Out of Office

Today is the first of the working without an office days. At the moment, I'm working from a table in a coffee shop. Later, that might be the library (I don't think I can spend all day here).

Monday we're office-less too, because of the installation of the HVAC system. Upon returning Tuesday, I'll be working at a table in a back room. It's less than ideal for the time being, but in the end, it will be so worth it because of the renovations. Hopefully, some new pictures of the completed upstairs soon.

End of class and the move

My fundraising school class was great. Lots of excellent information about how to raise major gifts.

The office renovation move now happens in less than 48 hours. That means between now and then, I've got to re-find the bottom of my desk and move all the rest of my stuff.

I better stop blogging and get to work.

Entropy in action

On Tuesday morning, when I thought I had to have my entire desk packed by the end of today for the move that's not happening now until next Friday, you could actually see most of the bottom of my desk.

This is no longer the case.

I do not know what happened. I sort of refuse to believe that I am that much of a piler that I covered over an entire desk in a day. One day.

Obviously, this is proof of entropy or blue shift, that the universe is closing back in on itself or something.

In other news, the painters and the carpet people are here today working on the upstairs. No new photos to post of the work. I think that may just wait for the big "reveal."

Also -- next week, I will be in fundraising school learning all about major gifts and then moving my office, so I'll update when I can.

This is a holdup

Well, not that kind of holdup, but the kind that involves the carpet not being in yet, meaning the carpet layers can't install it upstairs, meaning that we can't move upstairs/to the back of downstairs this week because they aren't done yet.

That's right -- the move is delayed until the end of next week. We were on track for moving this Friday, but carpet's kind of an important thing.

Most of my office is in boxes, although not quite all of it. I'm holding off on packing the remainder until it's time to move, because I keep having to get in the boxes I packed to get files I need. Many of the boxes are coming with me to the temporary digs I'll be working out of next month.

The move gives the whole office sort of an unsettled feeling as we transition. But, then if I just go upstairs and start looking at the new paint and everything that's been done up there and how AMAZING it's starting to look, it makes all the unsettled-ness completely worth it.

Hopefully, I'll get upstairs for some more sneak-peek photos soon.

If I can remember what box I put the camera in.

The move

The word is I may need to be out of the blue office by next Friday.

So far, I've packed up five boxes and hauled them into the garage where we can store our stuff during the move. This afternoon, I also erased my "Word List" board, after I copied it all down into a computer file. The board also had the definitions of "inputs," "outputs," "goals," and "outcomes" and I used that side for reference every time I wrote a grant.

It's strange to be unpacking the blue office as its really, finally starting to feel like my workspace after more than a year here.

And just to prove that construction is really happening, here's a photo I took for the newsletter. This is the upstairs training room.

Two Boxes Down

I began packing up the blue office this morning.

The word here is that we will be moving out of our offices by the end of next week or so. I decided that if I packed a box or two each day this week and next (maybe I don't have that much stuff...) that the whole concept of packing up my office will be not so bad. This morning, I started in on the bookcase, packing up books and binders and things I'm confident I will not need until I move into my remodeled very, own office.

I'm also resolving to start working through the stacks on my desk. (If you could only see the piles...) These things also need homes (and ones that I can find again) during the move. I do still have to keep working during all this renovation hullabaloo. My fear is that I'll pack some project into a box and TOTALLY forget where it is, that I'm working on it, or when it's due. (Of course, in the nightmare version of this fear, it's a gazillion-dollar grant that I forget to turn in and all of Starfish goes under because of me.)

Needless to say, this desk-packing-organizing thing is a much bigger deal.

Grants and Monopoly

Today is a $5,000 day.

As in, we just got a check for $5,000 from a repeat foundation. This is, I'm fairly sure, the third year they have supported us and specifically our Algebra Camp and Homework Club. These programs make a huge difference for our students academically and this continued support is great.

Second, today is the day of the IndyCrew Monopoly tournament for which Starfish Initiative is the charity of choice this year. Joyce (the executive director) and I are headed to the Conrad Hotel downtown later this afternoon for the tournament. We'll get to meet the players, talk about Starfish and perhaps Pass Go and Collect $200. I've got the camera, so hopefully, we'll have some event pictures from this one to post later.

Meanwhile, back to writing reports.

Construction Season...

... is officially open at Starfish.

The roll-away dumpster is here and the demolitions folks began work upstairs today. Last I looked, there were no longer baseboards on the walls and another guy was measuring door frames.

So you have some idea of the progress later, here are some "before" shots of the areas where they are constructing right now.

Breakfast 2.0 (and the pending construction racket...)

I can't believe I'm thinking about breakfast planning again.

But, honestly, it is time to start some of the planning already. In fact, last week, we decided on our venue. We're not having it at the same place as last year, because we're really going to work to get 500 people and 500 people won't fit in the room we had it last year. (Which is sort of too bad, because it was really pretty...)

This morning, I'm meeting with our event planner VISTA to brainstorm sponsorship opportunities for the breakfast and get our sponsorship stuff ready so we can contact businesses, etc., about that. The idea is to get sponsors for everything -- the invitations, the food, the table decorations, all of it, along with just general event sponsors.

Also... the construction is really supposed to start here at Starfish this week. We've been saying "next week," "next week" for the last few weeks, but this week is really supposed to be it. There's signed contracts now and everything...

I'm excited because the end of the blue office is near. I'm also excited for my current VISTAs who will get to move into MUCH better work spaces than where they are. (The blue office will become the gray and orange office with new furniture, better lighting, comfortable chairs and will go to one of the new VISTAs).

The construction, I'm sure, will make it hard to work somewhat, but the end result will be so worth it that I'm willing to put up with just about anything.