A week and a half of training just ended. I’m never sure how to feel about the end of training. New people I now care about are gone and I’m not sure when I’ll see them again. On the other hand, life can settle down to a less hectic rhythm for a little while and I have a little more control of my schedule. The best part, this time, is I’m that much closer to going on vacation. A week from tomorrow I’m on the plane flying to FL where there’s sunshine, humidity, and an ocean.
For the most part I enjoy being in this beautiful but landlocked state. The mountains are gorgeous and the sunsets are generally in the neighborhood of breathtaking. I’ll take an incredible sunset over a gorgeous sunrise any day of the week. I always knew I liked being near the ocean, but I didn’t realize how much until I moved here. I’ve never been so landlocked before on such a consistent basis. Last weekend I was furniture shopping with a friend. The store had pictures of water in many places, and my eyes seemed drawn to every one of them. Often I lost track of the piece of furniture she was looking at because I was imagining myself by the water. There’s something healing and restorative about the ocean most days. I’m looking forward to seeing it again next week.
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I saw the orthopedic surgeon a few days ago. Thankfully his diagnosis this time was more specific than the “You’ve messed up your knee” that every medical person has given me for the last month. According to the MRI, I have some meniscus damage . . . again. After some discussion, I decided to see if cortisone shots would make things better. If they don’t, I’ll opt for surgery. For the time being, however, I’m going to see if an injection every few months can stem the pain and swelling. I can start exercising again tomorrow. It will be interesting to see what my pain level and swelling are like after some more intense use.
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We watched a new recruiting video aimed at 20 somethings today. I was impressed with the quality of it. Sadly, I was distressed by some of the script—the actors, and they were definitely actors and not people otherwise involved in this organization—spoke as if they were really part of this organization. I felt like it impugned our integrity. It wouldn’t have bothered me in the least for them to have said, ” Organization X has these amazing opportunities . . . how many other organizations would allow me to fulfill my passion of . . . ” but they said, “I’m so glad to be a part of Organization X . . . with Organization X I’m feeding the hungry and providing for the basic needs of . . . “ Is it just me? Isn’t that dishonest? Or am I just too old? Do those of you who are 20 somethings or younger just assume the people you see in a recruiting video are actors?
photo courtesy of cesare 2008