I am sitting here in the hotel with my husband. We aren't really on vacation. It is a vacation of sorts I suppose. Dig down and it is actually work travel for me.
One of the teams I manage - that I have managed for right at four years - won a national level award. It's an FLC-IPA award. Every year the FLC honors those of us who work in federal labs for successfully transfering technology for use. Our award was an IPA (Interagency Partnership Award) - only one of these awards is offered a year as compared to the Technology Transfer Awards. So what does that boil down to? Basically my team won this in collaboration with our Navy partners and we were all honored and packed onto a little stage with a bunch of lights shining on us while they said something about what we did - but I didn't hear any of that.
A few months ago I was whining to my mentor about something - I don't remember what - and she told me how important it is to find what drives your people on your team. Some people are driven by raises and promotions, some are driven by awards and recognition and some are driven by other things.
Me? I am not driven by awards. Ok, it is nice. We have enjoyed a nice expenses paid "vacation" tremendously. I have been impressed by my sister in laws ability to step up and take the reigns with the kids for a few days. AB and I have really had a nice time connecting together. We have eaten fabulous (Nola on the Square), fabulous (Salt of the Earth) food. We have gone on tours that we would never take our kids on (Fallingwater and through multiple turn of the century churches with amazing architecture).
I tend to be a bit of a nervous person. I worry about tripping when walking up to accept an award. I don't care to be in the limelight (yet I don't really mind public speaking when I can rehearse). I worry about saying stupid things. I don't care to have my name called out over a microphone. Attention? Not my thing.
Today I got a few e-mails. The first was from our media person at the lab sending notes to start setting up interviews. First up, one of our local news networks next week.
Heartburn. I procrastinated that reply while I wondered if I could get out of it. My husband reminded me how nuts I was.
I will do it, but my head might spin a bit before and I will blush horribly watching myself on the TV later that evening.
The other e-mail that I got? One of the guys I have worked with on a few projects in passing - and who is the lead design engineer for one of the biggest programs for my lab - sent me a note. He asked me if he could set up a meeting with me and some of his engineers who are trying to make some sector connections and could we collaborate on a new proposal? YES!
Elated! I sent a reply to that e-mail right on back!
What drives me?
I am a Capricorn. I like to climb. Being known in my organization, being networked with others, being the go to person for others - that's what gives me that kick. Knowing and being known on a first name basis by those across my lab and up the entire chain of my management. That's what drives me. Being known for doing good work.
Yes, my mentor was right - some people are driven by awards and external recognition (a few of my team members fit this well) - but not everyone is driven by that.
My job going forward? Being a good team leader and not ignoring the things that don't drive me. Pursue those awards. Don't ignore and avoid the media and communications people. Buck up and push it forward for the team.
Because the vacation and end results are pretty neat.
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Friday, May 04, 2012
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Being a Northerner
That's me. I admit it. I have never really been to the South. Well I have been to Florida, but whenever I cite that destination as "having been to the South" I am told, "that isn't really the South".
Now I have really been to the South.
The South is somewhat like a different country to me. Yes, I lived in Wyoming for the first 12 years of my life - and I really am not casting stones from my own glass house because I know that Wyoming is often viewed as the "hicksville" of the north - just some observations and some humor that I have observed over the past few days in my travels to Eastern Tennessee
So Southerners - they talk funny. They make lots of words have a feminine gender by ending them in "a". At the program review they give us all a safety briefing prior to starting the conference. It took me a minute to realize that "far" was "fire" and I thought it was pretty cool that they offered the feminine gender to "tornado" by making it "tornada" - afterall the wrath of a tornado should really be associated with the feminine identity as hurricanes are.
Whenever I travel I try to get a flavor of the local culture. When in DC, I head to a new museum. In Florida, to the beach or a park.
So as to not disappoint my husband I looked on Yelp for the "best" reviewed BBQ restaurant. I got into my car and started following the map. And following the map. And suddenly I was in the forest where men were driving makes of cars I haven't seen in decades with no shirts on and no seatbelts. That's not very safe.
I came to the well reviewed restaurant... errr shed, I mean. I was a bit nervous, but saw that they had four smokers, a stack of hickory and the two 5 star Yelp reviews couldn't be wrong, could they?
Then I remembered I am a single woman, very obviously not from this area and when I saw the Closed sign I was suddenly a bit relieved and got back in the car and drove to the obviously chain BBQ restuarant just down the street from my hotel.
Tennessee is known for being friendly. So when I was standing in line and the woman next to me said, "hello there", I politely replied, "hello". She stood there smiling at me and I smiled back.
"Howr yer kiddies?" she asked me.
A little perplexed and wondering if this is Southern hospitality I replied, "they are fine" and went back to reading email on my iPhone and it dawned on me that she maybe wasn't just being friendly, that she probably thought I was someone else.
I got my food, noting to myself NOT to ask for tea after the fiasco of the conference lunch when they served me some weird brown combination of Kool-Aid and Iced Tea, and sat down. A family across from me sat eating and I was humored to note that the toddler? He had a wife beater! I didn't know they made wife beaters in size 3!?
I thought about snapping a picture of him on my phone and then thought better of it, not only as a parent and knowing I wouldn't want a stranger snapping a photo of my kids, but also a bit of fear in my head as his daddy was also wearing a wife beater and I was strangely suspecting that it was his uniform.
I did grin to myself when the boy complained about his "breeches".
My first morning there I was too lazy to find out where the nearest coffee shop was and just headed to the hotel restaurant and ordered oatmeal.
"Ye wan oat meal?" my waitress asked.
"Yes, one bowl of oatmeal," I said.
"We have da buffet with all yall can eat for $10.99?" she reminded me.
"Just the $3.50 oatmeal please," I said.
"Ok, I will see to dat," she said.
Seriously how long does it take to make oatmeal? I was getting little nervous about the time when she finally brought my bowl, well actually a large vat, of oatmeal with a side of maple syrup. I politely requested brown sugar and milk and quickly ate about 1/8 of my vat of cold oatmeal. I was determined to find a coffee shop the next day.
That however, is easier said than done. I got the heads up from other conference attendees that there is one Starbucks in the region and some vague directions on how to get there. Thank goodness for Smart Phones.
I was in the program review with about 15 of my colleagues from work and they all had stories to share too.
One of my expressive colleagues was looking forward to an evening at Walmart. Her plans were to sit there with her phone and snap pictures to post to "People of Walmart". She told me that last year she saw a woman actually take off her flip flop and start smacking her son.
I have a vegetarian colleague. Umm yeah. South and vegetarian do not mix. Poor girl. For every lunch they kindly brought her a big salad - even on the day when they made baked potatoes (and BBQ - but I was thrilled for the baked "tater") for us. When traveling I usually make a bit of effort to eat pescavegetarian because I have a sensitive stomach when traveling and my children and husband demand meat (fish/chicken/beef/pork) at most meals despite my efforts to push the mostly fish and vegetable diet on them. I didn't even try here. Anyways, my colleague told me she went to a restaurant for dinner and under "Vegetables" on the menu it listed "macaroni and cheese".
I have noted the prevalance of a number of chains that I haven't frequented, but have only heard about - Waffle Houses every few miles (or less - somewhat like the prevelance of Starbucks in my current home state), Cracker Barrels, Chik-Fil-A... I kind of wished I had a bit extra time to walk in and see what all the hoot was about. But that's ok.
Oh and golly. I am not sure I have heard the use of the word "golly" outside of old reruns of the Andy Griffith Show. But golly, they use it a lot here!
One of my good friends from work (and one of the smartest women I know) is from Alabama and so I do hear the Southern drawl on occasion, and another set of parents of one of my daughter's best friends is from Chattanooga, and their accent is perceptable. Even the program manager I know well who is from this area (and therefore knew the best pizza place for dinner last night) maintains a bit of a drawl and he is one of the smartest guys I know. But I realize how much they have lost their accents over years as I work to decipher what people were asking me or saying to me. I felt like they were looking at me like I must be the stupidest person around to not know what they were talking about. Nope, my ears just aren't accustomed to the foreign language.
It's been fun, but I am ready to wish a fond farewell to the area and get back up North.
Now I have really been to the South.
The South is somewhat like a different country to me. Yes, I lived in Wyoming for the first 12 years of my life - and I really am not casting stones from my own glass house because I know that Wyoming is often viewed as the "hicksville" of the north - just some observations and some humor that I have observed over the past few days in my travels to Eastern Tennessee
So Southerners - they talk funny. They make lots of words have a feminine gender by ending them in "a". At the program review they give us all a safety briefing prior to starting the conference. It took me a minute to realize that "far" was "fire" and I thought it was pretty cool that they offered the feminine gender to "tornado" by making it "tornada" - afterall the wrath of a tornado should really be associated with the feminine identity as hurricanes are.
Whenever I travel I try to get a flavor of the local culture. When in DC, I head to a new museum. In Florida, to the beach or a park.
