1st Day Back

So today was the 1st day back in the office after training is Seattle.  Surprisingly enough, there's a certain comfort that comes with the approaching start of classes.  I don't find myself sitting in my chair looking for something to do.  In the midst of working on one project, an email will come through or a the phone will ring and suddenly there's something else on the plate.  Somehow I feel like this is a pattern that's going to consistently repeat itself in the fall.  The good thing is, I'm at a point where I can see what needs to be done ahead of time which for me characterizes comfort in what I'm supposed to be doing. 

I got the experience of dealing with my 1st frustrated parent.  HA! I definitely wasn't expecting that one.  All in all I feel like I handled the situation pretty well.  I liken it to trying to cross the street...only that street is actually a freeway and you don't find out till there's a Semi barreling your way.  I definitely found myself reverting back to those CRM Jedi-Mind tricks skills I learned from my old job.  Listen...verbalize checks (uh huh, yes, exactly)...repeat for understanding and assurance...craft a response that conveys your point and incorporates their message...reiterate that response in as many ways as possible.  Considering I walked into a potential level-5 cluster and the parent hung-up with his questions answered and in good mood, I'd chalk it up as a job well done. 

The Pathways program kicked off today.  This translates into meeting more faculty and free lasagna.  Yea, life could definitely be worse.  The afternoon went by uneventfully.  Debbie (the Assistant Director) and I met and crafted a bit of an action plan for the next few days.  It was good having that time to debrief and map out next steps. 

Tomorrow is the start of BRIDGES.  I'm actually really excited to be apart of this one.  It'll only be an hour but I think that getting a change to meet some of the parents of the incoming freshmen and mingle with other departments will be good.  Sounds like the set-up is going to be WorldCafe which will also make observing the Q&A pretty interesting...