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| the wrist band that separated us from the competition! |
i was on the LIGHT BLUE team-sales, trainers, support...we did pretty much everything together during the day sessions, and the last day and a half were pretty intense. monday was more of a get-to-know you, get to know the departments, etc...one of the activities was a game playing something akin to modern 'telephone' where someone gives a message and one by one it gets passed down the line and then transferred to the next group, but the caveat is that there is a team in the middle who is allowed to use whatever distraction tactics to try to keep the message from getting to the end. well, one of my teammates was on the distraction team, and she was perfect for the job. she happens to be very loud, and embarrassingly funny; can't tell if it's on purpose or not. it was somewhat endearing-you have to accept certain idiosyncrasies, as they make us who we are! but i digress-she was making revving car noises, chicken/rooster noises, laughing her unique laugh, crawling between the people trying to spread the 'word'...it's no wonder they didn't convey their message! i just wish you could all see it through my memory! somewhat ala "i love lucy".
yesterday started a new phase, as we were given some tasks and problems of practice to work on as a group. now, you have to realize that i love watching group dynamics. i have talked about this before with friends, and i know how i work in a group. in fact, my admin team from cabell-both this year and last year know how i collaborate in a group. i can work well in a team, but i know that sometimes i need a minute to process out ideas, because i am a whole picture first, then figure out the details second person...so i need to think things through in a logical manner before giving my input (which drives people crazy who just want to jump in and start shooting). therefore, i tend to let people get started while i process. then i begin to ask questions, pose suggestions, take people back to the original prompt, poke holes and play devil's advocate..and make concessions and compromises as long as they follow a logical pathway.
that said, within our group we had some TYPE-A personalities (so not me!!) and they immediately jumped in and began, and i sat back and played my role, asking questions, positing ideas, and offering suggestions. i completely didn't expect two ladies from our team to approach me later (separately) surprised that i was brand new and handling myself so well, one of them said, "i know this was a frustrating, overwhelming set-up, but don't think that your participation went unnoticed-it's obvious that you are really smart and on the ball." (that struck me as funny, because that would be one of the last adjectives i would use to describe myself! but it's always good to hear positive things from other people, and i'll just roll with it while it lasts! smile) then this evening, one of the best compliments; one of my friends, whom i've known for a few years said that someone had approached her and said that i was really nice. i hope i can always remain neutral and be above the fray, be inclusive and never box people out. #personalgoals
last night's social event was our training group dinner-babes chicken and redneck pool party! fun times, great company! it was good to get to know more of the trainers better. i was able to name all 26! yes, i'm pretty good with names, but fortunately i got a little mini-directory with the faces, names and numbers of all of the pd trainers, so that when the dust settles and everyone is off to their corners of the world, i will be able to continue brushing up! i was a little sad, because i missed out on a girls-night-out with some friends, but i'm sure there will be others.
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| not afraid to dress the part |
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| how many trainers can you fit into an inflatable pool at once? |
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| water soaker fun |
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| how fun is this little trainer-directory?! perfect size, too!! |
this morning our keynote speaker was a principal from the lubbock area, and she was phenomenal! her story really hit home, and the fact that all of her teachers in her turn-around schools implemented istation with fidelity, and that was the main reason that they were able to have the successes that they did! i wish i had a video of her testimonial to share, because it would make such a difference for some of our administrators to see! #powerful!
and of course i found myself having to visit the bathroom at pretty much every break, and one of those times, i noticed that the lock in one of the stalls was coming undone-the screw was falling out, and it wouldn't be long until it fell off entirely. my mcgeyver instincts kicked in, and i went back to retrieve my mini screwdriver from my bag, returned and fixed the lock on the stall (because God only knows how long it would take for maintenance..especially if they have to write up the order, process it, blah blah blah) one of those things i learned from kamp: ALWAYS LEAVE THINGS BETTER THAN YOU FOUND THEM!!
after that, we had our version of shark tank, and through all of the presentations, i know there was a ton of learning happening across the board! finally at the end of the day, we had another social event up on the 21st floor, where we played human-size games...jenga (which i got really good at), connect 4, bean bag toss, checkers, chess, air hockey...good times, lots of laughs, cash machine (with slips of paper telling how much you won)...i won 2 dolla! (2 avocados? on a good day).
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| we created a very tall tower! |
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| my winnings |
one of the only complaints i have is that there was really too much good food!! breakfasts, lunches, cookies...yikes. fortunately it's only once a year!
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| famous cookies. |
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| delicious lunch today-fairly healthy...until i found the churros!! |
so tomorrow=final day of the conference...late breakfast, talk, meetings, continuing to finish with some of our orientation work. wrapping it up right!
time for bed!
julie
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