Today as I fly off to France, my niece Chelsea begins her freshman year at Barnard College. Chelsea is not too happy about this, because Barnard is my alma mater, and she really would like me to be nearby, to share her experiences about the start of her college life. But I've thought, it's probably good that I will be far away (relatively); she needs to have her own experiences on the campus, just as I did as an 18 year old.
Over her growing up years, Chelsea was the recipient of much Barnard-logo'd merchandise, from t-shirts to sweatshirts (all of which she wore!). I think she really didn't hear many stories about my college life, there were certainly other things to talk about when I was with her! But when she started looking at colleges, I was fairly insistent that she put Barnard on her list, just to make her aunt happy. I have been an active alum at the college since I left it, culminating in 2001, when I became the President of the Alumni Association for a three year term, along with the perk of serving as an alumnae representative on the college's board of trustees (for a four-year term). So, it was no surprise that I might encourage my only niece to attend!
But it was Chelsea herself who became enamoured with the school, during a visit last July with her mom. I remember it well: I received a very excited telephone call from Chelsea as I was on the beach at Amelia Island, FL. She loved the school, it was her first choice! My sister got on the phone too, and said that she finally understood why the school was so special to me. That meant an awful lot to me.
So Chelsea applied to Barnard, along with a bunch of other schools that she was bound to get into (she's a top student, in her senior class top 10, with tons of AP exam results and extra curriculars and, yes, a junior year spent abroad in Italy). I was extraordinarily eager that Barnard recognize that my niece was applying to the college, but wasn't sure the protocol on making that known. So I spoke to the outgoing executive director of the Alumni Association, and she demanded that I write the Director of Admissions (who I knew), and write a note on behalf of my niece. Do it now, she said, don't wait! Make sure they know, when they have to choose, that Chelsea is a legacy!
So I wrote a note to Jennifer, highly recommending my niece as a woman who would fit perfectly into the Barnard environment, an independent, curious, world-savvy woman who knew what she wanted to do (study classical languages), and would contribute to the campus life in many ways. Jennifer responded to my email, thanking me for my note, and letting me know it would make it into Chelsea's file.
Admissions decisions are typically made by the end of March, so that the students can receive notice (via snail mail!) by early April. Chelsea's first acceptance was a scholarship to Brandeis, a very good school, incenting her to attend. Her family was very excited. But then, late one Thursday night, I received an email from Jennifer, with the subject heading "Confidential." It was a note letting me know that Chelsea was receiving a letter from Barnard admissions that would make her happy. OMG. I now knew that my niece was accepted to my alma mater, and I couldn't tell her! I had to wait until she received the letter herself! It was a very long weekend of holding onto that very exciting news, complicated by the fact that Chelsea was visiting her boyfriend in Florida that weekend, and wouldn't receive her mail until the next week. But on Monday (or was it Tuesday) morning, I got the telephone call from her - a very high-pitched voice full of excitement - that she was accepted to Barnard!! It was the top of her list. She was going to go to the school. It was a wonderful moment for me.
So, now she is, like me, on the verge of something new and exciting and that will affect her the rest of her life. I wouldn't want anything more for her. And I look forward to hearing her stories, as much as I look forward to sharing mine with her. And so it begins.
Monday, August 25, 2008
On the Verge
It's 6:30 a.m. on Monday, August 25th. Today is the day that I leave Virginia and fly to Nice. I can't wait. Just had to share.
This past week went by both quickly and seemed like it would never end. So many people to see, things to pack, last minute things to do and say. The condo is virtually empty - I will go over and do some cleaning today before I leave. I gave the keys to my new tenants on Saturday; they seem very easy going, so at the moment I am not worried about them. I was able to give away my bed and a dresser on Saturday to an organization in Washington that gives furniture to those folks in DC who have a place to live, but no money to furnish it. It's called A Wider Circle (www.awidercircle.org); I'd encourage you to support them with donations or money or in kind if you can. I was impressed with the volunteers I talked to and met in the course of making my donation.
Today I will put a box in the mail to myself (unless it appears that bringing it on the plane makes more sense), make copies of my important papers and put them in the mail to my parents, have lunch with an old friend, drop off my final contributions to Miriam's Kitchen (www.miriamskitchen.org, if you aren't familiar with the breakfast program located at Western Presbyterian), and do my final packing for the plane, which doesn't leave until 10:15 tonight.
