I gave full reign to my Gypsy Soul and Workaholic Personality on my birthday:  boarded a plane at 5:45 AM and was in a meeting in Philadelphia by 12:30 and ended the day with a dinner meeting, which put me getting to bed around 1 AM.  It was a good way to spend my birthday:  working hard and sliding between decadent Frette linens at one of my favorite hotel chains at the end of a long and satisfying day.

Not the ideal day for most, but for me, it worked.  I was so thankful for the good work with a wonderful (and new) client.  A new client is a wonderful birthday gift!

The following day, I boarded a train and headed down to DC where I was able to combine work for a couple of different clients with catch-up meals with friends.   I saw a wonderful play at Ford’s Theatre with a dear friend and wound my way through a couple of exhibits at the National Portrait Gallery.   I was also able to visit a special grave at Arlington National Cemetery during my trip, something I missed on my more harried trip into DC in early April.

There is something about being on hallowed ground that allows me to reconnect with my spiritual side.

My 41st year was tumultuous and stressful.  My 42nd year will be about the continual improvement of the soul.  Under my terms.  Following my rules.  Keeping in mind that I must continue to rebuild my faith and face it with courage.

(The photo is mine, taken May 20, 2010, Arlington National Cemetery)

Blind man playing music in the MUNI/BART entryway, San Francisco, CA, April 2010

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(this photo taken in September 2008; not much has changed since then)

I didn’t get to spend as much time there as I would have liked, but part of traveling over a holiday weekend and having family obligations means less down time. In a typical trip to DC, I would have planned to stay through late Sunday or early Monday. With my mom’s illness, I needed to be home for lunch. But I digress.

The spring air combined with a much needed cocktail got my head wrapped around what needs to be accomplished during the month of April. I set about doing a bit of woolgathering and discovered that my wish list is quite long. Still, I allowed my mind to wander as I sat in the garden and thought about work and wants and needs and the need to reintroduce some creativity back into my daily life. Brief moments aren’t conducive to a real brain dump, so I saved that until my flight home.

After breakfast was served and I was enjoying my 3rd cup of coffee, I sat with pen and paper and begin listing everything that had gathered in my mind.    When you end up with a laundry list of to-dos and must-dos, getting a real control over it can be a task so daunting that it’s almost paralyzing. As overwhelming as it can be, the only way to make progress is to break it down into chunks and eat it like you would an elephant: one bite at a time.

April is going to be an interesting month.  I already had the beginnings of heavier than usual travel and with the (potential) new contract, that means three days a week on the road.  It’s the kind of travel I like:  solid contract with the ability to find my way around a new town and make it “mine”.  Granted, I’d love that city to be a city like DC, but to be honest, I’m thrilled with wherever work takes me.  (I can tell you that there is no Kimpton Hotel in this city – there isn’t even a single Hilton Property in the town!).

Just keep good thoughts headed my way as I break down my laundry list into those manageable bites and set out to conquer the little piece of my world!

This week, work has brought me to DC, which is my favorite place to be. I won’t be able to get out and do all the things I’d like to do (I don’t think I will make it to Arlington Cemetery this trip), but I did get an opportunity for some things.

After a rough winter, DC was blessed today with clear skies, light winds, temperatures in the low 80’s, and unadulterated beauty. The crowds are pretty intense with the peak of the blossoms and a holiday weekend. But I was blessed to be able to see the true beauty that Mother Nature offers us in the Spring.

Hope you are well.  It’s long past my bedtime.

These businesses know their customers, often on a first name basis. Their customer relationships, like every real relationship, encounter the occasional rough spot. Being small and human means making plenty of mistakes.

But when these businesses mess up, unlike AT&T or Microsoft, their customers often love them more.

via Finding Your Village of Customers | Copyblogger.

This entire article really spoke to me in two ways: as a business owner and as a consumer.

I’ve been a consultant since 2003 and I treat my clients like they are friends.   I find that even after a project is complete, I continue to have contact with a past client.  We telephone and email (or text). Share a meal.  Converse about how business is going and how the family is getting along.  Sometimes, I’m able to introduce past clients to each other and they are able to form a business relationship to fill a need.  It increases the strength and size of my village.  Some of the work was truly a one-time thing and I may never work with a particular client again; but we keep in touch because we’ve become close enough to care.

In regards to being a consumer, I’ll be the first to admit I like to spend my money with businesses that treat me like an old friend.  Some businesses have learned the knack of creating a small community of consumers.  I mourned the closure of my closest Starbucks because I missed not only the employees, but the other customers I have shared a hello and a how are you with for ten years.  I go to Bagel Boyz rather than Subway because the guy behind the counter remembers that I’m likely going to get tuna, even though he’ll try to persuade me that his chicken salad is just as tasty.  And I prefer to stay at the Hotel Monaco in downtown DC because the staff members treat me like a long lost relative instead of treating me as just a hotel guest.

In times like these, when the economy is tight, these businesses who operate like a village are going to continue to thrive while the big boys are going to flounder.  I think it’s because we see theses businesses like we see our friends:  we love them and we want them to be successful.

