It’s no secret I am habitually late. I really don’t mean to be, and believe it or not, I have actually improved as I have gotten older. Yet, I still tend to run about 10 minutes late to everything. Maybe it’s a lack of planning or maybe as my stepmother says, I just piddle.
In any case, despite arriving at SFO seven (yes, count ‘em seven) hours before my flight home from Cali on Sunday, I actually managed to miss my flight!!! I didn’t fall asleep, I wasn’t drunk; I wasn’t impaired or understandably occupied in any way. I missed my flight because I was running my damn mouth. Insanity! Only me. My friend Kinsey works at the airport and I was standing outside security talking to her instead of getting in line and going to the gate.
When I got to my gate, the plane was still there, but they had closed the doors and there were no airline personnel in sight. I was freaking out and visibly upset. This was actually the first flight I have ever missed. Most people who have heard this story are quite surprised by this fact given my history of tardiness, but usually I am quite prompt when my plans involve a departing aircraft. After the shock wore off and I resigned myself to the fact that I was not getting out of town until the morning, I actually started laughing and couldn’t stop. Who sits at an airport for seven hours and misses their flight?!?!?!? It’s just funny.
I guess if it HAD to happen, this was the perfect situation. I was able to spend one more night with Kinsey, I had a free place to stay and free ride to the airport the next morning, and I didn’t really have any pressing plans in DC the next afternoon...except having my gas turned on in my apt, which I had to reschedule again so no cooking or heat for week number four! Good thing it’s summer and I love takeout.
Oh well, lesson learned!
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Sunday, August 17, 2008
My journey west
I’m slouching in a chair at the International Terminal of SFO looking like a hot mess, but I really don’t care. My luggage is all around me because I’m about four hours too early to check my bags according to AirTran and I am stuck at the airport all day waiting for my redeye home tonight. Yes, I could take BART into the city, but what a hassle with the massive bags I have—one of which I had to purchase at the airport because once again I am bringing back way more stuff than will fit in the bags I made the journey with. But this time it isn’t my fault; I have loads of binders, books, and crap from the communications conference that facilitated my visit to the west coast. Plus, I am tired and I feel like I’m getting sick, and I’m a great big whiner today.
It’s been a pretty cool week. I headed into the trip utterly exhausted from pulling two of my latest nights at work to date right before I left DC. I got all of 3 hours of sleep before I had to hustle the dog out to BFE Maryland to the kennel and then BARELY made my Super Shuttle to Dulles. But alas, I arrived. By the way, Virgin America is the way flying should be—just a great experience.
One of the best parts of this entire visit was that work was footing the bill for me to spend a few days with my dear friend Kinsey. She trekked out to DC in March so I promised to return the favor. Aside from the fact that I was lame and stayed glued to my damn Blackberry most of the time, we had a lovely time. We visited Gloria Ferrer and sipped bubbly on the patio, met the mini-burroughs at Cline Cellars, unsuccessfully sought out a tattoo parlor to get our noses pierced, had fantastic foot massages, and were ladies who lunched in Walnut Creek.
I drank endless glasses of wine and champagne, talked about relationships and the meaning of life with Kinsey’s family, got a sunburn from cruising along the Golden Gate Bridge in a convertible, and even scored some authentic Buddhas from Thailand (hence the need for an extra bag…well, that and the wine…).
Before I made it to my conference, I met up with a friend in Oakland and had THE most amazing chicken sandwich of my life. If you ever find yourself in Oakland, check out Bakesale Betty’s. It’s a no-frills-eat-on-painted-ironing-boards-outside-type of joint, and simply fabulous. I was introduced to all this deliciousness by my friend Josh, a fellow Texan who calls Cali home, and is an amazing communicator/consultant/musician. Check out his band: www.boyinthebubble.org.
The actual conference was really great as well. I attended the SPIN Academy, a media training conference held in beautiful Petaluma, CA. All the conference materials clearly explained we would be staying on a ranch and would not have cell phone service, but I have to admit, I really didn’t believe them. How could this be possible? Of course there would be some way to get a signal. Well guess what? There wasn’t! Let me tell you (as sad as it might be) four days with no cell phone is no joke. There was wireless internet, but in my haste to depart DC, I didn’t have a chance to have my IT administrator at work reconfigure my laptop, and even though I (and others) seemingly had everything setup correctly, I could not get my computer to connect. Damn Dell…should have brought my Mac. So I really went the four days with almost no interaction with the outside world. This wouldn’t have been so bad, except that I am nearing the deadline of a major project at work that has been owning my ass, and requires me to reply to countless emails and issues that seem to arise every day.