Yes, I am on the verge of leaving my country for a while, and I can't wait.
This past week went by both quickly and seemed like it would never end. So many people to see, things to pack, last minute things to do and say. The condo is virtually empty - I will go over and do some cleaning today before I leave. I gave the keys to my new tenants on Saturday; they seem very easy going, so at the moment I am not worried about them. I was able to give away my bed and a dresser on Saturday to an organization in Washington that gives furniture to those folks in DC who have a place to live, but no money to furnish it. It's called A Wider Circle (www.awidercircle.org); I'd encourage you to support them with donations or money or in kind if you can. I was impressed with the volunteers I talked to and met in the course of making my donation.
Today I will put a box in the mail to myself (unless it appears that bringing it on the plane makes more sense), make copies of my important papers and put them in the mail to my parents, have lunch with an old friend, drop off my final contributions to Miriam's Kitchen (www.miriamskitchen.org, if you aren't familiar with the breakfast program located at Western Presbyterian), and do my final packing for the plane, which doesn't leave until 10:15 tonight.
Yes, I am on the verge of leaving my country for a while, and I can't wait.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Moving Day
Saturday, August 16th was designated Moving Day in my calendar of events leading up to departure day, August 25th.
Months ago my brother in law Kenny volunteered to help me move things into storage, and I made preparations along the way: reserved a UHaul van and the elevator and loading dock in my building for that day, reserved a larger storage unit at my storage place, began the lengthy and tedious task of packing the entire contents of my condo into boxes - or giving things away.
The day before Moving Day I was supposed to hear from UHaul about where to pick up the van I had reserved. And indeed, I received a text message Friday afternoon, alerting me to my reserved van waiting for me the next day in NE Washington at 6:30 p.m. I was immediately panicked; the move was planned for the morning, not the end of the day! I called the number on my text message, and the man at the UHaul store confirmed the reservation, and said he didn't have any vans available any earlier as I was telling him I needed. As I took a cab home that afternoon (my last day at work) to meet Kenny, who had arrived in Washington via Amtrak, with his son, Nathan, I thought, I will get online and figure out what to do.
When I got home, I logged onto my computer and email, and, lo and behold, found an email that said I had a reserved van at a different location, in Mount Rainier, MD, at 11 a.m. the next day. I was immediately relieved; this was a much better state of affairs, but it was not exactly what I planned either. I had asked my friends Tom and Todd to come help me move on Saturday morning at 10 a.m. I really wanted that van at 8 a.m. The email told me to reply if I had any problems with the reservation, so I did, requesting an earlier pick up.
In the meantime, Kenny and Nathan had arrived at the condo from Union Station via the Metro, and we got ourselves together to get back on the Metro to my friend Becky's, as she was going to host us for dinner that night. In a happy circumstance of making train switches easily (orange line to red line), and making a quick connection to the 32 bus at Tenleytown, we were at her McLean Gardens home at almost the designated 5:30 hour to enjoy a Shabbat dinner of spinach lasagne and red wine with her and her sons Gabriel and Reuben.
By the time we got back home that night, I had received a note back from the UHaul folks that I could pick up my van at the Mount Rainier location at 9 a.m. A much better state of affairs! I figured out the location of the rental store, and used the WMATA website to figure out a way to get there directly via Metro and Metrobus in the morning. I love Washington's transit system, you really can get anywhere you need to go!
So, on Saturday morning at 8 a.m., Kenny and I were on our way via the Orange line to Farragut West, and then got on the G8 bus to Avondale at 8:15, a route that winded through the city and then up Rhode Island Avenue to upper Northeast, past Catholic University to Eastern Avenue in Mount Rainier and Varnum Street, the location of the New Horizon Thrift Shop and UHaul Rental.
The block was dominated by the New Horizon Church, located in what appeared to be a former movie theater, and we found the Thrift Shop and several UHaul vans down the street a bit, across from a 7-11, in what appeared to be a former gas station. It was 9 a.m. on a Saturday, and a sunny and clear day, but I was apprehensive. The UHaul place looked suspiciously underused, and there were only three vans in the parking lot. But, hope springs eternal.
