Discussion Thread

  • 1.  Beyond Work in the Workplace

    Posted 05-25-2022 09:51 AM
    Do you ever incorporate any of your hobbies or interests into the workplace or your relationships with coworkers? If so, please share!
    (The hobby could be something technical but beyond your job description, entertainment, baking, a sport, photography, woodworking, etc.)

    One way I do is by baking birthday desserts for our group. This month one of our Landscape Architects had a birthday, so I made a dirt cake with sprinkles for fertilizer and some seedlings made out of almond bark. It was a fun way to be creative and connect with coworkers.



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    Heidi C. Wallace, P.E., M.ASCE
    Tulsa, OK
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  • 2.  RE: Beyond Work in the Workplace

    Posted 05-27-2022 12:17 AM
    Great way to bond with co-workers and meet folks from other departments that you not normally meet on a day-to-day. My previous company was so large they had golf and tennis leagues. In the golf league, we competed against teams from construction, welding, planning and a variety of departments. Interestingly enough, both golf and tennis are built on honor systems. You discover a lot about individuals when it comes to the simplest of things. 
    There were also a group of folks that shared my interest in entertainment and other team sports that I hung out with. Although I was (and still am) somewhat of a loner, this was a new experience for me after leaving college. College had raised my socializing skills from 1/10 to 3/10. Workplace extracurricular activities raised those sills to 5/10 where I believe I am hovering steady. LOL!!!! Absolutely a 10/10 in a movie theater and bowling alley.  
    (Note: I had developed ninja like abilities from middle school to high school. Being able to sit in a room for hours, focus on a book and remain unseen in all the noise were skillsets that I honed and mastered for hours 5 days a week for years. Change is challenging. Picked up a few social skills because someone ended up marrying me.)

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    James Williams P.E., M.ASCE
    Principal/Owner
    POA&M Structural Engineering, PLC
    Yorktown, VA
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    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Beyond Work in the Workplace

    Posted 05-31-2022 11:41 AM
    This is amazing Heidi! I wish I had even an ounce of your culinary skills. 

    I bought a digital drawing tablet last year, and have been surprised to keep finding myself using it to perform little favors for coworkers. Not only can I use it to draw the occasional birthday card, but I can also use it to write out hand calculations in a manner that makes them more easily shareable (or take someone through an equation in real time by sharing my screen with them). I've even found myself using it and Photoshop to move bore hole markers around on a report for a coworker who needed them moved but didn't have access to the raw data.

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    Christopher Seigel P.E., M.ASCE
    Civil Engineer
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    Original Message


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