Highs and Lows

It has certainly been a roller coaster of a week. Just about every good has come with at least one bad, which makes for some really nasty times.

Let's think about some of the good

The 2009 Atlanta Dogwood Festival will return to Piedmont Park! Yay! There has been so much hard work trying to convince the City that this is the only real solution, and they finally agreed. The collective sigh of relief was almost deafening, but the real work begins now - we have 6 months to plan and execute the 74th annual Festival, with a goal of making it a "model" for how festivals should be to sustain the environment in which they are hosted.

Work continues to go well. Things have been a little on the slow side this week, which has been nice, but there still seems to be plenty to do. So far, the economic crisis hasn't hit us yet, although there might be some signs of a slowdown coming. I have to keep my fingers crossed that we pull through it.

I am thoroughly amazed at the friendships I have. D and I have been discussing this at length lately, especially in light of several situations we have each encountered where we realize how nice it is to have friends who can be "there" for you when needed. The latest event was an unfortunate waterfall coming from the light fixture in her living room ceiling! It came at the wrong time and proved to be quite frustrating. Fortunately, I was able to lend a hand. And, luckily, it seems to be a rather simple repair to the shower upstairs which was able to be completed by her, me, and her Dad. Whew!

Last night, I got together with some of the rest of the "Blog Family" for some dinner at my new favorite Cuban restaurant in Atlanta, Mojito's. We had a great time laughing and sharing stories. And it's amazing how we've gotten to know each other well enough that we know when someone says something that is a trigger for someone else, we know how to react. Of course, telling you these things out of context - like mushrooms, lines, boots, nailing, "hurts when I do this", and more - won't mean much to you. Literally, you had to be there! By the way, we're pretty close to deciding that our retirement commune will be in Asheville, in case you were wondering.

Looks like the gas crisis in Atlanta has finally subsided. Gas seems to be readily available now, and the price is even starting to drop. That's a welcome sign, especially given how much of my life is spent behind the wheel all over Atlanta.

I had a really good conversation over the weekend with a professional photographer with over 30 years of experience, much of it in the Marines as a photojournalist. He is a "people" shooter for the most part, meaning that most of his subjects are human (or Boxer dog) and he does a lot of portraits and action/sports photography. Since most of my photography is "not people", we actually have a lot of areas where we can swap stories. We shoot with almost the same equipment, which is a nice bonus, too. I'm hoping the opportunity to learn from an accomplished photographer such as him will present itself.

And I should mention that I spent Saturday night at the police station. But it was a good thing! I don't get many chances to be involved with the police volunteer group because of my other commitments, especially to the Dogwood Festival (the monthly meetings are on the same night), but Saturday was the rare exception. We did a big cook-out for a couple of the shifts at one of the precincts. It's always fun to support these men and women, hear stories of the latest "perp" to get busted, and enjoy a good meal. As an added bonus, we got a fly-by from the police helicopter, who I'm sure thought the infra-red camera was malfunctioning when it saw our grills going!

Now that I've gotten the good out of the way, I've decided not to bore you with the details of the bad. Suffice it to say, it's been rough. I am having to deal with personalities that I thought were one way, and now seem to be another. I've been publicly mis-accused of things, realized that things I have said have been misunderstood, and am having to come to terms with ineffectiveness in my leadership skills. At the same time, I have my own boat-load of frustrating events that seem to capitalize on one another, and the knowledge that things aren't going to be fixed overnight. I have an overwhelming sense of dread for an upcoming meeting, for fear that I'm going to say or do something that is going to be taken out of context or misunderstood.

There are lots more good things coming on the horizon - I just have to muddle through the bad to get to them. Fortunately, my friends and family are "there" for me, and I know that no matter how bad things get, they're on my six watching out for me. And for that, I extend a HUGE "Thank You"!

Catching Up - and a new meme

I realized as I was driving home last night that it's been a while since my last entry. Suffice it to say, I've had a lot going on. In a nutshell: (2) from-scratch conceptual designs for new customers, BoxerStock, 501(c)(3) approval for Atlanta Boxer Rescue, working with the rest of the Board to find a home for Atlanta Dogwood Festival, (3) Fall festivals, the gas crisis, Dragon*Con, going to a new church (and "relearning" how to go to church at 11am on Sunday), personal (and personnel) issues, and lots more.

Yeah, I've had a full plate lately. I can tell this not by the gray hairs (those that remain, anyway) on my head nor the acid reflux nor the stress-induced intestinal rumblings. But rather, I can tell by the condition of the floor in my living room, which is indicative of the state of disorder in the rest of my house. You see, the unfortunate side-effect of hectic times is this nasty habit I have of walking in, dropping everything I have into a pile, and then leaving again. When I have time, or when I make time, the piles get redistributed into their respective homes and the house has some semblance of order. But with a lack of time, the piles grow, and multiply! Needless to say, I won't be having anyone over anytime soon. My house is a certified wreck!

It's all good, though. As crazy as things get sometimes, I really do enjoy all that I'm doing. Between my for-profit and non-profit roles, I've got a really nice balance of creative challenges and organizational challenges, which keeps it all interesting. I find that, despite the stress that some of these challenges have given me, I am really growing my skills and experiences in a positive way.

About a dozen years ago, I came to the realization that life for me was much better if I threw away some fictional "grand plan" and simply lived more for the moment. That's not to say that I don't plan ahead and think about the future - I just don't have some vision for what I think my future life is supposed to be like. I'm not planning to be the CEO of the company I work for, nor envision myself as some sort of "super engineer." Rather, I take what I've got and see what direction it presents for me. So, having all of these experiences and challenges presented to me in my current roles gives me excitement about what I might do in the future when my interest in designing store fixtures and displays wanes.

Now here's an interesting twist: I started this blog entry today because I really wanted to copy a meme that I found from a new blog I started reading called Cockpit Conversation. The meme is all about life experiences that you've had. I had no intention of really tying it in to the rest of the entry. But as the words started appearing on the screen and I got down to this point, I realized just how relevant it is. Anyway, enjoy!

The Challenge
* Post 3 things you've done that you believe nobody else reading has done.
* If anybody responds with "I've done that," add another thing.
* Encourage your friends to paste this into their own journal to list the unique things they've done.

Here's my list:
* Had an all-access security credential to the '96 Olympics
* Bottle-fed a full-grown Bengal Tiger
* Watched the Indy 500 from the #2 pit box

Feel free to post your list in my comments here, or make your own blog entry.