First, am I supposed to call it that? Or Covid-19. I don’t want to appear pandemic ignorant my first week back here.
Ahhh… trash. Garbology. This used to be a favorite topic of mine. Today’s morning walk made me dust it off. (I did forget to take a shot of the, hand’s down, Amazon winner. They had to have 20 boxes out.)
Here are some of my faves:
Filed under absurdities, blogging, garbage, mfta, the new workplace
“Write!”, he said. Actually, he didn’t use the exclamation point. He never does. Truthfully, he has the most calming voice on earth, he needs no punctuation.
No, I am not hearing the voice of G-d, or having some crazy ass hallucinations (yet). I am talking about a conversation with my hypertension doc last week.
Me: Things are getting a little crazy out there, I’ve had a few spikes, do you want to change my meds.
Him: No. I don’t. Have a drink.
You can see why this man is my doctor.
Me: Really?
Him: Yes. You’re fine. You will regulate. But, I have another idea… write.
Me: Wow. Write! (this must be where the exclamation point came in).
So, the story continues that he did not know that I was an ex-blogger. But he does know me. And he is a hypertension wizard from another dimension who practices and writes about the mind/body connection and knows who his patients are. Oh, and he sort of saved my life.
His directive to write was to Write it Out. Write what you feel, fear, think, obsess about… write the whole damn roller coaster tape loop running in your head. Read it once. And then just put it away.
So…
Yeh, I might do that. But tonight while I was walking the dog a lightbulb went off in my head.
Write.
And this is where I always did that.
So, I guess I’m back. Stay tuned…
Filed under blogging, current events, health, the new normal, the new workplace
Do you have a job where you have to count on others? Do you subcontract often? Do you deal with regular suppliers? Does the performance of other people reflect on how well you look to your client base? If not, lucky you.
In my house… this is a daily occurrence. For the most part we have built our careers around working with people we trust. We partner with teams and vendors that have the same work ethic and philosophy that we do. But somehow the ever-changing business landscape has made even those with the best intentions unable to fulfill their promises.
Or sometimes you are just dealing with peckerheads. (if you guessed that this was a Gary description, you have probably been reading this blog for some time – remember, this is the same guy who uses the expression ‘I don’t give a rat’s ass’).
Today I wrapped up the first phase of a big project with a team that made me so proud to be the lead on this project. As we were doing a recap and planning our next stage I took a moment to thank them… in my own special way:
“I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate your passion, wild talent and dedication to making this project the best it can be. In short, I want to take a moment and thank you from the bottom of my heart for NOT being peckerheads”.
Blank stares. Awkward moment.
Then I explained Gary’s peckerhead theory and everyone was all ‘OMG I know what you mean’ and ‘I could not possibly do anything less than my best’ and ‘When you love what you do it is easy not to be a peckerhead’.
Sometimes you eat the bear. Sometimes the bear eats you. Just make a vow to NEVER be the peckerhead and you will be just fine.
Filed under humor, the new workplace, work, work habits
The title of this post is an Eleanor Roosevelt quote.
If you have ever received an email from me you know that I use this in my signature. Sometimes just waking up and answering the crap shoot of personal and professional phone calls of late is something that scares me enough, thanks.
What does all this have to do with my trip to Vegas for Blogworld and New Media Expo you ask? (Or not if you did not know I was here).
I turned 49 this week, twice the age of many at this conference, I might add. Not that age is something that concerns me all that much as I am certainly more current than many of my peers and plastic surgery is not one of my top 10 topics of conversation. Nonetheless, it is both exhausting and exciting to be in the midst of such a huge shift in communications and content delivery.
Back to the Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas issue. Leaving the basement office is not something I do all that often. And Vegas has surely not ever been on the top of my destination lists.
But blogging has changed me. The way I think. The way I think that I want to move forward professionally. And personally. It is like I have been waiting my whole life for this medium. And here I am in a room full of like-minded thinkers. Pretty cool, right?
Being here in the midst of all the early-adopters with their buzzwords and depth of knowledge can be a bit intimidating. It is also extremely invigorating. And to be honest, as much as I thought I did not know about this, in the 5 months that I have been doing it I have learned an awful lot. I fall into the category of late-early-adopters, perfect for me as I am notorious for being 10 minutes late.
How I feel about blogging keeps spilling out of the mouths of all the speakers. It is about passion. It is about relationship and community building. It is about harnessing that enthusiasm and translating it into a business model.
To my peers who keep asking me what a blog is and why they need to read them or have their businesses consider them, here is my takeaway from day one:
1. whether you are paying attention or not, people are talking about your business or product out there, it would be wise to start listening.
2. I have always said that if you are an asshole in real life then you are an asshole in business.
3. This conference is confirming for me that if you are sincere in real life you can translate that into growing your business passionately and whole-heartedly by developing an honest relationship with your customers.
4. For those who are not interested in the business aspect of blogging, if you are passionate about something, it is a way to connect with others who are just as passionate as you are. And certainly if you like to laugh or be amused, then of course you are reading MY blog and others on my blogroll and that is enhancing your life ; )
Now really. What is so scary about that?!
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Filed under blogging, current events, humor, marketing, the new workplace, travel, trends, work, work habits, writing
You guessed it… on the road again.
We are on tour every weekend this month.
See, all you people who thought it was cruel to send our kids away for the summer are starting to get jealous.
This weekend we are in Montauk with the in-laws. Again, another perfect spot on Long Island. It is called ‘The End’. You drive east from Manhattan and stop when you can’t go any further.
Now all of you people who have made fun of Long Island all these years for being all strip malls and housing devolopments can eat your words.
How amazing is this view? This is the backyard of a house my in-law sibs are renting.
Gary is pretty sure It doesn’t suck to wrap up the work week with a few calls from this spot.
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Filed under the new workplace, vacation
i could cry but i don't have time 