A Move In The Right Direction

After agonizing over the presentation I'm giving on Thursday, it occurred to me, "Maybe I'm over thinking what it is my boss wants" (like that's never happened before). So at 4 AM Monday morning, I sat down at the laptop I checked out from work and pulled together the presentation. I went over it with my boss on Monday (spewing regulations and the permit's environmental history like a real manager). He said he thinks I'm right and "this needs to be done". He said he'll fight for it to go forward when I give the presentation. It seems he finally sees that I really do know what I'm talking about.

I got an email from his AA today saying we (meaning our plant manager, my two plant mentors, my corporate mentor, & my boss) will be having dinner with the corporate director of environmental affairs tomorrow evening. My boss is picking me up from my house at a quarter to 6 so we can meet the rest of the group at Le Parvenu at 6:30.

I thought about straightening my hair tonight (I'll be the only one at the table under 45, the only one with two X chromasomes, and the only one whose hair isn't naturally straight), but have decided that I'm not going to change the way I look to "make a good impression". If these men decide that because my hair is natural I'm not ready for corporate headquarters, then this isn't a company I need to be working for any more.

I'm ready for this presentation, and I'm ready for a move. Hopefully these old white men will be able to see past my afropuff, brown skin, and my young, pretty, single mom face and realize I could be the best thing that ever happened to our company when it comes to environmental management. If not, I'll just have to find another line of work. Either way, I'm sure that God is preparing me for a move in the right direction.