#63 - Sea change

Wednesday, March 7

Today I am thankful for time.

Everything has come together in a rush today.  We saw a copy of the offer for our house, which we kindof accepted.  The relocation company is buying the house from us and selling to the buyer.  So we told them to accept it.  It met our needs.  After some phone calls, our realtor got us the docs, because it's not real unless it's in writing.

So we saw the offer.  We got an expected closing date of April 4 for the Oregon house.  We talked about and decided on a trip for Katrina to come to NY, and the date that the kids and Katrina would come to NY for good.  We worked out some things with our NY realtor as far as houses we wanted to see and when we would see them.  She went through our list, told us which had offers, or were short sales, etc.  And we amended our list accordingly.  So it's down to 18 houses from over a hundred.  It will get smaller as I go see the remaining 12.  We're getting better at saying "no", or "we have 5 other houses I like better".  So the process  continues.

Also today I finally took charge in some escalation meetings at work, and started to drive issues to resolution.  My boss is interesting - she has very high expectations, but she won't tell you straight up what they are.  She demonstrates what she wants to see, expects you to learn and emulate.  The next time, she'll give you the chance to show you learned.  And she'll sit back and watch.  And that's about how it goes.  It's an interesting way to learn my job.  It requires constant vigilance, and there are always 3 times too many balls in the air.  You never know when the next thing is going to come.  I know she's watching, she's noticing what I'm naturally good at, what I'm naturally lacking in, what my skills are, and where they're a little insufficient.  And none of it is hovery, looking-over-my-shoulder.  It's all very professional, very trusting.  It's a lot of fun, and not too stressful.

Today's pic is from Sunday, walking through Brooklyn with my brother.  This shot was taken from the Brooklyn Promenade, a raised sidewalk over a highway next to the East River.  As you look West, there's Manhattan.  The Statue of Liberty is just off to the left, the Empire State and Chrysler buildings are just off to the right.  The low-lying land at the left tip of Manhattan is the Staten Island Ferry terminal.  Made famous, of course, by Staten Island, "Oh, but between you and me and the Staten Island ferry, so do I..." by Billy Joel, and by The Joker blowing them up in The Dark Knight.  The piers in the foreground are being renovated into parks, including grass, soccer fields, and the like.