Work(s) in Progress

Digging out

My University finally closed yesterday at noon. By that time the main road between where I live and Denver had closed. I'm very glad I chose to work from home and was able to skip the commute. People I spoke with yesterday who were down town made it sound like they were not getting hit quite as hard as my neighborhood.

It looked like this from my front door for most of the day yesterday. This was taken at about 11AM yesterday - so about 4 hours into the snow storm.

 I dug out my driveway yesterday at about 2 PM. We probably got another 3 inches of snow between then and this morning. I'm glad I did. The snow was wet and heavy with about an inch of slush at the bottom. I'd estimate that we got about 12 inches of snow total. It difficult to be certain. We had very high winds so some areas had several feet and others just a few inches. My roof still has lots of snow while my neighbor's has none.

The sun is starting to come out. I love this about Colorado. By Monday I suspect there will be few signs of this storm, perhaps some very green grass.

Snow Day

Yesterday was sunny and in the 50's. Today the snow is coming. No one seems to know for certain how much snow we will get. Some areas are predicted to get 2 feet of snow in the next 24 hours. Others, like downtown Denver, should get 8 to 16 inches. I rescheduled all of my appointments for today and tomorrow before I left the office yesterday evening. My car can manage 8 inches of snow, maybe, but not 16.

I woke up to an automated emergency message from the University of Denver at 6 AM this morning. I still work at the University of Denver on the weekends so I am still in their alert system. It had not yet started snowing where I live. They phoned, emailed and text messaged me: "Snow Closure: Due to expected heavy snowfall, the University of Denver will be closed today."

Compare this with the notifications I have so far received from my employer, the University of Colorado Denver. They have also emailed and texted me. However, their message says "A Winter Storm warning is in effect today 3/26 for the Denver area. 8-16 inches of snow and 45mph gusts of wind are expected. For more info call 1-877-463-6070."

We also got an email telling us where to find closing information, should they decide to close later today.  Since the same information is on the public weblink I am pasting the information here "New number to call when severe weather hits: The University of Colorado Denver now will provide weather and other emergency-related information, as appropriate, on a toll-free phone line effective immediately. The number is 1-877-INFO-070 (or 1-877-463-6070). You'll want to make a note of this number. Take a minute now to program it into your cell or home phone for easy access when conditions develop that may affect UC Denver's Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora or the Downtown Denver-Auraria Campus. When extreme winter weather conditions do develop, UC Denver's normal business operations can be affected. Students, faculty and staff should check local broadcast news media (television and radio) for announcements about closures or schedule adjustments. Information also will be available online at www.ucdenver.edu/alert. You should bookmark this for future reference. An email from “Emergency” will also be sent to all university mailboxes. Typically, decisions to close the campuses or delay start times is determined in time for the 6:00 A.M. news broadcasts however this depends on when the severe weather arrives.. 1-877-INFO-070 (or 1-877-463-6070) www.ucdenver.edu/alert Students, faculty and staff connected to the Downtown Denver Auraria Campus can also check for recorded updates on the Auraria line 303-556-2401. The safety of our students, faculty and staff is a top priority. When snow and icy conditions do develop, always use extreme caution to ensure you arrive safely."

All I see is white from my window. Working from home today. I'll post more photos as the snow deepens. It's pretty amazing seeing it come down. This photo was taken at 8 AM about 1 hour after it started snow.

Traveling Companion Needed

I went to the movie Yes Man at Christmas with friends. I do not normally go to movies of this kind, but I enjoyed it and think of it still. I find myself saying "yes" more often to things I intended to do eventually. I'm just doing them sooner. It's all part of my quest for Bliss and my realization that there is only now.

My friend Martha is always the executive director of some health related non-profit. This year it's Dani's Foundation which focuses on Ewing's Sarcoma.

Dani's Foundation recently held a fund raising dinner (video here) with several hundred silent auction items. I started the bidding on four items and 'won' two of them, both on my "to do eventually" list: 1 week at a bed and breakfast in Hawaiiand 3 nights in Napa Valley at the Meritage Resort- complete with airfare, limo tour, and wine train tour.  Side note: it's really a sign of our economy when the opening bid on items such as these are the winners.While there are some blackout dates, I essentially have until March 2010 to go on these journeys. People ask me when I'm going. I am not yet sure. I need to line up a traveling companion. While I can easily chill in Hawaii by myself for a week, I definitely want a wine loving traveling companion for Napa Valley. Let me know if you are interested...

For my birthday I finally got the Kindle 2. I'm currently reading Outlierson it, another book by Malcolm Gladwell. Like one of his prior books, Blink, I am utterly enjoying this book. I cannot overstate how much I am enjoying my Kindle: it's smaller than a trade paperback and with its Leather Cover is much, much sexier.

I did not achieve the 6-pack abs I wanted for my birthday. I have been working out regularly - 5 or 6 times a week. However, for every 350 calories I've been burning off per workout, I've probably been eating an extra 600 or so. So, yes, I'm stronger and faster but also heavier. Oops. For the most part, my clothes are still fitting but I'm up a few pounds that need to be shed to see the muscle underneath. I currently belong to two athletic clubs. I really need to decide which one to stick with going forward.

While I have not been writing much on-line (my offline writing is going strong), this has been an amazingly good month. My friend who had the stroke last fall, is now almost fully recovered and back at work.  To quote a physician friend of mine "Cathy I don't believe in miracles, but A's recovery is a true miracle." Indeed. I went to her welcome back party earlier this month. I've never seen so many delighted people at a work event such as this.

Work has been insanely busy, but in a great way. We opened our annual business plan competition to the entire state of Colorado, not just our University family. So far, we're getting terrific interest from the community. We've been filming our orientation sessions (feel free to watch the first one). If you are a local reader and know someone who is starting a company, please have him or her contact me. Executive summaries are due April 16th so it's not too late to participate. We award more than $100,000 in cash and in-kind awards to the winners. The CEO of one of our incubator companies has been working with me on my presentation skills. He used to do corporate training for public speaking among other things. Since I open each session, I will soon have ample video footage for him to review and critique. This is not exactly fun, but will eventually make me better.