Time flies
The Montserrat trip is slated for the end of January 2007. That might seem like a long time from now but in reality it is right around the corner. Consider the fact that most people are pretty tied up at the end of the year from early November through the end of December. There's that mad rush at work prior to Thanksgiving. Then we have that long (tedious?) Thanksgiving holiday with travel, family, and end-to-end college football games. After that we're into December with a couple more holidays, more travel, more family, and more distractions. Before you realize it, January will be upon us and it will nearly time to go!
Knowing all this, I had made the suggestion that we finish as much as we could by the end of October. That, too, sounded like a long way away when I first spoke of it in June. Now, that proposed deadline is only about 6 weeks off! Time flies! My advice is still start early and stay focused.
We had a small misfortune just in the licensing exercise. We're going to send in all the applications in one bundle. Unfortunately, one team member's envelope sent to me (I'm coordinating this) was somehow lost in the mail. OK, it is really frustrating and inconvenient, but had this happened at the last minute in December or January of 2007, it could have be disastrous. Because we've been trying to be proactive and finish up all these details early, such a setback is only an annoyance.
I've taken the role of "group nag", sending reminders (friendly, to be sure, but persistent), trying to ensure that things get done. Unless your DXpedition group consists of retired millionaires with nearly infinite amounts of personal time and nothing better to think about than the trip's todo list, somebody will need to take this role. Family commitments, work commitments, and even commitments to other things in their personal life, will always be present. Things get done because (at least) one person remains focused.
So, each group should have a lead, even if it is, like me, the lead "nag" to keep prompting thing to move along, move along. Again, treat this like a project you might have at work, keep on top of the details, and keep things moving.
Car update: The new car drives beautifully, but it is sorrowfully short on radios! I managed to get the power wires pulled through the firewall tonight and will build out the battery harness (fused on both leads) tomorrow.
Knowing all this, I had made the suggestion that we finish as much as we could by the end of October. That, too, sounded like a long way away when I first spoke of it in June. Now, that proposed deadline is only about 6 weeks off! Time flies! My advice is still start early and stay focused.
We had a small misfortune just in the licensing exercise. We're going to send in all the applications in one bundle. Unfortunately, one team member's envelope sent to me (I'm coordinating this) was somehow lost in the mail. OK, it is really frustrating and inconvenient, but had this happened at the last minute in December or January of 2007, it could have be disastrous. Because we've been trying to be proactive and finish up all these details early, such a setback is only an annoyance.
I've taken the role of "group nag", sending reminders (friendly, to be sure, but persistent), trying to ensure that things get done. Unless your DXpedition group consists of retired millionaires with nearly infinite amounts of personal time and nothing better to think about than the trip's todo list, somebody will need to take this role. Family commitments, work commitments, and even commitments to other things in their personal life, will always be present. Things get done because (at least) one person remains focused.
So, each group should have a lead, even if it is, like me, the lead "nag" to keep prompting thing to move along, move along. Again, treat this like a project you might have at work, keep on top of the details, and keep things moving.
Car update: The new car drives beautifully, but it is sorrowfully short on radios! I managed to get the power wires pulled through the firewall tonight and will build out the battery harness (fused on both leads) tomorrow.
posted by NE1RD's Blog at 9:35 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home