Reunion

Just heading home after an impromptu mini reunion of old colleagues from my first job in Boston. Doug was in town visiting from San Diego so we all met up in JFK park by the Harvard Kennedy School. It was great seeing everyone and even crazier when three people turned up pregnant - Andrea and Marie due next month and Colleen due in three months. And Holly with her two month twins. 

A great evening to catch up - nice mild weather while the kids ran around playing.  Doug has two and Colleen, Andrea and Marie each have a boy already. 

As I'm heading home after an after work get together I can't help but compare it to eight years ago when we were all working together and would stay out much later over drinks. In a way it's nice to head home while its still light - I was thinking of ducking out early if went too long since I do like an early night. But was finding everyone else was on the same schedule too. 

Marie and I left together and resolved to get together in September. A little after the new one arrives. We both commented how nice it was to fall back into old ways with each other. Not always the case with old friends. 

All in all a nice and pleasant night and a pleasant reminder of how far I've come since my earlier days. And what a great group I worked with when first starting out in Boston and this career. 

Work Dynamics

I’m wrapping up putting my accomplishments list together.  And through it I’ve been doing some reflecting of where I was when I started and where I am now on many fronts.  I just had a meeting with a staff member who pulled me aside for a quick talk.  Basically they were bringing up some concerns about internal department items.  It was very rewarding to play this role now.  Really being a department head that addresses concerns of staff especially with issues happening in the department.  I’ve always done this at some level, but this was something that most often doesn’t get brought up period because it’s a touchy subject.  I felt good that they felt comfortable 1) sharing the information with me, and 2) that they trusted me with the information.  I know I’ve come across situations where I didn’t always feel comfortable sharing the info with bosses and when I did, I got burned because of how they dealt with the information.  Lessons learned there.

The other nice accomplishment was the feedback I got at a meeting yesterday.  It was for a project interview.  We’re trying to get on a team that is pursuing a project and everyone needed to agree with which engineer to use.  We were the favorite with some folks at the table but new to others.  Myself, two managing principles and a senior engineer presented.  It was myself and one of the managing principles that were the bulk of the discussion.  It was a really nice dynamic back and forth between the two of us and with the folks at the table.  Afterwards, the other managing partner pulled me aside and was clearly very impressed with me.  Always nice to hear and see.  And of course, it didn’t hurt that my department received unsolicited  compliments.  The architect was very vocal about how they have always appreciated our modeling - the quality is solid and we do it early to inform design, something they have a hard time getting from other engineers.  Needless to say, I took that and did some self-promotion inside the company today.  First sharing the information with the department - always good to hear such nice stuff, and then forwarding the info to top folks.  I’m slowly learning that you need to toot your own horn.  I know you need to do it, but it’s hard to learn the skill - yet critical.

 

The managing principal that pulled me aside after, had taken some pictures of us as we were waiting in the lobby prior to the presentation.  And on a smart phone too -impressive quality.  I didn’t realize, so here’s a true candid of myself.  And two of my colleagues - clearly they noticed photos were being taken.



And a nice shot of a building in Boston, taken from the Uber ride on our way to the meeting.



 

Neighborhood

This morning I was heading off to work, grabbed the extra large library books, letters to mail and all my work stuff. As I was heading down my street ran into my downstairs neighbors and they pointed - I had forgot my helmet!  Even after muttering helmet with my arms full heading for the door a moment earlier. Still forgot. Went back and say a pair of eyes in the window as I head up the sidewalk. It's so hard seeing the black cats in the window. The only way is to look for the eyes. So if they are napping - forget about it. 

Back on the road I'm riding to the back of the library to the book drop and run into my yellow house neighbor Phil. He was on his morning walk with Molly. We stop and chat because he wants to tell me about my black cat and how they were chomping at the bit when there were baby cardinals and Robbins just out the window. Quite entertaining. Mental note - I should check the screens and make sure they are solid, just in case. 

Phil shares stories about the baby birds' first flights and mention his wife took videos and they're on Facebook. He then shares her name and says to check them out. 

Riding my bike down the bike path I have to say its nice running into neighbors - even though I'm even though I'm running late. 

And in the subway I'm checking out the posts. 2015 is missing but looking back get to see some great art - she's a mixed medium artist. The best shot is a picture of her workshop which is basically just their house - packed with stuff. And it's gorgeous. And comforting as my place is exploding as I go through everything I own making keep and sell piles. It's chaos!  

