What an Eventful Week!

Wow, have I been through a lot this week. But it’s gonna be the best week of the year, I’m pretty sure.

Monday was my monthly board meeting for the professionals group (IAAP). So I got home rather late from that. Tuesday and Wednesday I worked late (until 10!) preparing a presentation for the company’s annual awards dinner, which was Thursday night.

Thursday night. Wow. What can I say. The awards banquet. It was great. The food was the best “hotel dinner” food I’ve had in years. I had a pretty new dress that I bought last weekend, and I felt like a million bucks. The presentation went off well — not “without a hitch,” but the only “hitch” was one that only I and the other members of the presentation team would notice, so it was minor. Everyone thought the presentation was great, and we got quite a few laughs from everyone — even the company owners. And then they gave out the seniority awards — I got a nice briefcase/laptop bag for having lasted three years.

And then came the special awards. I was so happy for all of the people who were recognized as outstanding new employee, grounds-keeper, property manager, and maintenance technician. And then it happened. I knew I had been nominated for Outstanding Corporate Employee, but I didn’t figure I had a chance at it. One of the other nominees has been with the company nearly 30 years, and the other came in a couple of years ago and pretty much revolutionized our collections department. Me, I guess I tend to think I’m “just the secretary” — what I do is, to me, routine and just what’s needed … nothing really spectacular.

So my boss got up to announce the winner. He did his spiel about the award and announced the nominees. I’m running the Powerpoint presentation that flashes each person’s name up as he says it, and then displays the winner’s name. So I’m waiting on my boss as he asks the helper for the envelope containing the winner’s name. And he called on me! I started to cry, and he said, “I knew she’d cry! She got another award earlier this year from the Kindness Revolution, and she cried then, too.” (I always cry. I cry when I’m happy, I cry when I’m sad; I cry when I’m lonely, and I cry when I’m mad. I can’t help it. My friend tells me that I wear my heart on my sleeve and no one ever has to guess at how I feel about something. She doesn’t say whether that’s good or bad.) So the neat thing is that you get this recognition, and you get a plaque to hang on your office wall and a check for $500!

After the presentations were over, there was dancing and karaoke, and the company controller insisted that I get up and sing! I’ve never done karaoke, and I was scared to death. I have sung in front of people before, but only in church, and this wasn’t an “Amazing Grace” kind of crowd. So I sang John Denver’s “Country Roads, Take Me Home.” The version was a little high for my voice, but I think I carried it off all right. Everyone was clapping and singing along, so it was kind of fun. And everyone was having such a good time that, for the first time in history, one of our company owners told the deejay to keep on playing, and he’d pay for the overtime. So the party didn’t end until 11! So I didn’t get to bed until midnight. On a work night! Augh. But everyone else was hung over this morning (I can’t drink alcohol for health reasons, so I didn’t have that problem), so it was okay. It was a slow day at the office and I got a lot done.

It’s been a very busy week, and I am glad it’s over. I’m so tired! I’m going to turn in early tonight and catch up on my sleep. And then tomorrow I have a lot to do. I’m excited about that prize money, because I have been wanting a new washer and dryer, and with the prize money plus my Christmas bonus, I can buy them before the end of the year! Yippee!

Tags: awards, True Stories, Work Life