So as to not disappoint my husband I looked on Yelp for the "best" reviewed BBQ restaurant. I got into my car and started following the map. And following the map. And suddenly I was in the forest where men were driving makes of cars I haven't seen in decades with no shirts on and no seatbelts. That's not very safe.
I came to the well reviewed restaurant... errr shed, I mean. I was a bit nervous, but saw that they had four smokers, a stack of hickory and the two 5 star Yelp reviews couldn't be wrong, could they?
Then I remembered I am a single woman, very obviously not from this area and when I saw the Closed sign I was suddenly a bit relieved and got back in the car and drove to the obviously chain BBQ restuarant just down the street from my hotel.
Tennessee is known for being friendly. So when I was standing in line and the woman next to me said, "hello there", I politely replied, "hello". She stood there smiling at me and I smiled back.
"Howr yer kiddies?" she asked me.
A little perplexed and wondering if this is Southern hospitality I replied, "they are fine" and went back to reading email on my iPhone and it dawned on me that she maybe wasn't just being friendly, that she probably thought I was someone else.
I got my food, noting to myself NOT to ask for tea after the fiasco of the conference lunch when they served me some weird brown combination of Kool-Aid and Iced Tea, and sat down. A family across from me sat eating and I was humored to note that the toddler? He had a wife beater! I didn't know they made wife beaters in size 3!?
I thought about snapping a picture of him on my phone and then thought better of it, not only as a parent and knowing I wouldn't want a stranger snapping a photo of my kids, but also a bit of fear in my head as his daddy was also wearing a wife beater and I was strangely suspecting that it was his uniform.
I did grin to myself when the boy complained about his "breeches".
My first morning there I was too lazy to find out where the nearest coffee shop was and just headed to the hotel restaurant and ordered oatmeal.
"Ye wan oat meal?" my waitress asked.
"Yes, one bowl of oatmeal," I said.
"We have da buffet with all yall can eat for $10.99?" she reminded me.
"Just the $3.50 oatmeal please," I said.
"Ok, I will see to dat," she said.
Seriously how long does it take to make oatmeal? I was getting little nervous about the time when she finally brought my bowl, well actually a large vat, of oatmeal with a side of maple syrup. I politely requested brown sugar and milk and quickly ate about 1/8 of my vat of cold oatmeal. I was determined to find a coffee shop the next day.
That however, is easier said than done. I got the heads up from other conference attendees that there is one Starbucks in the region and some vague directions on how to get there. Thank goodness for Smart Phones.
I was in the program review with about 15 of my colleagues from work and they all had stories to share too.
One of my expressive colleagues was looking forward to an evening at Walmart. Her plans were to sit there with her phone and snap pictures to post to "People of Walmart". She told me that last year she saw a woman actually take off her flip flop and start smacking her son.
I have a vegetarian colleague. Umm yeah. South and vegetarian do not mix. Poor girl. For every lunch they kindly brought her a big salad - even on the day when they made baked potatoes (and BBQ - but I was thrilled for the baked "tater") for us. When traveling I usually make a bit of effort to eat pescavegetarian because I have a sensitive stomach when traveling and my children and husband demand meat (fish/chicken/beef/pork) at most meals despite my efforts to push the mostly fish and vegetable diet on them. I didn't even try here. Anyways, my colleague told me she went to a restaurant for dinner and under "Vegetables" on the menu it listed "macaroni and cheese".
I have noted the prevalance of a number of chains that I haven't frequented, but have only heard about - Waffle Houses every few miles (or less - somewhat like the prevelance of Starbucks in my current home state), Cracker Barrels, Chik-Fil-A... I kind of wished I had a bit extra time to walk in and see what all the hoot was about. But that's ok.
Oh and golly. I am not sure I have heard the use of the word "golly" outside of old reruns of the Andy Griffith Show. But golly, they use it a lot here!
One of my good friends from work (and one of the smartest women I know) is from Alabama and so I do hear the Southern drawl on occasion, and another set of parents of one of my daughter's best friends is from Chattanooga, and their accent is perceptable. Even the program manager I know well who is from this area (and therefore knew the best pizza place for dinner last night) maintains a bit of a drawl and he is one of the smartest guys I know. But I realize how much they have lost their accents over years as I work to decipher what people were asking me or saying to me. I felt like they were looking at me like I must be the stupidest person around to not know what they were talking about. Nope, my ears just aren't accustomed to the foreign language.
It's been fun, but I am ready to wish a fond farewell to the area and get back up North.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Goals?
Phew! Goodbye 2011. It wasn't a bad year here. As all years tend to go, it just went fast. Wasn't 2011 just starting?
One nice thing about working where I do is that learning to write 2012 isn't hard. I have been writing it for three whole months now.
Every year I sent out to do monthly goals. And in the first few months of the year, usually January through May, I really kick butt. Then I either take the summer off, or we tackle a larger project. Then a few more monthly goals in the fall before the Holidays take over. It works for me.
But honestly, I haven't given my monthly goals much thought.
I had a huge list of goals for my just over two weeks off in December and managed to hit all of them (make chicken pot pies, make lefse, make chili, make latkes, make bolognese sauce, clean and organize Leif's closet and room, clean and organize Skadi's room, help AB install the dining room floor) except three. And the three I didn't hit aren't major - I didn't get the trailer cleaned like I had planned. And I didn't get the two planned playdates done with other kids we don't normally have playdates with. Maybe if I got return e-mails from the two other parents, the playdates would have worked out...
So with any luck we will have our dining room completely done on January 1.
My list of things to do during 2012 is long, but not really organized in a monthly fashion...
Empty the office.
Finish painting the office.
Rip up the carpet in the office.
Enable AB to do the floors by fielding the kids for 2-3 days.
Come up with plans for the outdoor kitchen.
Start execution of outdoor kitchen/patio area.
Start purging the baby stuff out of the house (sigh)
Part of my problem is that I am just so blinded by my long list of other stuff...
January:
My birthday weekend
AB's birthday weekend, skiing?
Ski weekend?
February:
Potential travel to Florida and Connecticut
Ski weekend for President's Day
March:
Anniversary weekend
Travel to DC
April:
Leif's Spring Break - Yellowstone in the trailer?
Travel to Tennessee (oh yeah)
May:
Travel to Pittsburgh.
And now it's summer.
Where do I fit in all my to do stuff?
One nice thing about working where I do is that learning to write 2012 isn't hard. I have been writing it for three whole months now.
Every year I sent out to do monthly goals. And in the first few months of the year, usually January through May, I really kick butt. Then I either take the summer off, or we tackle a larger project. Then a few more monthly goals in the fall before the Holidays take over. It works for me.
But honestly, I haven't given my monthly goals much thought.
I had a huge list of goals for my just over two weeks off in December and managed to hit all of them (make chicken pot pies, make lefse, make chili, make latkes, make bolognese sauce, clean and organize Leif's closet and room, clean and organize Skadi's room, help AB install the dining room floor) except three. And the three I didn't hit aren't major - I didn't get the trailer cleaned like I had planned. And I didn't get the two planned playdates done with other kids we don't normally have playdates with. Maybe if I got return e-mails from the two other parents, the playdates would have worked out...
So with any luck we will have our dining room completely done on January 1.
My list of things to do during 2012 is long, but not really organized in a monthly fashion...
Empty the office.
Finish painting the office.
Rip up the carpet in the office.
Enable AB to do the floors by fielding the kids for 2-3 days.
Come up with plans for the outdoor kitchen.
Start execution of outdoor kitchen/patio area.
Start purging the baby stuff out of the house (sigh)
Part of my problem is that I am just so blinded by my long list of other stuff...
January:
My birthday weekend
AB's birthday weekend, skiing?
Ski weekend?
February:
Potential travel to Florida and Connecticut
Ski weekend for President's Day
March:
Anniversary weekend
Travel to DC
April:
Leif's Spring Break - Yellowstone in the trailer?
Travel to Tennessee (oh yeah)
May:
Travel to Pittsburgh.
And now it's summer.
Where do I fit in all my to do stuff?
Sunday, October 02, 2011
Little Girl Wanderlust
The other day Skadi asked me if we were never going to ever stay in a hotel again now that we have the trailer? She was quite concerned about this. I told her no way, mommy couldn’t live that way. I have to have my hotel room vacation getaways. She was pacified for a few weeks, but the question keeps popping up still, “mommy when are we going to go somewhere and stay in a hotel?”
My little girl loves to travel. AB and I have surmised that Leif will be the engineer livingwith near his parents all his life, while our little girl is going to be wandering the globe. Of course I also remind myself that my mom always thought my sister would run off from Colorado (and previously Wyoming) as quick as possible never to return. And if we hadn’t left Wyoming I am SURE that would have been true. And maybe she might at some point, but I don’t see her leaving her stomping grounds anytime soon.
I was the one, way back when, that never intended on leaving Colorado or my family. So who knows!
Skadi loves her vacations.