Well, my suspicions were confirmed, as the appointed hour for the reservation came and went and no one showed up at the Thrift Store location to rent us the van. I started calling the UHaul reservation number, to let them know I was waiting for someone to show up; all they could do, the operator said, was try and reach the owner - which of course, I was trying to do too. 9:30, 10:00. I was starting to get desperate. At 9:30 I had called Tom and left him a voicemail that things were being delayed. I did reach Todd, and let him know that it looked like 11 was a more realistic time for him to appear. He was OK with that, and changed his plans for the morning.
At 10:00 we were still waiting, and I was still trying to make phone calls to the UHaul numbers I had (central and Maryland local) to let someone know that things were not going as planned. Shortly after 10, Kenny and I were joined by a family who were trying to drop off a UHaul short haul carrier. The couple and their son had driven up from Baton Rouge, we learned, to move their son into his new apartment as he is to begin graduate studies at the University of Maryland this Fall (in aerospace engineering! We did have some interesting conversation).
Tom called about this time, having received my voicemail, and said he was on his way to the condo. I told him that we were still waiting for the truck, but that it would be great if he and Nathan would move stuff down to the loading dock. He was agreeable, as Tom so often is.
About 15 minutes later, a short black woman, carrying several bags, wandered toward the Thrift Shop. She worked at the Thrift Shop it turned out, and at our urging, was soon on her cell phone, calling Pastor Joe, who was the UHaul guy, to get him over to the store to help us out. I asked her, how long will we be waiting? 10 minutes, 30 minutes? She promised me that he did not live far away; he would be over soon. So the Baton Rouge couple and Kenny and I began our wait for Pastor Joe. We debated for a short bit whether Pastor Joe would be capable of unhitching the carrier from the Louisiana Tahoe SUV. Kenny, being the resourceful guy he is, checked out the carrier, and convinced the man and his son that the three of them could unhitch it - which they did.
Pastor Joe finally did arrive, a slight African American man, looking to be around 28 years old, around 10:40. He took care of the Louisiana folks first, taking their paperwork, so that they were soon ready to go. But they did not; they knew I had already called and reserved another truck in the nearby Hyattsville location, and that Kenny and I did not have a way to get there, and they decided they would hang out and make sure we either got a truck from Joe or they would drive us to Hyattsville. Such nice people reinforce your belief in the power of community.
Joe had to walk over to the church to get a computer that worked, so I walked down the block with him (not planning to let him out of my sight), and let him know as we walked that I had been waiting since 9 a.m. for him to arrive. In a nice calm voice. He said he was sorry, in his own soft voice. But he started to look worried. But I still didn't trust I was going to get a truck.
He unlocked the church front door, and in the lobby, took down my cell phone number, so he could go in the office and use the computer (he told me I could not go in that office) and, it turns out, call me with questions regarding the reservation form. So over the next 20 minutes, he called me intermittently to answer questions regarding my reservation so he could complete the contract. At one point he asked me if I needed to hang up because I was using up my minutes...nice guy that he is. I said, no problem, plenty of minutes!
Tom called around this point, letting me know that he and Nathan were taking a breather, after having moved a bunch of boxes. I let him know that it looked like we were going to have a van shortly. I predicted we'd be back at the condo by noon.
Finally, Joe called to say he was printing out the contract. I told the woman and her son that it looked like I was good to go, and thanked them for staying around to make sure we were taken care of. Joe appeared with the contract a few minutes later, and we walked back to the gas station where Kenny was hanging out waiting for me. By 11:15 I was calling Tom to let him know that we were on our way, and hoped to be at the condo by noon.
And by noon, after a drive through downtown DC to Arlington, listening to Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, we were back at the condo, waiting for Nathan and Tom to open the door to the loading dock, where they had stacked all my boxes....the moving was about to begin!
Months ago my brother in law Kenny volunteered to help me move things into storage, and I made preparations along the way: reserved a UHaul van and the elevator and loading dock in my building for that day, reserved a larger storage unit at my storage place, began the lengthy and tedious task of packing the entire contents of my condo into boxes - or giving things away.
