The Aftermath

This morning we pitched our capabilities to a panel of ten -- representatives of varoious departments of one of our largest clients.

Unexpectedly my account service counterpart had to miss the presentation due to a death in his family. So, at the last minute (yesterday) I was scrambling to finish the display and video portion of our presentation and now prepare a speech that I hadn't written or practiced.

I rewrote my speech last night and then again (for the third time) beginning this morning at 6:30. I read and reread it several times.

During my presentation I sort of condensed a lot of what I was saying. I got really nervous for some reason. Then, the audio screwed up (facility issue). So, we unplugged the audio jack and played it directly from my laptop.

When all was said and done the 12 of us (my colleagues) made lunch plans. As four of us got back into my car, I believe I screamed "Holy Crap, y'all! My fly is open!"

So, I stood in front of 10 clients and 11 colleagues with my fly open. Thankfully, my suit is tailored and it fits. So, no gaps. Nobody was the wiser. I hope.

Tuesday 6 May

As you can tell from recent Luncheonette posts I haven't been eating a very healthy diet. It's time to jump back on the "no fast food" bus. Eric ditched me for lunch today to run to his tailor's and then to Danver's for one of the poorest excuses for a salad bar that I've seen in recent years. Gone are the days of the mega-sized salad bars like Sizzler used to have when I was a teen. Hell, Wendy's used to have a pretty awesome salad bar. But my idea of a salad bar has more than some iceberg, spinach, cucumbers, cheddar cheese and fake bacon bits. I'm not going to rattle off the entire salad bar's offerings here, but let it suffice to say that it's very, very basic.

So, I hopped into the convertible (it's a beautiful day) and drove over to Bogey's Delicatessen in Overton Square. Purveyors of all the delicious Boar's Head products you can imagine, I pondered ordering one of the best Reuben sandwiches around. But, as usual, I fell back to my favorite: the Salad Sampler. On Fridays it includes Shrimp Salad, but today being Tuesday I get half a deviled egg instead. The salads are Potato, Pasta, Chicken, Tuna, and Romaine with chopped tomatoes, cucumber and vinaigrette.

Delicious.

Thursday 1 May

It's May Day and it's partly cloudy, but there's no rain in the forecast for today. I drove the Grand Prix today, top down. Eric and I decided to drive it to Tops Bar-B-Q for lunch where we ordered the usual: "#4, all the way, double fry." That's their lexicon so that's the way we order it. And, I suppose we're somewhat familiar faces there.


#4 (Double Cheeseburger), all the way, Double Fry

After we staked our claim at a booth in what Eric referred to as "The Garden Room," he went to the counter for a small cup of mustard. When he returned, he said, "I got some sass while I was at the counter."

Apparently he asked why the place got so smoky suddenly. I'm not sure which of the gals behind the counter answered, "it's a barbecue place."

E: "It wasn't this smoky a minute ago."

She: "It's a barbecue place."

E: "Did the vents shut off?"

Then, the woman wearing a "Julia"-styled wig, a la Dihann Carroll from the 1960s show with the same name, and orange lacquer hoop earrings, says, "Look at you! What do you know about those vents?"

Cat's Paw

When I was a kid my mother used to take us to Campbell's Shoe Repair to have shoes reheeled or resoled, and I remember seeing signs for Cat's Paw rubber heel replacements.

Today, I feel like such a heel.

My friend Shawn commemorated my birthday with a very nice card, mailed snail mail which I think is special. We talked a bit on the phone that day and it was all around a great day with the exception that Cameron was out of town.

Fast-forward to Tuesday, April 29. It's Shawn's birthday. I didn't send him a card. I didn't even IM him that day. I was so inundated and preoccupied with putting together a 114-page book (in one day) that I thought of nothing else. I was here from 9:00 AM until Midnight. I was here so late that I even went home to find that Billie had pooped on the bedspread that Georgia had dragged into the floor of the guest bedroom.

Still, it's a gross oversight. And, I am so good at remembering birthdays, usually, that I feel this one is especially heinous.

So, in his honor I'm saying Happy Birthday, here. Shawn, I hope you had a great day.

