I stopped attending the engineering scrum this week as my boss began representing my group in the meeting. This morning my boss asked me if I would like to continue attending. It seems that everyone liked how I ran the meetings and missed me when I stopped going. I love my job!
Checking In
A catch-all, catch-up post
There are 1,126 posts filed in Checking In (this is page 17 of 113).
Vic Lebsock retires
I had to take a moment out of my day to attend the retirement party for Raleigh greenway planner Vic Lebsock. Raleigh’s greenways have undergone a transformation since Vic took over, growing from less than 20 miles in 1990 to over 110 miles today (with more under construction).
I’ve served on the Parks board for 20% of Vic’s time with the city. During that time I’ve attended many greenway dedications, gone on many greenway excursions, and forwarded many questions to Vic during that time. I was happy to see three other Parks board members there to say thank you to Vic.
Enjoy your well-deserved retirement, Mr. Lebsock!
Speaking of speaking
Totally unrelated to my new gig as Ligon PTA president, I have been offered a spot on a PTA panel about “safe routes to school” at this weekend’s North Carolina PTA meeting in Winston-Salem. The NC PTA was intrigued by my work on the Frank Street sidewalk and thought the members could benefit from my experience.
Yeah, it’s a long drive to WS, and yeah, I have to take a half-day off of work to go there, but I do very strongly believe in the importance of schools and the accessibility of schools in particular. One does not beat one’s head against a wall for three years unless one is either committed or needs to be committed. If I can help fellow PTA members find a way to get their own projects done then it will be time well spent.
(I just realized I left my MT.Net readers hanging about Frank Street – it was approved by City Council. Yay!)
Fellow me not
Word came today that I didn’t make the finalist cut for the Friday Fellowship program. I have really mixed feelings about this. While I would totally geek out over discussing leadership with like-minded citizens and enjoy the bonding experience, frankly I came within a whisker of deferring my nomination for another time. I’ve taken on an engaging new job, I’m helping multiple nonprofit organizations, trying to be a good father and husband in there somewhere, and have now committed as Ligon Middle School’s next PTA president. I had to be kidding myself to think that I could juggle all this and the program, too.
On the upside, I didn’t so much mind rescinding the vacation requests I made a year ahead of time for the retreats I now won’t be attending. I’m certain to fill those weekends with other tasks, and now I can consider adding those vacation days to an epic trip of some variety.
It was a honor being nominated, to be sure. I gave it my best shot and that’s all I can do. Time to move on because life doesn’t wait.
New York City and Carnegie Hall
Ligon Middle School performs at Carnegie Hall
Wow, it’s been a busy few weeks not just for me but for all of us. Hallie took three days off of school last week to travel with the Ligon Philharmonic Orchestra up to New York to play at Carnegie Hall. Kelly, Travis, and I along with Kelly’s parents joined her after taking the bus up.
We arrived Friday afternoon and had plenty of time to do some sightseeing. First we checked in at the Union Theological Seminary which was to be our hotel for the trip. Then we hit the subway to check out downtown.
Our first stop was the Brooklyn Bridge. I’d seen it from a distance of course but had never walked over it before. It was windy, cool, and very crowded, but it was nice to be able to say I’ve been across it.
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New York City bound
As I mentioned, the Turners are on the move again. And, as usual, we’re all headed in different directions, at least initially.
Hallie left for school at 4 AM for her bus trip to New York City, where she and her fellow Ligon Middle School orchestra members will play Carnegie Hall Saturday night. An hour later, Kelly took Travis to his Conn Elementary school field trip to Fort Fisher. I’m staying here for work before heading to a fundraiser for Kay Hagan this evening.
Thursday night, Kelly, Travis, and I will travel to Kelly’s parents’ home (leaving the Rottweilers to guard the home while we’re away, of course). Friday morning we’ll head to DC to hop a bus which will take us to New York. We’ll stay long enough to watch Hallie’s performance before taking the bus back home.
Oh, and the following week I travel to Sacramento for work: the first business travel I’ve taken in a while. Should be fun.
Loving the new job
Thursday marks my second week at the new job and, boy, what a difference it is from my last job! I actually have fun at work. No one micromanages me, no stupid mind games are being played. People don’t come into work seemingly to delight in making someone else’s day miserable. Night and day.
Two weeks into my job and I’ve already earned the trust of my colleagues. I’ve already jumped in and begun solving problems. I’ve even offered house-hunting advice to those new to Raleigh. It feels awesome to work someplace that appreciates my contributions.
Above is a photo I took of my team last week. Looks like a fun group, doesn’t it?
Healthcare still sucks
Now that I’m in a new job, Kelly and I spent some time this evening picking out a healthcare plan. Wading through a lot of boring-as-shit details boiled it down to the plain fact that insurance companies suck even more than they used to.
What kept popping up is this whole idea of “coinsurance.” Who came up with that? Basically if you get hit by a bus and the bills top $1 million, your broken, tire-track-covered ass is on the hook for $200,000. And that’s with insurance! “With friends like these,” right?
Healthcare is still broken and the industry is still playing everyone for suckers. If there’s ever a market that is screaming for more regulation – the kind with real teeth that stands up to these kinds of horseshit shell games that are still being played – healthcare is it.
Oh, and my opinion of UnitedHealthcare hasn’t improved any, either.
The visitor nightmare
In March of 2014, I experienced a terrifying nightmare. Nightmares are extremely rare for me, fortunately, so they tend to stand out when they occur.
That day, 28 March 2014, I had watched an entertaining video compilation on YouTube of all the movie scenes in which Christopher Walken was dancing. One of the featured clips was of the movie Communion, in which Walken played alien-abduction experiencer Whitley Strieber. At the end of the video I turned my attention to other things but apparently the video stayed with me.
It was an unseasonably warm night, with nighttime temperatures in the 60s and light rain moving through Raleigh. The comforter was still on the bed and I was feeling hot. I don’t sleep well when it’s warm.
Sometime in the early morning, I dreamed I was seated with my eyes closed in what seemed like a dentist’s chair. Three doctors hovered just above, doing work on me. A pencil-thin rod of some sort was being used to somehow adjust my spine.
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Dinner guest
I caught this fellow helping himself to the cat food on the porch this evening.
Raccoon