There are Good People out there..

Today is Wednesday. Really it is - I've checked twice because it seems like a Monday! Starts out innocent enough....head to work at my other office only to find out my laptop is at my regular office! Doh! OK, go to regular office to get laptop then to new townhouse for final walkthrough (yay!). Walkthrough went ok - did find one thing both my realtor and I missed to have them fix. Oh well. Leave walkthrough -- car is starting really really rough. Hmm...battery must be changed today. (sidebar: have new battery, friend is going to install, we just haven't done it yet)

Heading back to other office thinking, wow I may actually make the meeting with my SVP. Stop for gas. Battery died!!!! Now, I have a battery however no tools to change it with. A person at the checkout offered to jump my battery. Seems simple right. Not with me...when my battery goes, it goes. Done. Kaput. Fuhgetaboutit. While I started calling AAA for a tow to somewhere with tools, he came back smiling -- he had tools with him! This fine gentleman changed my battery for me in the QT parking lot. :) woo-hoo! no waiting for a tow truck. He was very nice (wouldn't take the $ I offered for his time), his name is John and he does A/C work. I have his number if anyone needs A/C work in the Phoenix area, let me know.

It's nice to know there are good people out there still who will take a few minutes out of their day to help someone else.

The things you find....

Tonight I found two pieces of folded up paper I obviously carried around for a long time. I haven't seen these papers for many many years. I remember when I carefully typed these two pieces of paper to ensure they wouldn't be too big. I wanted to fold them up and keep them in my wallet. And I did for many years. These two pieces of paper are two songs. Songs most people haven't heard unless they have the albums: Billy Joel's "Tomorrow is Today" and George Harrison's "Just for Today." These songs were played over and over at cross road in my life. Funny how I found them again tonight.

Thought for the Day

You can close your eyes to the things you do not want to see, but you cannot close your heart to the things you do not want to feel.
Anonymous

Gotta Chill

I feel too much. Most people will say they don't have enough feelings. I also think too much. In my mind, I can turn a simple oops on my part into a destroyed friendship. Pretty good worse case scenario, huh? Teachers always told me to go into writing due to my imagination. All this thinking and feeling can send me into a low fairly quickly too. I need to find the balance - where is that point my mind turns things worse than they are? Something to think about....

Evils of Corporate Life Part 3a - The Re-Org

The announcements came today. Impacted individuals - in some cases entire teams - were told by their leaders today. My VP and her entire team was displaced....except me. I am the lone employee from my original team. There will be new people joining, but we haven't seen those org charts yet.

HR calls is "survivor syndrome." Sounds crazy but I can understand it now. I've been through re-orgs before, but this is the first time I'm the only one left! I really did wonder why me? What did I do to be kept? It makes me sad to know my cube-mate has the added stress of looking for a new job (in company or outside) while her husband is going through chemo. She has enough to worry about. So, why me? I know HR has their little formulas for figuring it out and the SVPs had their say to begin with and, well, it's out of my control.

Then I wonder, how will I get all this work done when the people helping me have been displaced?! Yes, they are all around for the next 6 weeks, but let's be realistic - how much work are they going to concentrate on? I would be concentrating on posting and interviewing myself. It's going to be a long six weeks.......

Training to Save a Life

I decided to accept a challenge - I am training to complete a FULL MARATHON! (that's 26.2 miles by the way). I am in NO way a runner by habit - most I run is across the street. In fact, my dog stopped getting walks in the park! I had become a big time slacker and wanted to do something about it. I needed to find a way to get back in shape but stay motivated.

To do this I joined the American Stroke Association's program called Train to End Stroke (TTES). By joining this program I have two coaches, a team, training schedules, clinics and a reason that makes this more than a personal goal. I am raising funds for stroke research, education and advocacy programs.

Did you know....
Every 45 seconds someone suffers a stroke
Every 3.1 minutes someone dies of a stroke
There are 4.4 million stroke survivors
29% of people who have strokes are under age 65

I didn't know these facts until I helped my friend fundraise for the summer marathon this past June. I met many members of her team - several of which are stroke survivors. I figured - if they can do it, so can I. Many of the summer 2005 team members are now mentors for the winter 2005 team (my team!). I will be running hundreds of miles to prepare. I'm also busy raising thousands of dollars for the American Stroke Association.

This has become a big part of my life. Training 3 times a week with the team and doing things on my off days to strengthen myself. I have support of the team and of my friends and family. I started training Aug 6. It's been one month and I'm already seeing a difference! My first timed mile at that first practice was 14:07. The first Saturday in September was my second timed mile -- 13:15! Almost a whole minute better in just 4 weeks :) I've also met some really great people and am expanding my circle of friends. There are good people on Team Phoenix.

I am blogging about this to not only celebrate the fact I accepted this challenge but to also ask for your support. Support through your good thoughts and, if you wish, contribution to the American Stroke Association. (all contributions are tax-deductible)
my website:honolulu26.2.kintera.org/faf/r.asp?t=4&i=107138&u...

If you'd like to see some of Team Phoenix in action - visit my photo page to see pics from a recent practice (thanks to Zee Desert Rat!). http://www.flickr.com/photos/azbeachbum/

Evils of Corporate Life Part 3 - The Re-Org

What company hasn't had a re-org in the last year? Any? We've had 2 and number 3 is coming next week. Each re-org we hear the same thing -- "we are aligning to the business." Hmm..sounds logical doesn't it? That was re-org #1. They didn't quite accomplish their goal yet.

Re-org #2 was due to a spin off and a new CIO. Seems the new CIO didn't really like the way the old CIO had things. Not too unusual, everyone is different. This one shuffled everyone around. Whew. Maybe now we can settle in and work. Wrong.....

Re-org #3 was announced shortly after #2. Well, not the re-org, but the fact they were going to re-org again!!! Three in one year is a record even for us. This time not only are they going to align to the business but they are going to ensure employees are in the right positions. There's the layoff fear. This announcement of a pending announcement was several months ago.

We are FINALLY going to hear the actual re-org announcement. As the time gets closer, productivity gets smaller and the rumors are bigger. Many employees are extremely stressed out as they fear layoff. Senior leadership is being blasted for putting us in suspense. Now, I'm not defending them, however they are damned if they do and damned if they don't. If the CIO hadn't announced the pending announcement, he would be blasted for not telling anyone. Just one reason why I'm not aiming to be CIO.

Why stress? Is the actual re-org in your control? No. Can't do much except make sure you do good work in your current role. What else is in your control? Your resume. Make sure it's updated so you can do whatever is necessary. My friends are planning a happy hour for the day after. I'll take one bourbon, one scotch and one beer....