhoods, the upper ninth ward, Treme,, and skirted through part of the French Quarter too: We talked about the history and culture of the area, learned some things about Katrina, architecture, and more... In 3 hours we only rode about 8 miles total, but we snaked through areas that were beautiful and rich in culture, but off of the beaten path. We all agreed this was maybe one of the best tours we'd ever been on.
If you're ever down there, these guys are worth every penny: The Confederacy of Cruisers
Pamela and I sort of forgot that the bike tour was taking place OUTSIDE, so we didn't properly apply sunscreen. We were good and red by the end. We all set out to find lunch, and were stymied time after time to find a table for our group of nine... So after 45 min of trying, we agreed to split up and catch as catch can.
Of course within 15 minutes, we were all at the same restaurant, sitting at two tops and the counter, mere feet from one another. It was pretty amusing.
In the evening, we piled into a cab (literally - it was 10 of us in one minivan cab, sitting on laps), and headed to the Garden District. After a little walkaround, we had dinner. An aperitif on the menu I couldn't pass up: BACON INFUSED BOURBON. It was actually pretty delicious, but you don't want to think too hard about how it was done.
To close the evening, we went back up to Frenchman St to the Spotted Cat (or the "Potted Cactus" as I malaproped) jazz club, where the brass band was veering between T-Bone Burnett style "brother where art thou" country jazz numbers and wild Klezmer songs, with the crowd breaking into impromptu hora dancing.
It was a raucous end of a fun week, and it was the "perfect" New Orleans music experience to end the night on (much better than the burlesque from the night before). We stayed FAR FAR away from Bourbon Street on our walk home, to keep the good feeling going.
Sunday we slept in and had a nice late breakfast at the Stanley restaurant off of Jackson Square, then met up with Papa who had driven for two straight days to attend a conference down there plus do some pro-bono gold leaf work for a church. We wandered through some royal street antique stores, and parted ways for us to head to the airport.
We got home, with Isaac asleep and Bella waiting up for us. I got to cuddle her to sleep, and it recharged my batteries.
At least until I got up at 4am to head back to the airport for my week in hell. But that's another update.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
One of those amazing weeks
We had our company retreat in New Orleans this week, and it was incredible. Mon and Tues, I worked remote for Cleveland, and flew to NO in the afternoon... and we had our first great dinner together - the 9 principals of the company. The hotel was a funky french quarter place - not very luxurious, but functional. My room faced Decateur so I had a fair amount of traffic noise coming in the window, plus some late afternoon jazz wafting in ruining my naps.
Wednesday was an all day retreat for the Principals, where we went over all sorts of operational and strategic STUFF. In the evening, the rest of the company showed up (26 more consultants!), and we had a fine dinner at Mr B's - we had a private room that we filled with laughter and increasingly loud conversations. At the end, half of the crowd went out the door to the left (back to the hotel) and half went to the right... toward Bourbon Street.
Oh, Bourbon Street, you scalawag. It is drunk disneyland, and just depressing, but if you get a few into you, it becomes sort of fun. We finished the night at Pat O'Brien's dueling piano room, and a hurricane was purchased and no surprises a headache followed on Thursday AM. Not TOO bad, but boy, those sweet drinks are just a bad idea. BAD BAD BAD idea.
Thursday we started the formal "retreat" for all of the associates - going over the company goals and getting into some educational sessions. We had a great keynote speaker - the CIO of the Cayman Islands Health System. The guy is a visionary who has been in a lot of leading practice places (including building one of the first successful healthcare data warehouses), and he shared his time generously.
Thursday night was another dinner out at Maximo's Italian Grill on Decateur (1 block from our hotel). We were hanging out on the gallery overlooking the street, and had a nice long dinner... but I needed to duck out early, because I had a very important visitor... GOOGY!!!
Pamela flew in Thursday evening, and so I raced to the hotel to see her. It was nice to have her here.
Friday AM, we woke up early and schlepped our stuff down the street (ok, 10 blocks) to the JW Marriott, stopping briefly for some chicory coffee and beignets at Cafe du Monde. The JW was accommodating, letting us check in at 8am (!!!) and upgrading our room... which I was paying for with points anyway - FREE ROOM! Then I was back to the meeting, while Pamela had a nap, then some spa appointments, then some antiquing.
