2022 is My Challenge Year

Instead of putting together a list of resolutions, I have decided to set a focus word for the year ahead. One that will help me keep my goals in mind at all times, and set the right path for me in 2022. That word is CHALLENGE.   

That’s right, I am going to challenge myself. Personally, and professionally, and unfortunately for Heuer, I am going to challenge him too. Get ready honey.

First and foremost, my focus is on finding a role to really challenge me professionally. I spent much of 2021 doing work that was incredibly important, and impactful, for the company I worked for, but I did not personally grow from it. I offered to help in other ways that would both challenge me and best use my talents, but it never fell on the right ears. Then came the layoff.

So, I find myself looking for my next role, one that I expect will challenge me in all the right ways. What I enjoy most is building relationships for growth-oriented, customer-centric organizations. I artfully balance the needs and voice of the customer with business objectives to ensure the customer journey is optimized towards loyalty and lifetime revenue. I also excel in developing and expanding partner relationships and related ecosystem programs. Some of the roles where I thrive are in Customer Experience, Partner Relations, and Community Engagement.

In addition to developing win-win-win relationships, I really enjoy operationalizing systems and developing feedback loops that provide ongoing insight to inform and validate business strategies and product-market fit. Well, I don’t just enjoy it … I am really good at it.  

I’ve been quietly talking to a few friends about potential opportunities, but realize I need to broaden my search. I am here to ask for your help.  

If you know of a company looking for a passionate and effective customer, partner, or community relations builder, I would appreciate hearing about it (especially if you can introduce me to the hiring manager!). My LinkedIn profile can be found here and I am happy to send a resume too. 

I favor a remote role as we currently live in North Lake Tahoe, but I would be open to a hybrid situation where I could travel to the office and meet face:face with the team in the Bay Area, Sacramento, or Reno. I should note my passport is current, so if there happen to be office locations overseas, I will gladly travel as needed. 

Thanks for your help. 

Ok, now that the professional challenge is out there … time for the personal one(s). 

2021 was much better than 2020, but the year still felt really meh. We had some wonderful moments to celebrate; we finally realized a long-time goal and moved to Tahoe, we worked on several interesting client projects, and we bought a house, but most days just drifted by without anything to really energize our existence.

Due to COVID, we didn’t find good opportunities to meet a lot of people in our new town. We’ve made friends, but I expected our network to be way bigger by now. I also did not even come close to doing all the outdoor activities we had planned (raging wildfires pretty much killed our summer), and lacked finding a home-based workout plan that would keep me inspired. So, I am going to challenge myself to change all that. I need to read more. TikTok videos are fun, but most do not expand my brain. And with all the buzz around Web 3, I want to take some courses to help expand my knowledge, as I expect elements of that technology will touch much of the work I will do.  

More local friends. 

More time outdoors. 

More experiences and lasting memories being created. 

More learning and experimenting. 

More self-care. 

More exercise and better health. 

More money in the bank. 

The new year always comes with renewed possibilities – every day does actually, but most of us ritually celebrate the start on January 1st. Regardless, it is time to challenge me to focus on the inspiring, the good, the positive, and the possibility of the year ahead!

So now I have to ask, what is your focus word going to be? 

Putting The New Ski Boots To Work

I used to love to ski. Mom and dad would wake us up at 4am, throw us, our gear, as well as a pile of pillows and blankets into the truck, and make the four-hour drive for a fun day on the mountain. Hit it early, hit it hard, and make the most of every single minute we had.

From a young age, my sisters and I were racing down Black Diamond runs, carving lines around moguls, and taking every jump opportunity we could find. Our parents raised a bunch of wild women on the mountain, and we simply could not get enough.

As the oldest, I always got dad’s hand-me-downs when it came to gear. I remember him laughing with some of his friends that his (one foot shorter) 13-year daughter was skiing on his 174s. I didn’t know any better. I just knew if I wanted to ski, I either used his old gear or I had to buy my own, and gear was expensive, even back then. I have told this story a couple of times at various ski rental shops. They smile, hand me 164s, and tell me they don’t recommend anything longer. Ha.

