Maine Weekend

This last weekend I was up at Ferry Beach in Maine. I've gone previous years with Cece and the kids. The first year being just the three if us with baby Cameron and no Maggie. It's amazing to see how much they've grown since there is this regular mark in time. I seem to end up going every other year so it's quite noticeable even though I see them tons in between. 

This year I had prepared and packed stuff to entertain myself - reading, knitting, notebook. Because last time the kids were just getting to the age where they wanted to go off on their own and hang out with the other kids. No more 24/7 attention. Which is great although sad when you're no longer the center of their universe. 

Well no worries this year. Maggie was besties with me all weekend. As you can see, we spent a lot if time exploring the beach in addition to coloring and games. 

A bit tired after two nights on a creaky bunk bed. And a little guy who would try to wake me up without waking up anyone else. He was a little like Winston - trying to get me to stop pretending to sleep and get up. 

The weather was great (no rain) although very cold for this time of year. And I've gotten to a point where I know a lot of the community that goes on this retreat. I felt like a wedding crasher since I don't go to the church or are even from the town. But I could blend in since most people would ask if you were from the "other" service or Lynn. There were two UU churches that share the same retreat weekend. And there are two morning services for Cece's church. 

Met a lot of new people. Including this one couple who has a side business selling stuff on Amazon - not ebay. I never even heard of this option and they make pretty good money. Plus they get to shop a lot. I'm toying with the idea since I still live bargain hunting as a hobby but have been changing my ways to limit the amount if stuff I have and money spent. But if I could make a little money for something I love to do, well that would be sweet. Still need to explore. 

Monday night I had a great time having dinner with my cousin who was up from CT for a week long workshop. What they were work shopping was very similar to what I've been learning about and starting to practice. A lot of cognitive behavioral and mindfulness stuff. It was nice to swap lessons learned and reinforce the path I'm on. 

What I'm really enjoying reading right now is the Harvard Business Review magazine. I check them out of my library since they are pricey and I'm trying to reduce the stuff I own. 

There are some great articles and tidbits on management and leadership that resonate with my style. I have a new staff member starting next month, coming in from another department in the company. He was also considering a start up company in the field of energy. After talking with me and thinking about it, he came back to me and said that he really liked how my department acts like an entrepreneurial company but within a larger established company that can provide security. That's helped me as a develop a more focused mission. Instead of being reactive to the million things that pop up each day. I'm starting to see that I'm heading up an academic/start-up unit. So that in turn focuses attention to trainings, processes, resource development and continued innovation. 

I was just saying I've always been attracted to the academic and teaching world but didn't like the disconnect with real world applications and relevancy. So this is a nice platform - directing relevant research and tapping into my teaching side. It's nice to figure these things out. It's all about the context!