Well, it's the end of the first week of my 36th year on this planet, and in keeping with my previous post here's a rundown of the highlights:
WORK
Revitalized Corporate Affinity Discount Program
My first project in my new position at work was to breathe new life into my organization's old affinity discount program. It started out as one of many of the things on my plate when I took my position at the end of May, but became my top priority project shortly after I returned from my Fourth of July vacation at home.
In less than eight weeks, the program's membership grew from just three affinity discount providers to sixteen, with another half-dozen or so in-the-pipeline and a new program management process in place to keep adding local and national vendors. I have set an informal target of 75 affinity discount partners by July 4, 2009, to coincide - roughly - with the anniversary of the program revitalization effort.
Here's the old partner list:
- GlobalFit
- [People's Glorious Proletarian Health System Optometry Centers]
- Weight Watchers®
Here's the new list:
- 1-800-FLOWERS
- Cranbrook Art Museum
- Detroit Science Center
- DreamDinners®
- FitnessWorks
- GlobalFit
- [People's Glorious Proletarian Health System Healthcare Products]
- [People's Glorious Proletarian Health System Optometry Centers]
- NASCAR.com Superstore
- NBA Store
- NFLShop.com
- Shop.NHL.com
- Smart Women’s Coaching
- The Sports Authority
- Townsend Street Pilates
- Weight Watchers®
GlobalFit, [People's Glorious Proletarian Health System Optometry Centers], and Weight Watchers® are hold-overs, but [People's Glorious Proletarian Health System Optometry Centers] has expanded the number and nature of their discounts to our members.
American Heart Association Grand Club Awards Luncheon
I've been employed by my organization for just over five years now, and I've been a team captain for the American Heart Association Heart Walk every one of those years. Last year I finally broke the $1,000 fund-raising ceiling that separates the t-shirt winners from the "pick-your-swag-from-a-catalog" winners; and in addition to a really nice bluetooth earpiece with 33 changeable, colored cases, I also got to attend the Grand Club Member luncheon at the Detroit Athletic Club.
In all seriousness, it's not about award luncheons or mail-order swag; it's about the tremendous gains in reducing heart disease through research. Because - God knows - Americans aren't actually living healthier, present company (sadly) included.
Which leads me to my next topic:
PERSONAL
Battle of the Bulge 2009
Every year, sometimes two-or-three times during the year, I declare an all-out war on the weight I have put on since around 2000. This year was no exception, but I have high hopes that the terror of being closer to 40 than 30 now will properly motivate me to get back down to the 31" and 32" waistlines I wore between 1994 and 2000.
If this sounds a bit superficial of me, keep in mind two things:
- I'm gay.
- Way deep down I'm shallow.
And, once again, I plan to run the next Heart Walk. Here's hoping that goes better this year than last year!
Graduate School
September 2 marks my return to graduate school after dropping out of the program at Oakland University in the Spring of 1998 after my -ex's spinal chord injury. This is actually my third foray into graduate school.
My first attempt was in Wayne State University's Master of Arts in Industrial Relations program between 1994-95; I left the program when my civil service internship funds were cut after the "Republican Revolution" of 1994 that promised us a return to fiscally sound government (and we all know how that's worked out, don't we?).
My second attempt was at Oakland Univeristy, this time in their MBA program. As mentioned above, this effort got cut short when my deceased -ex first injured his back and I found myself being both breadwinner and caregiver, full-time.
Hopefully, the third time will be the charm. I am enrolled in the MBA program at Wayne State University. In hindsight, I should have begun this as soon as I started with my current employer, but prior to moving into the Market Research Manager position, I honestly thought that I would have found a way to move by now.
The Money Pit
My house was a steal at the time, though I am not sure I really want to know how things stand in the current housing market vis-a-vis my mortgage and my appraised home value. Nevertheless, I like my house and it's most likely my biggest asset; as of Saturday afternoon, it's also now my most well-insulated asset, with an R-41 rating
If you have money, or at least good credit so you can lay hands on it, Michigan is a land of terrific deal on just about everything. Five years ago this Halloween night, I moved into my house on Arlington Street, and it's taken the past five years to transform it from eyesore (albeit one with instant equity - I bought from a motivated seller) to home-sweet-home.
Well, mostly home-sweet-home; my backyard has some serious Wild Kingdom issues that I can't afford to address this year, and even if I could, my neighbor's painfully visible backyard is even worse!
Still, I have a comfortable home for a reasonable amount of money, and I've done nearly all the upgrades (new windows, new doors, new fixtures, restored hardwood, new kitchen and entry way flooring, new bathroom vanity, new insulation, new front yard) at- or near-cost.
And since my new position and my most recent attempt at earning my MBA pretty much require a three-to-five year commitment to my life as it is, I consider that to be money well-spent.
And that was the week that was!
Related posts:
Original Story: The Healthcare Information Systems Blog
