The Sweetest Little Face

It's tough to resist this face when Daphne peers up, longing for attention - a pat, touch, belly rub...anything that we are willing to dole out. Let's not forget the hand bounce either - if for a moment the patting, scratching or rubbing stops then she sticks her head under your hand, elbow or whatever and flips it up so that you will resume the petting. She is quite the little attention hound.

She's got the market cornered on the sweet face...as you can see here. I admittedly lose patience far more quickly than David does when it comes to continuously petting her, but then she gives me this sweet little face with the soulful eyes and I wonder to myself, 'how can I say no to that?' It is really pretty shameless the way that she lays it on, but is still rather endearing nonetheless.

I have to admit to having some days where I feel like Daphne - I could really use a few extra words of encouragement or validation. It isn't something that I profess to particularly proud of, but it is a fact. Perhaps I can work on my soulful eyes routine and see what I can drum up for myself; who doesn't want a little extra pat every now and again? Unless of course it starts to just get annoying...then it's time to rethink the strategy!!

Even faster than I thought!

For those who may not be familiar with some of my philanthropic interests, I have spent the last few years doing athletic events that support a good cause. It started all the way back in 2000 when I did my first AIDS Ride (that one was from Minneapolis to Chicago and I did 2 subsequent years after that - SF to LA and NY to Boston, but I digress). I like pushing myself a little bit to be healthier while at the same time help others who may not be able to do the same for themselves due to illness. I am on track to do at least 12 events this year (I try to keep the discipline of once per month so that I am always in the right condition to do the event and don't have to bail out because I haven't trained enough).

Today I did the Dina LaVigna Breath of Life Triathlon in Ventura. This is a great event that has evolved in the last 10 years to be a fantastic tribute to a local woman who suffered from a disease called Primary Immunodeficiency. The event was put together back in 1999 by her brother and a friend - and they were the only 2 who competed at the time, raising about $15k for the fund. This year I was one of 1000 triathletes participating and the expectation is that we will set a new fundraising record ($200k or more)- it is pretty exciting to be a part of this tribute to Dina.

Now back to the event, and let's be clear about what it means when I state that I am doing a triathlon - it is not an Olympic distance and certainly not a long course - it is called a sprint triathlon and usually is made up of a 1/2 mile swim, a 12 mile bike ride and a 5k (3.1 mile) run. Nothing too crazy, all very doable and usually in under 2 hours for this speed-demon. The last time I talked to my friend SaraJ after an event and she asked me how it went, I gave her my standard answer, "It was uneventful which is a very good thing, but I was a little bit slower than I would have liked." SaraJ gave me a nice little lecture about embracing the accomplishment and not putting some sort of time limit on myself; the feat of finishing is certainly to be celebrated...no matter how long it takes.

I took SaraJ's lecture to heart and stopped creating a time threshold for myself, but rather just set out to do the best I can in each section. This has apparently been a very liberating thing for my performance, as I have actually had great times in the last two events that I have done, eclipsing what would have been a 'standard' time for completion. When I crossed the finish line today at 1 hour and 39 minutes, not only was I surprised but so was David who said (in his very cute and supportive way), "Wow, you were even faster than I thought!"

Who knew that it could be so easy by simply letting go of the expectations and limits? I bet that if I thought about that for a while, it could certainly be a parable for life as well :)

Stripped Down

Yep, that's the same tree. Yep, it has been almost a month since I have posted. Yep, I feel kind of like that tree of late. There is a lot to fill in here so let's get it started.

The re-entry to work from the AWESOME England trip was (politely stated) rough. There were significant layoffs, restructuring and new assignments in my absence. These changes impacted me personally far more than I would have thought possible - and aside from the obvious changes in workload and priority - I am not entirely sure why. I suspect that it has a lot to do with what feels like the rapid degradation of the culture (aka the 'vibe') around the organization while business conditions continue to worsen in the general economy. It is certainly messing with my groove and isn't inspiring to get up and address each work day.

So far, this is not a very inspiring or uplifting post. I am going somewhere with this (we are creating context...remember?) The good news is that much like the tree pictured here on the right, there are signs of life again. You may have to look closely to see the small signs of new growth, but it is there. We enjoyed a 15-minute cinnamon bread break in the ops aisle yesterday, and spent the large majority of the time laughing about silly things until our stomachs hurt. I've had the opportunity to spend some time with friends outside of work, connecting on common interests and things that we can get excited about. I am fortunate to know so many high-quality people and our interests transcend work, making our lives richer beyond the walls of 9-5 (or 7-7 or whatever it ends up being on any given day).

It may take a while and things may be a bit sparse for a bit, but things will grow back strong and magnificent once again, much like the beloved Mulberry tree.