The day before Moving Day I was supposed to hear from UHaul about where to pick up the van I had reserved. And indeed, I received a text message Friday afternoon, alerting me to my reserved van waiting for me the next day in NE Washington at 6:30 p.m. I was immediately panicked; the move was planned for the morning, not the end of the day! I called the number on my text message, and the man at the UHaul store confirmed the reservation, and said he didn't have any vans available any earlier as I was telling him I needed. As I took a cab home that afternoon (my last day at work) to meet Kenny, who had arrived in Washington via Amtrak, with his son, Nathan, I thought, I will get online and figure out what to do.
When I got home, I logged onto my computer and email, and, lo and behold, found an email that said I had a reserved van at a different location, in Mount Rainier, MD, at 11 a.m. the next day. I was immediately relieved; this was a much better state of affairs, but it was not exactly what I planned either. I had asked my friends Tom and Todd to come help me move on Saturday morning at 10 a.m. I really wanted that van at 8 a.m. The email told me to reply if I had any problems with the reservation, so I did, requesting an earlier pick up.
In the meantime, Kenny and Nathan had arrived at the condo from Union Station via the Metro, and we got ourselves together to get back on the Metro to my friend Becky's, as she was going to host us for dinner that night. In a happy circumstance of making train switches easily (orange line to red line), and making a quick connection to the 32 bus at Tenleytown, we were at her McLean Gardens home at almost the designated 5:30 hour to enjoy a Shabbat dinner of spinach lasagne and red wine with her and her sons Gabriel and Reuben.
By the time we got back home that night, I had received a note back from the UHaul folks that I could pick up my van at the Mount Rainier location at 9 a.m. A much better state of affairs! I figured out the location of the rental store, and used the WMATA website to figure out a way to get there directly via Metro and Metrobus in the morning. I love Washington's transit system, you really can get anywhere you need to go!
So, on Saturday morning at 8 a.m., Kenny and I were on our way via the Orange line to Farragut West, and then got on the G8 bus to Avondale at 8:15, a route that winded through the city and then up Rhode Island Avenue to upper Northeast, past Catholic University to Eastern Avenue in Mount Rainier and Varnum Street, the location of the New Horizon Thrift Shop and UHaul Rental.
The block was dominated by the New Horizon Church, located in what appeared to be a former movie theater, and we found the Thrift Shop and several UHaul vans down the street a bit, across from a 7-11, in what appeared to be a former gas station. It was 9 a.m. on a Saturday, and a sunny and clear day, but I was apprehensive. The UHaul place looked suspiciously underused, and there were only three vans in the parking lot. But, hope springs eternal.
Well, my suspicions were confirmed, as the appointed hour for the reservation came and went and no one showed up at the Thrift Store location to rent us the van. I started calling the UHaul reservation number, to let them know I was waiting for someone to show up; all they could do, the operator said, was try and reach the owner - which of course, I was trying to do too. 9:30, 10:00. I was starting to get desperate. At 9:30 I had called Tom and left him a voicemail that things were being delayed. I did reach Todd, and let him know that it looked like 11 was a more realistic time for him to appear. He was OK with that, and changed his plans for the morning.
At 10:00 we were still waiting, and I was still trying to make phone calls to the UHaul numbers I had (central and Maryland local) to let someone know that things were not going as planned. Shortly after 10, Kenny and I were joined by a family who were trying to drop off a UHaul short haul carrier. The couple and their son had driven up from Baton Rouge, we learned, to move their son into his new apartment as he is to begin graduate studies at the University of Maryland this Fall (in aerospace engineering! We did have some interesting conversation).
Tom called about this time, having received my voicemail, and said he was on his way to the condo. I told him that we were still waiting for the truck, but that it would be great if he and Nathan would move stuff down to the loading dock. He was agreeable, as Tom so often is.
About 15 minutes later, a short black woman, carrying several bags, wandered toward the Thrift Shop. She worked at the Thrift Shop it turned out, and at our urging, was soon on her cell phone, calling Pastor Joe, who was the UHaul guy, to get him over to the store to help us out. I asked her, how long will we be waiting? 10 minutes, 30 minutes? She promised me that he did not live far away; he would be over soon. So the Baton Rouge couple and Kenny and I began our wait for Pastor Joe. We debated for a short bit whether Pastor Joe would be capable of unhitching the carrier from the Louisiana Tahoe SUV. Kenny, being the resourceful guy he is, checked out the carrier, and convinced the man and his son that the three of them could unhitch it - which they did.