Yesterday she received (finally) a poster that I had been talking about putting together for 10 months. A poster of all her character meetings from DisneyWorld. I figured I needed to get this done before we hit the one year anniversary of the trip. I ended up putting the poster up out of arms reach yesterday after she was lying on it and kissing each princess so that I could try and avoid it being ruined before I can get a poster frame on it. She holds that poster dear.
Of course, the poster arriving prompted a whole other realm of questions, “when can we go stay in a hotel mom?”, “when can we go back to DisneyWorld?”, “well if we aren't going to go to Disneyworld, can we go to Seattle then?”
I am with my girl. I think we need a vacation, a hotel vacation.
I always cringe just a bit when I hear parents talking about looking forward to their kids getting older so that they can do certain activities. I always think that day is going to come too soon. Revel in the here and now while they are little.
But I have to admit that I was wondering how old she needs to be before we start doing mom and daughter power shopping trips in Seattle complete with fancy dinner and hotel room? It was one of my mom’s and my favorite things to do and one of the things I miss most in having lost my mom. I do look forward to these outings with the next generation.
My little girl loves to travel. AB and I have surmised that Leif will be the engineer living
I was the one, way back when, that never intended on leaving Colorado or my family. So who knows!
Skadi loves her vacations.
Yesterday she received (finally) a poster that I had been talking about putting together for 10 months. A poster of all her character meetings from DisneyWorld. I figured I needed to get this done before we hit the one year anniversary of the trip. I ended up putting the poster up out of arms reach yesterday after she was lying on it and kissing each princess so that I could try and avoid it being ruined before I can get a poster frame on it. She holds that poster dear.
Of course, the poster arriving prompted a whole other realm of questions, “when can we go stay in a hotel mom?”, “when can we go back to DisneyWorld?”, “well if we aren't going to go to Disneyworld, can we go to Seattle then?”
I am with my girl. I think we need a vacation, a hotel vacation.
I always cringe just a bit when I hear parents talking about looking forward to their kids getting older so that they can do certain activities. I always think that day is going to come too soon. Revel in the here and now while they are little.
But I have to admit that I was wondering how old she needs to be before we start doing mom and daughter power shopping trips in Seattle complete with fancy dinner and hotel room? It was one of my mom’s and my favorite things to do and one of the things I miss most in having lost my mom. I do look forward to these outings with the next generation.
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Probably an unpopular vent
For years AB and I have supported strongly national parks. We donate money to the parks system and believe strongly that it is an important asset.
I just have one beef.
The pet policy.
That would be the pet policy that basically says your dog should never leave your vehicle and even better - leave said dog at home.
Last weekend we went to Mt. Rainier National Park to the Sunrise Visitor's Center - a side we had never been to and man it was packed. We went to the visitor's center, found a place to take some pictures, grabbed some lunch and headed out.
You know, here, yes, I can understand a no pets please request. It was busy, the trails were packed and there was hardly room to get cars parked. We were just happy it wasn't hot in the car and were able to leave the dogs in the car.
But umm, the park is big. And we wanted to hike somewhere. And the dogs need to pee.
But nowhere that we stopped were those dogs allowed to leave our car. At each stop there was a park ranger wagging his finger and threatening hefty fines.
At one stop we thought we were over the border of the National Park and into the National Forest which does not have such pet laws.
We quickly found out we were 500 feet short of the National Forest boundary and those dogs could go right back into the vehicle.
And I know this will be an unpopular post because a woman standing near me went up and congratulated the ranger on his score of booting the dogs out by saying, "I just want to thank you, the GALL of some people to think they can bring their dogs ANYWHERE!" I couldn't help a quick retort to her citing the fact that it is a bit hard to know exactly where the park and forest boundary is when you are visiting a place for the first time. She, of course, glared at me fierce - but I think she was more embarrassed at being busted with a reasonable argument that she had no quick response for (not realizing *I* was with that crazy dog guy).
I get that not all pet owners are top notch. And for this, fine them. But not everyone is a bad apple! There certainly are enough rangers around to write those tickets out (and generate revenue in the meantime for the parks that we hear are starved for cash).
We found the invisible line separating park from forest and got out and set about a hike, where the trail was packed with dogs at every turn. Dogs not allowed just 500 feet away (with the same terrain and same views).
We love to travel. We love the parks. We love our long weekend adventures. We love hiking. We love our dogs. It makes me sad that this all can't be combined.
I am planning for a Yellowstone trip next spring break and already trying to figure out what the path forward will be with our dogs... who normally travel with us.
I just have one beef.
The pet policy.
That would be the pet policy that basically says your dog should never leave your vehicle and even better - leave said dog at home.
Last weekend we went to Mt. Rainier National Park to the Sunrise Visitor's Center - a side we had never been to and man it was packed. We went to the visitor's center, found a place to take some pictures, grabbed some lunch and headed out.
You know, here, yes, I can understand a no pets please request. It was busy, the trails were packed and there was hardly room to get cars parked. We were just happy it wasn't hot in the car and were able to leave the dogs in the car.
But umm, the park is big. And we wanted to hike somewhere. And the dogs need to pee.
But nowhere that we stopped were those dogs allowed to leave our car. At each stop there was a park ranger wagging his finger and threatening hefty fines.
At one stop we thought we were over the border of the National Park and into the National Forest which does not have such pet laws.
We quickly found out we were 500 feet short of the National Forest boundary and those dogs could go right back into the vehicle.
And I know this will be an unpopular post because a woman standing near me went up and congratulated the ranger on his score of booting the dogs out by saying, "I just want to thank you, the GALL of some people to think they can bring their dogs ANYWHERE!" I couldn't help a quick retort to her citing the fact that it is a bit hard to know exactly where the park and forest boundary is when you are visiting a place for the first time. She, of course, glared at me fierce - but I think she was more embarrassed at being busted with a reasonable argument that she had no quick response for (not realizing *I* was with that crazy dog guy).
I get that not all pet owners are top notch. And for this, fine them. But not everyone is a bad apple! There certainly are enough rangers around to write those tickets out (and generate revenue in the meantime for the parks that we hear are starved for cash).
We found the invisible line separating park from forest and got out and set about a hike, where the trail was packed with dogs at every turn. Dogs not allowed just 500 feet away (with the same terrain and same views).
We love to travel. We love the parks. We love our long weekend adventures. We love hiking. We love our dogs. It makes me sad that this all can't be combined.
I am planning for a Yellowstone trip next spring break and already trying to figure out what the path forward will be with our dogs... who normally travel with us.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Leading the conference life
It seems that nearly every profession holds conferences. Opportunities for people within the industry to get together, tell about what they are doing, shake hands, exchange business cards and hear about the cutting edge technology. It seems we always hear about medical conferences, but conferences penetrate many, many areas. On Sunday when I was flying down to Orlando a group of guys next to me were coming down for their conference, with their company, John Deere. My company doesn't host conferences in neat areas...
AB's does. Well, I suppose if you can call Baltimore neat. But last summer we compared notes about his conference and my - albeit limited - conference experiences. At his conference there was free flowing alcohol and bars that were opened with the purpose of partying at the hotels.
You can't do this for my organization.
It's called bribes and kick backs and we learn all about it on an annual basis in our required ethics training.
I am not a common fixture on the conference circuit. This past year I have travelled seven times and only one was for an open (as in nearly anyone can attend) conference. I attend client meetings and program reviews routinely. But conferences? Not really.
In the past few years I have obtained a new client who likes a lot for us to share all the great and wonderful things we have done on the projects and so when this conference came onto my radar - coincidentally about the same time I had been discussing Disneyland and Disneyworld with my friends - I jumped.
Ok, I will admit that being a bit out of the loop on the public conference circuit, that I wasn't quite sure what to expect. And like all walks of life, you get all types of people. Ok, so with scientists - maybe you get a bit more of a certain type of people... those people that may or may not look like Einstein and are absolutely brilliant, but a bit lacking in the social sense.
I have had the pleasure of hanging out with my good friend R, this week. I think she is a bit more versed in the conference routine and so it has been nice to have her here. Oh and while she is brilliant, she isn't one of the socially awkward ones and in fact is a bit outgoing. (Which I am not.) I suck at walking up and introducing myself.
The conference has been nice - the food has been mostly hit, with a few misses. Truly, the fact that they are feeding us at all is nice and unexpected.
We both had posters to present. For those of you unfamiliar with the routine, a poster session is where you are given a few hours to stand in an approximately 4' x 8' x 2' piece of real estate and answer questions presented to you by anyone who walks up and inquires about your research. Poster... this is your prop. It's what shows the project or projects you are presenting and displays your groundbreaking (or not) research.
This is also the opportunity for all those socially awkward people to purchase alcohol at the end of the long day.
Given my introverted nature, I am not terribly fond of poster sessions. I would actually rather stand up in front of a crowd and at a podium for 20 minutes and present my research to people than stand for 2 hours and be one on one with people. Just my preference.
This may go back to my first ever poster sessions as a grad student.
One of them I was scooped. My very first poster session I talked at length to a group of guys from Stanford about my research who then published my research 6-9 months later. Scooped.
The second poster session I had a leach of a Japanese professor who wouldn't leave me alone. He smelled of alcohol, patted my butt and then offered me a post-doc position in his lab in Japan and suggested I come back to his room to discuss "opportunities". I quickly grabbed the older male Chinese post-doc in my group and with some difficulty (he spoke little English) managed to convey to him to not leave my side.
No such experiences at this conference. One man (who was slurring his words a fair bit) thought my research would make for a fascinating CSI episode and suggested I should write a screenplay and sell it. My two hours went by fairly quickly, thankfully.
We are halfway through the conference and I would call it a success. I met one of the reviewers for the proposals I have out currently who smiled, told me he thought he recognized my name, but he was very sorry he could not speak to me anymore about my research once I told him I had these two proposals pending.
I have shaken hands, exchanged business cards, tried not to act too naive or inexperienced. I have stood at grad students posters and smiled while they eagerly explained their research to me while it dawned on me that I am at least 15 years their senior and wasn't it just yesterday that I was doing this? I met up with current and former coworkers and even a parent of one of the students working on one of my projects - who looked amazingly young and once again reminded me that maybe I am not as young as I think I am.
It's been a good week. But frankly, I am counting the hours until AB arrives with the kids and the Disney and Harry Potter fun begins.
AB's does. Well, I suppose if you can call Baltimore neat. But last summer we compared notes about his conference and my - albeit limited - conference experiences. At his conference there was free flowing alcohol and bars that were opened with the purpose of partying at the hotels.
You can't do this for my organization.
It's called bribes and kick backs and we learn all about it on an annual basis in our required ethics training.
I am not a common fixture on the conference circuit. This past year I have travelled seven times and only one was for an open (as in nearly anyone can attend) conference. I attend client meetings and program reviews routinely. But conferences? Not really.
In the past few years I have obtained a new client who likes a lot for us to share all the great and wonderful things we have done on the projects and so when this conference came onto my radar - coincidentally about the same time I had been discussing Disneyland and Disneyworld with my friends - I jumped.
Ok, I will admit that being a bit out of the loop on the public conference circuit, that I wasn't quite sure what to expect. And like all walks of life, you get all types of people. Ok, so with scientists - maybe you get a bit more of a certain type of people... those people that may or may not look like Einstein and are absolutely brilliant, but a bit lacking in the social sense.
I have had the pleasure of hanging out with my good friend R, this week. I think she is a bit more versed in the conference routine and so it has been nice to have her here. Oh and while she is brilliant, she isn't one of the socially awkward ones and in fact is a bit outgoing. (Which I am not.) I suck at walking up and introducing myself.
The conference has been nice - the food has been mostly hit, with a few misses. Truly, the fact that they are feeding us at all is nice and unexpected.
We both had posters to present. For those of you unfamiliar with the routine, a poster session is where you are given a few hours to stand in an approximately 4' x 8' x 2' piece of real estate and answer questions presented to you by anyone who walks up and inquires about your research. Poster... this is your prop. It's what shows the project or projects you are presenting and displays your groundbreaking (or not) research.
This is also the opportunity for all those socially awkward people to purchase alcohol at the end of the long day.
Given my introverted nature, I am not terribly fond of poster sessions. I would actually rather stand up in front of a crowd and at a podium for 20 minutes and present my research to people than stand for 2 hours and be one on one with people. Just my preference.
This may go back to my first ever poster sessions as a grad student.
One of them I was scooped. My very first poster session I talked at length to a group of guys from Stanford about my research who then published my research 6-9 months later. Scooped.
The second poster session I had a leach of a Japanese professor who wouldn't leave me alone. He smelled of alcohol, patted my butt and then offered me a post-doc position in his lab in Japan and suggested I come back to his room to discuss "opportunities". I quickly grabbed the older male Chinese post-doc in my group and with some difficulty (he spoke little English) managed to convey to him to not leave my side.
No such experiences at this conference. One man (who was slurring his words a fair bit) thought my research would make for a fascinating CSI episode and suggested I should write a screenplay and sell it. My two hours went by fairly quickly, thankfully.
We are halfway through the conference and I would call it a success. I met one of the reviewers for the proposals I have out currently who smiled, told me he thought he recognized my name, but he was very sorry he could not speak to me anymore about my research once I told him I had these two proposals pending.
I have shaken hands, exchanged business cards, tried not to act too naive or inexperienced. I have stood at grad students posters and smiled while they eagerly explained their research to me while it dawned on me that I am at least 15 years their senior and wasn't it just yesterday that I was doing this? I met up with current and former coworkers and even a parent of one of the students working on one of my projects - who looked amazingly young and once again reminded me that maybe I am not as young as I think I am.
It's been a good week. But frankly, I am counting the hours until AB arrives with the kids and the Disney and Harry Potter fun begins.
Saturday, October 02, 2010
On 2010 travel remaining
I am headed to DC for a week at the end of October for a major project review. I always enjoy traveling to DC and am hoping for some good food while there. I have a layover in Minneapolis. Last time I did this route I was running to the next gate. I am hoping we land with time for me to stop and grab a Minnesota Vikings jersey at some random vendor in the airport for Leif. I told him I would try my best. Then he asked for a Minnesota Vikings helmet. Umm no. I am not hauling a Vikings helmet to DC and through my maze of flights home (DC to Atlanta to Salt Lake City to PSC) four days later. Though I am sure that my coworkers would enable to do this… and that I could count on them to never ever let me forget about it…
I am headed to a conference in Orlando the week before Thanksgiving. Well of course you have to take advantage of this and include personal travel. So AB and the kids are flying down on my last day of the conference, we are switching over to a Disney hotel and are looking forward to 5 days in the wonder that is Disneyworld. The free vacation planning DVD arrived the other day and has instilled loads of excitement and anticipation into my kids. We are doing the official countdown. Since we return the night before Thanksgiving the logical next step here is to talk about holidays…
I am headed to a conference in Orlando the week before Thanksgiving. Well of course you have to take advantage of this and include personal travel. So AB and the kids are flying down on my last day of the conference, we are switching over to a Disney hotel and are looking forward to 5 days in the wonder that is Disneyworld. The free vacation planning DVD arrived the other day and has instilled loads of excitement and anticipation into my kids. We are doing the official countdown. Since we return the night before Thanksgiving the logical next step here is to talk about holidays…
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Just another one of those things I may have said I would never do
Let this be a lesson for those of you without children (yet). Just stop now. Don't list off those things you won't ever do when you have kids. Don't even think about it. Because it will bite you in the butt.
I am quite positive that years ago before I had children I espoused something about what my husband and I intended to do for vacations with our kids. It went something like this... camping, National Parks, camping, culture of the big cities, National Parks. And there may have been statements that put the words "never" and "Disney" in the same sentence.
Positive.
My grandmother took my sister and me to Disneyland when I was an awkward 13 year old and my sister was almost 10. Not exactly the ages to haul kids to Disneyland... but it was a memorable trip. We walked around Disneyland for a day or two riding rides. I have never been a rides person - even at 13. I did enjoy Space Mountain, but "It's a Small World" was probably more my speed.
I had saved my money for months so that I could buy an actual Swatch since the real ones weren't available in Casper, Wyoming. But then I couldn't stomach the notion of spending that much money on something to put on my wrist and I instead spent my money on random little trinkets.
I remember fighting with my grandmother a lot. Her telling us how ungrateful we were. And we probably were. But wow, it wasn't the ideal trip to Disney.
I didn't have a trip to Disneyland until I was a preteen. AB didn't go until he was an older teenager. Our kids certainly don't need Disney to lead a well rounded life.
When a coworker of mine (before I had kids) made a trip to Disney, squeezing it in before her son started kindergarten with the express purpose of "I don't want him to go to kindergarten without having been to Disneyland" I nearly puked.
So all that said...
Guess where we are going in November?
You will never guess.
I will give you three guesses and the first two don't count.
Disneyworld.
And you know what? I am actually really excited to haul my 6 and 3.5 year old to the Magic Kingdom!
I happened to get an invitation to submit an abstract to one of the leading conferences in my field... in Orlando. I wanted to go last year but had commited to going to DC to meet with two clients instead. So I couldn't go. This year, no such commitment and when I read the word "Orlando", I knew I had to submit.
Then a week or so ago my acceptance came and I decided to get serious about planning.
And wow things can erupt quickly!
Initially I just planned to keep whatever hotel I ended up with through work and the rental car and we would go hang out wherever our whims took us.
Well things have kind of evolved over the last week and suddenly we are talking Disney hotel package and all.
Sigh.
Yes, I admit I balked at these fabricated destination vacations in favor of camping and national parks. But we have tent camped exactly three times since Leif was born. I am 38 years old and have slept on the ground in a sleeping bag way way way too much. A tent with my husband, two children and two dogs holds very nearly no appeal.
I am not dissing the natural vacations actually. I still love them and since we do hope to get back to these types of trips once we get a travel trailer later this fall or so.