As I got older (and my dad stopped paying for my ski lift tickets), my trips to the mountain slowed down. I blame a heavy workload, a solid social calendar, and the fact I was living in a city where there was always a lot to do (shout out to San Francisco!). I’d go a couple of times a year, renting equipment as needed, and finding I was ok not tearing down the mountain as much anymore.

Then I met Heuer. My snowboarding, Tahoe-loving partner-in-crime. We’d rent homes for the ski season and come up as much as we could. It was great, and I realized how much I had missed gliding down the mountain.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t long before I started to get a shooting pain in my knees, the right one mostly, but both were having issues. After a couple of doctor’s visits, I learned I had chondromalacia patella and scheduled the surgery to remove a couple of bone spurs that had formed under my kneecaps. I thought my skiing days were over.

They were, mostly. Every once in a while I would rent some gear and hit the mountain with Heuer, but I would pay for it after. So, I took up my post as an official “lodge bunny” and have spent the last decade+ reading or working at the resort while he slid around the mountain. I lied to myself and said it was “good enough,” even though I knew it wasn’t.

That all changed this year when we moved to North Lake Tahoe. With this move, I swore I was going to get back up on the mountain and enjoy the perks of living a mere 10 minutes from a resort. I rented some gear and got in one day of spring skiing. While my knees were not thrilled, they allowed the day to happen. This was a good sign, very good indeed. I decided to set the intention that I will ski, so it was time to buy some gear. Gulp.

We hit a local ski swap/sale and found a pair of new Atomic boots that fit my feet like a glove, er … sock. As I was not sure what type of skis I wanted (a lot has changed in 10+ years), I decided to only buy the boots as I could rent different pairs of skis each time I go out until I find something I’d really like. So I handed over my credit card and took them home.

We have gotten quite a bit of snow over the last couple of weeks, so Heuer and I picked up some rental skis for me, and headed up to Diamond Peak Ski Resort. I only lasted an hour that day, but it felt good and I was ready for more.

So, yesterday, we headed to the mountain again. I did a couple of runs on the bunny slopes to warm up the legs and make sure my knees were going to tolerate this, then we headed up the Crystal Express chair. The thing I love most about this lift is it drops you in front of (I think) one of the best views of Lake Tahoe, whether the sun is shining or snow is dumping down on you. Heuer waited patiently as I took a few minutes to get a couple of photos. You are welcome honey, as I think you look super cute here.

The runs down the hill are long and well-groomed, but there were a lot of fluffy snow piles throughout from people carving their own way down. While these little wannabe moguls would not have been an issue for me in my younger years, my knees quickly spoke up to remind me I am not quite ready for the Winter Olympics. I got down, but that was the last run of the day for me. I need to do more leg workouts and some yoga to help make sure my knee caps track correctly.

All in all a great day, but it will take me another week or two to get myself back up this hill. And I will, as I have to get my money’s worth out of these boots!

Lifehouse Interview at Live in the Vineyard

After an amazing weekend discovering new artists, Live in the Vineyard closed with an amazing performance from Lifehouse.

Before the show, Chris had a chance to talk to them about awareness, great food, the upcoming summer tour, and their recent Live at 35 flights with Southwest Airlines while I did what I could to hold the camera steady.

After the interview we took the token selfie with the boys, because, we do.

Selfie with Lifehouse

Nice way to end the show.

Katy Tiz Interview at Live in the Vineyard

What a treat. This afternoon Chris and I met Katy Tiz who you probably know from her hit song “Famous”, and more recently “Big Bang.”

Get a sneak peak of her song “Bam Bam”, a great acoustic version of “Big Bang” and hear the brilliant chinwag with Chris Heuer about Grumpy Cat and her fabulous shoes.

She was an absolute riot. Here is another video of her performance I shot, her song “Whistle.”