The session on Friday was again wonderful: We had a panel of 3 CIOs for whom we do work come and talk about their challenges and how people like us are ideally helpful. It was one hour of structured Q&A, and then they hung out for another hour for chatting - and that was just amazing access for us to have. BTW - Not by plan, but they were Cerner and Siemens site CIOs, not Epic...
Friday night the consultants were on their own, and leadership went to dinner at Bayona... but and afterwards went to a formal hotel ballroom on Bourbon Street where some very average Jazz was being served up... we were sort of checking our watches, but the owner of our company seemed happy there, so we were willing to give a little time... and then things took an unexpected turn: The show turned into a burlesque - dancers on boxes throughout the room, with the band playing blues stomps while the ladies slowly did striptease... the end result was a g-string and pasties, so it was strictly PG13, but it was just funny, because the ladies were totally hamming it up and bringing a lot of character. It was a situation where we were all at first confused, then annoyed (we don't as a rule like going to strip clubs) and then amused.
Saturday was another day, but I need to post later - it's time for breakfast.
Wednesday was an all day retreat for the Principals, where we went over all sorts of operational and strategic STUFF. In the evening, the rest of the company showed up (26 more consultants!), and we had a fine dinner at Mr B's - we had a private room that we filled with laughter and increasingly loud conversations. At the end, half of the crowd went out the door to the left (back to the hotel) and half went to the right... toward Bourbon Street.
Oh, Bourbon Street, you scalawag. It is drunk disneyland, and just depressing, but if you get a few into you, it becomes sort of fun. We finished the night at Pat O'Brien's dueling piano room, and a hurricane was purchased and no surprises a headache followed on Thursday AM. Not TOO bad, but boy, those sweet drinks are just a bad idea. BAD BAD BAD idea.
Thursday we started the formal "retreat" for all of the associates - going over the company goals and getting into some educational sessions. We had a great keynote speaker - the CIO of the Cayman Islands Health System. The guy is a visionary who has been in a lot of leading practice places (including building one of the first successful healthcare data warehouses), and he shared his time generously.
Thursday night was another dinner out at Maximo's Italian Grill on Decateur (1 block from our hotel). We were hanging out on the gallery overlooking the street, and had a nice long dinner... but I needed to duck out early, because I had a very important visitor... GOOGY!!!
Pamela flew in Thursday evening, and so I raced to the hotel to see her. It was nice to have her here.
Friday AM, we woke up early and schlepped our stuff down the street (ok, 10 blocks) to the JW Marriott, stopping briefly for some chicory coffee and beignets at Cafe du Monde. The JW was accommodating, letting us check in at 8am (!!!) and upgrading our room... which I was paying for with points anyway - FREE ROOM! Then I was back to the meeting, while Pamela had a nap, then some spa appointments, then some antiquing.
The session on Friday was again wonderful: We had a panel of 3 CIOs for whom we do work come and talk about their challenges and how people like us are ideally helpful. It was one hour of structured Q&A, and then they hung out for another hour for chatting - and that was just amazing access for us to have. BTW - Not by plan, but they were Cerner and Siemens site CIOs, not Epic...
Friday night the consultants were on their own, and leadership went to dinner at Bayona... but and afterwards went to a formal hotel ballroom on Bourbon Street where some very average Jazz was being served up... we were sort of checking our watches, but the owner of our company seemed happy there, so we were willing to give a little time... and then things took an unexpected turn: The show turned into a burlesque - dancers on boxes throughout the room, with the band playing blues stomps while the ladies slowly did striptease... the end result was a g-string and pasties, so it was strictly PG13, but it was just funny, because the ladies were totally hamming it up and bringing a lot of character. It was a situation where we were all at first confused, then annoyed (we don't as a rule like going to strip clubs) and then amused.
Saturday was another day, but I need to post later - it's time for breakfast.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Walking in Philly
Last night, out with some buddies in Philly, I passed an "Edible Arrangements" store and was stopped dead in my tracks by the poster in the window:
NASCAR FRUIT ARRANGEMENTS
Now don't be scared to click that link: Edible Arrangements just does fruit - they're not some sort of erotic edible clothing company or anything. But do be scared of the link because somehow they are selling fruit arrangements with a NASCAR theme.
