Greetings from Raleigh!

I am writing this from a rather nice Holiday Inn in Raleigh, NC. I mean, I am impressed. I'd come back. There is a fridge and a microwave in my room, and I didn't even pay extra for them. It was a hot drive and now I am sitting here relaxing with the AC kicking and my bare feet propped in the chair across from me.

This is me, holding my newborn.

For me, traveling alone is a lot like having a baby. I am anxious and fearful about doing it but I go for it anyway. I start out with a happy face, but then the first real contraction hits- I'm not sure about an exit (business or regular? Where's the sign? I went too far!) and then I have a little meltdown. I declare that I can't do this. That I am NEVER doing this again.

But of course: there is no place to go but forward. Nothing to do but push past my ass and enjoy the breaks when they come. And so I push on, exit by exit, until at last my destination comes into focus and I have done it. I have arrived. My heart can leave my chest now, and it feels good.

Now I can sit here with my feet up and think to myself, that wasn't so bad. I might do it again, sometime. And then the whole thing will happen again.

I'm just not a born traveler. The itch for adventure doesn't live in me. I could plod along in the same routine forever and not really feel like I'm missing much. And of course I am. I wonder to what degree the spirit of adventure can be cultivated. If so, maybe my sense of direction can be cultivated also.

But I bet you're wondering what this born homebody is doing out of state. It is because I have been designated the Quailty Coordinator for our Ryan White clinic. We have to show the folks that give us all our funding that we are using the money to take excellent care of our clients. Not only that we are meeting the required benchmarks for quality, but that we are continually shooting above and beyond. Our eventual goal is to become an HIV Center of Excellence, which is a pretty lofty goal. We aren't there yet. First, we need to get a solid quality program in place. Which is where I come in.

So tomorrow I am attending an all day "Quality Assesment 101" class here on the campus of NC state. And get this, I also have a personal quality coach who is going to work with me regularly to help me get our program in shape! Also paid for through the grant. Of course, I don't improve the qualiy of the clinic single-handedly. Our whole team plays their part. But think of me as the engineer, creating a plan and delegating the right tasks to the right people.

I feel daunted, but excited for the challenge. Call it an adventure, if you will. Perhaps mine are meant to happen off-road.