Melissa Etheridge Interview at Live in the Vineyard

We had a chance to sit down and speak with Melissa Etheridge before her stellar performance at Sutter Home earlier today as part of Live in the Vineyard.

Chris spoke with her about the need to keep hustling, the power that women bring to leadership and her new album, This is M.E.

He also dove into her brilliant song that finished the album “Who Are You Waiting For?,” which was in essence her wedding vows to Linda Wallem from last year.

She’s such an amazing soul, and her voice is as powerful as the first time I heard her sing some 25 years ago. What an amazing performer, what an amazing person.

And she was gracious in allowing us do our traditional event photo, the selfie.

Selfie with Melissa Etheridge

We need more strong women in our life. Women like Melissa.

Wanted For Seduction

Do you have any outlaws in your family tree? Did they rob banks like Bonnie and Clyde? Steal horses alongside Butch Cassidy? Or even sell alcohol for Al Capone during Prohibition?

Not this fella. He is wanted for a broken heart (err, promise).

ACOM_Wanted_Seduction

I think the “wears small black moustache” description is a little off, but no matter. I wonder if they ever found him…

This is part of a collection being indexed as part of our Ancestry World Archives Project – think I might have to dig in to see what other nuggets we can find.

 

Tracing Ancestors Through DNA

I have always been a big believer in ‘eating your own dog food’ and knowing the products you represent inside, and out.

I have been ‘consuming’ the Ancestry.com trees product for years now, so I thought I would try the AncestryDNA test that combines DNA science with our online family history resource to predict genetic ethnicity to hopefully, help me discover new family connections.

AncestryDNATest

The AncestryDNA test analyzes your entire genome—all 23 pairs of chromosomes—and using autosomal testing, surveys over 700,000 locations in your DNA. We currently use samples from 22 different ethnic regions around the world that should provide information on where my ancestors came from, 100s or even 1000s of years ago.

The test is super easy, just spit into the tube, mail it away and wait for the results to show up online. I should have the results back in 4-6 weeks and will post an update once they are available.

Who knows, I may finally confirm—or debunk—that whole Castilian heritage thing.

Next Time, Buy The Floor Model

Heuer and I were planning a small get together for Memorial Day and when we started cleaning the grill in prep for the party, noted the hood tents were rusted and crumbling and several areas of the grill plates were past the point of no return. We had to replace them.

We headed to Home Depot, and after realizing we were going to spend almost $200 in new parts, decided to buy a new one instead.
Supposedly, one hour to put together. We are on hour two and not done. Everything bent, just a little bit.

When did IKEA start making grills?

Let’s just say that I would totally buy the floor model next time. This, was not fun.

 

 

 

The Beauty and Serenity of Lake Tahoe

I have spent most of my Winters in the North Lake Tahoe area – shredding the various hills, carving paths untouched by man and getting into snow ball fights with friends and family. Ok, who’s kidding, in recent years I have been sitting by the fire in the ski lodge with a pint of Newcastle and a good book (or my laptop) close by while I wait for my beloved to finish his carving of the hill (thanks to a set of knees that hate me).

But anyway, I think we should start spending a bit more time during the Spring and Summer months too. The AdHocnium team stole away for a few days to work on our business plan for the new company (TBA), and I had forgot how spectacular North Lake Tahoe is time of year.

Jump!

The water is a bit chilly, but beautiful nonetheless, especially when staring at it with a lovely glass of Chardonnay in your hand.

Day on the lake with @chrisheuer and @chloealexmayer #instacollage #tahoe #laketahoe #westshore

We had a house in Squaw Valley, which was in the process of switching from a ski resort to a golf resort…

Taking an afternoon stroll to stretch the legs and catch our second wind after day of brainstorming and planning. #squaw #squawvalley #laketahoe

And maybe next year, I will be in better shape so we can actually hike, bike and swim instead of drink wine, read books and eat until our bellies were going to pop. Or, we can live a little and try to do it all…

All I care about is that we spend more time here when there is more green on the ground than white.

Oh, and about that company we are working on … we will have news on that soon. 🙂