Summer Time

Summer is flying by!  We just hit hot and humid last weekend.  I was thinking Sunday afternoon, I'm literally in a sweatshop.  And I mean literally in the true sense of the word literally.  I was working on weeding out stuff in preparation for a garage sale, which means stopping periodically and taking a break to do "projects".  I finally pulled out my sewing machine (inherited from my grandmother) and worked on some sewing projects.  I made a few pillow covers and that was it.  But I was sitting in my living room full sun, with the fan going, as it's in the 90s and humid and feeling really warm, if not sweaty, working away on the sewing machine.  I was pretty proud I figured out how to load the bobbin up after it ran out of thread, without an instruction manual.  And I was kicking myself that I wasn't running errands in my air conditioned car in air conditioned stores, which I had purposely left for Sunday afternoon.  But the urge to sew grabbed me and I went with it and now a ton of cool "new" pillows and less fabric I need to find a place to store.

Lots going on.  I was up in VT for one last visit of the house I have been visiting for over 10 years.  Dad and Barbro are moving to NH later this month and so Nick and I went up to help with packing and weeding out stuff.  Nick found his baseball cards finally!  Went through all the books in the house (well almost, it was alot) and helped with identifying keepers vs garage sale as they work on slowly downsizing.  It seems like their new place is about the same amount of storage, although it is a townhouse so different feel.  Enjoyed one last fourth of July celebration with grilled goodies.  One last sleep in the guest room on the fold out couch.  One last visit to the co-op to pick up honey - even though I already had a quart, didn't know when I would have the opportunity again and honey doesn't really go bad, well not quickly.  And one last general visit as a local versus a future visitor. 

 

Nick and I swung by their new place in NH on the way up since it wasn't too far off the path.  It looks really nice and the town looks cute, but it's really different.  It's a really small town.  Like really small.  Smaller than I'm used to so I'm curious what the visits are going to be like.  Lots of outdoor stuff - hiking and canoeing and other fun stuff.

I popped down to Atlanta again for a project interview.  We were the long shots since we were the Yanks from up north.  Fingers crossed we get the project.  We prepped before the interview, in the student center.  It was empty for awhile and then we were inundated with hundreds of summer students of all ages mostly 4th grade and up.  We suddenly felt very out of place with our suits next to the kids in their matching t-shirts for whatever summer program they were in.

I've been missing the CSA from a few years back, but it was just too much food for me.  I'm happy to say I found a good substitute.  There's a local farm in Lexington, Wilson Farm which is pretty amazing.  I've been a few times over the years, but if you think Whole Foods is expensive, wait until to you visit this place.  Tons of specialty cheeses and other gourmet goodies.  But their local produce is pretty good prices so as long as you stay true, the price tag isn't too bad.  I've been swinging by periodically and even have a calendar of what veggies/fruits are in season which month that they grow.  I still end up with too much food for me.  Right now I have lettuce, spinach, arugula and baby kale, not to mention the beet greens that I should put in a salad and that's just the green leaf stuff.  I did get peas still in the pod a few times.  I don't know, but there is just something so pleasant about shelling peas.  I think because it's such a common prop in movies for a nice family moment.  I don't really remember shelling peas in my childhood but somehow have pleasant childhood memories.  Good old Hollywood.

I even picked up a sample of Farrow & Ball paint - you can see it in the bottom of the picture.  It's a British paint that has some amazing color options that have a life of their own in different light.  It's pricey though so I've yet to figure out where to put the sample pot of paint - which rooms to paint a part of the wall.  I think I can put two swatches of paint up so am thinking the bedroom and the back room.


And finally, I'm happy to report that I booked another Europe trip.  I was thinking that it was such a good thing that I finally took time to have a proper vacation.  I so enjoyed my trip earlier this year to Iceland and Paris.  And I've been planning my upcoming trip to Denmark in the fall.  I started realizing I need to book something for next year.  But was still torn because trips can be so expensive, especially the airfare part.  And then my colleague with the good deals comes through for me and forwards a deal for Amsterdam.  I took a little longer than I should have to book it, so instead of going at the beginning of tulip season, I'm going a few weeks earlier.  That's the problem when you don't book right away - the good flights get snatched up.  Still, pretty good deal - round trip for just a little over $500.  It was a promotional deal so you have to jump on those thing when they present themselves.  So I'm pretty set at having a good vacation about every 6 months.  I can breathe a sigh of relief I'm keeping on schedule.  The more I travel the more places I want to visit, just in the country I was just visiting. I still want to do more northern light trips.  I'm determined to see them in my lifetime!