Working From The Basement

Morning, kids.  Still having my first cup of coffee.  Okay, maybe it’s my third cup, but I’m still not fully awake yet.  Been reflecting on the week.  I haven’t had much time to write this week, but I have a few minutes this morning and wanted to share my thoughts.

I am so very thankful.

Here’s what I’m thankful for:

1.  Good friends. This week has been rough – hell, the last six months have been rough – and I’ve got amazing friends who give me that boost when I need it.  And, I wanted to thank Mike Lawson for carrying the weight of the blog this week with all of his awesome posts.  And for the IT help.  And for the weekly beer and grilled cheese.  And his wife, Karen, for allowing me to invite myself over and yell at people in their basement.

2.  Good family. My sister has been my Office Manager for the past six months or so, and I owe so much to her.  She’s our Collections Officer; she’s Accounts Payable; and she handles purchasing all of the office supplies.  Working together has made us closer as sisters, and I’m so lucky to have her. 

3.  Good beer. Headed to Foster’s tonight to share some beers with some friends.  Nothing like swapping stories, teasing Mike Lawson, and drinking some fine brew.

4.  Great presentation yesterday. I spoke at Mohegan Sun to a group of financial services professionals.  The talk started out as LinkedIn101, but then morphed into a discussion of FINRA rules and compliance difficulties.  Great discussion.  I love smart, passionate people.

5.  Great roommates, both personally and professionally.

a.  Personally. I recently moved from Marlborough to East Hampton, one of the toughest decisions I’ve had to make.  I found a guy on craigslist who was recently divorced, had a large dog, and needed a roommate to afford his house.  We rolled the dice and combined households, and it has worked out so well.  I got really lucky.  Having someone to share in the dog responsibilities and the house chores makes life so much easier.

b.  Professionally. My office is in Main Street Market, in Middletown.  We moved from the back of the building to the front of the building a few months ago (yes, two moves at the same time – stressful), and we are so lucky.  The landlord is great; the tenants are great; the building is beautiful.  MSM functions like a mini-community – Pastry Steve’s shop operates as the watercooler for all of us in the building; Norman at the African Art store signs for packages for me when I’m not around (and he barely knows me); and Tad the Building Manager stops in to check and see how we’re doing.

I’m in the right place, and I’m extremely lucky.  Thankful Friday. 

WFTB