Set in my ways

I have been warned not to wait too long in life to find a partner because I may get set in my ways. The concern is that I may no longer be tolerant to different quirks.

My cell is next to a more experienced lady that recently joined the organization. I am the age of her children. Because of our proximity many of the questions and training fall to me by default. I like to tell her that there are many ways to do things, and mine is the only right way. She gets a chuckle out of this.

This weekend I had two experienced visitors come visit me and stay for the weekend. They drove the whole 11-hour trip. The first night offered to give them a walking tour or a drive of downtown to Newport. I warned them that it would be a 2.5-mile walk through each way and also noted that since it was 68 F that it was the nicest weather they would have during this visit. They elected to walk. We saw a lot of downtown as I shared a wealth of historical information on the regions and structures with them. We saw the largest mobile model train set in the world. This display had been set up every year for over 60 years. We finished the tour at Newport on the Levee at a seafood restaurant and had the best view in the place of downtown Cincy. The guests elected to take a cab home.

The next day the guests rolled out of bed at 11 and we went to Krohn’s Conservatory and Botanical Gardens. We spent part of the afternoon there looking at the flowers, fruit trees, bonsai trees and finally a Christmas performance. Next we went to a pond-side view that overlooked the Ohio River and enjoyed the view of Newport before strolling around the pond. Next we went to Union Terminal, a magnificent train station build in the 1930’s. Inside we observed the structure and murals on the ceiling. It is still an active train station for Amtrak and also houses a number of museums plus an IMAX that we did not enter. We went to my grocery store to pick up groceries and show them the wonderful inventions and items that I had influenced. Returning home I cooked up a gourmet 2-course meal.

The third and final day of the visit started with a tour of City Hall, then a cathedral. Next we walked over to my organization where I showed them my cell and lab. In the lab I provided them with awesome samples of new inventions that are not even available on the market yet. We spent the late afternoon looking at pictures before going to dinner at an Irish Pub.

I continually condition myself to become a good leader. I believe of part of being a good leader is to identify behavior that need to be changed and immediately implement corrective actions so that the feedback is timely and relevant. This is not always the best choice of actions for a home environment, especially with guests that one has known for 30 years. During these 3 days of guests I noticed that there were certain activities in the house, which were not done the way I would like them to have been done. It was a real mental exercise for me to remind myself that it really was not that important and that it was ok.

Maybe I am getting old; at least I still have the discipline to keep my eye on what is important.