My aunt is in the hospital there, and that was the reason for the trip.  It’s been over a year since I’ve taken the drive there, I guess we all get lost in work and life and fail to visit quaint towns that we used to visit.  and I wanted to allow my cousins to take a break since she needs someone with her the full time she is there and my cousins as well as a second cousin are taking shifts.  I went early, so that my second cousin, covering the overnight shift, could head on home for some sleep.   She is doing better, my aunt, so that is good.  But the drive as well as the town of Waxahachie brought a flood of childhood memories to me.  My grandmother, as well as two sets of aunts and uncles lived in Waxahachie, the town my mother was from.

I was the youngest grandchild on that side of the family.  The closest in age to me was my cousin John, who is five years my senior.  Five years is nothing when you are 41, but it’s a lifetime when you are 6.  My cousins were having children long before I had my first bra.  I got to stay with my grandmother more than any of the other ten grandchildren, simply do to the chronology.  Grandmother was a seamstress for the Haggar Pant company, but was retired by the time I was three.

I was always fascinated with the courthouse.    If you walk around the structure, you cannot help but notice the gargoyles.  The legend is this:  a German mason by the name of Harry Herley came to town to help with the courthouse.  He stayed at a boarding house while he worked, and fell in love with the beautiful Mabel.  He took that love and began the carvings of her as a tribute to his love.  But Mabel spurned his advances, and as time passed, he became bitter and the carvings became uglier and more grotesque until the 12th carving you see is a twisted demon.

I believe I heard that story for the first time when I was five or six.  I never tired of hearing it and never tired of looking for the carved faces that looked down upon passersby and stood guard.   The artistic representation  of such a tale fascinated me.  There is passion in art, whether it born of love or of pain.

Beyond the names of the parties, Henry and Mabel, historians say there is no fact in the legend.  They say that it’s likely traditional European Characters, such as “the green man” and a child and a demented character.  And that the faces were likely not carved by Henry, but commissioned from Dallas and shipped to Waxahachie for installation.  I know that history requires we look at fact, but I am a romantic at heart  and prefer to the legend of Mabel and Henry over the facts.

No matter what is happening in your life, I hope you have the opportunity to take a sidetrip to something memorable from your past.  It’s Spring and a good time for road trips and indulging in legends.

Right this moment, I am mainly thinking about the whole “getting ready” thing.  From April until December, I was spending 60+ hours a week with my clients, so having a down day to just bum around was rare.  There were many Saturdays and/or Sundays that I still worked.  Since I’ve been working from home so much lately, I have forgone dressing  up in any ways.  It’s not like I hang out in my jammies all the time, but I do tend to dress down, forgo jewelry and skip make-up.  Well, except for Mondays when I go to school.

After spending until almost noon (crazy!) in my jammies today, I thought it would be nice of me to actually put make-up beyond lip gloss on, especially since the youngest is entertaining a friend tonight.  A boy, by the way, who she insists is just a friend, but all the same, it’s a boy.  But I digress.  Anyhoo, since there would be other parents coming by for the drop off / pick up, I actually got fully dressed, as if I were going to dinner with a friend, not just hanging out on a Saturday night supervising the dog and two teenage friends.

And since I have been all the way dressed (ya know,  jeans, shirt, matching shoes, earrings, make-up, etc) I have gotten so much done.  My floundering column solidified for me.  The rest of the pieces that needed editing for All Things Girl got edited.  Updates I needed to make on the administrative side of ATG was done, I settled in on this design here for the blog, and I’m in a better mood than I have been in for DAYS.

I think it’s my sign that even if I’m not working face-to-face with my clients, it’s ok to wear something beyond very casual and putting on my make-up needs to be back into my regular habit (despite the fact my skin has appreciated the break).  I am missing working face to face with my clients, though, if I were to be completely honest.  I think my batteries have finally been recharged and I’m ready for more…

By the way, if you need a favor or want something, today is the day to ask.  Because I will probably say “sure!”.  Actually, I would probably say ’sure’ to you if it was within my abilities.  But today, I would say it with absolute sincerity and not just because I like you.

I also got a really long email from a girlfriend of mine who lives in Santa Fe.   She spent a couple of weeks in Africa for an extended vacation and came back with a new desire to dig into her own creativity.  She  asked me if I could help her, and I am reminded that signs are all around us if we will see them.  I had just finished my column for ATG (live tomorrow) but it’s about what’s in your heart.  And there, right in front of me,  were her words asking me if I could help her figure out what is inside her’s.

For months, I have been toying with the idea of exploring another side of my personality – my desire to help other people and my hopes that people that I care about are living in a way that fulfills them.  Since she asked if I would help, and I want to see if I can take a passion that I have and flip it into a branch of my business, I believe we are going to embark on an adventure of sorts for me to try my hand out at some guiding while she digs in, explores her creativity, and figures out where her passions really lie.  She can be my guinea pig

I find, to be honest, that working with creative people makes me more creative.  I know her and she is inspirational to me anyway simply because she loves life so much.  It will be a joy.  I think we all need to spend time with people who bring us joy.

