Good morning! It looks like I have come full circle with this blog in the span of about a year. I am at Caribou enjoying a cheap Monday cup of coffee and free internet because I have none (at either place). Today is my last day in Grand Rapids and I am cleaning. oh joy. It's really not that bad....I just need to get my motor runnin and get myself going!! I feel very tired today. I think I am going to sleep most of the day tomorrow. I'm too old for this moving junk. WAY too old. I forget how old I really am and forget that I'm not as young as I used to be and staying up late and getting up early to do work is just not a healthy thing for little ole me anymore! I need to slow it down and take it easy a little more -you know, spend time taking care of me instead of taking care of everything else.
I do wish I had help cleaning though. Yes, I know, I lived there, it's my mess, yadda yadda yadda. Whatever. The company more than anything would be good enough...cleaning is BORING.
So I'm sitting here at Caribou, watching it get kinda busy (it was absolutely dead when I got here) and just staring at the wall devoid of anything to say. oh my, could it be????? LOL! I keep thinking, you know, I should have something profound to say; this is my last day here after all. I will no longer be a resident of the great city of Grand Rapids, MN after 4pm today. Not only that, I will no longer be a MN resident. Of course, to make it official, I have to change my drivers license and all that junk, but for all intents and purposes, I have gone to the dark side, crossed the river, fled to the plains, etc.
I am in a state of "whatever" right now. In that in-between spot where you aren't what or where you were, but don't realize yet where you are or what you are. Do you know that I have wanted to be a Moorhead school district employee -specifically in the mid-level special ed administration position I just snagged for YEARS? Almost so long that it became something that I had thought was unattainable or wasn't meant to be. Well, Fate, God, Karma, the Universe -what have you- is funny like that. I haven't officially started (that comes Thursday), so maybe things will change then. And you know, it's not that I think Moorhead is so incredibly fantastic or they are crazy awesome....I'm not sure what it is. Maybe it's the potential for growth I've always seen there for me. I'm fortunate that I am this far already in my career that I come into the district with quite a bit of respect already. Of course with that comes a high level of expectation and an implied understanding of competence. That's a challenge I can handle, however. I am excellent at flying from the seat of my pants -hasn't this ENTIRE year been completely about just that??? Haha. But I am looking forward to a community of coworkers. I've been so isolated in my jobs during the past 8 years and the 3 before that I was in a back-ass-wards group of people half the time anyway, and one of the biggest pulls for me to this job change was collaboration laterally with colleagues who are not my supervisor OR who I do not supervise. Although this year I have good relationships with those under my "direction", it's not the same as "equal"...I still have to hold back a bit because there still needs to be that professional relationship and some things they simply cannot know of or participate in -AND vice versa. There are PLENTY of things I do NOT need to know about from them either!!! haha. It was SUCH a relief to be leaving because I was able to open up much more to those in my office and hang out more. In fact, it made me sad I'm leaving, but I know I have some very good friends here for a very long time now. :)
Let's talk about that...relationships. Ha-thought you could get away without listening to me lecture today, huh? Well, the coffee is kickin in and I am having a jolly old time putting off the cleaning that is the current bane of my existence. Ok. So, relationships are important. Now, I'm not talking about romantic relationships per se, I'm talking any association or connection with another human being -even if it's over the phone or online. I have a great relationship with my insurance agent and I've met him ONCE. Same with many professionals I've come into contact with this year.
One of the "secrets to success according to Angela" is ALL about cultivating and maintaining a good and appropriate relationship with people. Let's call them "professional relationships". I think that leadership is based upon relationships. I don't think you can lead anyone unless you have an established relationship with them...people will not follow those they do not trust or those they do not know unless there is no choice or the "machine" is so big there is no way to have that relationship. I learned this year that to influence people, one needs to have a relationship with them. Whether that was a parent, a teacher, a principal, or a legal advocate, I found out that if I spent the time to be a "person" or spent time getting to know them, letting them know me, etc then dealing with them was SO much better. The way to build a professional relationship with others is to LISTEN to them and work hard to let them KNOW that your intention first IS to listen to them so that you understand where they are coming from. I guess if I were in their shoes I would want the same thing.
Ok. I could go ON AND ON AND ON about this, but I will spare you. :) I do have to get going (*sulk*). Thank you for tuning in today. I'm excited to be living the life I had imagined way back over 15 years ago. :) It is absolutely surreal. Now all I need is to find the perfect man for me and I will be set. The universe would probably implode, though, if that happened, because holy cow...I'm really not used to things going my way like this or dreams realized. However, my fingers are still crossed! Ha! :)
I heard a pirate joke the other day and it was FANTASTIC - but I can't remember it anymore! :( Sorry folks!!! Gonna have to settle for this (which is so stupid, I can hear your groan from here):
What did the Ocean say to the Pirate Captain?
Nothing. It just waved.
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