Exploring Seattle Neighborhoods - Ballard

While COVID continues to redefine my world I took an opportunity to explore the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle.

Ballard has a nice downtown area with restaurants, shops, and bars. None of those met my vision of a COVID safe exploration. 

Looking at the health streets map, I discovered that 17th street is closed starting just a few blocks north of Marke Street.

Walking north on 17th I made my way up to 70th where I took a right and went 3 blocks (West) to Salmon Bay Park.

You could easily spend a few hours in this park playing on the playground, picnicking on blankets, or enjoying some outdoor Yoga.

From the park I headed down 21st street back towards Market street, winding my way over to the health street to finish my loop.

It was an effervescent afternoon exploring a new part of  Seattle, safely outdoors, masked and distant from others.

9 days at a National Park during COVID19

Due to a once in a lifetime opportunity, Ian and I had a 9-day window before either of us start our new jobs and when we had no appointments or obligations. After much discussion, we decided to take this opportunity to go on a much dreamed about trip to Yellowstone National Park. The challenge was how to do this during COVID 19.

We had significant conversations on if this was the right thing to do with the rapid spreading of COVID.  One of the questions we have started to ask ourselves as we are navigating is what is the opportunity/ benefit to doing this and is there an alternate option available? We determined that a 9-day window to go to Yellowstone in the Summer might not present itself to us for another decade and that we would work to make choices that were COVID thoughtful during our trip.

We were far from perfect, overall our trip score was 6.2, on a 1 - 10 scale where 10 is the most COVID safe you can be.

How we decided to score:

Some of the scorings are our best estimate. We did not give ourselves any additional points for repeating places that we visited, times that we selected to have only one of us go into a place, or provide any scoring based on the length of time two things that studies are showing can impact the risks with COVID.

Not fully captured here is how often we selected not to do things because there were just too many people. Many of the iconic Yellowstone places we skipped and many of the fun tourist shops and activities we drove past knowing they would be a higher risk level than we wanted to take.



Here is the day by day, activity by activity break down.

We ended up being more COVID safe than I think we expected, but still under a level that I would recommend or suggest. If you're considering a trip similar to this a few areas that I think would have increased the score.

• Groceries, snacks, and ice - more thoughtful meal planning could have prevented us from going into stores as often as we did.
• Skip activities that have a busy parking area - these brought our scores down on many otherwise fairly safe activities.
• Skip anything where you have to go inside. Without a statewide mask mandate we were often around many people without masks and inside this really increased our risk.

The real question is did we get sick from this trip? We have been home for 8 days now and neither of us has developed any symptoms. This does not show that we did not get it and are nonsymptomatic carriers or that we won't still develop symptoms over the next week. We have opted to not go out with friends this weekend as a mild self-quarantine after our trip. 

How to fly safer during COVID19

I used to fly 2-3 times a week pre COVID. Post COVID I have made 3 trips by air since in May/ June 2020 and based on my COVID tests did so successfully. 

Two of my flights were with SouthWest and one with American.

If you have an option, pick SouthWest. They did a much better job than any other airline I saw. SouthWest was only selling 2/3 of the planes making extra room everywhere, extra room in the gate, extra room in the bathrooms, extra room in the airport shops, extra room at baggage claim, and very important extra room on the plane.

American was selling 9/10th of the seats, the empty seats were the very last row and in first class. The result was that everything was tighter, I don't think I was ever able to be 6ft away from another person during my flying experience. 

Overall the 5 different US airports I visited were cleaner than before COVID. I wore a mask and was only asked to pull it down briefly when going through TSA security, other than that I was able to leave it on my whole trip.

Airports and Airlines have changing rules on mask-wearing by passengers, I recommend you look at these before making any plans. Denver had a $500 fine for anyone in the airport not wearing a maks, SouthWest required passengers to wear masks on flights. American was encouraging but not requiring.

On all three of my flights, the in-flight services (snacks and drinks) were greatly reduced, with no options. I did get water and a small bag of snacks on all the flights, the distribution varied each time.

I made some additions to my typical flying behavior due to COVID.

- I had a mask just for the airport/ on the plane. As soon as I exited the airport I switched to a fresh mask and put the used one in a plastic container to be disinfected at a later date.

- I brought my own disinfecting wipes (could not find them at the store so made some at home). I used these diligently, wiping every seat and surface that I was going to use, both in the airport and on the plane.

- My own hand sanitizer that I used after I touched anything. Expect to use about half a small bottle on a domestic trip.

- Expect things within the airport to be closed. Having a water bottle and some snacks with you can help eliminate the stress of the kiosk being closed.

