It’s Friday afternoon and I’m at the office, finishing up what I think has been a pretty great week, from a work standpoint.
I have to say that going on the business trip this week to a place I’d never been left me very refreshed and inspired as it pertains to the new gig. I discovered some new and interesting opportunities for our company and I think that I may have even impressed the boss this time.
It’s just nice to have new opportunities, fresh new ideas and a different perspective.
I also got to see and meet new people. After Day 1, there was a social event. Everyone who was attending the show was invited to attend this mixer. It was a NICE one, too. Like open bar, live music, passed appetizers and a full-blown dinner!
Many of these folks knew each other - either from other shows or just being in the business together for years and years. It was a fairly small show for a certain segment of the industry, and that made it manageable and the people were open and friendly to newcomers, probably because of the novelty of newbies.
Anyway, I had a couple of glasses of wine, said hello to folks and then fixed myself a plate of food. All I needed was a place to sit and eat my dinner, so I asked a table that was about half-full if I could join them, and these people welcomed me with open arms.
Now. Many of the people attending the show were interior and fashion designers and may have a tendency to be a little over the top - bordering on eccentric. I suppose I must have fit right in because before I knew it, dinner was over and I was being whisked up to the top floor of the tower to a private retirement party of one of the industry’s “biggies”.
The event had the atmosphere of a company holiday party - everything decked out and sparkly, music blasting and of course, a bar serving signature cocktails. I ended up with a beautiful holiday martini, complete with floating cranberries. Delicious, yet dangerous!
I wasn’t 100% sure about my host - what his intentions were - and as you might be aware, many in my profession are not heterosexual, so I couldn’t quite tell about this man who was taking me under his wing and introducing me to everyone at the parties (yes, plural…there were several taking place at the same time and he took me to them all!). But I didn’t argue and I enjoyed the heck out of the festivities.
We talked and even figured out that we knew someone in common in the town where he lives! That person in common just happens to be the Captain of the Football Team from my high school!
[Sidebar: anybody remember the story from my 30th HS Reunion last year? The one where the GORGEOUS captain of the football team and I had a glorious makeout session in the back of a taxi cab and I had to tear him off of me so he wouldn’t come up to my hotel room??? Yeah - that guy! He owns a very popular restaurant in the town where my fancy-pants new friend lives - and he just happens to hang out at this restaurant on the reg, I guess]
Anyway, my new friend - let’s call him Dapper Dan - decided that he was my new best friend and we party hopped and talked until I was tired and needed to go back to my hotel…maybe 9:30pm?! Hahah!
I went back to my hotel, which happened to be a lovely Bed & Breakfast as it was the same price as booking an Economy Suites or somesuch hotel. You know the ones. It was a nice, big house, and the breakfasts were delicious for two mornings, but it was not very soundproof and I worried about every step I took and every noise I made. The BEST part about the place was the shower - it was nice and big and the water was HOT ( I like my showers nearly scalding) and it had a huuuuggeee hand-held shower head. Heh. Talk about having to be quiet…
A couple more days of browsing, meetings and brainstorming (a potential new business colleague met me out there the next day), and then I was headed back home.
Good stuff! Now I have new friends - Dapper Dan has sent me several messages via FB. New work ideas…I gave my thoughts on strategies to my boss yesterday and I will be reporting to my team early next week regarding updates and new development ideas.
Yeah. It was just what the doctor ordered....
Until Negative C. got her panties in a wad in a passive-aggressive kind of way. Still, I let that shit roll off my back now that she doesn’t report to me. I think she is just such a control freak that she can’t handle ideas that come out of left field. But she’s going to have to get over that.
Whelp. It’s now time to pack up my toys and go home for the weekend. And I wish I had something planned for tonight, but the weekend will be full enough. Tomorrow’s the CEO’s party and the next day is the fundraiser event for my friend, so I might as well just settle in and relax tonight.
I’m still just feeling so numb about Steve McQueen.
Happy Friday night, y’all.
xox,
GS
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