And The Long Week Begins…

Our location for the evening.

Fortunately, the week began in a normal fashion with the usual projects and correspondences crossing my email. Actually, there was a little extra work in that I had to get the rental application completed and submitted to the MIL realtor. But, other than that, everything went according to the usual chaotic schedule. That was pretty much the end of the ‘normal’ part of the week.

Usually I leave the office sometime between 5:30 and 6:00pm and head home or to the lodge (those are the most common destinations after work). However, tonight my journey home had a slight detour as I drove into Philadelphia for a networking event that my company sponsors. Hello MoMo (Mobile Monday)! Working for a PR firm that focuses exclusively on the tech industry, this week is full of events which will be pulling us out of the office at various times. This is the nature of our work days during Philly Tech Week.

Honestly, I haven’t been to many networking events lately as my schedule has been fairly booked with work, lodge, work, apartment hunting, work, blogging, work, and other things. Tonight was a nice little change from the usual and, actually, all of the aforementioned topics came up in conversation at various points during the evening. So, with the team spread out across the Yorn office on 24^th Street, we all chatted away talking about work, tech, and anything else that happened to come up in conversation.

While some people at these events go into them with the sole purpose of getting new business that has never been my singular motivation. I just enjoy meeting and talking with new people. At the end of the night, I want to look back on an evening full of great conversations not just a score card of prospects and those not interested. By looking back at the conversations, I have a better understanding of who those people are and get a glimpse of how they conduct themselves in business (most of the time).

The same rule applies to my everyday job of reaching out to and talking with the media. If you go into the call or email with the goal of having a conversation that is generally what you are going to come away with. It is a give and take industry that I work in and embracing that way of conducting your professional life allows you to bring your own personality into the job. It is a way of communicating that translates across all mediums whether it is over the aforementioned phone or email or if it is in a one on one meeting or at a networking event.

The whole purpose is that you have to invest in conversation. People will take note, just like you do in the same situation, of the genuine interest you show in the person and to what they have dedicated their career (at least for the moment). And remember, follow up with those people that you meet and demonstrate that you were listening but also don’t be afraid to have them remind you of anything that may have been lost to the recesses of your mind. If you enjoy meeting people and getting to know them, the ancillary business benefits will naturally follow. Now if you will excuse me, I have to go write some emails.

Real Estate Round Two

For the second weekend in a row my wife and I got in the car, headed north, and met with my mother in law to see a few places. While we both would prefer to move when our current lease is up at the end of May, we are still trying to find the right place that would fit all (or most) of our needs while keeping us within budget. We found one such place last weekend but were quickly rebuffed when the owners of the spacious apartment decided to pull the rental off the market and put the unit up for sale. With the past week still fresh in our mind, we headed out with some understandably lowered expectations.

Our first stop in Lansdale justified our curbed enthusiasm as both the neighborhood and the property were the complete opposite of what we are looking for to gain greater comfort in our surroundings. We could tell that this was a possible reaction based on the listing but pulling up to the house and walking in the door confirmed every lackluster expectation. Put it this way, it was so bad we didn’t even bother walking upstairs, we walked around the first door, around the chair holding the back door closed and met back at the front door where the sunlight was scattered by the cracks in the windowpanes.

House number two was a bit on the older side but was a solid standalone home with nearly an acre of land. The house met many of our needs and even had a single car garage as a bonus. However, it was at the top end of our budget and had many uncertainties regarding utilities. In the end, I think it would be a great first small home if we were looking to potentially buy (no ideal but solid) but it was a little too much of s stretch with regard to renting.

The final showing of the day, which we found thanks to Zillow, was a little bit further out than our original target area but still within a reasonable distance from both our jobs and the major arteries running through the area. It was the next county over but checked off many of the things that we were looking for in a new place. However, what really motivated us to go a little further and consider the apartment/condo was the fact that, after factoring in the additional expenses, it would be the same monthly cost as our current apartment but with more space, a better layout, and a little outdoor area for ‘relaxation’. Moving would still be a little financially tight but this at least seemed to be manageable.

So, after discussing the this last showing over a late lunch and running through the pros and cons when we got back to our current apartment, we decided to put in an application and see what happens. Actually, I will be sending the application in the morning as I have long since blocked out how involved this whole process can be and pulling together all the necessary information is proving to be more work than I wanted to add to my weekend. Once this is sent in, it is then out of our hands. I guess we will have to wait and see what happens… again!

A Lazy Day Is Not Relaxing

 

The plan this Saturday was to head off to the lodge in the morning and take care of a few items that need to be addressed in the next couple of days. Maybe even get ahead of a few things. In addition to these weekly tasks, a clean out way loosely organized to begin in the morning and get some of the random things out of the building that have been doing nothing but taking up space for years if not decades. After that was going to be a quick lunch with my wife and maybe a small trip to Staples.