I don't have language to tell you about how strange that is. Also, I'm not really the biggest Nascar guy, but I'm pretty sure that when you're trying to feature cars with different drivers, they're not all the same black and white checkered car with a number sticker on the door: The whole thing with Nascar is the bright unique colors of the cars. I know this because I have watched the movie CARS 86 times.
Oh god, I just pulled the number 86 out of my head, and yes, it's the car number for "bad guy" car Chick Hicks from the movie. The movie CARS.
I am ready for bed now.
NASCAR FRUIT ARRANGEMENTS
Now don't be scared to click that link: Edible Arrangements just does fruit - they're not some sort of erotic edible clothing company or anything. But do be scared of the link because somehow they are selling fruit arrangements with a NASCAR theme.
I don't have language to tell you about how strange that is. Also, I'm not really the biggest Nascar guy, but I'm pretty sure that when you're trying to feature cars with different drivers, they're not all the same black and white checkered car with a number sticker on the door: The whole thing with Nascar is the bright unique colors of the cars. I know this because I have watched the movie CARS 86 times.
Oh god, I just pulled the number 86 out of my head, and yes, it's the car number for "bad guy" car Chick Hicks from the movie. The movie CARS.
I am ready for bed now.
801!!!
Somehow my last post passed by without my realizing it was number 800. That's quite a bit of Blog, people.
I'm in Philly right now waiting to get on the plane home: I was out here revisiting with the team I did work for last year in the Cardiac Center: It turns out that they are looking for some help getting my recommendations from last year moving: There were some management changes, a few other projects were delayed, and the bottom line is that things are ALMOST exactly where they were when I left. But I think we can get them back on track.
I had 4 hours of meetings, and will be preparing some statements of work (with the plan being I manage and direct the work remotely with some controllable hands on site). But I just felt ENERGIZED and excited - talking about clinical projects again... and imaging technology, it fired off all my geek neurons and I've been giddy all day.
I'm also a little giddy because I can't wait to get home and cuddle the family AND watch On the Road with Austin and Santino, which is my "happy place" show. I really want to be Austin when I grow up. Also on the media, Fringe continues to not-disappoint - it just keeps being amazing. If you're not watching it, I got nothing to say to you. Just watch it.
So in sort of an anti-Jimmy thing: You'll recall that I got "caught" saying NICE things about a company, and mild embarrassment ensued, but it was all nice (though I haven't heard back on any possible "next steps"... Epic....). Anyway, I got an email from a friend who wanted to know what he should do: A contractor on HIS project has left a series of frankly immature comments on his Facebook page about the project and the client. It's not even "abstracted" the way I do with my posts.
I don't have any good advice, but I need to share the awesome quote from my friend: "(D)on't live your life out loud and then wonder what went wrong when somebody pays attention to it." Good words in this public age. From now on, I'm going to even substitute the CITY NAME in my updates.
Well, can't wait to head back to AKRON.
I'm in Philly right now waiting to get on the plane home: I was out here revisiting with the team I did work for last year in the Cardiac Center: It turns out that they are looking for some help getting my recommendations from last year moving: There were some management changes, a few other projects were delayed, and the bottom line is that things are ALMOST exactly where they were when I left. But I think we can get them back on track.
I had 4 hours of meetings, and will be preparing some statements of work (with the plan being I manage and direct the work remotely with some controllable hands on site). But I just felt ENERGIZED and excited - talking about clinical projects again... and imaging technology, it fired off all my geek neurons and I've been giddy all day.
I'm also a little giddy because I can't wait to get home and cuddle the family AND watch On the Road with Austin and Santino, which is my "happy place" show. I really want to be Austin when I grow up. Also on the media, Fringe continues to not-disappoint - it just keeps being amazing. If you're not watching it, I got nothing to say to you. Just watch it.
So in sort of an anti-Jimmy thing: You'll recall that I got "caught" saying NICE things about a company, and mild embarrassment ensued, but it was all nice (though I haven't heard back on any possible "next steps"... Epic....). Anyway, I got an email from a friend who wanted to know what he should do: A contractor on HIS project has left a series of frankly immature comments on his Facebook page about the project and the client. It's not even "abstracted" the way I do with my posts.
I don't have any good advice, but I need to share the awesome quote from my friend: "(D)on't live your life out loud and then wonder what went wrong when somebody pays attention to it." Good words in this public age. From now on, I'm going to even substitute the CITY NAME in my updates.
