At lunchtime I went to the monthy Project Manager's Forum. The first one I went to was intimidating and boring but they've changed the format to be much friendlier and actually useful

The session was about project startup. We did introductions, one of the session leaders presented some sample topics for a startup meeting, then we broke up into small groups to talk about what we think a startup meeting is and what you should do in one.

It was a good discussion. We shared stories of misunderstanding, lack of information, and group politics and talked about what we would LIKE to happen when you start a project, knowing it might never happen. We talked about what "startup meeting" actually means--the startup meeting when you only know generally what has to be done but not much more or the startup meeting when all the right people come and talk in detail about what they're going to do. The group got back together after twenty minutes and shared our small group discussions. The organizers will write up the discussions and send them out to everyone. The session was short enough that I had time to eat lunch before my next meeting!

I also got the go ahead to sign up for the PMI project management class that I need for certification. I had to fill out a training request form with a rationale (that I carefully worded) for the "external" training. I asked my manager if the rationale was okay and he said "Oh, that's just a formality. It'll be approved. Just sign up." I signed up online at the end of the day but I haven't gotten the signon information yet and it's been hours!