It was a reasonable plan but even the simple days sometimes get altered. Sometimes in drastic ways. What ended up happening today was sleeping late, eating lunch, and a long period of just doing nothing. I can’t remember the last time I just bummed around the apartment and relaxed. With everything that has been going on lately it was nice to not have to be anywhere. While I felt a little bad for not getting over to the lodge, sometimes I have to just step back for a day and try to recharge. Today was that overdue day.

While it was nice to take it easy and relax on the couch with my wife, by the end of the day I was left wondering what I had gotten done. In the past, I would have just sat back and enjoyed the fact that I didn’t have to do anything. However, that is not who I am anymore. Not getting anything done by the end of the day just made me feel worse, increased my stress, and made me feel tired (more than I was before). I never thought I would be one of those people but the fact of the matter is, I need to keep working. My relaxation comes from the completion of work knowing that I got enough done during the day.

I know, I can sense my wife cringing as she reads this.

So tomorrow something is going to have to get done. If I have any chance of trying to relax this weekend, I can’t let projects and tasks get put off for another day. With that said, the agenda for tomorrow is still up in the air as I have a number of things that have to get done on the computer and at the apartment but we also have to get out and continue looking at apartments.

I have no idea what is going to happen so I guess I will just log off and write about it tomorrow. I know, I am such a come as it may person but sometimes you don’t have complete control over the next day no matter what you may think. So, goodbye today, hello tomorrow.   

Counting Down After The Alarm

Groggy doesn’t even come close to the way I felt this morning when I collapsed out of bed and staggered to the bathroom for some much needed water. Essentially, within minutes of leaving the warmth of bed I began counting down to the weekend. It is not because of anything had gone wrong during this past week but because there was just a lot happening, a lot to try and get caught up on, and too little sleep.

By the time I got to work this morning I had the opportunity to wake up a bit but not enough. Being tired seems to be the greatest hindrance to productivity. Well, at least for me. The strange part of it is that I am getting, on average, more sleep than I was this time last year but with all the activities and various projects I am drained quite a bit more.

The odd thing now is that it seems as though everyone in the office is on the same page. We all happened to have a bit of a tiring week and a few nights when we all came in with a little less sleep than usual. We recognize this in one another and while there are times when we all just collectively rest and chat for a minute, most of the time we push through it and push one another to get more and more things checked off the list.

By the time we reached the midafternoon I was in auto pilot both in what I was getting done on the computer and in my round trips to the kitchen and my usual coffee routine. I honestly couldn’t tell you how many cups of coffee I went through today but I know it was a lot more than usual. Not a record but above normal.

Even though at any given moment I would have said that the day was dragging, it was surprising how quickly the end of the day came and how unprepared I was for its arrival. With heavy feet and still stiff fingers I did my best to not hold everyone up from getting out of the office but we were all pretty much on the same pace and my labored routine fell right in the middle. We all made it to the end of the day, and the conclusion of the week, a little more tired than usual but with plenty of things accomplished and a weekend to look forward to, a weekend when we need to rest as next week if going to be hectic.

Celebrating My First Masonic Birthday

My Masonic birthday gift from the Worshipful Master (it is a small cooler).

To be honest, I was dreading getting up this morning as I knew that there was a stated meeting tonight and I had a lot of work that still needed to be done before the lodge opened. That seems to have been the pattern of the past month, if you couldn’t tell already. It has been one thing after another which has been a mad scramble. I woke up this morning with the minutes from the previous meeting pressing down on my neck. Somehow, in the minutes and moments between emails ad projects at the office, I was able to piece together all that I needed for the evening.

With the work day behind me, I walked through the lodge doors ready to pull a few things together (basically organizing everything I needed for the meeting) before changing and resurfacing upstairs for some dinner. That was the plan. In reality, it only took a few seconds before I had brothers following me down the stairs and into the office. More so than in previous months, it was a constant fraternal ebb and flow for about an hour and a half before I rushed up the stairs, back down (because I forgot to take care of something in the chaos), and back up to the top floor to take my seat at my desk.

Having heeded the advice of the Grand Lodge, my duties have been streamlined during the meeting. Don’t worry, there are still plenty of other things to keep me busy. In fact, the number of petitions, involvement, and initiative that have already crossed my desk this year is a great sign of things to come and I hope that things continue to progress in the months and years to come.

The meeting progressed at usual with petitions read, and excellent presentation on “The Golden Fleece”, and some encouraging words from the District Deputy Grand Master during another unofficial visit. Toward the end of the meeting, as is done every month, those celebrating their Masonic birthday this month were asked to stand in the middle of the lodge to be recognized. For the first time, I was one of those brothers standing in the middle of the lodge celebrating my first Masonic birthday.

Immediately following the recognition of Masonic birthdays one of the Past Masters of the lodge took a moment to stand and commend me for already taking on the ‘hardest job’ in the lodge and within my first year as a Mason. It was with these comments that the entire lodge gave me a round of applause. While I am fine with the casual recognition that comes with a Masonic birthday or like recognition that every brother experience there are some moments that I really don’t feel I have deserved. I appreciate the kind words and undeserved praise, there are many others who do much more for their fellow brothers who should be applauded.

After the meeting it was time for a little more work in the office and, finally, after that a few moments to breath. But, the relaxation doesn’t last long as the month starts over again and preparations are made for the next meeting. This time, I need to make sure I have everything prepped early so I don’t fall behind again. In other words, time to get back to work.  

Smells Like Spring!

The weather has been getting much warmer lately and it is only a matter of time before we begin seeing the green leaves peek out from the stark brown branches. Even the grass seems to be returning to life as the sun slowly warms the soil. It is a comfortable time of year when the windows begin opening and the breeze whips through the windows of cars.

It is also the time of year when the seasonal smells begin filling your nostrils. Not the floral and earthy aromas of midseason but the transitional wafts that make you question the seasonal change. They make you long for the scentless season that has just come to a bitter end and make you eager to move things along to the hot and sweaty sweltering summers.

I began my commute home with the windows down, the heat off, and the radio just loud enough to hear above the din of the wind. The pace of the drive was like any other day with the occasional slowing down and speeding up (because no one understands the concept of constant speed) and weaving in and out of traffic (including right in front of me) of the mindless drivers in a hurry to advance three car lengths before their exit. With the aroma of spring asphalt flowing freely I noticed the sharp olfactory notes of cars that have experienced a particularly rough winter.

As I arrived home this evening I was confronted by one of those smells that is stuck in the middle of the change. While the flower beds looked very clean and aesthetically pleasing, the full bodied and bold fog of feces seemed to wrap around my head, permeate my clothes, and leave my nose clogged with the perfume of poo. Nothing like spending your evening in a sealed off apartment (we are on the first floor with the pile of poo chips just on the other side of our wall) smelling like a cow fart trying to get work done at your computer.

However, the welcoming scents and sounds will soon fill the air as grass is cut, trees are trimmed and chipped, and the rain steams on the pavement. These are the smells that I am looking forward to and what I wait for every year. Fill the air with thunder and the clouds with lightening following a day when the grass has been cut and I could just sit back, relax, and enjoy the sensory experience of the season. But, until that time, I am stuck here sniffing turds.

Dear Microsoft…

Ever since I started using the computer back in the late 90’s I have remained a Microsoft customer. Despite the countless times when I have experienced program errors, viruses, and general crappiness in the operating system, I have stuck around and kept using what has been comfortable and familiar. However, there are times like the past couple of weeks when I question the use of your operating system and wonder if life might be a little bit easier if I were to adopt Apple as my new primary source of computing.

Even the programs that have been relatively reliable in the past have now gone to pot leaving us with these strange paper weights on our desks that whirr, buzz, and hum as they hold down the corners of our note pads and flatten out curled post it notes. As we pull out our pens and check to make sure we still have ink in them, we dream about the simplicity of the green screen. But maybe that is part of the whole Microsoft operating system. By occasionally crashing, or just being a stubborn bugger, we revert to the old school way of doing things. We write notes, we make phone calls, we, gasp, go talk to people face to face. A Microsoft crash is an interpersonal reboot.

Of course, even that is becoming a thing of the past as when one computer goes down, another, almost immediately, takes its place. While I still find myself dialing numbers and stretching the cord as I lean back in my chair, I have seen countless coworkers revert to their iPhones during server or internet issues. While I am chatting with clients, reporters, and others with whom I have not spoken to in some time, these, mostly younger, colleagues sit hunched over their desk cradling their phone as if it were some priceless ring. On more than one occasion I have received odd looks when I send them the text, “My precious!”

It is interesting when you think about it. The underlying trend in this scenario seems to be that when Microsoft goes down, people are turning to Apple. And I can’t say that I blame them. I have utilized my iPhone plenty of times to check for emails and to facilitate communication across multiple streams. However, I have always used Microsoft Word and probably always will because it is what I know and I can get things done quickly using the platform and that will most likely continue unless they make “improvements” to Microsoft 8. So, unless Microsoft suddenly shuts its doors and office is unavailable, I will occasionally have the urge, which I have been fighting for the past few weeks, to kick Mr. PC in the microchips.