It's My Birthday Too, Yeah

This morning I was frantically driving to work trying not to be more than 5 minutes late for my 9:00 meeting. Rob told us last night that we were "walking into a buzz saw" if we presented part of what we'd planned. So, I was stressed to say the least.

I know, Happy Birthday, David. Your day starting to suck already.

But, we walked into the buzz saw and came out unscathed. We presented what we'd intended and all went very well.

And, when I came out of the Executive Conference room, Amy S. mentioned that I had a surprise at the front desk. I walked down the stairs and saw a dozen red roses from Cameron with a card attached that said "Hi Sweety, Happy BD, I wish I was home. Love, Cameron."


Awesome.

As I made my way to my office I rounded the corner to find it festooned in lots of glittery fun. There was a small cake. Rockstar heart and star shaped sunglasses, a planter filled with Geraniums, Lantana, Coleus and Dusty Miller. This surprise was brought to me by Michelle, Amy and Alexandra, three of my favorite girls. Michelle inscribed the Hoops & Yoyo talking card from Hallmark they'd left for me with "Happy Birthday David!!! I love you!!! You look hotter every year! your "C", Michelle."

LOVE her. "Your 'C'" refers to a time when she, Eric and I went down to the diner to forage and were distracted by Dr. Phil on the TV. He was talking to a couple, the husband of which was apparently abusive. Dr. Phil was addressing the wife. He said, "you said he kissed the baby in your arms, punched you, called you a bitch. Then he called you a "C".

We all roared with laughter at how ridiculous this pompous, self-described expert sounded saying, "and then he called you a 'C'". It was like hearing somebody call a penis a "wee-wee." So, we all refer to each other as "C" when we think about it.

Anyway, on to the reason for this post. My "C", Michelle, Amy W. and Alexandra made my day.

I received my agency card that contained a half-day off certificate and inscriptions from co-workers. Some of the witty repartee: "happy birthday, bitch. Love, Michelle," and "I have enjoyed being next to the 'portal of hell.' Happy Birthday, Amy." Josh wrote that I should "smoke some grass." Since Brian was MIA for the card signing, Jim entered, "I Love You. Brian" for him.

"The portal of hell" is my office. Amy S. and I were having a discussion yesterday before our spirited debate with Rob (buzzsaw) about some outdoor boards. She and decided that we needed to talk to Andrea, who I paged saying, "Andrea, could you join Amy and me in the Portal of Hell?" Amy roared with laughter and wrote my statement down for her wall of funny phrases, oft referred to as "the Wall."

Here are the photos.

Turmoil. Then Bliss.

I haven't forgotten about my little space in the world here.

Work = overwhelming to the point of being hellish. I need a vacation.

After spending more than 24 hours over the last couple of days trying to develop a brand campaign for a new client and finding out that I didn't have all the information to make smart decisions on how to approach the project, I accompanied one of our principals and a counterpart for a working presentation yesterday afternoon that went fairly well. They liked our work, gave us direction and now need to have a finalized presentation prepared for mid-next week for their licensees. Busy, still, we'll be.

Regardless, a few minutes after 5 o'clock I was barreling up I-55 toward home for a last evening with Cameron for the next few days. Mosquitoes notwithstanding, we had a nice conversation and a couple cocktails outside. We moved inside to start dinner: orange roughy sauteed with onions, capers and lemon juice, accompanied with pan-seared bay scallops and prawns and steamed whole green beans with a bit of butter.

He'd rented two movies from Blockbuster and I had a Netflix disc available. Cloverfield, Juno or Jarhead? We popped Juno into the DVD and were both surprised and taken in by the film.

We thought it was delightful in spite of some reports that it was in poor taste and promoted teenage pregnancy. While I don't share those sentiments I understand how someone might feel that way. I just don't. To me the characters mostly acted with love, grace and understanding with a desire to do the right thing. Thoroughly enjoyable.

Because the remainder of the evening should be kept private it will. I'll just say it was blissful.

I hope all your rough days end in such a nice way.

I'm Hungry for Some Nuggrets

Hilarious.

Chest Pains

Cameron keeps telling me that statistics, common knowledge, psychologists or whomever say that it's going to take a year to adjust to losing Doris.

Right now, I don't know if I'll make it. I miss her so much.




Every time I see this face I smile, but then I hurt. She brought joy to all of us.