Well, can't wait to head back to AKRON.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
The I in Interim
Ok. A Cleveland Post. FINE.
My position is interim - a full time employee is the budgeted resource, but they've had trouble finding someone qualified. You need to want to live in Cleveland, and right now the skillset they want is VERY in demand across the country - a person who is not already living here with the right skills can really have their pick of cities to move to if they want to be an FTE. Or if they want to consult, it's even better.
So when you have a resource who actually lives in town, and has the right skills, AND wants to work for you, you move on them. And so it was that I was sitting in an interview this morning with this candidate, who is a bright, dynamic, and very very qualified person. My thought is, ask some questions, but definitely also SELL the position a bit.
I didn't get much of a chance to because the two other people in the interview (my boss, and a peer) dominated the discussion, even preventing the candidate from answering questions at times. And at two separate points, the two actually sidetracked into several minutes of arguments about technical details, while I watched in dismay. My attempts to redirect were brushed off, and I gave the candidate the old "raised eyebrows" meaning "I tried".
At least the candidate got a full show of what to expect from the environment. I left the interview both happy that a good candidate was found, and worried that she'd never come back again.
I am hopeful, however. Because there's so much I want to do in the world, and I really want them to find their permanent person - they need it so much!
My position is interim - a full time employee is the budgeted resource, but they've had trouble finding someone qualified. You need to want to live in Cleveland, and right now the skillset they want is VERY in demand across the country - a person who is not already living here with the right skills can really have their pick of cities to move to if they want to be an FTE. Or if they want to consult, it's even better.
So when you have a resource who actually lives in town, and has the right skills, AND wants to work for you, you move on them. And so it was that I was sitting in an interview this morning with this candidate, who is a bright, dynamic, and very very qualified person. My thought is, ask some questions, but definitely also SELL the position a bit.
I didn't get much of a chance to because the two other people in the interview (my boss, and a peer) dominated the discussion, even preventing the candidate from answering questions at times. And at two separate points, the two actually sidetracked into several minutes of arguments about technical details, while I watched in dismay. My attempts to redirect were brushed off, and I gave the candidate the old "raised eyebrows" meaning "I tried".
At least the candidate got a full show of what to expect from the environment. I left the interview both happy that a good candidate was found, and worried that she'd never come back again.
I am hopeful, however. Because there's so much I want to do in the world, and I really want them to find their permanent person - they need it so much!
Whirlwind
Somehow it's Tuesday and I'm back in Cleveland, comme d'habitude. It was such a busy weekend I can scarcely recall it all, but there was Circus School, the Children's Museum, a celebration of a friend's Doctorate (with a bit of good whisky), a neighborhood BBQ (with the kids running around late again), a few hours at a laundromat washing I believe everything we own, mowing, raking, and two celebrations for Bella's B-Day. Plus Bella got to go see the 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins.
It was a crazy 48 hours. I fear more detail is beyond my scope right now... but I will offer some images:
1) Bella got a whoopee cushion for her Birthday and she basically thought it was the funniest thing she had ever encountered ever. She was making EVERYTHING fart, and I was game too - until she slipped it under me with the flap tucked under, and I POPPED it. It made her laugh even harder, but I was about to cry. We got her another one.
1a) The cushion I broke was the old school flat one, but we replaced it with a "self inflating" one. Now, I'm not sure these new fangled whoopee cushions are capable of the same level of juicy flatus and the old school, but we'll see. I think the quality of the toot can be offset by the rapid reset and ability to generate MORE toots per minute.
2) Bella got Yahtzee for her B-Day. We rocked a game, and it was awesome. I love that game.
3) She also got the BOOK for Bartholomew Cubbins, and I read it a couple of times. I'm still trying to work out if there's a good message in this book... yes, there's the basic "stuff happens" premise about how bad things can happen for no reason. There's also an endorsement of the unreasonable behavior of the king - he's never called out for being wrong about the hats, and in the end he is rewarded for his persistent unreasonableness with a beautiful treasure. And I guess the lesson for Bartholomew is if you just quietly submit to power, eventually there's a reward for you.
Maybe I'm reading too much into it.
4) In spite of it all, we did take some breaks. Some naps were taken, hugs were given and received. Love was all around.