Pastor Joe finally did arrive, a slight African American man, looking to be around 28 years old, around 10:40. He took care of the Louisiana folks first, taking their paperwork, so that they were soon ready to go. But they did not; they knew I had already called and reserved another truck in the nearby Hyattsville location, and that Kenny and I did not have a way to get there, and they decided they would hang out and make sure we either got a truck from Joe or they would drive us to Hyattsville. Such nice people reinforce your belief in the power of community.
Joe had to walk over to the church to get a computer that worked, so I walked down the block with him (not planning to let him out of my sight), and let him know as we walked that I had been waiting since 9 a.m. for him to arrive. In a nice calm voice. He said he was sorry, in his own soft voice. But he started to look worried. But I still didn't trust I was going to get a truck.
He unlocked the church front door, and in the lobby, took down my cell phone number, so he could go in the office and use the computer (he told me I could not go in that office) and, it turns out, call me with questions regarding the reservation form. So over the next 20 minutes, he called me intermittently to answer questions regarding my reservation so he could complete the contract. At one point he asked me if I needed to hang up because I was using up my minutes...nice guy that he is. I said, no problem, plenty of minutes!
Tom called around this point, letting me know that he and Nathan were taking a breather, after having moved a bunch of boxes. I let him know that it looked like we were going to have a van shortly. I predicted we'd be back at the condo by noon.
Finally, Joe called to say he was printing out the contract. I told the woman and her son that it looked like I was good to go, and thanked them for staying around to make sure we were taken care of. Joe appeared with the contract a few minutes later, and we walked back to the gas station where Kenny was hanging out waiting for me. By 11:15 I was calling Tom to let him know that we were on our way, and hoped to be at the condo by noon.
And by noon, after a drive through downtown DC to Arlington, listening to Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me, we were back at the condo, waiting for Nathan and Tom to open the door to the loading dock, where they had stacked all my boxes....the moving was about to begin!
Fannie Farewell
My farewell note to my colleagues at Fannie Mae, written on August 15, 2008:
Colleagues,
Today is my last day at Fannie. It's been a pleasure to know all of you, whether it was working on the Restatement, Getting/Staying Current, SIR, or the Credit Initiative, or getting to know you as a vendor, or at a Fannie Mae class (more detailed reflections below). I've been very proud to work at this company, and wish you much brighter days in the months ahead!
For those of you who are interested, after September 1 you will find photos of my French adventures posted on my photo site, www.flickr.com/photos/aribrose.
For those of you who are already planning a trip to the south of France, please give me a heads up by writing me at msbrose@alumni.gwu.edu. (address is also good for those who just want to keep in touch).
Cheers,
Margarita
* * *
When I started at Fannie in January 2006, I thought I knew what I was getting into by joining the Central Project Management Office (cPMO) of the Restatement. Company with a mission, good people, big project. Memories I'll take with me:
- A Workstream list that we updated every week - Restatement was a big project, and there were lots of cast changes!
- Free soda, free meals, free water, it couldn't last forever. And it didn't.
- The ePM meeting - the longest running meeting of the Restatement/Getting Current - Tuesdays at 1 - May 2006 through January 2008. That's staying power.
- Almost finishing the Restatement in November 2006 - then REALLY filing on December 6th.
- CUES Reports - what would we have been without them in all their brilliant colors? It took an army to create them, but they were the barometer for the 8 a.m. meetings. Thanks, Jim!
- The COO meeting - the second longest running meetings of the Restatement/Getting Current - Tuesday through Friday, and Mondays, when needed. From May 2006 through March 2008, I managed the meetings, with the help of lots of folks, including David Valenza, Saadia Mahmud, and Teresa Todd, who was there with me faithfully every morning at 7 a.m.
- The SIR Go Live Team Kick Off meeting in OB II in early September 2007. Found myself on the org chart as the "part-time" Director in charge of the PMO. Yeah, piece of cake, I thought. (Three months later, thinking, what was I thinking?)