But here is where I am kicking my pre-kids self... easy vacations with the goal of strictly entertainment for the kids?
Sign me up.
I am quite positive that years ago before I had children I espoused something about what my husband and I intended to do for vacations with our kids. It went something like this... camping, National Parks, camping, culture of the big cities, National Parks. And there may have been statements that put the words "never" and "Disney" in the same sentence.
Positive.
My grandmother took my sister and me to Disneyland when I was an awkward 13 year old and my sister was almost 10. Not exactly the ages to haul kids to Disneyland... but it was a memorable trip. We walked around Disneyland for a day or two riding rides. I have never been a rides person - even at 13. I did enjoy Space Mountain, but "It's a Small World" was probably more my speed.
I had saved my money for months so that I could buy an actual Swatch since the real ones weren't available in Casper, Wyoming. But then I couldn't stomach the notion of spending that much money on something to put on my wrist and I instead spent my money on random little trinkets.
I remember fighting with my grandmother a lot. Her telling us how ungrateful we were. And we probably were. But wow, it wasn't the ideal trip to Disney.
I didn't have a trip to Disneyland until I was a preteen. AB didn't go until he was an older teenager. Our kids certainly don't need Disney to lead a well rounded life.
When a coworker of mine (before I had kids) made a trip to Disney, squeezing it in before her son started kindergarten with the express purpose of "I don't want him to go to kindergarten without having been to Disneyland" I nearly puked.
So all that said...
Guess where we are going in November?
You will never guess.
I will give you three guesses and the first two don't count.
Disneyworld.
And you know what? I am actually really excited to haul my 6 and 3.5 year old to the Magic Kingdom!
I happened to get an invitation to submit an abstract to one of the leading conferences in my field... in Orlando. I wanted to go last year but had commited to going to DC to meet with two clients instead. So I couldn't go. This year, no such commitment and when I read the word "Orlando", I knew I had to submit.
Then a week or so ago my acceptance came and I decided to get serious about planning.
And wow things can erupt quickly!
Initially I just planned to keep whatever hotel I ended up with through work and the rental car and we would go hang out wherever our whims took us.
Well things have kind of evolved over the last week and suddenly we are talking Disney hotel package and all.
Sigh.
Yes, I admit I balked at these fabricated destination vacations in favor of camping and national parks. But we have tent camped exactly three times since Leif was born. I am 38 years old and have slept on the ground in a sleeping bag way way way too much. A tent with my husband, two children and two dogs holds very nearly no appeal.
I am not dissing the natural vacations actually. I still love them and since we do hope to get back to these types of trips once we get a travel trailer later this fall or so.
But here is where I am kicking my pre-kids self... easy vacations with the goal of strictly entertainment for the kids?
Sign me up.
Monday, November 09, 2009
Back in the saddle in a sense
When I was hired on 7.5 years ago I was told all about the glories of travel.
When I started my team bought me a laptop and an international plugs kit. And I started dreaming about the places I would go with my international plugs kit.
My laptop is a boat anchor somewhere and my international plugs kit is still shrink wrapped.
The team I joined at the time talked real big... but then when it came down to it, the more senior staff got the international trips and got to specify who went along. (And it was never me.) And I got stuck with trips like to DC (a few times) and New Jersey and Bloomington, Indiana and Seattle and Lincoln, Nebraska.
All actually were quite cool with the exception of Lincoln. I was a lone buff awash in a sea of red. I was verbally attacked at lunch as a representative to DOE about my not funding them (I was a junior scientist at the time and completely perplexed). And my host's idea of a good evening was to take me out for Scottish dancing. And I was 3 months pregnant with Leif and still nauseated.
But aside from that trip, all my work trips have been very interesting and good for me. I discovered that I really like Washington DC. I discovered that New Jersey was truly beautiful and that you should always plan to BYOB to dinner as some counties do not serve alcohol in restaurants. Bloomington was a fun little college town and Seattle... I always love going to Seattle. My visit back to Reno was also good in that it grounded me and brought Reno back down to it's proper 4500 foot resting spot instead of remaining high in what once was to me.
I have been lucky that during those periods of time when I don't want to travel, I have easily gotten out of it. Like for the first year and a half to two years after having each child. Skadi is now 2.5 and this stint of no travel is up.
There is something appealing to me about occasional travel. I couldn't do it on a very regular basis. But I like the anonymity of travel. I like escaping to the big cities and eating good food and maybe taking in a show. I even actually enjoy going out to dinner by myself. One time in DC I went to the opera - my only opera - and saw Placido Domingo as lead in Idomeneo. I like the quiet escape of a nice hotel. Of watching whatever I want on TV. Of picking a restaurant without compromise. A quiet serenity.
I don't like leaving my family. I really don't like flying. And I don't like worrying about who will be there if something goes wrong at home.
So, it's good that I don't travel regularly. But every once in awhile? It's a treat.
I am headed back to DC this Sunday. For me it is kind of a neat trip and a first in that I am not representing other people's projects. I am representing my projects.
In taking a tally I have learned that the vast majority of my coworkers under this program will also be going. Not only to the same review, but on the same flight there and in the same hotel and at least one of them is on my same flight back. There will likely be about 10 or 12 of us. And this bums me just a tad because it means I don't get my little bit of anonymity on this trip. And that I may have to compromise on dinner sites. (I was always glad I never had to travel with one coworker on my first project here - his favorite place to eat - every.single.night - was rumored to be Applebees.)
Three nights. I did the good lead scientist thing and contacted another one of my clients to let her know I was going to be visiting the area and she jumped on meeting up. So all in all, I am most excited about day three of my visit where she is taking me to tour around her headquarters and meet her people. Leif hopes I may get to go on a sub. I explained (again) the whole confined space entry thing, but did promise to bring him something back from the Air and Space museum.
When I started my team bought me a laptop and an international plugs kit. And I started dreaming about the places I would go with my international plugs kit.
My laptop is a boat anchor somewhere and my international plugs kit is still shrink wrapped.
The team I joined at the time talked real big... but then when it came down to it, the more senior staff got the international trips and got to specify who went along. (And it was never me.) And I got stuck with trips like to DC (a few times) and New Jersey and Bloomington, Indiana and Seattle and Lincoln, Nebraska.
All actually were quite cool with the exception of Lincoln. I was a lone buff awash in a sea of red. I was verbally attacked at lunch as a representative to DOE about my not funding them (I was a junior scientist at the time and completely perplexed). And my host's idea of a good evening was to take me out for Scottish dancing. And I was 3 months pregnant with Leif and still nauseated.
But aside from that trip, all my work trips have been very interesting and good for me. I discovered that I really like Washington DC. I discovered that New Jersey was truly beautiful and that you should always plan to BYOB to dinner as some counties do not serve alcohol in restaurants. Bloomington was a fun little college town and Seattle... I always love going to Seattle. My visit back to Reno was also good in that it grounded me and brought Reno back down to it's proper 4500 foot resting spot instead of remaining high in what once was to me.
I have been lucky that during those periods of time when I don't want to travel, I have easily gotten out of it. Like for the first year and a half to two years after having each child. Skadi is now 2.5 and this stint of no travel is up.
There is something appealing to me about occasional travel. I couldn't do it on a very regular basis. But I like the anonymity of travel. I like escaping to the big cities and eating good food and maybe taking in a show. I even actually enjoy going out to dinner by myself. One time in DC I went to the opera - my only opera - and saw Placido Domingo as lead in Idomeneo. I like the quiet escape of a nice hotel. Of watching whatever I want on TV. Of picking a restaurant without compromise. A quiet serenity.
I don't like leaving my family. I really don't like flying. And I don't like worrying about who will be there if something goes wrong at home.
So, it's good that I don't travel regularly. But every once in awhile? It's a treat.
I am headed back to DC this Sunday. For me it is kind of a neat trip and a first in that I am not representing other people's projects. I am representing my projects.
In taking a tally I have learned that the vast majority of my coworkers under this program will also be going. Not only to the same review, but on the same flight there and in the same hotel and at least one of them is on my same flight back. There will likely be about 10 or 12 of us. And this bums me just a tad because it means I don't get my little bit of anonymity on this trip. And that I may have to compromise on dinner sites. (I was always glad I never had to travel with one coworker on my first project here - his favorite place to eat - every.single.night - was rumored to be Applebees.)
Three nights. I did the good lead scientist thing and contacted another one of my clients to let her know I was going to be visiting the area and she jumped on meeting up. So all in all, I am most excited about day three of my visit where she is taking me to tour around her headquarters and meet her people. Leif hopes I may get to go on a sub. I explained (again) the whole confined space entry thing, but did promise to bring him something back from the Air and Space museum.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Trying not to rub it in...
This weekend I get to...
-get on an airplane with only my purse and a book.
-check only one bag on the airplane.
-read an entire book or two (hey, I have to find something good about the 3.5 hours layover).
-go to a restaurant.
-not worry about whether the restaurant is kid friendly.
