Each year ABYC hosts a series of PTC meetings that has come to called Standards Week because the week sits at the epicenter of the standards review process. Brian and I are each running meetings all week and it is usually a highly stressful crescendo of activity. But reaching this pinnacle after months of planning and preparation is not the beginning of the end, but rather it sets the goals for the PTCs in the coming months. Basically, this week creates my To-Do list for the next year.
This year was no different. I ran a 2 day Electrical PTC meeting (the biggest busiest PTC that ABYC has) followed by a 1 day Electrical Component meeting and a one day Gas Detectors meeting.
Mixed into the chaos are a few distractors as I call them. These are important to other portions of the organization, but I tend to get pulled too far into their objectives which pulls me away from mine. For instance, for the second year in a row, I was running point on the creation of a multimedia presentation of the previous year’s accomplishments for the Annual Board Meeting which is held on Wednesday. I was wrapping up the details for this meeting up until midnight Tuesday even though I am a) still on East Coast time b) getting up early to run a meeting all day Wednesday and c) still only semi-prepared for my Wednesday meeting. Ugh, I guess burning a candle at both ends generates more light.
The bright side of the week for me was that my final obligation was completed early Thursday afternoon and I was free to explore Seattle. I considered walking up to the Space Needle or seeing some of the touristy sights around Seattle (which there are plenty), but instead opted to catch a ferry over to Bainbridge Island. The ferries run regularly, are inexpensive, and its only about a 30 minute ride. I was so happy that I did, because it was instantly a different world: Small town, virtually no traffic, sleepy beach town atmosphere. I came across another PTC member that was doing the same and we wandered the streets together so it was good to have company for a while.
With only one week back at the office before my next major trip, I have very little time to catch up, get minutes out, and prepare for the next onslaught.