- November 2007. With this 10Q filing we're current! But the market doesn't seem to notice that fact. What losses?
- Wednesday 11 a.m. SIR Executive Alignment meetings - It wasn't until January, when Rahul and Linda started attending in earnest, that everyone else wanted to be there too....also known as the Williams phenomenon.
- Monday 4 p.m SIR Stakeholder Meetings - see above. Weekly until everyone seemed to be at the Wednesday meeting. But we kept holding them (full transparency!) regularly until the end (well, almost).
- Tuesday 11 a.m. Dashboard Review meetings - otherwise known as Ron's meeting. Always more fun when Ron was in attendance.
- The deflated feeling in the room during the Executive meeting when we all realized that the planned SIR conversion date was simply not possible or practical - twice.
- Working with talented people on a daily basis, who worked hard for inspiring leaders and for their own satisfaction and belief in the mission of the company.
Thank you.
M.
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Goodbyes, continued
So it's not like I'm moving to the other side of the world, but France is far enough away for some folks, and really really far away for others, so it depends on your point of view. It's been great to get together with friends to do some goodbyes in the last few weeks. Let me know if I left you out!
July 21 - Don (church)
July 25-26 - John and Gail, Phoebe (NAS)
July 27 - Anna and Yuri, Olena and Peter, also Marcia, Aled and Rhys (church)
July 28 - Tracey (WBC)
July 29 - Laura (RJO)
July 30 - Vivien, Jan and Anna (church)
August 1 - Bogie (FNM)
August 2 - Tom (CC)
August 5 - Bill (church)
August 6 - John (church)
August 7 - Western Church Choir and Deacon Family
August 9 - Steve (CCS)
August 10 - Brose Family (reunion)
August 10 - Andre and Rose (NAS)
August 11 - Michael, Chris and Alex, (IBM) also Vi and various Barnard folk
August 13 - Todd (church), Fannie Mae Restatement Team
August 14 - Fannie Mae DC colleagues
August 15 - Becky, Reuben and Gabriel (Barnard)
August 16-17 - Nancy and Carl, Chris, Kenny, Nathan, Chelsea and Mack (family)
August 19 - Fannie Mae Herndon Team (Tan, Paul, Michael and Bhasker)
August 20 - David (Columbia)
August 21 - Vivien (church), Martina (work)
August 22 - Liran (CC)
August 23 - Tagrid, Ron and Jasmine (neighbors)
August 24 - Tom (CC), Tagrid, Teresa and Angie and Ella (AWSL soccer)
Also, calls with/from Cynthia (Barnard), Andrea (Barnard), and Virginia (church).
Key: NAS - New Amsterdam Singers, CC - Community Club Tutor Group, CCS - Cathedral Choral Society, WBC - Washington Bach Consort, RJO - my ex, Barnard - Barnard College, and my former employers IBM and Fannie Mae
July 21 - Don (church)
July 25-26 - John and Gail, Phoebe (NAS)
July 27 - Anna and Yuri, Olena and Peter, also Marcia, Aled and Rhys (church)
July 28 - Tracey (WBC)
July 29 - Laura (RJO)
July 30 - Vivien, Jan and Anna (church)
August 1 - Bogie (FNM)
August 2 - Tom (CC)
August 5 - Bill (church)
August 6 - John (church)
August 7 - Western Church Choir and Deacon Family
August 9 - Steve (CCS)
August 10 - Brose Family (reunion)
August 10 - Andre and Rose (NAS)
August 11 - Michael, Chris and Alex, (IBM) also Vi and various Barnard folk
August 13 - Todd (church), Fannie Mae Restatement Team
August 14 - Fannie Mae DC colleagues
August 15 - Becky, Reuben and Gabriel (Barnard)
August 16-17 - Nancy and Carl, Chris, Kenny, Nathan, Chelsea and Mack (family)
August 19 - Fannie Mae Herndon Team (Tan, Paul, Michael and Bhasker)
August 20 - David (Columbia)
August 21 - Vivien (church), Martina (work)
August 22 - Liran (CC)
August 23 - Tagrid, Ron and Jasmine (neighbors)
August 24 - Tom (CC), Tagrid, Teresa and Angie and Ella (AWSL soccer)
Also, calls with/from Cynthia (Barnard), Andrea (Barnard), and Virginia (church).