I am not planning on flying again until November and I hope that we will see more safety measures in place on my next trip.

discovering the way that I can be the best version of myself

Reflections are written and delayed posting not a reflection of current status, but a window into a past moment.

My tendency towards an unreserved highly passionate approach has a tendency to lead me to careers that consume me.

Over a decade ago one such career crashed and exploded around me in a way that at the time felt like the only option. It took me over two months to recover from that job and in the decade since I have been learning about how to care for myself; while allowing my high passion to continue.

Learning self-care was not instant and is far from over but I have made progress, and that commitment to continued learning is one of the habits leading to my highly passionate approach to discovering the way that I can be the best version of myself.

Things I need to reset:

- Unhindered sleep - no worries about not sleeping, sleeping too much or messing up my sleep schedule

- Quiet time

- Nothing

- Time with my spouse

- A clean house

- A bit of excitement, doing something like trying a new restaurant, going to a new part of town or a visit to the local movie theater

- Some basic exercise light yoga or a short walk

- Netflix and chill

- Going to the doctor and taking the time to focus on my health


With this reset, my balanced self begins to emerge. I know that version of me is arriving when I start to have, interest in reading, crafts, socializing, more intensive exercise, and somewhere in there a desire to create, express, learn, grow, expand and achieve.

Over the past few years, I haven't had enough of post-reset time to truly live as my balanced self.  It has been exciting to be so fully immersed, I thrived under the high demands, my highly passionate approach was thriving. Things began to change. I found that I crave the more balanced version of myself and started to actively exploring how to pull away from the constant demands just enough to give me more recovery time. I committed to going to the doctor and taking the time to focus on my health and have made the appointments. I have been taking PTO, not for any specific reason but because it is important to give me the rest. I am check-in in on myself to ensure I am resetting. I am tracking how long its been since I engaged in things I love like reading and creating. I am learning more about who I am and what I need.

The first 30 days

At 35, I realized after 10 years of successful non-profit career advancement I needed to make some changes.

I needed to live in a place that met my needs for activities, social, and family. I needed to take some time to focus on wellness. I needed to explore working, as important, but with other things also being important. This was an incredibly difficult and uncomfortable decision. It felt like jumping off a cliff. I was fortunate to have a spouse that fully emotionally stood by me during this process and, that I have been able to build savings to give me the time that I needed.

When I realized that the system that I have loved is not the system that I need for this next part of my journey happened in what has been the most complicated year of my life in the USA. You will see reference to some, but far from all, of the major defining events going on during this metaphorical jumping off a cliff.



The first 30 days after I left my job, I knew would move by quickly and I wanted to be sure to capture at least one item that I did each day.

Overarching goals during this time:
- Pay close attention to all doctor appointments/ instructions - I have put these off for too long and want to change that habit
- Exercise, stretch and possibly yoga
- Improve my Excel skills
- Read a few books
- Move to Washington
- Begin job hunting
- Connect with more of my friends/ family within social distance guidelines



Day 1
Cleaning

Day 2
Netflix

Day 3
Packed

Day 4
Doctors appointment

Day 5
Flew to Seattle
Explored Lacey Washington

Day 6
Job searching

Day 7
Met with the property manager for the new apartment
Hiked Green Mountain with my brother

Day 8
Lazy socially distance AM breakfast with friends in Seattle
Flew back to Texas

Day 9
Outdoor brunch with friends who flew in from Dallas

Day 10
Packed

Day 11
Protested the murder of George Floyd
Went to San Antonio to say goodbye (no hugs 😞) to family/ pick up some yard art

Day 12
Went through two boxes of childhood memorabilia and reduced them to one box

Day 13
COVID 19 test
Finished book, "Stay Alive my Son"

Day 14
Kahn Academy - Excel

Day 15
Hair Cut (Texas is open at the moment)
Started book "Bright Flows the River"

Day 16
Phone calls with family

Day 17
Day surgery (remember those doctors appointments that I have put off)

Day 18
Recovery day
Listening to The Andromeda Strain on Audible

Day 19
Second recovery day
Started the process of address changes for the move

Day 20
Addresses changes done
Finished Andromeda strain

Day 21
Gave all of our remaining food to some in-town family and said goodbye from 6 feet apart with masks on (so unnatural)
Begun listening to the Audible "Deep"

Day 22
Movers loaded up all of our townhouse and we cleaned
Did a test run through for a volunteer award that I am presenting this week via video call (Teams)

Day 23
A post-operation check-up with the doctor, things look good!
Got on an airplane and moved to Seattle