It was a crazy 48 hours. I fear more detail is beyond my scope right now... but I will offer some images:
1) Bella got a whoopee cushion for her Birthday and she basically thought it was the funniest thing she had ever encountered ever. She was making EVERYTHING fart, and I was game too - until she slipped it under me with the flap tucked under, and I POPPED it. It made her laugh even harder, but I was about to cry. We got her another one.
1a) The cushion I broke was the old school flat one, but we replaced it with a "self inflating" one. Now, I'm not sure these new fangled whoopee cushions are capable of the same level of juicy flatus and the old school, but we'll see. I think the quality of the toot can be offset by the rapid reset and ability to generate MORE toots per minute.
2) Bella got Yahtzee for her B-Day. We rocked a game, and it was awesome. I love that game.
3) She also got the BOOK for Bartholomew Cubbins, and I read it a couple of times. I'm still trying to work out if there's a good message in this book... yes, there's the basic "stuff happens" premise about how bad things can happen for no reason. There's also an endorsement of the unreasonable behavior of the king - he's never called out for being wrong about the hats, and in the end he is rewarded for his persistent unreasonableness with a beautiful treasure. And I guess the lesson for Bartholomew is if you just quietly submit to power, eventually there's a reward for you.
Maybe I'm reading too much into it.
4) In spite of it all, we did take some breaks. Some naps were taken, hugs were given and received. Love was all around.
Wednesday, October 06, 2010
Ready for home!
Bella turns EIGHT tomorrow, and I'm catching an early flight home to meet her at the bus and have Taco Night... and maybe just maybe start Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. It has been a busy busy week: I was at the office for 12 hours - 7:30 to 7:30, and I was neither the first person there, nor the last to leave. People are just killing themselves on this project, and there's 9 months to go before our first golive. That said, I'm still hoping to be in a "reduced role" by Thanksgiving.
I also had a kickoff meeting for the work in Allentown today: A bit of a rough start to the call: I thought it was an executive steering committee and I'd field a few questions. It wound up being a clinical work team and they were right out the gate with tough questions, and my "high level presentation" was useless. This was SUPPOSED to be for coordination for the actual project start in 3 weeks. Sigh. Add to this, my project sponsor was on PTO today, so I had no backup in the room. By the end, it was all smiles, however. At least I think they were smiling - I was on the phone.
For lunch, I made Mother Earth cry: I got a peanut butter sandwich from the deli downstairs. The bread was wrapped in cellophane. The peanut butter and jelly were in small plastic containers. There was a plastic knife for spreading, and the whole thing was in a plastic clamshell container. Seriously, a ghost pelican swooped down on me.
Actually - if you remember my story about my pet Turkey Vulture outside my window... there a new visitor: A blue jay likes to drop by and peck on the window until I notice, then cock his head and fly away. He's done it for a few days now. I think he's trying to tell me something.
By 3pm, the PBJ was not holding the hunger back, and strangely, a coworker started sending a series of emails talking about wanting/needing a Whopper. After 30 minutes of these strange messages (including google maps of the closest BK), he burst in and declared he needed a Whopper RIGHT NOW and did I want him to bring me one? Swept up in the madness, I shouted YES YES YES I want a Whopper!!!
20 minutes later I halfheartedly choked down a Whopper. Damn, those are terrible sandwiches.
Final note for the night: Rick and Kari, parents of Bailey and Ty are empty nesting in the most wonderful way: They now have a new iMac and TWO iPads. They're emailing me from coffee shops and talking about App Store apps. The kids going to college has, in their words "turned their brains and wallets to mush". I think they should just keep on having fun. I just think "wow, that's me and Pamela in 14 years!"
And it's off to bed - early morning tomorrow - want to get a lot done at "the office" before heading home to see the family I love.
I also had a kickoff meeting for the work in Allentown today: A bit of a rough start to the call: I thought it was an executive steering committee and I'd field a few questions. It wound up being a clinical work team and they were right out the gate with tough questions, and my "high level presentation" was useless. This was SUPPOSED to be for coordination for the actual project start in 3 weeks. Sigh. Add to this, my project sponsor was on PTO today, so I had no backup in the room. By the end, it was all smiles, however. At least I think they were smiling - I was on the phone.
