Belize! Sweet Belize!

The second sentence on the Wikipedia page for Belize says:

It is the only officially English speaking country in the region.

I wonder how long before the United States will need to have their Wikipedia page updated with similar language describing the sections, and I mean "sections" of the U.S. where English is the primary language. Also note I said "primary" not official. How is it that Belize can be "officially English speaking" but the U.S., or better yet, her individual States, can not?

How did THIS happen?

I have never been at this crossroads before, in any job I have ever had. Not only am I not qualified for my bosses job, I wouldn't want it if I was. And to add to that particular insult, I am approaching the idea of not even wanting the promotion that I just got. I am seriously considering asking for my old title and salary back. If my current boss is just going to keep doing things the way they were before I got promoted, I can't feel good about being paid for something he is doing. If he wants to martyr himself and be the overworked one, I guess I can't say much.

Which is it now?

A couple of months ago, as I waited for my promotion and raise to kick in after the first of the year, I was struck with two different streams in my consciousness...
The first one was "Wow, I am being given the opportunity to lead change and make a difference in this department, heck, in this company."
The second one was "Wow, that's a decent raise, and the whole management by objective thing sounds pretty cool, I can't wait to learn more about that."
As I sit here now, after the first of the year obviously, and ponder the weight of both of those thoughts it becomes clear to me. It’s all about the extra $50 in the paycheck. That’s all that really changed. Oh, and I get new business cards. Someday.

Face to Face

The art gallery on the first floor of my building is hosting this show:
"Face to Face, Encountering Homelessness..."

Not to be offensive, but in order to walk to this gallery from almost anywhere downtown (its on 2nd and 7th, the heart of downtown Minneapolis) you ARE going to come face to face with REAL homelessness. Just seems to me that looking at art depicting said condition would be a little anti-climatic.

More info.

Leader or Lemming?

I just finished up a solid week of training future leaders in the U.S. Navy. The newly select Chief Petty Officers completed the training and induction process and were pinned with their new anchors last Sunday. One of the benefits of being a Chief Petty Officer is the opportunity to continue my own learning during each season where we train our replacements...you always have to continue learning. Leadership is the main topic - Chief Petty Officers are expected to lead...so this quote from Mark Sanborn's You don't need a title blog was especially fitting.

We need leaders, not assertive lemmings.

Figuring out which way the group is going anyway and a jumping in front is not leadership. ;)