Key: NAS - New Amsterdam Singers, CC - Community Club Tutor Group, CCS - Cathedral Choral Society, WBC - Washington Bach Consort, RJO - my ex, Barnard - Barnard College, and my former employers IBM and Fannie Mae
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Good Byes from Colleagues
Margarita,
Congratulations on your big move to France, what a great idea and wonderful way to enjoy new experiences! You will be missed by all at Fannie, and I would like to thank you again for all your help! You are an excellent leader, mentor, and a great person to work with! Your team will greatly miss your leadership skills and friendship, and I very much enjoyed working with you. Wishing you all the best in years ahead!
MC
* * *
Margarita,
I heard the good news that you were going to live in France! I am so happy for you. When I moved to San Francisco, it was definitely a life changing experience. So I know that you will truly enjoy your new adventure. But on another hand, I am also sad to hear that you are leaving Fannie. It believe it is a tremendous loss for the company. Please keep in touch.
SJ
* * *
To: Brose, Margarita
Subject: What good/bad news
Or make that great, for you!!! France... I am jellie-bellies!! But sad news for us, as you have made a significant (and calming) contribution.
Bon voyage et bon chance!
mk
* * *
I am sorry to hear you are leaving Fannie Mae, it was great having the opportunity to work with you. Good Luck! HR
I echo Homira's comments....you leaving is a big loss to the team. That being said - I am soooo jealous now that I heard you are off to spend some months in France!!! LM
I'm excited for you! Do you know what you'll be doing or will figure it out as you go? I have to live vicariously you know : ) PV
* * *
Just heard that you're leaving! I'm very sad to hear that, but very excited for you! Moving to France sounds fantastic! PC
Subject: Good Bye!
I just heard you were leaving and wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed working with you even if it meant seeing you at 8:00 AM every day. Also, best wishes on your new endeavors overseas! JF
* * *
Subject: Thank you and best wishes...
Hey Margarita,
I believe your last day is this Friday and I am sorry I am not in town to take you out for a drink or 10. I just wanted to thank you for your support this past year. It's been a real pleasure working with you! I also want to wish you the very best in your new adventures! I am very excited for you - it sounds like you will have a wonderful time in France!! I am sure you will have a lot of fun over there... I am still jealous! :)
Best wishes and keep in touch. MD
Congratulations on your big move to France, what a great idea and wonderful way to enjoy new experiences! You will be missed by all at Fannie, and I would like to thank you again for all your help! You are an excellent leader, mentor, and a great person to work with! Your team will greatly miss your leadership skills and friendship, and I very much enjoyed working with you. Wishing you all the best in years ahead!
MC
* * *
Margarita,
I heard the good news that you were going to live in France! I am so happy for you. When I moved to San Francisco, it was definitely a life changing experience. So I know that you will truly enjoy your new adventure. But on another hand, I am also sad to hear that you are leaving Fannie. It believe it is a tremendous loss for the company. Please keep in touch.
SJ
* * *
To: Brose, Margarita
Subject: What good/bad news
Or make that great, for you!!! France... I am jellie-bellies!! But sad news for us, as you have made a significant (and calming) contribution.
Bon voyage et bon chance!
mk
* * *
I am sorry to hear you are leaving Fannie Mae, it was great having the opportunity to work with you. Good Luck! HR
I echo Homira's comments....you leaving is a big loss to the team. That being said - I am soooo jealous now that I heard you are off to spend some months in France!!! LM
I'm excited for you! Do you know what you'll be doing or will figure it out as you go? I have to live vicariously you know : ) PV
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Just heard that you're leaving! I'm very sad to hear that, but very excited for you! Moving to France sounds fantastic! PC
Subject: Good Bye!
I just heard you were leaving and wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed working with you even if it meant seeing you at 8:00 AM every day. Also, best wishes on your new endeavors overseas! JF
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Subject: Thank you and best wishes...
