Did you get up early to see the Super Blue Moon? I didn't have to get up any earlier than usual but I made a point to go outside and look up to see it. After all, it was one of those ‘once in a lifetime' things that seems to come around every couple of years. My first thought was that it was very foggy out and my drive was going to be miserably slow, wrought with accidents. So after staring at the moon for a few minutes, it was time to tackle Highway 99.
The drive wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. In fact, it was easier than I had expected. This reminded me that 1) I am behind on TED talks but I have a few lined up to view so perhaps I will get to them over the weekend, though I already have strategic plan homework in the queue, and 2) one particular TED talk, that I need to watch again, focused on the idea that often things are easier than you think and life begins at the end of your comfort zone. At the time that I first watched this one, I didn't think much about it; it didn't strike me as particularly impactful, much like the moon, but I find myself thinking about the speaker's story and her deliver style, over and over again. I need to go back and see what I missed then determine what it is that has that particular talk stuck in my head.
If I recall, the author of that particular TED talk shared her fear of public speaking. Clearly she has risen above that fear and conquered it. This reminded me of Malena and that congratulations are in order for Yolva Gil, Claudia Carrasco, and, of course, Malena for the amazing work they are doing down in Riverside County with the 4-H program. Malena is the Vice President of one of the clubs that Chris Greer and I visited last year. It was a year ago this week when Chris and I were in Riverside and we met Malena and her club. Recently, Malena talked about her 4-H experience with the UC Regents. One of the things Malena mentioned was that 4-H had helped her address her fear of public speaking. Based on her presentation to the UC Regents, I'd say that Malena is a TED presenter in the making! Congratulations to Malena and her mentors, Yolva and Claudia!
Yesterday I was down at the Lindcove REC. The Lindcove REC is a beautiful place though I was disappointed that there was not as much snow on the mountains as there was when I visited in February 2017. However, there is still time for a few more ‘snowmakers' though I don't see a need to name snow storms. We've completed the ‘deep dives' at 8 of the RECs with plans to hold off on Hansen until after a new director is in place. The visits have been enlightening, for all, I think, and we need to pull together our thoughts to move towards budget targets. We will debrief a bit on Friday.
Also on Friday is the monthly County Director call where we will review the list of Advisor positions that County and REC Directors have developed. They've been hard at work already, despite the 2018 Position Call not released (yet) and while it's evident there's been lots of discussion, some of which I'm sure was difficult, I hope the group has concluded that the process hasn't been as hard as they might have first thought. There are many, many conversations yet to be had amongst the group and with others across UC ANR and external to UC ANR but I think this group of leaders has made an impressive start.
Gabriel Torres starts tomorrow as the Viticulture Advisor based out of Tulare County. This position represents a partnership between UC ANR and the California Table Grape Commission. Welcome Gabriel! And ‘thanks!' to the Commission for this valued partnership!
Largely this post has been a series of rambling comments without much purpose or direction. But perhaps 2 readers will contact Gabriel and welcome him to UC ANR, thus giving the post purpose!