-order whatever I want at a restaurant and not something a child *might* be willing to eat.
-drink more than half a glass of wine at a restaurant.
-shop.
-shop with one of my three favorite shopping partners.
-sleep a whole night through without wandering through the house and convincing a small child to go back to sleep.
-sleep in.
-swim without someone clinging to me.
-stay up late chatting and giggling.
-stay up late without counting the number of hours till the first child will wake.
Seriously though... I look at that list and remind myself how worth it every single one of those sacrafices is in my life. I wouldn't change a thing. And while I am doing every single one of those things I will be thanking my wonderful husband, hoping the kids aren't giving him TOO bad of a time, trying not to call every hour to check on them, and thinking about them the entire time.
Oh and just something that cracked me up... I was checking in for my flight online and wondered what a "special item" was when asked if I would be checking a special item.
Special items include:
Overweight bags: Bags over 50 lbs
Oversize bags: Bags over 62 inches (when you total the length + width + height)
Baby items: Stroller, child restraint seats
Assistive devices: Wheelchair
Sporting equipment: Bicycle, ski equipment, parachute, surfboard, windsurf board, scuba tank
Fragile/bulky items: Saddle, antlers, Hawaiian pineapples, military duffle bags
Those just cracked me up. No, not checking a parachute, a saddle, antlers or Hawaiian pineapples... sorry VargasGirl... I know you were hoping to be able to haul a pair of antlers in your car... you know... just to say you have done it and all...
-get on an airplane with only my purse and a book.
-check only one bag on the airplane.
-read an entire book or two (hey, I have to find something good about the 3.5 hours layover).
-go to a restaurant.
-not worry about whether the restaurant is kid friendly.
-order whatever I want at a restaurant and not something a child *might* be willing to eat.
-drink more than half a glass of wine at a restaurant.
-shop.
-shop with one of my three favorite shopping partners.
-sleep a whole night through without wandering through the house and convincing a small child to go back to sleep.
-sleep in.
-swim without someone clinging to me.
-stay up late chatting and giggling.
-stay up late without counting the number of hours till the first child will wake.
Seriously though... I look at that list and remind myself how worth it every single one of those sacrafices is in my life. I wouldn't change a thing. And while I am doing every single one of those things I will be thanking my wonderful husband, hoping the kids aren't giving him TOO bad of a time, trying not to call every hour to check on them, and thinking about them the entire time.
Oh and just something that cracked me up... I was checking in for my flight online and wondered what a "special item" was when asked if I would be checking a special item.
Special items include:
Overweight bags: Bags over 50 lbs
Oversize bags: Bags over 62 inches (when you total the length + width + height)
Baby items: Stroller, child restraint seats
Assistive devices: Wheelchair
Sporting equipment: Bicycle, ski equipment, parachute, surfboard, windsurf board, scuba tank
Fragile/bulky items: Saddle, antlers, Hawaiian pineapples, military duffle bags
Those just cracked me up. No, not checking a parachute, a saddle, antlers or Hawaiian pineapples... sorry VargasGirl... I know you were hoping to be able to haul a pair of antlers in your car... you know... just to say you have done it and all...
Monday, August 11, 2008
List #1
I am weird about keeping lists in my head. Here is one that has surfaced as I, on Friday, look to add to the list.
Airports I have flown in or out of:
Honolulu
Anchorage
King Salmon
Seattle
San Francisco
Los Angeles
Reno
Las Vegas
Pasco
Salt Lake City
Phoenix
Houston
Dallas/Fort Worth
Casper
Denver
Hayden
Colorado Springs
Fargo
Omaha
Cancun
Cozumel
San Jose, Costa Rica
Panama City, Panama
Indianapolis
Miami
Cincinnati
Newark
Boston
Dulles
Baltimore
Hayden
Reagan
As of 6-2010
Albuquerque
Philadelphia
Minneapolis
As of 4-19-12
Ontario CA
Knoxville
Atlanta
Orlando
As of 6/19/20
Santa Barbara
Huntsville
Memphis
Chicago
Airports I have flown in or out of:
Honolulu
Anchorage
King Salmon
Seattle
San Francisco
Los Angeles
Reno
Las Vegas
Pasco
Salt Lake City
Phoenix
Houston
Dallas/Fort Worth
Casper
Denver
Hayden
Colorado Springs
Fargo
Omaha
Cancun
Cozumel
San Jose, Costa Rica
Panama City, Panama
Indianapolis
Miami
Cincinnati
Newark
Boston
Dulles
Baltimore
Hayden
Reagan
As of 6-2010
Albuquerque
Philadelphia
Minneapolis
As of 4-19-12
Ontario CA
Knoxville
Atlanta
Orlando
As of 6/19/20
Santa Barbara
Huntsville
Memphis
Chicago
Monday, July 14, 2008
Disconnected
Slowly I am reconnecting. I expect by this weekend I should be completely plugged back in.
AB and I finished watching The Alaska Experiment that we had Tivo'd the other night. A Discovery channel series where four groups of people were dropped off in different locales with the "bare minimum" of supplies and had to survive for three months. (AB - being somewhat of a survival buff - is sure they would never take us, he keeps telling me this... though I think he is more telling himself this.) We finally finished the series and watched the reunion show the other night. Our favorite group of people, Jeff and Elizabeth, talked about how "disconnected" they felt upon returning to society and to their jobs after three months of interacting basically only with each other and the wild.
Disconnected.
The word resonated with me. Though I only spent about 9 days on vacation and it wasn't as secluded in Alaska and I most certainly had "cabin fever" brought on by too many people in a small place as opposed to traditional cabin fever, "disconnected" still struck me as the word I have been looking for to describe my return from our vacation. I got back from Alaska and felt a strange sense of loneliness, a touch despondent I think, as well as quiet and contemplative.
The day after we got back I couldn't even bring me to check my personal e-mail. I wanted to just hole up with my family and not go anywhere. Absorb myself in them and in our home. Relish OUR quiet home.
I immediately got back and absorbed myself in the details of my work. Often ignoring personal e-mails that didn't require immediate attention. I even reconnected with a friend of mine from high school, one of my closest friends during that time, and couldn't even bring myself to e-mail him back. I still haven't. All week I felt quiet, but couldn't really pinpoint it.
I am not a depressed person, never have been. And actually I tend to be quite even-keeled, if anything, not enough highs and lows to my personality according to my personality style.
It was probably one of my most productive weeks actually. I had little desire to interact with people and pretty much just plowed through work. A few times I felt as though I should apologize to people for being a huge grump. Because I did feel like a huge grump.
I am still feeling a touch disconnected, but I think I am starting to pinpoint the root cause.
I love Alaska. I really, really do. AB loves Alaska.
And sometimes, just sometimes, I wonder what it would be like to live there.
I am curious what will happen when we go to Colorado in November?
Are we really just being hit over the heads with a big sign?
AB and I finished watching The Alaska Experiment that we had Tivo'd the other night. A Discovery channel series where four groups of people were dropped off in different locales with the "bare minimum" of supplies and had to survive for three months. (AB - being somewhat of a survival buff - is sure they would never take us, he keeps telling me this... though I think he is more telling himself this.) We finally finished the series and watched the reunion show the other night. Our favorite group of people, Jeff and Elizabeth, talked about how "disconnected" they felt upon returning to society and to their jobs after three months of interacting basically only with each other and the wild.
Disconnected.
The word resonated with me. Though I only spent about 9 days on vacation and it wasn't as secluded in Alaska and I most certainly had "cabin fever" brought on by too many people in a small place as opposed to traditional cabin fever, "disconnected" still struck me as the word I have been looking for to describe my return from our vacation. I got back from Alaska and felt a strange sense of loneliness, a touch despondent I think, as well as quiet and contemplative.
The day after we got back I couldn't even bring me to check my personal e-mail. I wanted to just hole up with my family and not go anywhere. Absorb myself in them and in our home. Relish OUR quiet home.
I immediately got back and absorbed myself in the details of my work. Often ignoring personal e-mails that didn't require immediate attention. I even reconnected with a friend of mine from high school, one of my closest friends during that time, and couldn't even bring myself to e-mail him back. I still haven't. All week I felt quiet, but couldn't really pinpoint it.
I am not a depressed person, never have been. And actually I tend to be quite even-keeled, if anything, not enough highs and lows to my personality according to my personality style.
It was probably one of my most productive weeks actually. I had little desire to interact with people and pretty much just plowed through work. A few times I felt as though I should apologize to people for being a huge grump. Because I did feel like a huge grump.
I am still feeling a touch disconnected, but I think I am starting to pinpoint the root cause.
I love Alaska. I really, really do. AB loves Alaska.
And sometimes, just sometimes, I wonder what it would be like to live there.
I am curious what will happen when we go to Colorado in November?
Are we really just being hit over the heads with a big sign?
Travel Toys Review
Ok so this isn't a product review blog, but since enough people talk about travel toys for kids, I thought I would post how things went with our travels... and the kids... and their toys.
