Tuesday Highlights, November 13, 2007

Since I have a few minutes I figured I would catch up on my highlights. OK, they’re not Thursday highlights – but I can’t vouch for what Thursday or Friday is going to look like…or, for that matter, even today…which is why it’s Tuesday highlights. Bear with me here….I’m sitting in the Santa Monica showroom biding my time until my PR presentation to the West Coast sales team at 4:00. It’s presently 11:15. Hence, the available time to contemplate highlights.

Tuesday morning started off crazy. Jeff had taken his car into Honda the previous night because of some kind of gripping or clutching…and not in a good way. So, we had one car between all of us which meant we all had to be ready to leave at the same time…and a little bit early to compensate for all the ferrying around. I got up early enough to pack my back for California and get myself ready. Although, I would find out later that I apparently did not have enough time to pack my toothbrush…for the second trip in a row! What is wrong with me? Why so forgetful of my teeth? Anyhow, Jeff was a gamer and got little boy all dressed and ready to go. He also sprayed down the boy’s bed-head hair and slicked it down. Which looked hilarious…sort of like a Swedish Alfalfa…but I digress. Even though I had plenty of time to pack, get ready myself, forget my toothbrush, and smooch Langston, I still found myself running around like a maniac and leaving the house later than planned. That seems to always be the case.

Anyhow, as we drove down the road I realized that I had forgotten my sunglasses (I would say “also” forgotten, but I wouldn’t find out until later that night about the toothbrush thing, so for now, it was just one known lapse of memory) and had to squint in agony at the sun directly in my face. How does the sun know how to always be just below the rear view mirror and completely out of the reach of the flip down shade? It’s just maddening.

Langston was given this “American Idol” hot pink microphone that plays an extremely appealing (sarcasm my friend) 2 measures of “funk” that loops when you press the button. Langston is in love with this item. His face literally beams with joy when it is handed to him. And believe me, you will get tired of the funky rhythms far, far sooner than he will tire of pushing that button. Anyhow, we hadn’t noticed but it had gotten pretty quiet back there. Jeff turned to look and cracked up…apparently the microphone is also a sucker! The little darling had figured out how to take off the top and was greedily scarfing down some kind of deadly strawberry sucker that was who knows how old. Nice. Joy turned to sorrow as it was promptly taken away. How could we be so cruel?

But, when I dropped Jeff off at work he ran inside and taped it all up and returned it to literal squeals of unbridled joy. Sometimes being a parent you get the privilege of making another human being so happy – really unable to contain their pleasure. I don’t get that feeling too much in my other roles.

Anyhow, after dropping Jeff at work and Langston at daycare (he’s now in the toddler room – how did that happen?) I made it into work.

I knew there would be a bit of a firestorm awaiting me. It was the day of the Diversity Forum at work. This is an internal meeting for leaders to inspire them to action around diverse issues and inclusion. Let’s just say that a lot of things had been put off to the last minute on this and the whole team was really starting to feel the pressure. I had a thin line of sweat already at my hairline and I was just walking in the door. We had to do a technical run-through with the technical team…then a full walk-through with the presenters…then make sure the stage was set correctly and we had all the mikes we would need…and get the registration tables set up (I’ve never seen such heinously ugly name tags – just all CAP names on a ginormous white sticker…blech) including name tags, books that were being given out, magazines that were also being handed out, and the event booklet. And that booklet was the source of my angst.

The agenda, speaker bios, last year’s updates, etc. were all to be provided attendees in this super cool attendee booklet. Remember the old “last minute” thing – well, we still didn’t have the booklets. After the 5th person came and asked me if the booklets had arrived and after the 3rd time that one person in particular had asked, I just about lost my grip! Auugghhh! Where are those stupid books??? After my third call to the design firm who had created the books I got a firm drop-off time of 12:30…and the event was due to begin at 1:00. Gulp.

Well, of course the booklets arrived, of course the sound and technology went fine, of course the box lunches were in the room for the speakers as planned, of course the program got started late, and with all crises averted I was able to head off for the airport.

The plane out from Grand Rapids was brand new! It was so nice…I was in the exit row and almost had TOO much legroom!! I could barely reach my bag. But I was not complaining.

Arrived in Minneapolis and walked about 14 miles to the next gate, bought a bag of pita chips and had a pretty easy time of it to L.A. But I always forget how pickin long it takes to get there. The flight from Minneapolis was almost 4 hours and it felt like every minute of it. Probably especially for my row-mates when I started chomping on those chips.

Got a cab pretty easily to the hotel and $50 later I was checking into the Huntley. What a beautiful hotel. And I felt like I fit right in wearing my yoga pants and sweatshirt…they probably thought I was a celebrity on the down-low. I get that a lot. While I was checking in I think I may have had a celebrity sighting. But it is unconfirmed because I couldn’t recognize anyone. All I know is that a little gaggle of about 5 impossibly thin, ridiculously blond, fantastically sparkly and mini-skirted young chicks came in the back way, with some paparazzi in tow, and headed straight for a special elevator. While I gawked, the desk clerk tried to ask me a couple of pertinent questions…after saying “huh?” distractedly twice as I tried to identify a famous person, he was kind of like, “listen up, sweatshirt, I don’t have the time for this…put the binoculars away and deal.”

Then I indulged in a very rare treat…since it was almost nine at this point I went ahead and just ordered room service. There’s really nothing more wonderful than noshing on a chicken sandwich, sitting on a down comforter-covered bed while wearing your pajamas, as ocean breezes blow in through the open window, and you watch Bones on TV. It was quite spectacular.

After some fruitless web surfing and finishing the puffy-shirt episode of Senfeld, I pulled the covers up and went to sleep – realizing that I would likely be waking up again before dawn. Which I did.