I’m writing this blog from sunny SoCal (Southern California for those of you not in the know) where I am attending a conference. But I actually want to start by talking about a conference session I attended last week. It was about the differences between introverts and extroverts. FB tells us everything we need to know, right? Or how about buzzfeed? Well, what was cool about this session is that we went beyond the “introverts need alone time to recharge and extroverts need to be around people”. We were separated into our respective groups (introvert or extrovert) and then given the opportunity to tell the other group what we like about them and ask them questions about how they think and behave or how we might better interact with them. We told introverts that we like their thoughtful and insightful comments. And how they rarely stick their foot in their mouths like us extroverts. The introverts told us they like that we seem so comfortable in all situations and that we aren’t afraid to say something that might not be right. Interestingly, most attendees said they preferred to have close relationships with people who are the opposite from them.

I came in with one mission, figure out how to get all the smart ideas and comments that I know are in my introverted team members’ heads out in a meeting. I can’t stand it in a meeting when people don’t say anything. I always attributed it to “being Minnesotan”, but truly, I work with a lot of introverts. The best suggestion I got is send the agenda for the meeting well ahead of time and ask people to think about what I want them to talk about. Then they can be prepared to contribute because they’ve have a chance to think and process. So I guess I better get those agendas out earlier 🙂

It’s so good to sit back and think once in a while about how we are different from one another and to further reflect on how to use those differences to have the best experience. Be it professional or personal. I truly enjoyed this session. I may just bring some more personality discovery and discussion into my work to see how much stronger we can make our team and more productive we can be.

This week I am in San Diego for a System Administrator conference for the database system we use for our homeless delivery system in MN. This is typically a great conference. Very relevant. And I can go home and apply some of what I learn right away. So far has been no exception. Even the plenary was great! I rushed over to the speaker to exchange business cards and am excited to connect after the conference. I won’t bore all of you with the “exciting” things I’ve learned. But it’s been really great.

One of the great things about this conference is being able to spend time with co-workers outside of work. Although, yes, we do talk about work after the conference, we also have had fun planning where to eat and what to see when we’re not working. My co-workers have learned what I giant geek I am. Last night we traveled down to Coronado Island, wandered the beach at sunset, walked through a gorgeous old hotel, and had some amazing gelato. Here are a few photos from our journey.

The birds of paradise her are so beautiful. I’m just captivated by them. My poor co-workers had to put up with me stopping to take photos of plants every 30 feet or so. Here’s another couple flora photos of the area.

And a few obligatory beach at sunset photos. I wish I could properly describe the luxurious sand here. It felt great on my MN toes.   

Tonight we kept it low key. It was rainy and we were all pretty tired after the long day of learning. We went out for dinner and conversation and had some amazing Indian food thanks to a recommendation from a friend who used to live here. The quote of the night was “I wish I were a cow so I could have 4 stomachs and keep eating”. The malai kofta was simply sinful it was so good. I’ve never seen it on a menu in MN, but will be keeping an eye out for it now. We stopped at Target and bought some adult beverages. That’s right, in CA you can buy liquor at Target. I enjoyed a beer while finishing up some work.

Now, it’s to bed with me. I’m excited to see what I learn to tomorrow and what connections I make!