First off, Totally Tape. Five stars (out of five). Buy it. Buy it even if you aren't traveling with kids. What kid doesn't like tape? Leif particularly does. There were two problems though - Leif wasn't able to tear the tape himself. This wasn't a problem IN Alaska since Aunty Tara just gave him a spare pair of scissors to zip into the tape carry bag to keep with it. Was a little bit more of an issue on the plane though. And evidently if *I* tore the tape off for him, it meant the tape didn't count and couldn't possibly go into the book. Instead it went on his face and ended up in Skadi's hair. The biggest problem I have with this though is that it was so popular with Leif that it was out ALL the time. Which also meant it was being constantly stashed by a crazy cleaning mother in law preparing for the 4th and it didn't make it home with us. At least that I can find.
Next Auto Bingo ranks high. Not because Leif ever actually used it properly by finding the items and closing the window and looking at the scenery. Nope, this one ranks up there because do you know how many times a four year old can open and close 25 (or so) little red transparent windows? (Oh about 20 times.) And do you know how long it takes him to do it? (Longer than it takes you and I.) Nearly everytime we got in the car we would hand him an Auto Bingo card and he was busy for a good solid 30 minutes. Of course each time he closed them all he had to send it up to me for examination.
The next in popularity was the Magnet Set. Leif wanted to like it, I could tell. He really wanted to play with it. But I got the impression he just wasn't sure what to do with it. I suppose part of this comes from the fact that maybe he didn't understand pretend play with it. I am not sure. He was anxious to play with it, got it out a few times, but never really went anywhere with it and it was often neglected.
Color Wonder... ho hum. I want Leif to like this. I really do. I love art. I want him to do art - and he is bringing more home from school in his new room. But apparently my son is taking after my husband in this regard. Do art? Why when there is wood to chop? Or a sister to tickle? Or a nose to pick? Skadi however, was interested in the Color Wonder book and did much scribbling in the Cars coloring book. Then she used the markers as drum sticks (prompting Leif to request markers too) and finally, they became projectiles. And then everyone on the plane around us was kind enough to let us know where the markers went after the flight was over.
The Leapster... never made it out of the bag. I know, I worked hard to convince my husband it was the perfect toy, a surefire hit! Something that would keep Leif busy as a good alternative to DVDs. And for the record, Leif watched a whole two DVDs the entire trip - and both were on the day AB and I went fishing and he hung out with grandma and my SIL and BIL. Still it didn't take up much room and I do see the day when the Leapster is the coveted toy on trips.
Go Fish... forgot about it and it never made it out of the bottom of the bag until we got home and unpacked. Oh well.
The one thing I would recommend that I didn't buy beforehand is one of those "Find the Object" books. We happened to stop at Barnes and Noble while in Anchorage and Leif perused the kids section. He came to me with two books in hand. And really, I just can't say no to book purchases. He had a Star Wars book, something like "The Making of Darth Vadar" as well as one of these little books where you scan and scan the page for some small item and then your 4 year-old has to tell you where it is. Yes, like "Where's Waldo". Leif loves these. We have a Mouse one at home that was a gift a year or so ago from my dad and Leif still loves it even though he has memorized the mouse position on each page. Now he has a new one, and looked at it a ton on the trip.
For Skadi? The tea set reigned supreme. It was used by all the kids and I think we only lost one cup. Skadi loves her tea! She also liked her little backpack and cosmetic bag full of Little People things.
Skadi is at that difficult stage where she needs attention and entertaining, but is only ever insterested in one item for about five minutes before she wants something new. This made her the more difficult child on the trip.
Leif spent much of the time at the cabin wandering around talking to himself (no idea where he gets this at all) or out on the dock fishing. He swam some in the lake with daddy. No way was mommy getting in that cold water. He helped me with making salsa, helped grandma cut some weeds down and enjoyed going on the boat whenever possible. Truly, he needed little in the way of entertainment. Now let's just see if I remember this post in November when we head to Colorado.
First off, Totally Tape. Five stars (out of five). Buy it. Buy it even if you aren't traveling with kids. What kid doesn't like tape? Leif particularly does. There were two problems though - Leif wasn't able to tear the tape himself. This wasn't a problem IN Alaska since Aunty Tara just gave him a spare pair of scissors to zip into the tape carry bag to keep with it. Was a little bit more of an issue on the plane though. And evidently if *I* tore the tape off for him, it meant the tape didn't count and couldn't possibly go into the book. Instead it went on his face and ended up in Skadi's hair. The biggest problem I have with this though is that it was so popular with Leif that it was out ALL the time. Which also meant it was being constantly stashed by a crazy cleaning mother in law preparing for the 4th and it didn't make it home with us. At least that I can find.
Next Auto Bingo ranks high. Not because Leif ever actually used it properly by finding the items and closing the window and looking at the scenery. Nope, this one ranks up there because do you know how many times a four year old can open and close 25 (or so) little red transparent windows? (Oh about 20 times.) And do you know how long it takes him to do it? (Longer than it takes you and I.) Nearly everytime we got in the car we would hand him an Auto Bingo card and he was busy for a good solid 30 minutes. Of course each time he closed them all he had to send it up to me for examination.
The next in popularity was the Magnet Set. Leif wanted to like it, I could tell. He really wanted to play with it. But I got the impression he just wasn't sure what to do with it. I suppose part of this comes from the fact that maybe he didn't understand pretend play with it. I am not sure. He was anxious to play with it, got it out a few times, but never really went anywhere with it and it was often neglected.
Color Wonder... ho hum. I want Leif to like this. I really do. I love art. I want him to do art - and he is bringing more home from school in his new room. But apparently my son is taking after my husband in this regard. Do art? Why when there is wood to chop? Or a sister to tickle? Or a nose to pick? Skadi however, was interested in the Color Wonder book and did much scribbling in the Cars coloring book. Then she used the markers as drum sticks (prompting Leif to request markers too) and finally, they became projectiles. And then everyone on the plane around us was kind enough to let us know where the markers went after the flight was over.
The Leapster... never made it out of the bag. I know, I worked hard to convince my husband it was the perfect toy, a surefire hit! Something that would keep Leif busy as a good alternative to DVDs. And for the record, Leif watched a whole two DVDs the entire trip - and both were on the day AB and I went fishing and he hung out with grandma and my SIL and BIL. Still it didn't take up much room and I do see the day when the Leapster is the coveted toy on trips.
Go Fish... forgot about it and it never made it out of the bottom of the bag until we got home and unpacked. Oh well.
The one thing I would recommend that I didn't buy beforehand is one of those "Find the Object" books. We happened to stop at Barnes and Noble while in Anchorage and Leif perused the kids section. He came to me with two books in hand. And really, I just can't say no to book purchases. He had a Star Wars book, something like "The Making of Darth Vadar" as well as one of these little books where you scan and scan the page for some small item and then your 4 year-old has to tell you where it is. Yes, like "Where's Waldo". Leif loves these. We have a Mouse one at home that was a gift a year or so ago from my dad and Leif still loves it even though he has memorized the mouse position on each page. Now he has a new one, and looked at it a ton on the trip.
For Skadi? The tea set reigned supreme. It was used by all the kids and I think we only lost one cup. Skadi loves her tea! She also liked her little backpack and cosmetic bag full of Little People things.
Skadi is at that difficult stage where she needs attention and entertaining, but is only ever insterested in one item for about five minutes before she wants something new. This made her the more difficult child on the trip.
Leif spent much of the time at the cabin wandering around talking to himself (no idea where he gets this at all) or out on the dock fishing. He swam some in the lake with daddy. No way was mommy getting in that cold water. He helped me with making salsa, helped grandma cut some weeds down and enjoyed going on the boat whenever possible. Truly, he needed little in the way of entertainment. Now let's just see if I remember this post in November when we head to Colorado.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Leif's bag
Leif packed his bag for Alaska last night while I was cleaning up the kitchen. I resisted offering any advice and just relished in the quiet intent.
Here are the contents:
-Buzz Lightyear (Buzz goes on every trip with us. No surprise here.)
-A small wooden sailboat building kit that AB has been telling him for days he will help him build.
-His spacer and mask for his inhaler (inhaler not included)
-The Return of the King VHS tape (we don't have a VCR that works).
-His Croc flip flops
-His play binoculars.
-Skadi's water shoes.
-A Capri Sun fruit drink (sorry Leif, security will confiscate that).
-A box of Crayons (but no coloring book).
-A bulb aspirator.
-His mask he made at school the other day (which is a serious crack up as it has this big brown beard on it that he apparently insisted upon).
-AB's hardback copy of Eragon (this is a HUGE, heavy book!)
He actually didn't do too bad. I will kill the bulb aspirator (not even sure where he found that). And Skadi's water shoes will go in the bag with her clothes. I will trade the Eragon book for some coloring books. But all in all, not so bad for nearly four year old.
Here are the contents:
-Buzz Lightyear (Buzz goes on every trip with us. No surprise here.)