Hey Margarita,
I believe your last day is this Friday and I am sorry I am not in town to take you out for a drink or 10. I just wanted to thank you for your support this past year. It's been a real pleasure working with you! I also want to wish you the very best in your new adventures! I am very excited for you - it sounds like you will have a wonderful time in France!! I am sure you will have a lot of fun over there... I am still jealous! :)
Best wishes and keep in touch. MD
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Anxiety Produces Nothing Good
So, it finally happened. It started with a tickle in the back of my throat, and a few cough clearings, and then that sharp pain that signals that you are in for a cold, whether you like it or not. It started on Friday, and I reconsidered plans for a bike ride on Saturday, but when I woke up on Saturday morning, I really wanted to ride, and the throat didn't seem that bad.
I biked up to the Vienna Metro, about 1o miles, to meet Tom at 8 a.m. We put my bike on the back of his car and drove out to Culpepper, about an hour drive, towards the Shenandoahs on 66 and 15. It was raining pretty hard as we were heading west, and Tom was getting more morose as the minutes ticked by. But I predicted improving weather, and indeed, although we started out in the rain at around 9:30, by the time we rolled back into the Culpepper County HS parking lot at 3:30, it was nearing 90 degrees and sunny. It was a beautiful 60 mile ride through hollows and up and down rolling lanes, in the shadow of Old Rag (a popular hiking mountain).
I felt pretty good throughout the ride, but on the way home, knew I just wanted to crash. And that's what I did when I got home. Got in bed and napped. Was happy I had no plans for this weekend.
But I did have plans! This was the weekend to pack!! And lying there on my bed, surrounded by mounds of clothes, piles of books, file folders of papers and sundry other things that I had pulled out to make visible in preparation for decision-making and either throwing away or packing away, I became depressed. I got up at one point and just shouted swear words at ALL MY STUFF! It's only been four years, but you'd think I'd lived here for forty. I tend to think of myself as someone who doesn't spend money on stuff, but clearly, someone does (I have a very giving family...).
But to be fair, the things I have around me are the things I've had around me for my life, generally, now over 40 years (plus), and many of them are things I want to have here. But as I pack, I realize that there are plenty of things I don't really need. A difficult but important realization!
I've been giving things away, throwing things away. It's a process for me. I like to be organized. But at some point soon, the organization will give way to expediency, and the rest of the stuff will be forced into boxes and hurriedly labeled and taped and thrown into the storage unit--no time to be dainty about it.
OK, time for bed. Need to get better soon. Too much stuff to do!
I biked up to the Vienna Metro, about 1o miles, to meet Tom at 8 a.m. We put my bike on the back of his car and drove out to Culpepper, about an hour drive, towards the Shenandoahs on 66 and 15. It was raining pretty hard as we were heading west, and Tom was getting more morose as the minutes ticked by. But I predicted improving weather, and indeed, although we started out in the rain at around 9:30, by the time we rolled back into the Culpepper County HS parking lot at 3:30, it was nearing 90 degrees and sunny. It was a beautiful 60 mile ride through hollows and up and down rolling lanes, in the shadow of Old Rag (a popular hiking mountain).
I felt pretty good throughout the ride, but on the way home, knew I just wanted to crash. And that's what I did when I got home. Got in bed and napped. Was happy I had no plans for this weekend.
But I did have plans! This was the weekend to pack!! And lying there on my bed, surrounded by mounds of clothes, piles of books, file folders of papers and sundry other things that I had pulled out to make visible in preparation for decision-making and either throwing away or packing away, I became depressed. I got up at one point and just shouted swear words at ALL MY STUFF! It's only been four years, but you'd think I'd lived here for forty. I tend to think of myself as someone who doesn't spend money on stuff, but clearly, someone does (I have a very giving family...).
But to be fair, the things I have around me are the things I've had around me for my life, generally, now over 40 years (plus), and many of them are things I want to have here. But as I pack, I realize that there are plenty of things I don't really need. A difficult but important realization!
I've been giving things away, throwing things away. It's a process for me. I like to be organized. But at some point soon, the organization will give way to expediency, and the rest of the stuff will be forced into boxes and hurriedly labeled and taped and thrown into the storage unit--no time to be dainty about it.
OK, time for bed. Need to get better soon. Too much stuff to do!
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