On one hand it was liberating to be unreachable. After accepting defeat with the wireless connection, and using my old school phone card to call the office, I settled into the fact that I was going to have to let go, trust the team filling in at work, and focus on resting and learning and strategizing.
Since I assumed a new position at work in April, I have been feeling a little overwhelmed. There hasn’t been a moment to sit-down and re-evaluate things and make the department my own. I feel like I am running around like crazy on someone else’s course, and just reacting to the latest mess of the day instead of actually executing any plans or really excelling. Luckily, I am leaving this conference with a lot of tools and a better grasp on what I need to do when I get back to work.
The training also showed me that I know more than I think I know. From talking with other participants, I think that many of us are searching for something that doesn’t exist—we are looking for answers that aren’t there in any of the trainings we keep attending. While many of the sessions at this conference were full of great information, I still didn’t find some of them to be advanced enough to tackle what I seem to be looking for. But maybe there is no perfect formula or presentation or magic-pill; maybe there is no answer other than that I need to be confident and take comfort in the knowledge I already possess.
It was great to interact with so many amazing, interesting people who are doing social justice work all over the world. I regretfully haven’t always been as open to meeting new people as I am now. I have always been pretty outgoing and social, but I never really saw the value in meeting people unless I was going to have deep, lasting relationships with them. As a result of this attitude, I have lots of very close friends and that is a wonderful blessing, but in the last year I have really been relishing in all the new people I have met and connections I have made all over the country.
Five more hours til my plane…
It’s been a pretty cool week. I headed into the trip utterly exhausted from pulling two of my latest nights at work to date right before I left DC. I got all of 3 hours of sleep before I had to hustle the dog out to BFE Maryland to the kennel and then BARELY made my Super Shuttle to Dulles. But alas, I arrived. By the way, Virgin America is the way flying should be—just a great experience.
One of the best parts of this entire visit was that work was footing the bill for me to spend a few days with my dear friend Kinsey. She trekked out to DC in March so I promised to return the favor. Aside from the fact that I was lame and stayed glued to my damn Blackberry most of the time, we had a lovely time. We visited Gloria Ferrer and sipped bubbly on the patio, met the mini-burroughs at Cline Cellars, unsuccessfully sought out a tattoo parlor to get our noses pierced, had fantastic foot massages, and were ladies who lunched in Walnut Creek.
I drank endless glasses of wine and champagne, talked about relationships and the meaning of life with Kinsey’s family, got a sunburn from cruising along the Golden Gate Bridge in a convertible, and even scored some authentic Buddhas from Thailand (hence the need for an extra bag…well, that and the wine…).
Before I made it to my conference, I met up with a friend in Oakland and had THE most amazing chicken sandwich of my life. If you ever find yourself in Oakland, check out Bakesale Betty’s. It’s a no-frills-eat-on-painted-ironing-boards-outside-type of joint, and simply fabulous. I was introduced to all this deliciousness by my friend Josh, a fellow Texan who calls Cali home, and is an amazing communicator/consultant/musician. Check out his band: www.boyinthebubble.org.
The actual conference was really great as well. I attended the SPIN Academy, a media training conference held in beautiful Petaluma, CA. All the conference materials clearly explained we would be staying on a ranch and would not have cell phone service, but I have to admit, I really didn’t believe them. How could this be possible? Of course there would be some way to get a signal. Well guess what? There wasn’t! Let me tell you (as sad as it might be) four days with no cell phone is no joke. There was wireless internet, but in my haste to depart DC, I didn’t have a chance to have my IT administrator at work reconfigure my laptop, and even though I (and others) seemingly had everything setup correctly, I could not get my computer to connect. Damn Dell…should have brought my Mac. So I really went the four days with almost no interaction with the outside world. This wouldn’t have been so bad, except that I am nearing the deadline of a major project at work that has been owning my ass, and requires me to reply to countless emails and issues that seem to arise every day.
On one hand it was liberating to be unreachable. After accepting defeat with the wireless connection, and using my old school phone card to call the office, I settled into the fact that I was going to have to let go, trust the team filling in at work, and focus on resting and learning and strategizing.
Since I assumed a new position at work in April, I have been feeling a little overwhelmed. There hasn’t been a moment to sit-down and re-evaluate things and make the department my own. I feel like I am running around like crazy on someone else’s course, and just reacting to the latest mess of the day instead of actually executing any plans or really excelling. Luckily, I am leaving this conference with a lot of tools and a better grasp on what I need to do when I get back to work.
