My weekly glimpse into things I’ve been feeling this week because I have either a) not had time to write a blog post about it or b) have not felt like it was worth a whole blog post about it.

• Ecstatic – A few months back, I felt like everything I was doing at work was not quite right. Some of that is the fact my boss is good at tossing in comments like, "did you think about this?" Or, "you did that too right?" My feedback from him is always what I missed, so I wasn’t looking forward to review time. Well, I guess I should have been. I got a pretty damn good raise which was a nice surprise. And his feedback was "I am beyond happy that I hired you – you have been an incredible asset to me and this company for the past year. And you are my example of how someone with no industry experience can come into this company and make an immediate positive impact." I think I picked my jaw up off the floor after that and thanked him. For me, this is also a reminder as a manager to make sure I am telling people how much I appreciate them – early and often. Because, well, this was a great surprise for me – but really shouldn’t have been as big as it was.
• Thrilled – Years ago, headlines were made when runners on a jog through a city park with lots of true was attacked by an owl. Owls are territorial when they have a nest with owlets. And a family of owls had setup a nest near this jogging path. A couple years ago, a women’s rugby team formed in a nearby town and decided to name themselves after the attacking owls. I have commented many times to G and others that I wish they were closer because I’d so go take photos of their game just because the name of the team is awesome. Tuesday when I got home, G presented me with their rugby kit – jersey and shorts. They were doing a fundraiser – and he jumped at the chance to get it for me to support them financially but so I can support them from afar.
• Curious – One of the guys from my leadership class last year sent out a couple of book suggestions to the group. One is called Switch – a book written about 8 years ago about change management. Sounds like a typical leadership book until I read more about it and found it is walking that line between leadership book, self-help, and psychology book. Hell, you could even put parenting book and education book in there too. The book, so far, is filled with examples of where people leveraged psychology to change their own lives, helped people in their organization get through a change, helped their kids do better in school, and a variety of other examples. It uses a metaphor of an elephant and a rider to represent the big parts of a person: the riders is the analytical / rational being while the elephant is the emotional / instinctual being. When things are going well, the rider and elephant are working in perfect balance. When things go wrong, it is because they are out of sync. This happens too when people are experiencing change. The whole thing is quite interesting as a presents things just the opposite that the rational brain says we should approach things. I cannot wait to get further in the book.
• Excited – The local NWSL Women’s team starts their season on Saturday!!! I can’t wait to see how their season goes. Most of the players will be there as a few of the international players are still fulfilling their country obligations, but still – I am excited for the season to get underway!

Happy Friday!