Saturday, May 10, 2008

Art Cars and Other Cool Things

Part of today's run took me up Allen Parkway where I got to see the art cars lining up for the annual Art Car Parade. We have one of the best art car parades in the country, and people bring entries from all over.

I tried to find a permalink for the Houston Chronicle's coverage of the parade, but no luck. Anyone who goes to the Chronicle's website this weekend can pick up some of the photo galleries and videos. It's pretty amazing how elaborate some of the cars are.

I once had a "retired" car that I wanted to convert into an art car. I was going to make it into a giant rabbit. Seriously. But I lacked the time and resources for it, so I never got into that particular project.

One of the things I'm looking forward to in my new job is having a little more time for myself. From all appearances, I'll be working forty-hour weeks most of the time instead of fifty. And what's probably even more significant is that it won't be such a pressure cooker environment. Oh, sure, there will be crunch times like in any line of work, but the whole stupid year won't be a crunch time.

The head of my new department is very into her Myers-Briggs. She said when she interviewed me that she knew I was an introvert (we knew each other before she began recruiting me) and she's big on respecting the work styles of both introverts and extroverts. I so hope it's true! I've always tried to do that with my own staff because when a person has to spend half the work day fighting their own personality, it has a negative impact on attitude, work quality, and even personal life (which bleeds back into work performance).

Maybe soon I'll have evenings and weekends where I won't have to turn into a hermit just to keep from going crazy. There are a lot of things I'd like to do with my life that get put on hold when I need every free moment as down time so I can re-charge and be "on" again for everyone the next day. People, even when I love them, bleed me dry. Here's a good explanation of Extroversion vs Introversion, for anyone who is unclear on what the terms really mean, and not just the pop culture meaning.

Recent Baking
Friday: banana bread
Saturday: carrot-apple bread (2 loaves)

Recent Workouts
Monday: 35 minute elliptical
Tuesday: worked late - no workout
Wednesday: 40 minute spin
Thursday: worked late - no workout
Friday: scheduled rest day
Saturday: 20 mile run
Note: My job interviews and resignation really took a toll on my workday and ate into my workout time. I had thought to carve out a little workout time on Friday, but that got nixed by all the people calling and dropping by to congratulate me, further impacting my ability to actually work. If this sort of thing keeps up I'm going to have to stay home to get anything done!

8 comments:

RG said...

What ever do you do with a car disguised as a Rabbit when it is not in the parade?

Years ago I was teaching a class on Project Management (you know, deadlines, milestones, .. =:<) ) and used a film by Peter Drucker called Staffing for Strength. That sure got the point across quick about don't try putting square pegged people into round hole assignments!

Somewhere I think somebody made Capt'n Rupert's Carrot cake today!

Anonymous said...

it sounds like the job move was a wise decision! my friend did it for very similar reasons, it was taking her life, energy, hours! i work from home and it permeates everything. hard to walk away sometimes.

good for you

pacatrue said...

Good luck in the new digs. Your boss' interest in Myers-Briggs reminds me of a test I took once right after college at the Johnson O'Conner Foundation, which has an office in Houston ('cause that's where I took the test). They give you a battery of tests over a two day period and then, at the end, recommend jobs that they think your personality would mesh with. The idea is just that people are happier when the more they get to use their natural inclinations and the less they have to overcome them each day. As I just realized now, I guess they did tell me I might like a career in language, which it turns out is now 8 years before I enrolled in my current program.

Anonymous said...

Oh, I love the art cars! And hehehe, I love the idea of making a car into a giant rabbit. You know what I'd turn a car into... (hint: *purr*)

Your new job sounds like it's going to work out great. And that's cool about your boss and her respect for introverts and our style of work. I've taken Myers-Briggs, and I test as either an INTJ or an INTP. I test 100% "I" every time, high on "N", moderate on "T" and borderline between "J" and "P".

It's a great thing to be respected as an introvert in an extrovert's world. It's infuriating how many people think it's a "bad" thing to be an introvert. I happen to think it's a very good thing! :)

Here's a fun link for you about being an introvert:

Caring for Your Introvert

Anonymous said...

Hey
I didn't know you were here too! I didn't recognise the username on the comment you left me.

Congratulations on the new job, it sounds like it will be great.

I have a friend who is Myers Briggs obsessed and he does make it sound really interesting but I've never taken the test.

The bread sounds yummy, my recent experiments in that department have gone horribly wrong but I shall persevere!

Glenna said...

It would be fun to turn an old VW Rabbit into a bunny car. I'm an introvert myself, and I'm finally, finally learning not to fight it. People absolutely drain me, and my idea of heaven is to spend the entire weekend at my house, going out as little as possible. I'm "on" during the week and "off" on weekends, and I've stopped apologizing for it. What I think is interesting is how little society appreciates the introvert.

Una said...

I always wanted to make a car into a ladybug. Someone beat me to it. I have no further aspirations!

Nice that so many people have stopped by to wish you well, though not so great for the workload :)

Stephee said...

Hi, I'm a new reader. Do you have your banana bread recipe posted anywhere? Thanks!