Experts in different fields are needed at times.  A company may hire a consultant when their staff is either inexperienced with the process, when a company doesn’t have enough staffing for make a project succeed, or when they need a person from the outside to give an honest assessment and plan of action to meet a goal.  It’s often a combination of these – and a half-dozen other things that influence a decision to hire a consultant.  The hardest projects to execute are the ones that are going to require a restructuring.   While a consultant gets to know a company’s employees and culture, they are not tied to the emotions of either.   Stepping outside of the forest to see not only the trees, but the leaves is often the best way to affect change.   A consultant assists in putting together a plan of action, and helps the company follow the plan.   It’s a difficult decision to bring someone in that doesn’t live there, but it’s smart.

If you need a top notch project manager, hire me.  I am passionate about my work and I love challenging situations.  I’m also incredibly intelligent, as the rest of this blog will show you I know when to dig in and finalize a project myself, and when it’s time to call in someone with more expertise and experience.

I hired a consultant today.  The project I needed assistance on?  My body.

I took a good hard look at my body today in numbers (weight, body fat, cardio fitness, flexibility).  I also looked at the health numbers from the past year (increased cholesterol, high blood pressure) as well as my lifestyle (little exercise, too much dining out,  days of not eating enough, days of eating too much, not enough sleep).   I generally know how to work out and I know how I should be eating, but knowing these things does not make the change automatic nor does it make me an expert.

So, I hired a trainer today.  I need to get all the numbers relating to my body back in order.  (I also want to improve my golf game. ) My trainer is experienced in the fat loss and has sport-specific training experience (he has trained a  golfer that is on the PGA tour).  I want to enjoy playing golf and not be sore from all the flexing – and I was stiff after spending an hour at the driving range on Saturday.

“Constructive” in 2009 is about questioning myself and my choices.    Am I an expert at the restructuring that needs to be done to my routines in order to affect the changes I want in my body?   If I am true to my intent, then there is a requirement for getting a little expert help.

The hardest part of the public meetings was not being able to stop and enjoy the beautiful scenery.

Last night, I had these moments where I was ready to hop on a plane and get away immediately.  It’s that flight-or-fight instinct and my instinct, after a long discussion with the oldest kid, was to stop fighting and just walk away for a bit to get my thoughts together.  Teenagers are incredibly frustrating and infuriating at times, aren’t they?  After a good sleep and some chatting wtih both Melissa and Lee on the issue, I am feeling a bit better on the discussion, but last night, yes -  I was ready to go.

I honestly don’t remember being infuriating for my parents when I was a teen.  Then again, I wasn’t your average teen.   I was just as driven and busy then as I am now.  These kids today don’t know how lucky they are (now I’m channeling my grandmother).  Seriously.    I maintained an A+ average, went to school full time, worked almost full time, participated in Student Counsel, Choir and Theatre.  All I ask is that she do her work at school and make good grades.

Tonight is different.  I’m ready to go – I miss DC.  But I am also tired – and for the first time in ages, I am looking forward to being on a flight so I can take a nap.  It’s ok when you nap on planes – napping at home isn’t always acceptable.  Then again, the time change could have something to do with the fact that I am thinking about SLEEP when it’s only 6 PM Central (7 PM Eastern) – but since my body tends to stay on Eastern time, to my body, it’s really 8 PM.  Right?

I’ve been thinking (again) about that elusive thing called balance.

Work seems to be what takes the bulk of my time – and I”m happy to give everything I have to it.  I’m proud of my business and where I am in my career.  But then, on afternoons like yesterday, when the kids were busy with their friends, I was home with nothing to do.  Well, except write a little, which I did.  But it still wasn’t “quality time”.  Don’t get my wrong, I’d rather be alone and a little lonely – spending quality time with myself – than I would want to be killing time in a relationship that isn’t right.  I think I’m just wishing that those relationships that are good just don’t get enough time spent on them.  I honestly don’t know what the answer is for me except to continue on doing things the way I’m doing them.  (as I wrote about in the July issue of All Things Girl).  Work IS important to me.   And most men, while understanding the work part honestly don’t understand the full extent mine is in my life.  Working for yourself is incredibly fulfilling, but it also takes that level of committment.

I wonder, to be flat out honest, if I am cut out for a traditional relationship.  When it boils down to it, the gypsy-soul side of my personality can make me a difficult partner in a relationship.  Unless, that is, you like gypsies.

But I digress.

I’m heading back into DC to use my audit skills as I do a pre-assessment audit.  I’m tired now and not quite in the groove, but I know myself well.  Once the plane is coming in over DC…and we pass the Washington Monument….and then, as I drive from the airport to the hotel, I pass the Lincoln Memorial all lit up with the moon shining down on Old Abe, I’ll feel at peace and know that I am home.  At least for the week….at least, until I get the urge to grab my bags and explore again….

So kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that youll wait for me
Hold me like youll never let me go
cause Im leavin on a jet plane
Dont know when Ill be back again
Oh babe, I hate to go