Turnaround.

In the Before Times, it was never unusual for me to have a day, or a bit more, at home between trips.  Sometimes I would have multiple suitcases and carry-on bags partly packed, and move the Dopp kit and a few other essentials among them.  I'd also taken a few end-on-end trips where I went from one set of meetings to another, and debated doing the same this time, staying a couple extra days with friends instead of coming home between.

I decided to come home.  Do a bit of laundry, not haul quite so much luggage around.  Give myself a bit of a mental break being home.  It has helped.

The first trip began visiting my parents for a few days.  We attended a local event together for the NC Opera, at which I won a T-shirt for knowing the answer "Treemonisha" to one of the trivia questions.  Coincidentally, it opened on this day in 1975 for the first full performances since it was written in around 1911.

Then to Irving, Texas, for a legal department all-hands meeting.  It was good to see people in person, there are some interactions that happen spontaneously that don't happen online.  I was scheduled to give a presentation on Wednesday, and revised it on the fly on Tuesday after some of the discussions we had.  It was very well received by my colleagues, and the General Counsel said it exceeded his expectations, which is some of the best feedback to receive.  Like many people, I have some degree of Imposter Syndrome, compounded by spending several years at my previous employer which kept promising I would be able to use all my training and never met those promises.  I am still not used to being treated as the skilled and knowledgeable person that my alphabet soup says I am.

Speaking of that alphabet soup, I have been participating in a question-writing program for the Certification as Information Systems Security Professional that I hold.  In the first phase we write questions, focusing on certain knowledge areas, and have to meet a certain number.  (I submitted eleven of the required ten.)  This is more difficult than you might think.  In the second phase, we peer-review questions submitted by others.  Some are similar to the ones I wrote, some are very different areas.  It is not easy, but I am very much enjoying the process, at all phases.

This morning I leave for a day and a half in Dallas, where I will see three plays and visit friends.  It is something like the quick trips I did in the Before Times, except that I will be masked and very cautious.  Some of the people I know sneer at masks, but they don't criticize me for wearing them, at least not to my face.  Yes, I am going to be one of these people for a long time to come.

Sunday I head to Las Vegas for the Association of Corporate Counsel Annual Meeting.  It's hybrid, part in person, a virtual option for those who for whatever reason (cost, timing, family) cannot attend in person.  As somebody in leadership I felt obligated to go - and have made it clear that I will be wearing masks, in part so others will feel comfortable about doing so if they wish.  We all had to submit our vaccination status, and I have a copy of my card just in case.  More of the New Normal.

Instead of the stolid business meetings we used to hold the staff asked us to come up with fun activities.  I created a quiz using dice to figure out which question to answer, with questions ranging from pure intellectual property to Las Vegas to film and magicians and back again.  Hopefully people will like it.  I found a cool design and ordered prizes; token things, but something for the winners.

This is one of the items people can win.

I also ordered a T-shirt for me with the design on it, because I could.  I'll wear it on Monday when Team Turtle heads out on its daily walk.  I formed Team Turtle a few years ago because the runners always got together and did a group run in the morning, and I wanted something for those who cannot run.  There are more of us than people think!

We have a mascot: