That week I didn't take any pictures

Okay, that's weird, even for me.  I take tons of pictures.  But, when I looked in my phone this morning, all I found was a picture of the tag they gave me when I parked the car in case I lost it.  And, another red hibiscus. 

You can imagine that after a trip, I was ready to get in my yard this weekend.  I really didn't get much chance on Saturday.  I was busy with the Guild's raffle quilt that morning and by the time I found myself outside, it was roasting hot.   But yesterday, I got an early start and really spent some time pulling out dead leaves and watering the flower pots and moving things around.  Missing the flowers right now.  Looks like I have a couple of daylilies that are going to give me second blooms soon and that's about all that's happening right now.  It's just too hot.  But, it won't last long, I know.  One day this week, the high is supposed to be in the 80s, which will be a welcome relief. 

Last week's trip was wonderful, other than the heat.  I thought traveling a thousand miles north would take me to a cooler clime, but it was nearly as hot there as it is here.  I visited with friends and met new people and ate well and worked hard. 

I traveled all day Tuesday and met a friend I've known for 20 years for dinner.  We had a lot of laughs and a really good pizza and ordered way too much food.  And, we shared stories about family and friends and the passage of time.  Wednesday, I was training my replacement on my old job.  Again, lots of laughs but also lots of stress.  She was very nervous and everything I was showing her was very, very new to her.  I found out that the job I do is not the same job my peers do.  I've always known I could do things many of them could not.  But, I didn't realize that what I do and how I do it is so different until I sat with a peer and showed her what I do and heard what she and our other peers in that office do.  In the Austin office, we all work similarly, which I'm sure has a lot to do with me being there and knowledge-sharing.  I'm hoping that the training she got last week will help spread my knowledge into a different building. 

On Thursday, I was a topic expert at a meeting where the company brought in people from all departments and put us in a room and gave us a problem to solve, then tried to get us to solve a slightly different problem and then a slightly different problem.  They were trying to make sure we thought of the best solution overall.  The answer became obvious quickly when there was that much brain power in the room and every time, we came up with the same answer.  It fit every situation.  The programmers that will be assigned to the project walked away with a clear understanding of the problem and the solution.  I'm hoping this was a sign of how we will do things in the future.  It was a great experience to be part of. 

And both days reminded me of who I am.  I remembered my name and how well respected my name is. 

And, I will be bringing that into this week as I try to find a way to get my new managers to appreciate what I do and how I do it because they're actually preventing me from getting anything done by flitting from one topic (which is the most important thing to happen in the industry since the invention of the signature line) to the next topic (which they think should have been brought down the mountain by Moses as part of the ten commandments).  So, we are going to have another meeting about workload and priorities.  When I came to work with these guys, I tried to be quiet and listen; learn what they like and make a good impression.  But last week, I remembered that's not what I'm here to do.  I'm here to show them the processes the company has put in place to get things done so I can help them get things done.  Because they're not getting anything done either.  They think they're getting things done because people keep putting band-aids on their boo-boos.  But, band-aids aren't the solution to the problems.  Band-aids mostly just work as a placebo to make small children think the pain is gone because they can't see the injury anymore. 

So, that's what I have to look forward to today, but it's okay.  Because I remember my name and I know the strength I bring into the relationship. 

Everybody have a great Monday!!  We are starting to set the guild's circle blocks into their corners to make squares.  I'm having a wee bit of trouble getting mine to work.  I'll be trying the old "I think I can, I think I can" method this week and trying to get that to work out.  I'm hoping for some time to work on a project of my own soon.  Be well!  Lane

I think I can.  I think I can.  I think I can...