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 
Yeah, I haven’t had the best reactions to the doses or the booster, but it’s all very much worth it.
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Absolutely. A small inconvenience for peace of mind. I only wish everybody felt that way.
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My husband wishes I’d had a bad physical reaction like yours to the booster (I was eligible immediately because I got the one J&J shot back in April).
He said I had the same reaction as last time: mega-irritability.
I said, “I wouldn’t have told you to f*** off if you hadn’t said something so unforgivable.”
“I asked how you were feeling!”
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Ha!!! Man, suddenly I feel for the guy…
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Chocolate cake shots?! I immediately forgot everything else you wrote when I got to those words. (Kidding. See? I can do funny, too.) Why did you not have a link to include with THOSE words?! Now I have to google it myself. Sheesh. Where’s the service here?
Also, when I was 19, my dad would frequently offer to split a beer with me, saying, “Gotta get you ready for Austria.” I was going to be spending a semester in Europe. He knew I’d be drinking, as it’s a legal age there. I guess he wanted me to build the ol’ tolerance while I could.
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Chocolate cake shots are awesome! And there are variations like birthday cake shots and carrot cake shots, too. My dad used to let me sip from his beer too, but to this day, I still don’t like the stuff…with the exception of sours.
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There’s a place down here called Wild Barrel that has the BEST sours. During the pandemic, before things shut down further, I had a Drinking Gang. We were there every Friday night. (May I not be struck down for this, but: 2020 was a fun year. I also somehow got two raises–which helped with the drinking. 😉 )
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Hey, 2020 was a pretty good year for me, too. I landed this great job, after all!
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Now we’ll both be struck down.
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Bite your tongue!
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Father/daughter bonding with alcohol is huge fun. After mine graduated from University of Puget Sound, we drove around Tacoma singing Little Feat at the top of our lungs. One of my favorite memories EVER!
Best version of “Fatman in the Bathtub” I’ve ever heard.
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Ahh, sweet memories! I do not know that song, though. I’ll pull it up on Spotify.
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Vaccine reactions are so varied. I had a bad one, swollen lymph nodes, my husband? Absolutely none. Maine just opened boosters up to everyone so I’ll be making an appt soon.
Good luck with the script, hope your guy doesn’t stray too far from it.
😉
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I knew reactions varied from person to person…just didn’t realize they varied from shot to shot within the same person. Guess I was feeling cocky.
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I’m not too anxious for the booster as I could barely raise my arm for a week after the last one. My husband got the shingles vaccine yesterday morning and by dinner, he had a fever and was bundled up like an Eskimo. Dreading that one now as well!
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I’m hearing that the shingles vaccine can be brutal. I doubt I’ll bother with that, as I never had chickenpox and did get that vaccine when it first came out.
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Funny is good, but there’s always one person who takes it too seriously. This I’ve learned over time. I’m too young for the booster shot but you’ve given me an idea about trying anyhow. All they can say is NO!
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Well, they just opened boosters up to all adults today, so get those sleeves rolled up, my friend!
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Wow, you were unlucky. Had my (Pfizer) booster last Saturday and out and about Sunday as usual, no probs. Did a lot of alcoholic bonding with my Dad, great times when I really got to know him. Keep it up!
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Fortunately, I rebounded from the side effects pretty quickly!
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How fun to write some FUNNY stuff. Yes, you do funny in a great way.
Yikes, I went back and read about your diabetes; that is some scary stuff, my friend. I’m glad you are getting all the protection when you can.
The daddy-daughter shots are the best kind of shots.
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Aww, thank you! I throw in links all the time but never really expect people to follow them. I’m glad you did. I often say that, as horrible as the experience was, getting diabetes might have been the best thing that ever happened to me. It was a wakeup call that inspired me to make lifestyle changes that have resulted in much better health.
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Believe it or not, I’ve heard that same thing from other people regarding diabetes making you make changes that really improve your life. I’m glad you caught it sooner than later.
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