NASCAR

I should start by saying, probably to no one’s surprise, I have never been to or seen a Nascar race so I had no idea what to expect. All I knew was that the race started at 12:30 but fans could get there at 7am (to do what I still wasn’t sure) and a few of Oskar’s friends from school were going to meet us there.  I quickly learned over the course of the weekend, from talking to the locals, that 1) we needed to head to the raceway before 9:30 because traffic can get terrible (the normal 15 minute drive can quickly become 1.5 hours), 2) it would be really loud (I had a plan there and packed accordingly) and 3) people could spend a whole day doing all of the fun things available (what that meant was tbd). 

So at 9:30 after grabbing a fresh green juice and some pastries (the gummy bears for breakfast in the hotel weren’t going to cut it) we started off on our adventure.  The first excitement of the day: the 20 minute drive did in fact take 1 hour and, about 30 minutes into the drive, Oskar informed me he really had to go pee.  For reference, it is a two lane highway with nowhere to pull over so the next 30 minutes we’re super fun.  That, plus it looked like we were going to miss the air show which was something Oskar really wanted to see.  We made it to the main parking gate with Oskar on the verge, but thankfully they had porta potties available for immediate use and, after a quick pee break, the stress level dropped significantly. 

I had prepaid for premium parking (because again, I had no idea) which meant we had to take a bus around the two mile track to get to the main grandstand where our seats were.  We watched most of the air show from the bus and I slowly started taking in what a huge event this actually was. My only reference point of professional sporting events is watching the Giants play baseball where you show up at the third inning, hang out for a few hours and then call it a day. This was something else entirely. 

Behind the main grandstand was the fan zone with countless fan experiences to check out, free giveaways, food trucks, beer trucks, DJs and every slice of americano you could imagine. It smelled of BBQ and diesel and even before the race started, it was loud. The crazy part: you could bring your own food, beverages, animals, anything really into the fairgrounds and you could go almost anywhere and sit anywhere. No one checked. It could have easily been chaos  but yet it all kind of worked. I tried to just take it all in and let Oskar lead the way until it was time to grab our seats and watch the race. 

We got to our seats around 12 and Oskar’s friends showed up after the race began (due to the conflict with BMX) so we had just a little bit longer with just the two of us. 

After the pre-show DJ, followed by a Christian prayer and the national anthem, we finally heard the words we were waiting for “racers start your engines”. And then I went deaf and there were no more conversations until the race ended 110 laps and 3 hours later. Oskar and I managed to use some limited sign language to communicate needs such as bathroom, water, candy, and once the other kids showed up, the moms used their iPhones to communicate in writing. 

The best part of the race was when the yellow flag came out and all of the cars ended up bunched together again. The second best part was the end when I could take out the ear plugs and finally talk and hear again. The third best part, having Oskar talk about the race and day with his friends for the next two weeks (okay, this might have been the best part). 

We got home that Sunday night at 6pm, exhausted from the day and weekend, ready for some proper food and both so happy to have had the time together (at least I was happy, we will see if and how he remembers this weekend a few years from now). 

First Impressions

When I left Salesforce I had three amazing things told to me that have stuck

1. When asked how I will introduce myself to the new team and company, a friend in Treasury suggested “hi I am Lisa, I like dive bars and fast food” 

2. When each team member went around and gave their favorite Lisa memory at our last team meeting, more than a few referenced nights of karaoke to which Cody expanded “like work and karaoke, both of which have no business being fun, you always seem to make things a little more fun”

3. And finally, more than a handful of team members joked that I either should (or shouldn’t) be too authentic too early since it would most likely result in one too many HR violations and me getting fired (some were rooting for this so I would come back). 

And so it is with this context that I think I might have overshot it and given the wrong first impression at work. I am pretty sure they all think I am a mountain loving, bike riding outdoorsy type mom who is more on the buttoned up accounting side of the spectrum than the hot mess, dive bar going, HR violating, karaoke singing person I am deep down. I suppose this is what is expected of a C Suite executive and I need to embrace it. 

I can and will at least correct them in the mountain side of things.

 

So Long, Again

So you know how I said the party was over in March and the hangover had kicked in. Well the party is officially over for this part of my career. June 2 was officially my last day at Salesforce, again. The last 6 + years have been incredible and I have absolutely loved working with my business partners and building out the best team ever. As I said the last time. It truly was a bittersweet decision. 

However sad I am to leave my friends and team behind, I know we will stay in touch and it is not a goodbye forever. So in the meantime, I am beyond excited and thrilled to announce I am entering the next phase of my career as Chief Accounting Officer for PubMatic! Excited to expand my scope and impact and see where this journey leads me. 

The kids came to visit me one last time at the Tower

Bad Advice

This past weekend we went up to Pillsbury for Memorial Day weekend and to celebrate Oskar’s 7th birthday. It was a fun weekend but this post is not about the birthday but rather some terrible advice I gave and for which I need to publicly apologize. 

Saturday night I made my way over to the neighbor’s cabin for some post dinner drinks on their deck. Their son Ian is getting married this summer and it sounds like he and his fiancé are going to try to start having kids right away. Ian had many opinions and thoughts on raising kids, and most of them should not be repeated or reposted in the sober light of day, but for one concern he raised I did have an opinion. 

Ian is a self proclaimed neat freak who doesn’t like clutter or messes so he is worried about having all of the baby stuff and toys take over his house. And to be honest, this is totally a fair concern. I gave him my most recent hack and recommended buying a large basket to throw everything in at the end of each day to at least contain the clutter. And let’s be honest, this is absolute shit advice, to anyone. 

The best advice I could have and should have given: just give up. Learn to let go of perfection, deal with the mess and lean into the chaos. The sooner you stop trying to fit the old mold of pre kids life with the upcoming tornado of child rearing the better off you will be. And yes, once you embrace the mess then buy that damn basket since it may make you feel a little bit more in control of the situation than you really are.