For lunch, I made Mother Earth cry: I got a peanut butter sandwich from the deli downstairs. The bread was wrapped in cellophane. The peanut butter and jelly were in small plastic containers. There was a plastic knife for spreading, and the whole thing was in a plastic clamshell container. Seriously, a ghost pelican swooped down on me.
Actually - if you remember my story about my pet Turkey Vulture outside my window... there a new visitor: A blue jay likes to drop by and peck on the window until I notice, then cock his head and fly away. He's done it for a few days now. I think he's trying to tell me something.
By 3pm, the PBJ was not holding the hunger back, and strangely, a coworker started sending a series of emails talking about wanting/needing a Whopper. After 30 minutes of these strange messages (including google maps of the closest BK), he burst in and declared he needed a Whopper RIGHT NOW and did I want him to bring me one? Swept up in the madness, I shouted YES YES YES I want a Whopper!!!
20 minutes later I halfheartedly choked down a Whopper. Damn, those are terrible sandwiches.
Final note for the night: Rick and Kari, parents of Bailey and Ty are empty nesting in the most wonderful way: They now have a new iMac and TWO iPads. They're emailing me from coffee shops and talking about App Store apps. The kids going to college has, in their words "turned their brains and wallets to mush". I think they should just keep on having fun. I just think "wow, that's me and Pamela in 14 years!"
And it's off to bed - early morning tomorrow - want to get a lot done at "the office" before heading home to see the family I love.
Sunday, October 03, 2010
So much...
There are some weekends where I feel like I'm cramming a whole week of parenting into two days, and boy is that getting old. I love this time, and I love every second I'm spending with the family, but I leave on Monday AM just SPENT. So what did we do this weekend?
Friday night, Pamela and I got to go out and have a date for her Birthday. We had fish and chips at The Cooper, then passed a romantic hour meandering through Costco. It was actually sort of dreamy... lingering in the office supplies comparing bulk packages of sharpies, without wondering where Isaac had run off to. Grandma had the kids, and by the time we came home, there was a good leaf pile raked on the lawn, and the kids were red cheeked and happy. And pelting us with handfuls of leaves, giggling...
On Saturday AM, I went with Isaac to Circus Juventas classes: this is a full hour class for 16 kids between 3-4 years old. It's structured 15 minutes of warmup, then 3 "stations" rotating for 10-12 minutes each, then 5 minute cooldown. The stations vary by week: This week, it was a balance beam obstacle course, a tumbling trampoline, and the trapeze. Last week it was silk loops (swinging), the german wheel, and a somersault run. First week it was a balance ball, iron hoops (hanging, sitting inside), and basic juggling. Isaac is a very happy boy at these classes, and they do a great job with the kids, keeping a 1:4 student ratio at the stations.
Isaac's favorite thing so far? The silks, actually - he hung in a cocoon for a while and he loved it.
After school, we spent some time walking around the neighborhood, and then Bella and I sat down to to enjoy the movie Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. We finished the book last week, and I promised we'd watch the movie... and we loved it. But where last time, Bella suggested we just watch the movies, this time, she acknowledged that without having read the book, that movie would have been WAY too scary for her. As it was, I got some good cuddles during the Basilisk scenes. Isaac was having NONE of it: He is a movie sissy and doesn't like many surprises in his media. He kept hollering from the top of the stairs "IS THE MOVIE STILL ON? WHEN WILL IT BE OVER???" Bella and I agreed to start Book 3 next week... and no we won't be watching "The Prisoner of Azkaban" until we're done with the book, which will probably be sometime in January.
After the movie, we had dinner at our new favorite - Pizza Luce in Hopkins. Then the whole neighborhood came together for a bonfire and desserts. The kids were running around with flashlights in the dark and whooping it up in the cool evening, and we all came home smelling of wood smoke. Of course our neighbor Ryan tried some new food experiments on us - we gladly overstuffed ourselves with his BBQ Empenadas. The whole evening was wonderful.
Today Pamela and Bella were off to church, and Isaac and I went to his swim lesson. After a short afternoon home, we were BACK to the Foss Swim School for his "friends and neighbors" birthday party. Two hours - one in the pool, one with the presents and the cake. Isaac was pretty tired actually, and I had to jump in the water to make him comfortable... but it was all fun. We finished the night at "The Nexus" - which is my name for a building that has both a Chipotle (for Bella) and a Smashburger (for the rest of us). Isaac was possessed by some maniac urge, and took my onion rings and plowed them into his mouth by the handful, with a wild look in his eye. It was a little disturbing.