The training also showed me that I know more than I think I know. From talking with other participants, I think that many of us are searching for something that doesn’t exist—we are looking for answers that aren’t there in any of the trainings we keep attending. While many of the sessions at this conference were full of great information, I still didn’t find some of them to be advanced enough to tackle what I seem to be looking for. But maybe there is no perfect formula or presentation or magic-pill; maybe there is no answer other than that I need to be confident and take comfort in the knowledge I already possess.
It was great to interact with so many amazing, interesting people who are doing social justice work all over the world. I regretfully haven’t always been as open to meeting new people as I am now. I have always been pretty outgoing and social, but I never really saw the value in meeting people unless I was going to have deep, lasting relationships with them. As a result of this attitude, I have lots of very close friends and that is a wonderful blessing, but in the last year I have really been relishing in all the new people I have met and connections I have made all over the country.
Five more hours til my plane…
Monday, May 26, 2008
If I weren’t so tired, I’d think of a title for this post…
It’s the classic “be careful what you wish for” scenario. I am a little more than two weeks into my new position at work and my head is still spinning. I spent most of my holiday weekend at work moving offices and preparing for my replacement's first day tomorrow. I don’t feel like I am ever going to catch up. I am already so behind and I feel like my brain has reached capacity. I seriously have lost the ability to retain information. I keep trying to get a handle on things, but I feel so crazed. Hopefully this week I will gain some ground and start feeling a little bit more in control.
I don’t feel like I had much of a weekend. Yesterday, I did take a little time off, but it just made me think more about all the lovely chaos and transition in my life. Last night was one of those nights like I used to have in college when I would get in my car with a stack of Dave Matthews CDs and a pack of cigarettes and drive up and down Highway 6 with the windows down and the radio blaring. But in a city where street parking is such a hot commodity and facing another day at the office, I just stayed home.
Not sure why I have been so restless lately, but things may be looking up. Yesterday—no, wait that was just this morning, although it feels like days ago—as I was opening my security door to exit my house, a bird pooped on my arm. According to my roommate and the omniscience that is Google, this is supposed to be good luck. Let’s hope so!
I don’t feel like I had much of a weekend. Yesterday, I did take a little time off, but it just made me think more about all the lovely chaos and transition in my life. Last night was one of those nights like I used to have in college when I would get in my car with a stack of Dave Matthews CDs and a pack of cigarettes and drive up and down Highway 6 with the windows down and the radio blaring. But in a city where street parking is such a hot commodity and facing another day at the office, I just stayed home.
Not sure why I have been so restless lately, but things may be looking up. Yesterday—no, wait that was just this morning, although it feels like days ago—as I was opening my security door to exit my house, a bird pooped on my arm. According to my roommate and the omniscience that is Google, this is supposed to be good luck. Let’s hope so!
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
My Tour O'Texas
So the last three weeks have been an amazing journey emotionally, professionally, and physically. I spent five days in Minneapolis for my biggest work event of the year and I have to say I kicked a little ass. This year I wrote four speeches for the president of our organization and was basically running around like a wild woman dealing with other communications issues that came up during the meeting, but it was completely satisfying and enjoyable.
Then I traveled to Texas, and for once a canceled flight enhanced my trip. Since I couldn’t make it to Austin due to my grounded MD-80, I was able to have an unscheduled night in Dallas with my adorable sister Haley. I stayed in her dorm and everything. To top it off, she made me a fabulous tour o’Texas CD (playlist included below), which was the PERFECT soundtrack for all the driving I did across the Lone Star State.
My Texas tour was pretty great. I don’t know if it was the fact that I had my own rental car or that I was triple booked most of the time or just that I got to see so many amazing people, but the trip rocked! Unlike other visits home, I would do every bit of it again. Within five days I visited Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, and Houston. I barely drive in DC so it was really nice to get behind the wheel with the windows down and nothing in front of me but beautiful music and Texas highways.
The whole purpose of the trip was to be in my friend’s wedding and it was such a lovely night. I made it through my toast without crying and stuttering (maybe that shot of Jack did help?) and danced into the night with two of my closest girlfriends. I met some really cool people and had a really fun after party.
I spent a little time with the fam in Houston and then cruised back to Austin and finally back home to DC.
My first day back in the office, I found out my supervisor had given her notice and I am being promoted to Director of Communications!!! I have to say, this was unexpected. I thought I had at least another year before she would leave and this would be an option. While I am completely excited, I am honestly a bit freaked out! It’s all official May 8th. In the meantime, I have to hire my replacement, learn all I can before she leaves, and pack to move into my new office. I am sure I will have more to say on this in the future, but for now it is all just a little surreal.
Thanks to all of you who made my trip so wonderful!
