A DAY IN THE LIFE OF D.C. "Sit down. Sit down. You're a United States Senator." Who would have thought ancient "socialist" Bernie Sanders would have to break up an MMA fight in the middle of a Congressional hearing? This is where the monkey show has taken us folks. At least Senator Sanders wasn't wearing mittens as he waved his hand around. I don't even blame the Teamsters President for accepting the challenge to fight as the Oklahoma Senator claimed his people elected him to apparently "respond with violence". But one thinks the Teamsters may not be the smartest group to "piss off" unless you like "swimming with the fishes" plus they love confrontation LOL. Points to the dude from Massachusetts.
MISCELLANEOUS Well apparently "de-leafing" is done for the season. There are two stubborn trees who grip their bright yellow buddies until the last hung is dog. Wind, rain, hail do not detract them from their role of leaf hoarder extraordinaire. After years of gathering, bagging and dumping, we have finally joined the mulch brigade which merely requires a blade set to crunch and munch once a week resulting in a healthier lawn in the Spring. Even cleaned up the lake lawn with yours truly wielding a rake for a time. Surprisingly that did not trigger the back pain - only a nice comfy bed holds that dubious honor.
The Sweet sisters managed to pull off a multi-birthday celebration lunch this week with the eight of us pretty much taking over the restaurant. But we tip well. Big Sis provided cupcakes for the honorees, and I splurged on a dozen infamous Crumbl Cookies. Note to self: they are not that good a day or two later. I guess it's all about the prestige of the brand. As long as we avoid politics or "rising to the bait" we have a great time. Odd fact: the OH and all three of my brothers-in-law are left-handed; the ladies are right-handed and the kids are a mix.
EVENTS Watching Silver Bells in the City the other night made me recall my days at the City where we had front row seats to the spectacle with my fourth-floor office facing the Capital. We would put on our own "mocktail" party which apparently food-wise was better than the mayor's soiree (his words). Not too many know the number of faux pas' that occur when planning a big event, but you soon realize the attendees will never know what they're missing. I had the dubious honor of planning the first BWL employee picnic and, unfortunately was also tapped to organize the City Employee Recognition events until I left. I privately would not have attended these events (too much employee interaction in my job) if I wasn't running the darn things.
The BWL picnic hosted tours, a fishing tournament and line worker rodeo. I also had to confiscate these incredibly cute and detailed posters we were giving to the kids that depicted a cartoonish and colorful downtown map. However, they also depicted two dogs going at it in an alley - a small but significant oops. As a collector's item I did keep a couple... for research of course. You'd think I was trying to make kids read "The Diary of Ann Frank" from the parent reaction, who of course wondered if there were any extra copies after I threw them away.
The City event was not funded in advance the first year, so all the Directors had to canvass for donations. I said I would do anything but ask strangers for money. Be careful what you wish for. Fortunately, I never stopped to realize the enormity of organizing a 300-600 person (never knew how many would show up) outdoor event providing food, activities and entertainment. I did have some dedicated workers who were a lot more social and came up with and coordinated the entertainment ideas. But it did teach me how to delegate (or die) to any stray body I could commandeer. If you act like you know what you're doing and bark orders, it works. Also learned to take complaints and criticisms during the event in stride knowing nothing was going to change but thanks for playing; smile, nod, wink-wink.
The second year, upon instruction to use a particular vendor, I slowly came to the realization they had never catered an event of this size before. Which was discovered as people were lined up for food and waiting and waiting and waiting. The vendor cried to me "those teenage boys are taking more than one chicken leg!" Well a big duh to you lady. I think we had a lot of desserts that year from a different vendor so crisis (or salmonella averted). On the positive side the daughter got to try out all the activities ahead of everyone as her reward for working with me all day. And I preserved the HR department reputation by knocking out the Public Service Director in Sumo wrestling. When you're smaller a good offense will prevail.
PODLAND Got another podcast in the can last week and a couple more in the "waiting room". My hope is to knock off as many as I can so I can take a break. Our Executive Director for the Conference is an amazing workaholic. When I tuned into ZOOM before the recording, she revealed she was recording from the hospital as she had been admitted a couple days before. I assured her a postponement was entirely understandable and she did have staff, but she said she felt great and was working away. We do not argue with our leader. I thought I was bad taking work into doctor's appointments as they are always running late, but that is a whole new level of dedication. A toast to all those who keep the machines running! Peace Out....💚 💙💛
No comments:
Post a Comment