After a bath, those kids were out FAST. It was a long weekend. And I'm just holding on... doing my best to blog.
Onto other things:
1) I love numbering my posts.
2) Angry Birds for the iPhone and iPad is a terrible terrible wonderful addictive thing. I have been playing with every free moment I get.
3) Fringe WAS that good. Dang it, that's a wonderful show.
4) I have an idea of how I might be able to work with those nice people at Epic, and will be sending a note along tomorrow. Watch this space.
And with that, I'm off to bed (maybe one more taste of that Caol Ila 12). Cleveland, I'll be seeing YOU in the AM as well.
Friday night, Pamela and I got to go out and have a date for her Birthday. We had fish and chips at The Cooper, then passed a romantic hour meandering through Costco. It was actually sort of dreamy... lingering in the office supplies comparing bulk packages of sharpies, without wondering where Isaac had run off to. Grandma had the kids, and by the time we came home, there was a good leaf pile raked on the lawn, and the kids were red cheeked and happy. And pelting us with handfuls of leaves, giggling...
On Saturday AM, I went with Isaac to Circus Juventas classes: this is a full hour class for 16 kids between 3-4 years old. It's structured 15 minutes of warmup, then 3 "stations" rotating for 10-12 minutes each, then 5 minute cooldown. The stations vary by week: This week, it was a balance beam obstacle course, a tumbling trampoline, and the trapeze. Last week it was silk loops (swinging), the german wheel, and a somersault run. First week it was a balance ball, iron hoops (hanging, sitting inside), and basic juggling. Isaac is a very happy boy at these classes, and they do a great job with the kids, keeping a 1:4 student ratio at the stations.
Isaac's favorite thing so far? The silks, actually - he hung in a cocoon for a while and he loved it.
After school, we spent some time walking around the neighborhood, and then Bella and I sat down to to enjoy the movie Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. We finished the book last week, and I promised we'd watch the movie... and we loved it. But where last time, Bella suggested we just watch the movies, this time, she acknowledged that without having read the book, that movie would have been WAY too scary for her. As it was, I got some good cuddles during the Basilisk scenes. Isaac was having NONE of it: He is a movie sissy and doesn't like many surprises in his media. He kept hollering from the top of the stairs "IS THE MOVIE STILL ON? WHEN WILL IT BE OVER???" Bella and I agreed to start Book 3 next week... and no we won't be watching "The Prisoner of Azkaban" until we're done with the book, which will probably be sometime in January.
After the movie, we had dinner at our new favorite - Pizza Luce in Hopkins. Then the whole neighborhood came together for a bonfire and desserts. The kids were running around with flashlights in the dark and whooping it up in the cool evening, and we all came home smelling of wood smoke. Of course our neighbor Ryan tried some new food experiments on us - we gladly overstuffed ourselves with his BBQ Empenadas. The whole evening was wonderful.
Today Pamela and Bella were off to church, and Isaac and I went to his swim lesson. After a short afternoon home, we were BACK to the Foss Swim School for his "friends and neighbors" birthday party. Two hours - one in the pool, one with the presents and the cake. Isaac was pretty tired actually, and I had to jump in the water to make him comfortable... but it was all fun. We finished the night at "The Nexus" - which is my name for a building that has both a Chipotle (for Bella) and a Smashburger (for the rest of us). Isaac was possessed by some maniac urge, and took my onion rings and plowed them into his mouth by the handful, with a wild look in his eye. It was a little disturbing.
After a bath, those kids were out FAST. It was a long weekend. And I'm just holding on... doing my best to blog.
Onto other things:
1) I love numbering my posts.
2) Angry Birds for the iPhone and iPad is a terrible terrible wonderful addictive thing. I have been playing with every free moment I get.
3) Fringe WAS that good. Dang it, that's a wonderful show.
4) I have an idea of how I might be able to work with those nice people at Epic, and will be sending a note along tomorrow. Watch this space.
And with that, I'm off to bed (maybe one more taste of that Caol Ila 12). Cleveland, I'll be seeing YOU in the AM as well.
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