Routine Change

I figure your job is either about making money, or about spending it. Personally I’ve always belonged to the latter camp: teaching, trail clearing, lobbying, librarianing. I’ve rarely been asked to sell a product or to do anything much in the way of for-profit activity.

But this week at CDC we’re going after some really big money, flirting with a major foundation (OK, it's THE major foundation—I don’t think I have to spell it out for you) to see if we can interest them in partnering with us on some dream-big global health initiatives in SE Asia.

The pitch involves selling of a kind, and for me it is great fun to help put together an overture that could potentially end up doubling the annual budget for CDC/Thailand. So while the routine at home has hit a few speed bumps lately, life at work has rarely been more interesting and satisfying.

And hilarious. In the midst of some fairly busy days, we had a goodbye dinner for a well-loved colleague. Jokes and wine flowed equally fast as we sat at a long table from sundown until the moon was high in the sky. We all kept hoping that our stomachs wouldn’t figure out that they were already full. At one point the situation seemed to call for a blues number. Luckily I never travel without a harmonica.