I have a super quick thing to blog about. I'll keep it short. I promise!

The non profit organization I work for is in the process of redistributing everyone into teams, so that we can each become experts in a certain field. I'm the Team Leader for Fandom Research, and tonight we had our first team meeting.

It was stressful, because we're at the very beginning of setting up a brand new area of work. It's hard to know where to start, right fresh with no existing goals. Everybody with their own expectations, but no real idea of what we're doing.

I was responsible for running the meeting, because I'm the leader. At the time, I felt like I was struggling through. I had made a list of things to talk about, of course, but I was trying to find a starting point for the group. You know? When you're about to take on a massive project, it's hard to know where to start. I felt...weird about it. Like, I wasn't sure whether or not it was going well.

After the meeting, the lovely team member who volunteered to take notes sent me the meeting minutes. As I read them, I felt WAY better about the whole situation. Looking back, the meeting was actually well organized, and we even managed to end it with a short term goal in place, as well as a slightly longer term goal! What more could I ask for?

My moment of insecurity is over. I'm back to feeling awesome again. :-)

Cheryl, Queen of the Fairy Geeks!

For the first time ever, right here on my blog, I'm going to reveal the true extent of my geekdom. I'm not ashamed. I'm a dork. Deal.

I think by now most of my friends know that I work with an organization called the HP Alliance. The idea of the organization is to help children to understand and get passionate about important world issues by using themes from Harry Potter. Trust me, this method works. The organization managed to raise a fortune for Haiti last month. I can't remember what the final count was, but it was over a hundred thousand dollars. Even as I type it, I can't believe it. This is truly an incredible organization, lead by a guy who is talented, and knows what he's doing.

I'm currently co-leading a book drive for the HP Alliance. The project is called Accio Books! (In the near future I'll be hitting everyone I know up for a book donation, so you might as well start going through your closets and shelves now.) The books collected will benefit the Mississippi Delta. The campaign is set up like a contest. Four teams: Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff, and Ravenclaw, all competing for the House Cup. Each team has a Head of House. Each Head of House is a celebrity - three of them are from bands, one is a famous author.

As part of this, I'm trying to put together a series of four livestream shows. Each show will have a "House Theme." For example, our head of Slytherin is Brian, on his show he will talk about why Slytherins are the AWESOMEST, and why they will, of course, win the House Cup. Same goes for the other four Heads.

The head of Hufflepuff is a young woman named Lauren Fairweather, and when I was told that she had agreed to participate, I had to admit that I didn't know who she was. Everyone I spoke to about her was SUPER enthusiastic and excited that she was jumping on board with us.

So, of course, I googled her, and I found tons of info online. She's from a band called The Moaning Myrtles, and she also is part of a video blogging project called Five Awesome Girls. Check her out.

http://www.youtube.com/fiveawesomegirls#p/u/2/ZNhjFShZ0rY

laurenfairweather.com

I spoke to her on the phone tonight, and she was very sweet and accommodating. I've spent a fair amount of time on her website, and I'm becoming a fan. Please support her, if you can.

On a side note, one of the other Heads is someone who I'm a massive fan of. Seriously massive fan. Actually, Vicky is a massive fan, too.

Excitement!

Oh, and BTW,

http://www.thehpalliance.org/