#403 - Raising $$$ in a Down Economy

Tonight I was the lead point person for a major fundraising dinner. We hosted 600 people for a reception/dinner/presentation/dancing. Overall, I'm proud to say the event went very well. Everyone I spoke to had a good time, thought the food was great and the presentation was nice. The only real complaint I heard was that the band and singers were too loud, and though we asked them numerous times to turn it down, it never really got better. Best news of all: We made well over our fundraising goal for the evening. It is a different experience being the point person, staying on schedule and working with the staff of the venue to get everything exactly right. I had a blast tonight (and I only got one blister from my goofy shoes). A job well done, if I do say so myself. Also, a special shout-out to my amazing hubby (who never actually reads this) who put on a tuxedo and volunteered his time to help this evening. I love showing off my handsome better half and though I know big crowds aren't his favorite scene, he is really good talking to people. I'm a lucky girl.

#331 - Water Baby

The little guy (TLG) loves water, and anything having to do with water, as I've mentioned in the past. Tonight, my bosses asked us to bring home some volunteer work to try: we have a ton of zipped-up canvas bags that need to be unzipped, soaked in a bunch of water in the sink, then dried in the clothes dryer on high heat. I am proud to share that I helped TLG do his first-ever volunteer work by helping me with this project. He quickly figured out how to unzip the bags, but even more exciting was pushing the bags down in the sink-full of water. And best of all was taking the bags out, one by one, and letting them drip all over the place in the kitchen. Of course, he didn't realized this was "work" because he just loves to help.

#325 - The Lone Eagle

Tonight I attended a work function at The Lone Eagle Grille at the Hyatt in Incline Village. There were about 80-ish people there, and we were served a four-course meal. My choices included a seafood trio first course, caesar salad second course, beef tenderloin with grilled green beans third course, and a mixed berries-and-cream dessert with a butter cookie shell for the end of the meal. I enjoyed my meal, though the beef was a little raw for my taste. The ambience was very nice, and the staff worked hard to make sure we were all served in a timely manner.

#299 - Faux Treasurer

A good friend of mine was supposed to be on this trip to Chicago. Alas, she is not, and she is the treasurer for the group that is meeting. As many groups and exec boards as I have been on, I have never been the treasurer of anything. (I've done almost everything else, including: president, recording secretary, editor, VP programs, committee chairman, committee member... I don't know what it is about me and money, but nobody has ever asked me to be in charge of the money.) Anyway... today I gave my first-ever treasurer's report (with a budget and notes from my good friend). And you know what? Being a treasurer is HARD WORK. Everything going on at our meeting has an impact on the budget, so I had to keep going back and adding notes as we discussed everything. It's not like I could just present the budget and be done with it. I have always respected treasurers for doing their jobs, but now I understand how difficult it is!

#281 - Statue Installation

Have you ever wondered about engineering marvels such as large buildings, bridges or amusement park rides? As I watched a 1,000 lb. bronze statue being installed today, I found myself thinking about engineering, and how people going through school must study very different topics from me in order to do their jobs successfully. The statue was on its side on a wood pallet when we arrived, and five construction guys had the unenviable task of turning it upright, then using a huge crane to lift it to the second story of a plaza, and setting it down/securing it to a 4' concrete base. The whole process took about an hour, but the crane was already set up, the pallet was already on the machine to drive it where it needed to go, and the concrete base was dry. It made me nervous to watch this huge statue being hoisted by his armpits into the air! Fortunately, everything went as planned and the statue looks great.

#280 - Office Pranks

My coworkers have pretty good senses of humor, or so I thought. This morning, upon my return to work, I found I was the victim of an office prank: a snack drawer full of shavings from the shredder! They got my two bosses, also (they were both out of the office parts of last week, and suffered from shavings in their personal fridge, and all over their desk). Gee, as if it wasn't hard enough to go back to work...

#261 - Providing Inspiration

At my new place of employment, before most committee meetings tackle the business on their agendas, there is often found an inspirational quote, poem, or prayer given. Today I was asked to give the inspirational moment before the environmental committee. It took me a couple of hours yesterday to decide what I wanted to say, but eventually what I came up with is that I'd like the little guy to still have a clean environment and enough natural resources to enjoy what I have been given over the years. And I read most of the words to Kermit the Frog's "I Wonder About the World Above Up There" from Sesame Street, which is a nice ode to noticing how wonderful the earth is. My hubby gets a lot of flack from me about recycling, and turning off lights and other electrical equipment when they're not in use, but I really hope that if enough of us change our light bulbs out, etc. that future generations will still have enough clean air and energy to have a good life.

#226 - Fashion Show!

Today I volunteered at a work-related fashion show. Having never been to a "real" fashion show before (only 4-H shows back in the day), I wasn't entirely sure what to expect - would they have professional models? Clothes from lots of different designers? Today's event was sponsored by Coldwater Creek, so all the clothes came from there. The models were staff members and volunteers from my organization, ranging in age from 23 to 85 (!) and they were adorable. I was not a model, but a runner for the raffle portion of the event. But they had so much fun, maybe next year I'd consider it. Who knows?

#213 - Planning for an Evolutionary Change

My new organization is just starting an environmental/recycling program, and today I attended my first committee meeting to help them on their way. I was surprised that, until the last three weeks, they didn't have any recycling bins in any of the office spaces. (Isn't that amazing for an organization the size of mine, with 3000+ workers?) It is exciting to think that my ideas could possibly help them to affect our planet in such a positive way.

