Thursday, October 05, 2006

Back to Reality

I’m back. Three whole days with no internet access. Wow. I feel like I’ve been on the moon.

Alabama was great. Well, the conference was great, I didn’t get to see a whole lot of Birmingham except for the inside of the hotel and the adjoining mall. The conference was excellent, and I made a lot of great professional connections.

My co-workers and I had a blast. This was my first time at this bi-annual conference, and I am already looking forward to the next one. On Monday night we went to a great down-home BBQ place. Pulled pork, beans, fried pickles, hushpuppies, coleslaw…oh mercy was that GOOD. The banana cream pie wasn’t too bad either. Those folks know how to do BBQ.

Tuesday night was hilarious. After a lovely reception where we really got to loosen up and talk to each other (with the help of a heavy handed bartender), we all headed down to the hotel bar. It was amazing to see how much laughter is the great equalizer. About 30 of us from about 8 different states were sitting together, telling stories, making fun of each other and laughing hysterically. After the crappy week I’ve had at the office, it was a great release. For some crazy unexplainable reason, the hotel bar closed at 12 midnight so we had to move the party elsewhere. We ended up at the pool. Not a good place for the very drunk. (Fortunately I had pretty much stopped at the bar, and while I was feeling a little “happy”, I was by no means drunk). A woman from our group disappears and comes back with her bathing suit on (quite a sight) and a tray that contained an ice bucket and the contents of her mini-bar. “C”, a young and quite handsome guy decides he’s going in the pool and strips down to his underwear. He is standing next to me trying to convince me to join him. Eventually I convince him to go in alone. Then “G” who is gay and fabulous, sees C, his eyes pop open and he starts this slow motion bounding run across the concrete, shedding clothes along the way to join him. This causes C, who is not gay, to panic, and to now try to discretely (which when you’re drunk means “conspicuously”) and quietly (which when you’re drunk means “do the whisper/yell thing like no one can hear you”) get his ass out of the pool. Then the group realizes that “F” (man) and “L” (woman) are missing, and a manhunt is formed to try and find them. Hilarity ensues as the group is going from floor to floor, calling F and trying to listen for his phone ringing. All I can say is, you know you are having fun when you are standing next to a wet, gay, drunk man in his underwear in a hotel hallway at 3 am.

But the highlight of the trip was my celebrity sighting. I have eagle eyes my friends, and I am so impressed with myself. We were all standing in the hotel lobby waiting for the shuttle to take us to the airport. I see this guy get off the elevator and walk outside. Short, baseball hat, sunglasses, jeans and a t-shirt. I must have seen his profile for all of 5 seconds. “Hey!” I said. “That’s Elliott!” *WHO?* “Elliott from American Idol!!!”

Now you all know how Elliott was my boy and how upset I was when he was voted off. A co-worker and I got up the courage to go outside and I asked him if he was indeed *the* Elliott. He shook his head yes. He looked very tired, but he was very nice. We shook his hand, told him we were big fans, and that we voted for him. He was very appreciative. He was in town rehearsing for his concert with the Little Memphis Blues Orchestra. My co-worker got his autograph for his wife. How funny is that?!

So back to reality. Work continues to really suck. Know what I’ve learned? That when you are miserable at work, no one wants to hear you complain, and that just makes the situation worse because you start getting mad that no one cares or understands. So I try not to, but it’s hard to keep it all inside. I am in a really hard situation because I have no peers here. Most of our office is housed in another building 15 minutes away, and that is where everyone my age/level are. Therefore, I don’t really have any friends here. I eat lunch by myself every day (in my office), how depressing is that? That’s not normal right? If anyone has ever been in a management capacity, you’ll understand that you can’t really regularly go to lunch with people who work under you. The few other management people here are either weird, or not people you want to know your business. My boss is a social misfit and doesn’t like to eat with anyone. So I have no one really to vent to about stuff here. I need to really figure things out. When it gets to the point where you want to actually cry at least once a day every day (and I am NOT a crier), you need to do something. The thought of another major upheaval in my life is a little much to contemplate but I can’t go on like this. I am trying to hang on until after the adoption travel, but I don’t think I can do it.

