Tuesday, July 15, 2008

CGBlog.org meets Waiting For Ships...

The following photo is a curious example of coincidence in action:



One fine day in May 2007, Peter Stinson of CGBlog.org fame decided that he needed a photo regarding OPSEC for a blog he planned to write. He hopped onto Flickr and selected a photo which, surprisingly, happened to feature a Coast Guard cutter. Being the good Web 2.0 citizen that he is, he emailed the account owner for permission to borrow the photo.

That account owner happened to be...me.

What ensued for the following week was a flurry of emails drawing completely inexplicable connections between Peter and my boyfriend Brian. Here's a minor list of the pieces of the puzzle that we managed to connect between our separate coasts:

- Peter is a Performance Consultant for the USCG. Brian earned his Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Performance Management.

- Peter lives in the Tidewater region of Virginia. Brian's father is the Commanding Officer of Sector Hampton Roads, and has worked with Peter repeatedly.

- Peter happened to be working that week in Alameda, CA. Brian is stationed aboard USCGC Sherman based in Alameda, CA.

The additional interesting aspect of that week was that Brian and I were working on precisely the same project despite having very different careers. Two whales had stranded themselves in a local delta, so I was busy managing the online content for the Contra Costa Times while Brian worked with Sector San Francisco to attempt to coerce the whales into safer territory. Despite our crazy schedules, we all managed to find a brief two-hour window to meet in Oakland for sushi near the airport.



It was both an honor and a privilege to meet Peter and listen to he and Brian discuss their careers. I felt completely included in the conversation, and was later happy to see that Peter had written a blog about our meeting and the way we had found each other online. One year later I'm thrilled to see how much CGBlog.org has grown under his guidance, and equally delighted to share this story :)

4 comments:

Peter A. Stinson said...

Flo, you're too kind. At least I don't look like Winter Just-
Down-Off-The-Mountain
Peter like I do over at CG Report.

When do classes start?

Flo said...

LOL That picture is awesome, be proud of it! :) Classes start September 24 and I have my first orientation meeting tomorrow night. Totally stoked!

Just a Girl in a Port said...

That's terrific. Peter, you made quite an impression on our beautiful Flo. Very cool story Flo!

Elizabeth @ Lone Stars And Stripes said...

It's the USCG version of 6 degrees of separation! Where's Kevin Bacon when you need him? Very cool, Flo.