#161 - Work Firsts

Today I did a couple of things I've done before, but never for my new organization, including: learning a new database system, attending a board meeting and going on a donor call. The whole day felt shiny and new because I was meeting lots of people and meeting my goal of doing donor "stewardship" (one of the reasons I was hired). I would list these all separately and count them as a bunch of new things, but I would bore you to death, dear reader. So we'll leave well enough alone for now.

#153 - I've Been Oriented!

My first day on my new job, and I have officially been oriented. I mean, for the first time ever, I'm working in an organization that is large enough to have an all-day orientation session. There were probably 75 folks at the session today (and they hold these monthly!) - and I felt the HR folks did a good job of mixing up speakers, videos, paperwork, a tour of the facility, and Q-and-A sessions. There are 2300 employees total at my new organization - wow! - and I obviously have a lot to learn before I'm ready to do any official work... but my boss and co-workers are understanding of this fact and are eager to help me gain the knowledge I need. I'm so happy to have made this switch!

#151 - Happy Endings

Today was my last day at my old job, and that's close enough to a new thing for me for today. My office has been a ghost town lately, literally, so it was nice to see lots of people... the IT folks to turn off my e-mail, the HR folks for the paperwork, and they also got me a cake so I could say farewell in style. My friends who still work there have been very supportive through all this and while I wish I wasn't leaving them in the lurch timing-wise (there's a big fundraising event coming up soon), well, when exactly is a good time to leave a job?!? It's like any major life event - there really IS no good time, so you just have to plunge ahead. It was a nice day, and I left the building at 5:00 knowing I have completed every project I had agreed to (and then some!) and there's nothing left that I need to do. It's a good feeling to have!

#139 - Testing, Testing

Today, as part of the new hire process for my new job, I took a drug test. Sure, I've taken those pee-in-a-cup tests before, especially while I was pregnant. But this was the first time I've ever taken one where I was given specific instructions to empty my pockets, lock up my purse in a cabinet, and given a time frame in which to complete the deed. I know there are requirements to make sure that people don't cheat the system, but it all felt a little odd to me. Not to mention I had to wait for an hour in the waiting room with a bunch of sick and injured folks just to complete this test (which took less than five minutes...) Looking back, maybe they had me wait to ensure that I would be able to go to the bathroom on cue? Weird.

#134 - Paperwork

I've been asked to find paperwork from my childhood detailing my vaccinations. I ask you, who at age 29 could actually find such a thing? It's not like it's a birth certificate or a passport, for crying out loud. Fortunately, today I followed a suggestion from my dad (who can be brilliant, by the way), and I called my alma mater and asked if the university kept these records on file - and they do! And I can get a copy from them! Hooray! I will putting a copy in a safe place in case anyone ever asks again. Thanks for the idea, Dad!

#127 - Major Gross-Out

I was in Las Vegas for work yesterday and today, meaning I had to stay overnight. I don't mind telling you that I stayed at a hotel called the Candlewood Suites and I would definitely NOT recommend anyone ever going there. This morning I was so distraught over the cleanliness of my room that I complained to the manager and got my room comp'd. It seemed dirty when I arrived last night, so I wore my socks with my p.j.'s to bed and didn't touch anything I didn't have to. But then this morning I was totally grossed out by a giant hairball in the supposedly-clean bath towel. I took a photo with my camera-phone but can't figure out how to post that for you, so suffice to say that it was traumatic and I won't ever be going back there again.

#114 - The Ropes

A new staff member started at work today, and I got to show her the ropes. I've never been in a position to show a new worker everything - from introducing them around to getting their office set up... all of it, down to what projects are in the works that they should take over. I have been SUPER excited to get this particular staff member on board and am gung-ho to get everything moving along. She'll be taking over some great, fun stuff I've been working on and I know the project will ultimately benefit greatly from having someone's full attention (as opposed to the meager time I've been able to give). It felt so good to welcome her to the staff and I know we're going to enjoy working together, so that made today's new thing even more exciting.

#64 - Their fate is in my hands

At work on Friday, I got to sort through and rank some job applications I received as chairperson of the search committee for a new position being created. I've never been chairperson of a committee like this before. I have served on similar committees, but somehow that felt more collaborative somehow. Seeing all these people interested in the new position made me excited at the prospect of finding the right candidate, and I wanted to read everything slowly so I wouldn't miss any pieces to the puzzle. I can't wait to hear what the other committee members think and meet some of these folks in person. It's very exciting to have this under way.

#60 - Planning pays off

Since I skipped a new thing yesterday, here's a bonus one from today:
Ever since my boss left my organization in the spring, I've been trying to "hold down the fort" as the new powers that be get acclimated. During this time, I've been especially involved with a K-12 program that's near and dear to my heart. Today we had a celebration event at the newest school to participate, and I did all the organizing (invitations, RSVPs, scripting everything, etc.) just like I always do. What made today's event different was that I did it all by myself, without anyone checking over my shoulder. This was very liberating for me, since the event turned out wonderfully and all three of the local TV stations sent news crews! I was so excited that it went so well, and I'm feeling particularly proud that everything went off without a hitch.

#29 - Work firsts

Since my former boss left my organization a few months ago, I am trying to help "fill the gaps" until a new V.P. is hired. Today's work day was full of new projects in this vein... including some major writing projects that I'm excited about. I also met some people from other education groups today that we may be able to collaborate with, and we went out to lunch as a group to celebrate new partnerships (to a new Mexican place!) Work has been full of challenges these past few months, and it just felt so good to be helpful today.