Day 24
Our car arrived
Moved into our new apartment (unaccompanied by our stuff that is still in the truck on the way to WA)
Purchased patio furniture from a locally owned patio store
Took some time to walk around our neighborhood

Day 25
Returned the rental car
Picked up our Target order, we now have Lysol spray, hand soap and; hand sanitizer back in our life :)

Day 26
Did an 11mile hike with a friend at Wallace Dallas state park

Day 27
Called family to reconnect
Hiked St. Edward's state park with Ian

Day 28
Had an attempted social distance coffee and park visit with a friend and her 3 years old, three-year-olds don't understand social distance :)

Day 29
On a whim decided to ride the ferries over to Port Angles. Had outdoor lunch with a friend and then hiked in the Olympic national park.

Day 30
Kept the Olympic national park tour going with a hike along the beach before visiting our cat who is staying with my Brother until I am more moved in.

Job exit communications in the time of Social Media

I left a job that I loved at a company that I loved. Personal reasons prompted me to make a departure.  After working through the emotional and logistics of leaving were being sorted out I found myself thinking about the best way to communicate this decision.




Here is the communication strategy that I used:

- Conversation with my supervisor

• Followed by an official letter of resignation expressing my thanks for the opportunity to work with him the past several years.

- Announcement during a staff meeting notifying to my peers

• I had a set of talking points, expressing my thanks, sadness to be leaving, and some general next steps for the transition, including the next few parts of how we were going to communicate. 

- Teams meeting with my staff and leadership volunteers

• I had a set of talking points, expressing my thanks, sadness to be leaving, and some general next steps for the transition, including the next few parts of how we were going to communicate. 

- E-mail announcement to the company from my supervisor

• Where he thanked me for my service and announced the interim who would be transiting with me.
• Be prepared to spend 1-2 hours each day for the next 3 days responding to individual e-mails from your co-workers. 

- 3 days before my final day, I put up an auto-response in my e-mail letting people know I was departing and who would be acting in my role after my departure.

- 2 days before my final day, I sent out an e-mail to my team thanking them for incredible work experience, sharing my persona information, and thanking the individual who was stepping in to act in my role during hiring.

• To my coworkers, x-number years ago, when I joined the company name, I saw the volunteer mission in action though our front-line members and knew I had joined an extraordinary organization. X-number years ago, I came into the current position where everyone of you is living the values of our mission, doing the work of 10 people every day, and knew I was in an extraordinary department. During my time in the department we have delivered the company mission with compassion, client focus and care. We have set a standard of exceptionalism that is highlighted with sparkle and sunshine I owe a tremendous thank you to each of you for the privilege to be the current position in department these past x-number years. Working with each of you has been a highlight of my career. I will always be part of the company family and look forward to joining our volunteer workforce in the future. I am grateful interim successor name has agreed to pause his current job title duties to serve as the interim current position, continuing to support each of you as we move our mission forward. As I move into this next chapter in my life, I truly hope that we will stay in touch. My personal contact information is: cell, e-mail & LinkedIn I would like to leave you with one final quote from Harriet Tubman. “Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.” Sincerely, My full name
• Be prepared to spend 1-2 hours each day for the next 3 days responding to individual contacts on your personal and work accounts from your co-workers. 

- 1 week after I departed (once I saw my position was being posted for recruitment), I posted notification on LinkedIn and Facebook.

• Month and Year marks the end of my chapter with the Company and the department. Delivering humanitarian aid on the frontlines of climate change in America has been an intensely rewarding experience, beyond any that I could have imagined. I am grateful for the Company family whom I have had the opportunity to work alongside over the past x-number years. As I depart from my role as the current role, I continue to have a quote from Harriet Tubman echo in my mind that captures the mission delivered and the mission delivery ahead. “Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.”
• Be prepared to spend 1-2 hours each day for the next 3 days responding to individual contacts from across your networks. 

Adventure to suburban parks

Urban living is wonderful for so many reasons. As we are three months into COVID19 I have found myself interested in a slice of suburban life.

Today I had the chance to spend a very pleasant hour and a half exploring the William Ives Trail and Meridian Neighborhood Park.



This slice of nature set between suburban neighborhoods has the suburban quiet, a steady set of walkers, well-behaved dogs, and youth on bicycles roaming along the unpaved paths.

Its a journey from Seattle (45min + one way) but the change in pace is a nice variety to days in the city.

In addition to the walking trails, the park has a nice playground area(not accessible), a large field, and a pavilion with picnic tables to round out your park visit.