Where Oh Where to Work....Day #26

A Place To Work
Early in this trip, about twenty days ago, I visited the Minneapolis and St. Paul CoCo locations. The networking, social events, technical events and ambiance were inviting.  The St. Paul location felt less so, a bit like bad college apartment living.  Minneapolis offers cheap parking but that still remains a commute and I don't want to spend money on downtown lunches and eating out of Tupperwear long ago lost it's appeal.  While I may stay on top of their events I believe there are other locations that I can write, design and code.  Home works OK at times, especially when you don't want to shower but there is always the frig calling or the need to quickly do something.  Working where I am today feels good.  Clean bathrooms, coffee, space, nice lighting and a chair that communicates 'get to work' and not comfort is feeling pretty good.

The Resume
There are a few refinements in-process.  For years I've used my middle initial, 'F', for Fredrick, my maternal grandfather's name.  He was a hard-working, long-living Norwegian.  In hindsight he rarely spoke, was a good provider but was not really a contributor to his daughter's happiness or success.  There is always a tendency for us to respect parents, grandparents and others, but as I've grown I don't believe he contributed much to my life or success.  When I think of influences I immediately think of my paternal grandfather, his dry sense of humor and his chuckle and his many acquaintances.  He, too, was a hard worker but in a more technical area and primarily self-taught.  I'm going to consider changing the resume and perhaps my name.  I'm going toe drop the middle initial from my resume name.

Back in the day, I was deep into industrial psychology, organizational development and management.  This is an area that I need to stress, too.  My expertise goes beyond IT, touching also into human resources, executive leadership, strategic planning and believe it or not, marketing.  Good design, both in space and objects, but also in teams and organizations is a comfortable place.

Boutique Consulting
Yesterday at the MK gig a chat with a customer included the obligatory 'what do you do?'  Not many people ask me what I do.  Perhaps the geezer appearance is an issue.  The target of my question responded that he had a 'boutique' consulting business.  It's still not clear if that meant it was small, nichey or smelled like potpourri.  Regardless, I like the idea of niche expertise; I always have.  I think I have a lot of niche expertise in a lot of areas.  I'm going back to the LHH Marketing Statement and elaborate on my niche areas of interest and expertise.

Last Night's Party
I was the oldest person at the party.  There were two people, including the guest of honor, who were 50 and thought that was quite special.  Ha.

The guest of honor was the tallest person at the party.

The dog of the house, a golden retriever, was eight and a half.  Even considering 'dog years' I was the oldest.