I can't seem to come up with cohesive thoughts lately. I'm sure part of this has to do with not enough sleep - but you would assume after a 3 day weekend that I'd be okay. Yet, I can't come up with blogs for the life of me. And normally I think of the blog in the morning and write it in about 10 minutes or less. Since I can't seem to have cohesive thoughts this has become more difficult.
I guess I could just break my blog up into thoughts....here goes.
#1 - Lisa and I are buying a 3rd car. We've (mostly me) decided that this is the way around gas costing an arm and a leg and my need to go into my office regularly. So here is where I came up with this. Let's estimate gas as $5 a gallon (it will be someday soon, AND it's easier math) I live 44 miles away from work. The car I drive gets around 27 mpg. So it costs (roughly) $16.30 a day to drive into work. Nicely, my work hands out bus/train passes for free. So I can take the train into work for free. However, once I get to Tukwila, my office is 2 miles away from the train station. And I don't really have a way to get to the office. If we buy a 3rd car, I would keep one car at home and the 2nd/3rd car at the office. I live 10 miles away from the train station making my roundtrip driving around 24 miles rather than 88 miles per day.
So if we spend around $2-3K on a used car....we actually save enough money over the summer to make it worth it. But I can't seem to get past buying used. I hate the worry that goes with it. :( I miss my Subaru Legacy...that was a good car. How I EVER found it...I'm not sure. If only I could find a car like it.
#2 I am entirely nervous about my tradeshow in October. I think my planning is working but as if there wasn't enough pressure to impress in a new job? Every possible important person will be in attendance. I have my entire management team. This will be their first time seeing me in "action"; I also get the pleasure of impressing my board - not exactly sure who they are, but I'm sure that they are a group of people that I must impress with not only my booth but also the reception for our customers/prospects. And to top it all off? Our investors will be in attendance. They are HQ'd out of Chicago, so it will be an easy trip for them to stop by the new booth and our 2nd night reception.
Randomly (shocking I know) a conversation about legacy comes back to me with TelWest's VP of Sales. I want my legacy at MedData to be one of tenure (who doesn't?) and one of changing processes that don't make sense to create fluidity and a sense of commonality. I honestly want 20 years from now to leave and have the company not be able to fill my shoes. Tel West didn't; and therefore I must assume to be successful you have to have shoes that are unfillable. I want to take on more roles at work - but roles that I enjoy. Sadly, I wish that I was the executive assistant; I was so good at it with my last boss. I could anticipate his every need. I wasn't alsway able to fufill his needs (due to distance issues) but I knew what they were and could try to get them accomplished. My last boss actually gave me a compliment in my last days - and I'm not sure he knows he gave it to me. He said that if he ever found someone that said "I enjoy getting to know you so much that I can anticipate your needs" he'd hire them on the spot. That is my complete desire. I want to anticpate the needs of not only my boss, but my executive management team and make them happy. That is what I am trying to accomplish at this show in October.
One of my directors today told me that I choose a hotel that was not only nice, but also in a perfect location. Which was like the biggest ego boost - I have no idea what Chicago is like and I surely don't know the good neighborhoods from the bad - yet I was able to choose a hotel that was accesible to our reception venue and our exhibiting venue and in a good location. Snaps for me.
I have a booth design, finally...that I really want. And I hope that others agree with me. I sent it out to my management team today and I should get all of their answers by the end of the week; hoepfully they all agree. Because I'm pretty sure that I will "purchase" the design regardless. It's a very commanding presence and that is what we are trying to convey to cstomers and prospects.
I guess I'm out of uncohesive ideas....must just be that I'm suffering from insomnia. The baby is having a hard night. I don't know why she can't sleep, probably teething, but who knows.