Anyway, I’m just starting to catch up on all of your blogs, so forgive me if I’m a little behind for a while. I was so happy to see many new people commenting after my last post. I hope that more continue to “de-lurk” and that the newcomers comment more often. I think your posts get better when you actually know who your audience is. Or rather, when you know you actually do have an audience.

Is it Friday yet? I think we are having a garage sale this weekend. That ought to be a hoot.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Your little pool party sounds like it was a blast!

Too bad you can't feel like that more often.

That is terrible about your job situation. I hope you find some way to make changes, life is so short.

Glad you had a good time.

Jennefer said...

You live quite a life!

(I left a really long comment earlier but blogger ate it and I don't have the energy to reconstruct it. So that sentence sums it up.)

Anonymous said...

I was wondering where you've been. Wow- very exciting work meeting. I was in New York last week and mine was NOTHING like that.

I'm sorry work is so stressful. But you are right, now is not the time for upheaval. I'd try to find as many venting opportunities as you can (how far away is the other office, could you meet some of your peers for lunch every once in a while) to get you through the adoption. Once you're home with baby and things are calmer, maybe you can reassess.

Well I've filled up my a**vice quota for the day, so I'll stop now.

Elle said...

drunk gay wet guy. can't have more fun than that!

Sorry work sucks. I think in general work always sucks.

beagle said...

Sounds like a great break from "real" life! How fun!

Thanks for your comment on my blog. I'd be signing up for adoption in a minute if (when) I can get DH on board. It still scares him.

Melissa said...

I wish I could have been at the pool. It sounds like it was a lot of fun. Glad you had a good trip

Stacey, Mike and las cinco chicas locas said...

Just wanted to say Hi, We're adopting from Colombia as well!!

mama k said...

((HUGS)) Work is where you spend most of your time. So when you're off there, it kinda throws everything off. I hope you can find something that works better for you soon.

Jill said...

Your business trip is not any different then mine were... I loved all the heavy handed bartenders!

I do hope your work situation gets better. I know also when I was working when we working on our first adoption (before I got pregnant) - it really was a necessary evil - and didn't provide a distraction - but became a distraction!

Good to have you back!

Tiff said...

Fried Pickles? What kind of sheltered life have I led to have never have heard of such a thing before?
Good luck with the garage sale!

Jenni said...

Sounds like you guys had quite the party in Alabama! I loved the story about G stripping down to swim with C. Funny thing is, I have a gay friend, named "G," who would so do that! Slow-motion bound and all.

As for your job, sorry it is sucking right now. I was in a job like that for a little over a year, and it was miserable. Eating lunch alone in a hole of an office... not fun! That's when I left to become a teacher. I may not make as much, but my work days are MUCH happier. I hope you find a place thaat is happier for you soon too. Hang in there!

Dawn said...

Hey bloggie friend! I hear you about work...it can be soooo bad for your soul if you are somewhere that just doesn't fit. I have experienced that before and to some extent even still do. I love the district I work for and most of my colleagues, but I really haven't created "friendships" at work. I hope things improve :-)

Rhonda said...

Sounds like a fun trip. My assvice is that life is too short to work a job that you hate. The only reason I say that is from personal experience...

How cool that you saw Eliot!

Anonymous said...

The trip away sounds like it was just what you needed. I made a promise to myself - after a terrible job where I cried everyday (and I'm not a crier either) that I would never again stay in a job that I hated. It's hard to do thought when you are the main breadwinner (as I was at the time). When I found myself in a negative situation for the second time I started job-hunting and found a new job before I resigned so that I had a safety net. Don't know if that is possible in your industry? Hope it works out.

Amy Lane said...

I do know how you feel--for a while, the only teachers left (people bail here by the handful) were the 'guys'--the 'guys' talked sports, bitched about work (and I do my share of bitching, but when it's ALL bitch bitch bitch and no 'Alabama was frickin' hilarious--fun post, really!!!! then you just can't stand it anymore) and anything creative, or slightly female or even a little left of center got shot down at the table. I started eating in my room--they just pissed me off. Eventually, we actually hired women, who have children and everything, and suddenly I wasn't such a purple trout in a goldfish bowl... and suddenly I could bear the company of 'the guys' for a while because there would be few girls in there too... changes do happen eventually...they're just frickin slow!!! (I want to hear about your next trip... too much fun!!!)