NEW is the new Excitement

Well, technically speaking, I begin my new position tomorrow. I've been wrapping things up in my current position and spending quality time with the individual that I will be replacing. I'm really excited about the new adventure but am nervous about change. I have a new office location in addition to my current office. That means new people, new morning routine, and possibly new afternoon routine. Of course, with the new position comes new processes, new forms, new policies, and new headaches. Today, as we completed the turnover, I looked for new items that are exciting. So here are the top 5 things I have to look forward to:

5) Newer, nicer office furniture. The furniture in this office matches and presents a great opportunity to make the space my own.

4) New workforce with more women than men. Kirsten says that means more baked goods. I'm ok with that.

3) New planner. I bought a brand new planner last night so I can keep up with myself. In college, I depended on one but in recent years I just make lists on all kinds of notepads instead of one place. I'm resuming the planner devotion beginning today.

2) New flexibility. Since I have 2 offices, that means I will be mobile and my schedule will be flexible. I'm super pumped about that.

1) The number one thing I am excited about is: WATER COOLER! My current office does not have a water cooler but my new one does! You have no idea how excited I am. It will be the reason I get out of bed.

Hooray for new!

FB, Reconnecting

In my LTS days, I would serve on the Convention committee and assist the various keynote speakers in whatever way necessary to get them ready for the event. My final year there allowed me to spend some QT (quality time) with a gentleman from WI that spearheaded the marketing revolution of Harley Davidson in the 90s. He's pretty popular among motivational speakers in the marketing arena. We developed an email relationship before his arrival, hung out while he was in town at various Convention events, and emailed a few times afterwards. Let me tell you, he is the coolest cat I've ever met! Sure, he's probably about a decade or more older than myself, but he's the kind of dude I would have been friends with in any social setting. Well, I don't know if you have noticed in the Hampton Roads area, but the local Harley shop has commercials on every time I turn the radio on. Yesterday I thought, "Wonder whatever happened to Ken?" FACEBOOK! I searched it out and found him! I sent him a request and asked if he remembered me. His response: "Of COURSE I do for cripe's sake!" So, we've reconnected thanks to the interweb and Facebook. He's one of my favorite people, so I'm pretty pumped about it.

Ch-Ch-Changes...

As of this afternoon, my entire professional career has officially taken a turn. I'm with the same company, but beginning January 4 in a different capacity. Super amped about the opportunity. "Thank you, Lord, for exciting adventures!"

Pagers aren't gone yet

I've spent a better part of this week in DC attending a conference with my organization. In case you do not know, our products and services include some of the most advanced technological items available in the world. However, our employees may not be so tech saavy.

A gentleman from one of our business units in charge of the more complicated products sat two seats away from me. The first day I began to hear a very loud buzzing sound and noticed the gentleman grab his phone and leave the room. Over time, the obnoxiously loud buzz began to annoy me to no end and I realized it was the gentleman's PAGER. That's right, a pager. Now, can someone explain to me how a man that was using a Blackberry and works for one of the most technologically advanced organizations in the world uses a freakin' pager? I mean, doesn't everyone's cellular voicemail give an option to page someone?

Moral of the story: Pagers. Even a rocket scientist can use it.

Commitment

I learned a little lesson about commitment this morning. The Marathon training schedule had 18 miles for this weekend and Mother Nature had rain on her schedule. When I first left my house, it was just drizzly and I assumed it would be fine. As I approached Karen's house, the rain began to get heavier and I began to question what in the world I was about to get myself into. We decided to give it a shot despite the percipitation. If there's rain on race day, the show will still go on.

At about mile 2, Karen looks at me and says "We could turn around and then finish tomorrow." The rain was pounding and the wind was strong. I was indifferent but really preferred NOT to wake up early again tomorrow for running. I mean, I had been very careful in my eating on Friday and was fueled up. We decided to press on. Then the question arose again around 4.5 miles. This is when we discovered the importance of commitment. We were back and forth for a while with our decision until Karen recites a quote she had read about commitment. Of course, I don't remember the quote but it was about how commitment produces freedom because when we commit, the questions of will we or won't we do not exist. We are committed. That sealed the deal, rain and all. We would finish 18 miles no matter what.

Being wet no longer mattered and, more so, running through mud and rain puddles wasn't even thought of any longer. We were determined to finish and enjoy it along the way. Once I came to terms with sloshing feet and chilly extremities, it was a good run. We finished 18 miles, our longest run yet. And you know what, I had a good time!

PHILLY!

The weekend before Thanksgiving, I made a little trip north to Philadelphia. Chip was working in the area, so we took advantage of the opportunity. The morning of my trip, I ran 16 miles at 6am with every intention to take a little nap prior to the plane ride. Well, that didn't happen. So, with the little bit of sleep I was able to steal on the plane ride, I managed to stay awake and enjoy all that we could in Philly Saturday. First stop: Cheesesteaks.


Now, if you have heard anything about Philly Cheesesteaks, you know about the corner with 2 famous steak places across the street from each other. Different people prefer different places, but we decided on Pat's. We considered trying both, but to be honest we were hungry and not in the mood to wait in line AGAIN. The cheesesteak was ok, but unfortunately I have had better in other places. In fact, Chip looks at me afterwards and says "There's a better one at a place on Tidewater Drive back home. I'll take you there..."


Here I am stuffing my face. Chip didn't want a picture stuffing his face. Weird...


Chip and I decided to drive around a bit and take in some sights. We stumbled on Penn's Landing and since there was 25 minutes left on the meter, we took a little walk to check it out. Chip is an engineer, so when he saw all the suspension bridges at the Landing, he began to explain how it all works. To realize that cables hold that thing up made me extremely uncomfortable driving over them. They make me nervous.

On Sunday, we decided to hit the historical sites. My girlfriend, Karin, and her beau were in Baltimore and agreed to drive over and meet us for the sightseeing. We had a blast and managed to see most everything. My only regret was we didn't see the steps from Rocky. Next time. Next time.

My camera battery died as we approached the Liberty Bell, so whenever I get Chip's pics, I'll post more...hopefully.