Wow - time sure flies when you're having fun! I created this blog almost 4 years ago, put one post, and then completely forgot about it. So what have I been up to in the past 3.5yrs? Lots. But rather than give you a recap, I'll just update you on what's happening in my life right now:
I'm still working at Efficiency NB, although Gov't has announced that we will be shutting down in the near future. But things aren't as grim as it sounds - after 9 years of operation as a Crown Corporation that is 100% funded by Gov't, we are moving to a utility funded model. ENB is/was the only Gov't funded energy efficiency agency in North America and the funding model is not very sustainable given the province's ever expanding debt. So we will become part of NB Power, the province's electrical utility. Although it is sad to see the end of an award winning and ground breaking initiative, I am excited about the possibilities of what could be accomplished under the new model. Definitely exciting times in my professional life!
Volunteer wise I have slowed down quite a bit. I am officially not sitting on a single board or committee at the moment. By sheer coincidence, all of my terms of various boards and committees ended last fall; some organizations I had been involved with for as little as 2 years and others as much as 8. I decided that rather than signing up for multi-year commitments, I would pick shorter term projects. I was asked in January to join the organizing committee for The Originals, the City of Saint John's bi-annual Arts Awards Gala. So my project for 2014 was helping to organize, fundraise, and host an evening to celebrate local artists and arts supporters. We had a wonderful event on September 26th where we issued awards in 13 categories. Now that The Originals has wrapped up I'm waiting until the New Year to see what projects I may work on for 2015!
Oddly, my decision to slow down from doing volunteer work was due in part to having received a few recognition awards: a New Brunswick Day Merit Award from the City of Saint John (for work on PlanSJ), the Governor General's Caring Canadian Award (to recognize 'unsung heros' in the community) and the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of NB Citizenship Award (for significant contribution to community). I know so many wonderful citizens and volunteers who have devoted their time and talents to worthwhile endeavors - who are much more deserving than I am - but who have yet to receive any recognition, so I was a bit taken aback to have received 3 awards within a 3 year time frame. It was sort of surreal, and felt very weird given that this was all accomplished in my early 30s. I started wondering: if I'm only 1/3 of the way through my life expectancy, what am I going to do next? So I 'retired' from boards and committees and decided to take a step back and think about what kind of impact I'd like my life to have over the next 30 or so years.
Which reminds me... big life altering news: having turned 35 this month, I am now middle-aged! My youth officially ended 5 days ago - ha ha ha. I am no longer considered to be a 'young' member of any professional associations, and by most executive standards have reached the age where my professional experiences and competencies can now be trusted. But don't worry, I'm not having any kind of a crisis! It's more just a realization of fact, and an interesting one at that. Now that I'm 'grown up' and 'responsible' I've been thinking more about my career and accomplishments and about the person whom I thought I would be at this age vs. who I am. I am fairly satisfied, but now it's time to start thinking about the next chapter and charting a course for 5, 10, 15 years from now.
A large part of who I am is my family, specifically my nieces and nephews. I am now up to 4: 2 girls and 2 boys. They are so much fun! My little buddies; I adore them and am in awe every day watching them grow and seeing how their personalities change and develop. And, let's face it: they are totally my excuse to do fun things! We travel together, go on adventures together, and learn and explore together. Thankfully they seem to enjoy many of the same things I do, and we are all somewhat curious, so they don't mind being dragged off to a museum, a hike in the woods, a visit to a farm or a road trip for some apple picking.
Well, that's all for now! I'll try to bring you another update... hopefully before I turn 40!
I've created this blog as a way for friends, family, or anyone else who wants to read it, to keep up with what's happening in my life. Not likely to be controversial, but hopefully insightful and occasionally fun/funny :)
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