Tour O’Texas 2008
1. Capitol City – Matt Wertz
2. I Will Not Take My Love Away – Matt Wertz
3. Counting to 100 – Matt Wertz
4. Nothing Fancy – Dave Barnes
5. Until You – Dave Barnes
6. The Sweetest Goodbye – Brian Douglas Phillips
7. Gravity – Sara Bareilles
8. Where I Stood – Missy Higgins
9. Bottom of the Barrel – Amos Lee
10. Colors – Amos Lee
11. Better Together – Jack Johnson
12. 5:19 – Matt Wertz
13. Sweetness in Starlight – Matt Wertz
14. World Spins Madly On – The Weepies
15. Stand Still, Look Pretty – The Wreckers
16. The Good Kind – The Wreckers
17. Love Song – Sara Bareilles
Then I traveled to Texas, and for once a canceled flight enhanced my trip. Since I couldn’t make it to Austin due to my grounded MD-80, I was able to have an unscheduled night in Dallas with my adorable sister Haley. I stayed in her dorm and everything. To top it off, she made me a fabulous tour o’Texas CD (playlist included below), which was the PERFECT soundtrack for all the driving I did across the Lone Star State.
My Texas tour was pretty great. I don’t know if it was the fact that I had my own rental car or that I was triple booked most of the time or just that I got to see so many amazing people, but the trip rocked! Unlike other visits home, I would do every bit of it again. Within five days I visited Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, and Houston. I barely drive in DC so it was really nice to get behind the wheel with the windows down and nothing in front of me but beautiful music and Texas highways.
The whole purpose of the trip was to be in my friend’s wedding and it was such a lovely night. I made it through my toast without crying and stuttering (maybe that shot of Jack did help?) and danced into the night with two of my closest girlfriends. I met some really cool people and had a really fun after party.
I spent a little time with the fam in Houston and then cruised back to Austin and finally back home to DC.
My first day back in the office, I found out my supervisor had given her notice and I am being promoted to Director of Communications!!! I have to say, this was unexpected. I thought I had at least another year before she would leave and this would be an option. While I am completely excited, I am honestly a bit freaked out! It’s all official May 8th. In the meantime, I have to hire my replacement, learn all I can before she leaves, and pack to move into my new office. I am sure I will have more to say on this in the future, but for now it is all just a little surreal.
Thanks to all of you who made my trip so wonderful!
Tour O’Texas 2008
1. Capitol City – Matt Wertz
2. I Will Not Take My Love Away – Matt Wertz
3. Counting to 100 – Matt Wertz
4. Nothing Fancy – Dave Barnes
5. Until You – Dave Barnes
6. The Sweetest Goodbye – Brian Douglas Phillips
7. Gravity – Sara Bareilles
8. Where I Stood – Missy Higgins
9. Bottom of the Barrel – Amos Lee
10. Colors – Amos Lee
11. Better Together – Jack Johnson
12. 5:19 – Matt Wertz
13. Sweetness in Starlight – Matt Wertz
14. World Spins Madly On – The Weepies
15. Stand Still, Look Pretty – The Wreckers
16. The Good Kind – The Wreckers
17. Love Song – Sara Bareilles
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Preparing for my Travels
I should be writing four speeches for work, but I am so not motivated...
There is just too much to do and not enough time. The next two weeks have the potential to be amazing but also the potential to run me ragged. I went to Boston last weekend for work, and now I leave Friday for Minneapolis for five days, before I head to Austin and begin my tour o'Texas.
The fun begins in Austin, then moves to San Antonio where I will be the Maid of Honor in a wedding for my dear friend Shawna Lenee'. Still working on my toast for that one...it is not one of the four speeches I should be writing this second, but I'm waiting to be inspired just the same. I'm a true procrastinator so I imagine it will come to me at the last second. Then I'm off to Houston to see the fam and as many friends as I can.
Hopefully it will all be fabulous. If I weren't so freakin' stressed about all that has to be done before I leave, I would be really excited. Ahhh...back to checking things off my to do list...
There is just too much to do and not enough time. The next two weeks have the potential to be amazing but also the potential to run me ragged. I went to Boston last weekend for work, and now I leave Friday for Minneapolis for five days, before I head to Austin and begin my tour o'Texas.
The fun begins in Austin, then moves to San Antonio where I will be the Maid of Honor in a wedding for my dear friend Shawna Lenee'. Still working on my toast for that one...it is not one of the four speeches I should be writing this second, but I'm waiting to be inspired just the same. I'm a true procrastinator so I imagine it will come to me at the last second. Then I'm off to Houston to see the fam and as many friends as I can.
Hopefully it will all be fabulous. If I weren't so freakin' stressed about all that has to be done before I leave, I would be really excited. Ahhh...back to checking things off my to do list...