-A small wooden sailboat building kit that AB has been telling him for days he will help him build.
-His spacer and mask for his inhaler (inhaler not included)
-The Return of the King VHS tape (we don't have a VCR that works).
-His Croc flip flops
-His play binoculars.
-Skadi's water shoes.
-A Capri Sun fruit drink (sorry Leif, security will confiscate that).
-A box of Crayons (but no coloring book).
-A bulb aspirator.
-His mask he made at school the other day (which is a serious crack up as it has this big brown beard on it that he apparently insisted upon).
-AB's hardback copy of Eragon (this is a HUGE, heavy book!)
He actually didn't do too bad. I will kill the bulb aspirator (not even sure where he found that). And Skadi's water shoes will go in the bag with her clothes. I will trade the Eragon book for some coloring books. But all in all, not so bad for nearly four year old.
Monday, June 16, 2008
10 days
I am coming to terms with our pending trip to Alaska. "Coming to terms" sounds harsh and I don't intend it so. Really.
Truth be told and you guys will never guess this... I am a control freak. Yes, yes, I know... who would have ever known! (Yes, my tongue is firmly planted in my cheek.)
And I have actually had A LOT to say to my wonderful husband about what *I* want to do on vacation and how *I* want it to go. And he is amazingly accomodating and has pushed the topics on all fronts.
I have neurosed about the little things (like what my kids will eat and if there will be moose that Leif can see around) and stressed about the big ones (like my husband potentially being gone on a fishing charter for two nights while I was stuck in a remote cabin with the kids - like every single teen horror flick coming back to memory here).
As of this evening the itinerary is lined out, smoothed out and I can officially relax. I still might think my SIL and BIL are totally unprepared to take care of my kids and their son one evening that AB and I and my MIL are going on an evening fishing charter for King Salmon... And truly - this will be an artifact of my kids and in no way related to their abilities... but my kids don't like to go to sleep. At all. Anyways, truly, in the larger scheme of things? Worst case scenario (aside from broken bones) is that my kids don't go to sleep for them and are up all night until we get back about midnight. (Land of the midnight sun and all.)
It isn't like they have to get up and go to school the next day or anything. We will deal.
We arrive in Anchorage about midnight Thursday night/Friday morning.
Friday day AB wants to reconnect with an old friend for lunch (Kristadel has he e-mailed you yet? ) That afternoon a trip to the Anchorage zoo which holds very fond memories for AB and I as a couple when we were first dating. We visited the zoo and it was so dang cold we kept hiding out in the elephant house. And it stunk so bad, but it was so toasty. Finally the elephants decided to humor us with a game of toss the stick back and forth. They were apparently as bored as we were.
Saturday we are going to Portage to an wild animal refuge park and then to Seward for a wildlife cruise with my MIL.
Sunday spending the day with my FIL and his girlfriend. My FIL is very excited to take Leif trout fishing in the lake her house is on.
Monday to the cabin.
Tuesday... no plans during the day until we take care of my nephew while my SIL, BIL and MIL head out on their fishing charter that evening. I am thinking I *might* even get to pick up a book and read!! Maybe?
Wednesday... our fishing evening.
Thursday... prepare for the big 4th of July BBQ/party.
Friday... big 4th of July party.
Saturday... head home.
I have all sorts of surprises for the trip in my possession as well as the last arrival this afternoon - Leif's Hakunamatata Sigg cup with yellow strap. He loves it.
And now I need one.
Aside from the pain of packing where we will try to fit everything my Alaskan boy scout deems necessary into as little baggage as possible.
Ha. The headache has yet to come...
Truth be told and you guys will never guess this... I am a control freak. Yes, yes, I know... who would have ever known! (Yes, my tongue is firmly planted in my cheek.)
And I have actually had A LOT to say to my wonderful husband about what *I* want to do on vacation and how *I* want it to go. And he is amazingly accomodating and has pushed the topics on all fronts.
I have neurosed about the little things (like what my kids will eat and if there will be moose that Leif can see around) and stressed about the big ones (like my husband potentially being gone on a fishing charter for two nights while I was stuck in a remote cabin with the kids - like every single teen horror flick coming back to memory here).
As of this evening the itinerary is lined out, smoothed out and I can officially relax. I still might think my SIL and BIL are totally unprepared to take care of my kids and their son one evening that AB and I and my MIL are going on an evening fishing charter for King Salmon... And truly - this will be an artifact of my kids and in no way related to their abilities... but my kids don't like to go to sleep. At all. Anyways, truly, in the larger scheme of things? Worst case scenario (aside from broken bones) is that my kids don't go to sleep for them and are up all night until we get back about midnight. (Land of the midnight sun and all.)
It isn't like they have to get up and go to school the next day or anything. We will deal.
We arrive in Anchorage about midnight Thursday night/Friday morning.
Friday day AB wants to reconnect with an old friend for lunch (Kristadel has he e-mailed you yet? ) That afternoon a trip to the Anchorage zoo which holds very fond memories for AB and I as a couple when we were first dating. We visited the zoo and it was so dang cold we kept hiding out in the elephant house. And it stunk so bad, but it was so toasty. Finally the elephants decided to humor us with a game of toss the stick back and forth. They were apparently as bored as we were.
Saturday we are going to Portage to an wild animal refuge park and then to Seward for a wildlife cruise with my MIL.
Sunday spending the day with my FIL and his girlfriend. My FIL is very excited to take Leif trout fishing in the lake her house is on.
Monday to the cabin.
Tuesday... no plans during the day until we take care of my nephew while my SIL, BIL and MIL head out on their fishing charter that evening. I am thinking I *might* even get to pick up a book and read!! Maybe?
Wednesday... our fishing evening.
Thursday... prepare for the big 4th of July BBQ/party.
Friday... big 4th of July party.
Saturday... head home.
I have all sorts of surprises for the trip in my possession as well as the last arrival this afternoon - Leif's Hakunamatata Sigg cup with yellow strap. He loves it.
And now I need one.
Aside from the pain of packing where we will try to fit everything my Alaskan boy scout deems necessary into as little baggage as possible.
Ha. The headache has yet to come...
Friday, June 13, 2008
I'm going on a trip...
(Those of you with kids Leif's age can now continue singing the Little Einsteins theme song.)
Done now?
I am going on a trip where Little Einsteins don't exist!
For a whole weekend in August!
The girl's weekend to Steamboat Springs is officially booked.
I kept finding good airfare for departing on Friday and returning Monday. But that would require first that my husband take time off Monday morning to get the kids into daycare/preschool. It would require my host to take an extra day off to get me to the airport (yes, I could take a bus or taxi I am sure if she had to work). But the biggy was it would be three nights away from my kids.
Wasn't sure I could do this. Two nights I can do. AB can do - he can suffer two sleepless nights on a weekend IF it went that way. Which it won't. Both kids will go to bed on time and sleep through the night. But three nights was going to be tough.
I did my every couple days or so check of airfare and yesterday the flight back on Sunday had dropped to the acceptable range. I took a slightly ($23) more expensive flight back on Sunday though just so I didn't have to leave at 8am. I will fly out of here Friday at the crack of dawn and arrive in Steamboat at about 1pm where VargasGirl will fetch me at the airport. Then I fly home on Sunday and should walk in the door just in time to rescue my husband and let him cook a wonderful dinner to welcome me home.
Shopping... spa time... Strawberry Park Hot Springs (which should not be discussed with my husband lest insane jealousy set in)... the mountains... wine with the girls...
Should rejuvenate me.
And I will not complain at all about being abandoned with the kids in Alaska in favor of golf outtings and fishing charters!
Done now?
I am going on a trip where Little Einsteins don't exist!
For a whole weekend in August!
The girl's weekend to Steamboat Springs is officially booked.
I kept finding good airfare for departing on Friday and returning Monday. But that would require first that my husband take time off Monday morning to get the kids into daycare/preschool. It would require my host to take an extra day off to get me to the airport (yes, I could take a bus or taxi I am sure if she had to work). But the biggy was it would be three nights away from my kids.
Wasn't sure I could do this. Two nights I can do. AB can do - he can suffer two sleepless nights on a weekend IF it went that way. Which it won't. Both kids will go to bed on time and sleep through the night. But three nights was going to be tough.
I did my every couple days or so check of airfare and yesterday the flight back on Sunday had dropped to the acceptable range. I took a slightly ($23) more expensive flight back on Sunday though just so I didn't have to leave at 8am. I will fly out of here Friday at the crack of dawn and arrive in Steamboat at about 1pm where VargasGirl will fetch me at the airport. Then I fly home on Sunday and should walk in the door just in time to rescue my husband and let him cook a wonderful dinner to welcome me home.
Shopping... spa time... Strawberry Park Hot Springs (which should not be discussed with my husband lest insane jealousy set in)... the mountains... wine with the girls...
Should rejuvenate me.
And I will not complain at all about being abandoned with the kids in Alaska in favor of golf outtings and fishing charters!
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