I’m sure you’re wondering why I haven’t been writing these last few months. Well, it was a combination of things – lots of end-of-year activities, still finding work/life balance and my computer biting the dust. And now I’m going to attempt to make up for lost time!! Let me start by filling you in on some of the highlights of April and May.
On the School Front
In late March I decided that I wanted to run for a spot on the Board of Trustees at Nia’s school, the American School of Bombay. Little did I realize how stressful and competitive it would be! To apply, we had to answer 10 different questions including what we could offer to the board and why we wanted to run. We then had to give a 3 minute speech in front of 50 people. These speeches were videotaped and shared with the entire faculty body and all the parents. There was even a secure online system that ensured you could only vote once – very fancy pants for a school!
At first I wasn’t too concerned about getting on – I mean, how many people want to volunteer 10-20 hours a month for something for 2 years?? Apparently lots because there were 7 other contenders. 2 people were re-running and they both got their slots again. So in reality, there were 6 of us for 2 slots.
I was still feeling solid until Nick made a comment after the voting opened. He said something like, “Did you check out your running mates? That’s some tough competition you have there.” I hadn’t taken the time to read them yet and regretted doing so after-the-fact because it only served to make me feel insecure. Not kidding, they all had degrees from Ivy Leagues – Harvard, Stanford, Yale and ranged from CEOs of their own companies to consultants to lawyers. SO INTIMIDATING. And to top it off, I didn’t feel like my speech went well so I was certain I wasn’t going to get on.
So I’m sitting at the big end-of-school meeting with 200 other people, waiting patiently for 2 hours to have the bad news confirmed, when lo and behold, they announce my name! I was over the moon! Couldn’t believe that I would get to serve an organization that was so closely aligned with the things I love – lifelong learning, developing emotional intelligence, and fostering strong community. So dreamy. Took a few days for it all to sink in.
Even cooler is that they believe in developing their board members (just like you would an employee) so that they can continue their personal growth journey and perform to the highest of their abilities. So that meant that in May I flew to Chennai in Southern India to attend a board summit with the Boards from Chennai and Delhi’s American schools. We had an amazing day-long workshop that dug really deeply into how to be a good board member and what a high-functioning board operates like. Perhaps even more exciting is that in September I get to fly to Hanoi, Vietnam for several more days of board training. Seriously exciting stuff! More to come on that!
On the Work Front
As for work, I just crossed the 4 month mark. I’ve been managing the Motorpool since day 1 and was just finding my groove around that when they made me the head of our Travel section mid-April (I still kept motorpool). So then I switched my focus to learning that new business, which includes managing all of our official travel (permanent change of station, R&R travel, temporary duty and training). It’s a lot. And the regulations leave my head spinning. Thankfully, I have another seasoned team and they are patiently teaching me the ropes.
Speaking of travel, I was approved to attend the month-long General Services Officer (GSO) training in DC starting May 27th. I am staying in Rosslyn, just outside of DC and have class from 8 – 4:30 each day. My classes are focused on 5 of the 6 areas GSOs manage – travel, motorpool, customs & shipping, property & supply (warehouse), and housing/leasing. The majority of people in my class are officers on their 2nd or 3rd tour who are taking this training before getting to post. There is only one other spouse and I who are not technically officers, but still hold the same responsibilities as an officer would. He and I have the benefit of being the only ones who have been at post and worked with our businesses already, which I think really locks in the learning on a deeper level, because my questions come out of my real life experiences. I am loving it. Learning so much and excited to apply what I know!
Little C
If you read my previous posts, you know that I learned I had skin cancer on my chest in mid-May. Was very scary, especially when surgery didn’t go as planned and I pulled the plug on that. Thankfully, I found a great doctor in DC and had a consult that left me feeling much more at ease. My surgery is scheduled for the morning of Monday, June 10th and should be a morning-long outpatient surgery. I am grateful to be getting the Mohs procedure, which will minimize the amount of tissue taken (and hopefully the scarring)! Lots of old friends have stepped up to offer support and I am feeling quite loved. I’m not feeling nervous about this, so neither should you! I will definitely let you know how it all goes. Thanks for the love and support that has been pouring in from around the world. I am grateful for all of you.