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Senate Candidate Legally Changes Name to "Pro-Life"
This is ridiculous.
Via Daily Women’s Health Policy Report:
Idaho U.S. Senate Candidate Changes Name to Pro-Life
An Idaho candidate for the U.S. Senate has legally changed his name to Pro-Life, the AP/CBS News reports. The man attempted to appear on a 2006 ballot as Marvin Pro-Life Richardson when he unsuccessfully ran for governor, but the state’s policy prohibits slogans from appearing on the ballot. However, officials in the Idaho Office of the Secretary of State have said they have no choice but to allow Pro-Life to be on the 2008 ballot because it is now the candidate’s full legal name (AP/CBS News, 3/18).
Idaho Secretary of State Ben Ysursa (R) at a state Senate committee hearing Monday advocated for legislation (S 1514) that would require candidates who change their name to a political slogan to have a parenthetical note after the name on the ballot that states "A person formerly known as ..." Ysursa noted that other states have sought to remove slogan-names from the ballot, adding that the Idaho Supreme Court has ruled that the "ballot is not to be used to try to express a particularized political message." Ysursa said including Pro-Life on the ballot could cause some voters to be confused and vote for both Pro-Life and the candidate of their choice. The measure passed the Senate by a 33-0 vote Tuesday and is headed to the House.
Pro-Life, who is running for the seat of retiring Sen. Larry Craig (R), said the qualifier measure is being pushed by Lt. Gov. Jim Risch (R), who also opposes abortion rights and is running for the seat. "It’s pretty stupid, really, to say that a voter doesn’t know what he’s doing," Pro-Life said. Risch said that he does not have "input on this matter" and is referring questions to the Legislature.
Thirteen candidates are running for the U.S. Senate seat -- eight Republicans, two Democrats, one Libertarian and two independents (Russell, Spokane Spokesman-Review, 3/25). Pro-Life has said he will run for the highest state office as an independent every two years and will advocate murder charges for physicians who perform abortion, as well as for women who undergo the procedure (AP/CBS News, 3/18).
Monday, March 17, 2008
Lovely Day
Sometimes you can just tell it’s going to be a good day. Sometimes the little things like walking up to the platform as the metro is arriving just set your day on the right track and you know it’s gonna be a lovely day. Today is one of those days. I have lots to smile about:
--one of my closest friends came to visit me over the weekend from San Francisco;
--the weather was absolutely gorgeous all weekend and there was no rain at Shamrock Fest;
--I got to enjoy Bloody Marys and Sunday brunch with good friends;
--my Aggies made it to the Big Dance;
--the Rockets continued their 22 game winning streak and advanced to first place in the Western Conference;
--it’s St. Patrick’s Day and I have an excuse to booze on a Monday (like I need one?); and
--I am having a pretty rockin’ hair day.
All in all life is good.
This weekend I had my first out of town guest: my friend Kinsey who recently moved to SF. She arrived Thursday night and I took her to the airport (and Dulles at that!) today at 5:30am. For those of you who know me well, it is amazing that I am in such a good mood after getting up so early, but I am!
It can really be nice when different spheres of your life collide. I am truly lucky to have such wonderful people in my life and even luckier that they all seem to get along. It was an amazing weekend and I think I can safely say a good time was had by all that joined us on our tour o’DC. To those of you that joined us for any or all of this weekend, thank you for showing my friend such a great time.
Now it’s time to get geared up for March Madness! Gig’em Aggies!
--one of my closest friends came to visit me over the weekend from San Francisco;
--the weather was absolutely gorgeous all weekend and there was no rain at Shamrock Fest;
--I got to enjoy Bloody Marys and Sunday brunch with good friends;
--my Aggies made it to the Big Dance;
--the Rockets continued their 22 game winning streak and advanced to first place in the Western Conference;
--it’s St. Patrick’s Day and I have an excuse to booze on a Monday (like I need one?); and
--I am having a pretty rockin’ hair day.
All in all life is good.
This weekend I had my first out of town guest: my friend Kinsey who recently moved to SF. She arrived Thursday night and I took her to the airport (and Dulles at that!) today at 5:30am. For those of you who know me well, it is amazing that I am in such a good mood after getting up so early, but I am!
It can really be nice when different spheres of your life collide. I am truly lucky to have such wonderful people in my life and even luckier that they all seem to get along. It was an amazing weekend and I think I can safely say a good time was had by all that joined us on our tour o’DC. To those of you that joined us for any or all of this weekend, thank you for showing my friend such a great time.
Now it’s time to get geared up for March Madness! Gig’em Aggies!
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