Commitment

The last two weeks have been all about commitment, saying yes, and choosing between divergent paths.

Because my friends decided to sell the condo I’ve been renting (10 showings Saturday alone), I briefly explored rental options in Denver (not optimal), qualified for a mortgage, toured properties, made an offer, and had it accepted. Whew. If all goes to plan, I will close in mid-May. I’m losing count of the people commenting on the fact that I’m about to be sinking roots, committing, settling down.

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I attended a PMP boot camp run by PTMI  – not fun (4 days 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m) but effective. I am now a certified Project Management Professional (PMP).

If you are a great self-learner, you should be able to get essentially the same experience with Rita’s book. It was highly recommended to me by many and I used a bit of it – analogous content, format, sample test questions to the bootcamp – just make sure you get the most current version to match the most current version of the PMBOK (A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge: PMBOK(R) Guide. But if you need deadlines, exams, some structure around your self-study, and a warranty on passing the exam, then a PTMI bootcamp should get you there as it did for me, provided you have all of the required professional experience to be eligible to take the test.

In my current role, our partners often employ PMPs who use all of the standard tools and processes for their projects. I’m glad to have a better understanding of the processes and terminology they are using, and the purpose(s) behind each tool. And I realize, now that I understand the terminology better, while I have run many projects over the years (e.g. a grant specific aim, an event, an initiative), mostly I’ve run programs (multi-year grants, academic programs) and portfolios (centers, institutes, authorities).

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Recently, I had the good fortune to be invited to Maison Troisgros for dinner. It will be my first experience dining at a top 100 restaurant in the world (#43). An impromptu trip to Paris, Roanne & London is planned over the next few weeks to take advantage of this invitation.

Sometimes when opportunities are offered, you just have to say yes!