You ever have one of those days when you’re so engrossed in what you’re doing at work, you glance at the clock—are surprised to see it’s only a few minutes before quittin’ time—and grumble a little bit, because by god, you’re on a roll and having so much fun you don’t want to go home just yet?
No?
OK, maybe that’s just me. I can’t help it. I love what I do! Yesterday, I was busy composing a script for our virtual holiday party. Once again, CenturyCo is doing it online because of COVID. It’s the unwanted gift that keeps on giving, like that fruitcake you can never seem to get rid of.
Anyway. We’ve hired an emcee for this year’s event, a Rapid City-based country recording artist. He’s very popular around here, and despite the genre, Tara and I actually dig his music. We’ve seen him perform at the Summer Nights concert series a couple of times. He puts on a good show.
If a country artist seems like an odd choice to emcee a virtual holiday party for a 105-year-old telecommunications company, well…it IS. But we’d originally hired him to perform at last year’s party, which was of course shifted to an online event due to the pandemic. He’d already cashed his deposit, so we sort of had him on retainer, and it turns out he also emcees a lot of local events. Entertainer types like that are usually pretty, well…entertaining. The dude is mad talented, but looks like he’d be right at home at the Sturgis Rally, and I’m sure is no stranger to cussin’ and other tomfoolery that, while fun, might not be appropriate for the corporate world. So, the Party Planning Committee tasked me with writing the script. Gotta make sure he says what we want him to say, for the most part, though he’s free to ad lib.
It’s weird trying to put words (or anything else, for that matter) in somebody’s mouth whom you have never met, but much like the speeches I wrote for the bigwigs at the annual meeting last summer, I’m leaning on humor as my crutch. I asked my supervisor if I could do that, and she was totally in favor. “That’s the best way to keep the party fun!” she said, and I could not agree more, so I was off to the races.
If there’s one thing I can do, it’s funny. I made an auditorium full of people laugh over toilet paper. Humor is my not-so-secret weapon.
I reluctantly tore myself away from my desk at 5:00, content in the knowledge that morning would roll around soon enough and I’d be back at my desk, toiling away for The Man.
God, I’m weird.
Speaking of COVID, I got my booster shot on Monday afternoon. Don’t even know if I was technically eligible, but fuck it, I want protection, and Walgreen’s didn’t turn me away after I filled out their questionnaire. I may be in full remission, but my diabetes has never been un-diagnosed, so I have every right to list it as an underlying condition. Might as well reap some benefit from that terrible time when I thought I was going to die.
I might have been a little more reticent about getting the booster if I’d known that, unlike the first two doses, this one would affect me physically.
Nothing too terrible, but after I crawled into bed some five hours later, I began shivering uncontrollably. My muscles throbbed. And I woke up in a puddle of sweat in the middle of the night. Half the next day, I just felt kind of wiped out. Weak and a little lethargic. But by mid-afternoon, I was feeling normal again.
It’s a small price to pay anyway. I’ll be lining up for a 4th and 5th and 6th dose if that’s what it comes to. God, I hope it doesn’t, though.
Speaking of shots…
One thing I forgot to mention about Audrey’s visit, and this is one of the nice things about having an adult daughter: we bonded over shots Friday night. We were all hanging out in the kitchen after a busy day of exploring, drinking and listening to music while I cooked chicken cacciatore. And then Tara suggested she whip up a few chocolate cake shots. Who were we to say no?
That was fun.
Talk about daddy/daughter bonding.
Mark My Words 
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