Here's a picture from the Bemidji High School homepage (the same article and picture that appeared in The Pioneer, my hometown newspaper) of me presenting BHS with the September Take Charge of Education (TCOE) check from none other than, Target! It was a very cool day all around... Principal Dick Anderson, who, incidentally happens to be a good friend of mine, gave me a tour of the new high school, and Allison, the Executive Team Lead of the Bemidji Target, gave me a tour of their fine store. What a day - it rocked :o)
I love the fact that Target encourages us to actively volunteer to do things like this (present checks to your hometown high school)... I think it really gives a unique opportunity to give back. It's great!
Okay, so now that I've successfully distracted myself from packing for the last hour, I need to get back to work (*sigh*)... moving is really quite a challenge--especially when it's a move to a foreign country. Sheesh
8 days and counting... wow.
So I just returned from Elliott Masie's Learning 2007 conference in Orlando this past week. This was my second year at the conference and it was, yet again, a tremendous success! I lead a discussion about "blended learning" strategies (the topic for which I contributed podcasts for Masie and a publication for Brandon Hall this year--which also landed me a quote in September's CLO magazine :o) and I ended-up with a great turnout at the session. FYI: If you're ever interested in finding my podcasts or articles, just Google my name. (Sorry about the cruddy res on the pic, but it was from my phone... not too bad for a zoom shot, actually...)
One of the things that I like best about the conference, and Elliott Masie in particular, is the emphasis placed on networking and connections with others. The whole notion of "connections" is something that has struck a familiar chord with me--especially my writing (www.balancefactor.com) and so I tend to gravitate towards those environments which support it. Hence, the Masie conference with it's over 2,000 annual attendees, is rich soil for avid connectors such as myself. Thank you, Elliott! (Thanks also to the great conversations Brandon, Shane, and the singing in the bus on the way to Downtown Disney with Rob--you guys ROCK!)
I'm also in that crunch time mode for my India prep. Wow --never realized how much work goes into an international assignment. Paperwork and process for legal, work Visa, taxes, healthcare (including those immunizations--oi!), leasing my apartment, paying off bills, cancelling subscriptions and memberships... the list goes on. My biggest painpoint so far? Having to cancel my NetFlix membership. OUCH--I spent months perfecting that queue :o( Oh well, if that's the worst of my worries I'd say I don't have it so bad.
12 days and counting...
We took a team photo last week. It turned out great, but it also reminds me that we've just created a milestone... the picture of the TTS Training team before I left for India :o( It's still all so strange... cool, but strange.
I'm really gonna miss working with this team... This is truly the best team I've ever been on--what a great group!
Okay, so I get a call from a friend yesterday asking when I'm leaving for India. "Ah, it's still weeks away..." I told him. As we were talking I checked my calendar and counted, "One, two,... " (turning my calendar page), "three... Yikes! I leave in only three weeks!" Suddenly everything around me shrunk into a very small space. My mind kept reviewing all of the lists I'd created that still had items uncrossed on them. Wow. Time moves so quickly when you're multitasking.
So, I guess I just do the best that I can to prepare. I've been creating plans for weeks and now I am implementing them. I guess it's always strange when you actually start putting plans into motion... it changes your frequency--you become so much more "present".
Okie dokie! Back to packing :o)
I got my itinerary today. Looks like I am leaving on Wednesday, November 7th at 3:30pm. I will fly to Chicago, then to Frankfurt, and on to Bangalore. Looks like about 18 hours of flying time (not including layovers), so I'm sure glad I'm flying Business Class :o)
Time to keep packing and crossing things off those lists!
Hm... guess it's time to get all of that paperwork completed. India--here I come!
5 weeks and counting.
