A few months ago, Betsy Kerekes—a/k/a Parenting Is Funny—was eliciting suggestions for a new blog name. Sure, parenting is funny, but these days, she writes more about Jiu-Jitsu. I get a real kick out of that.
/ martial arts humor.
In any case, my suggestion got the most votes, so I “won” the “contest.” I use quotation marks around both words because:
- She never actually changed the name of her blog, and
- The “prize” (more quotes!) was a stick-on tattoo of Betsy’s face.
Nothing against Betsy or her face, but I’d have preferred something with a little more substance. Say, a year’s supply of Chex Mix. I’m pretty sure she’s got a few cases stashed in her pantry, as snacks are another non-parenting topic discussed frequently on her blog.
Nevertheless, she went to the trouble of mailing me her face, so I wanted to be a good sport about the whole thing. Especially since she included a couple of oranges from her tree. Betsy lives in southern California, so you can bet your ass those things were juicy and delicious.
As a show of gratitude, I decided to have a little fun and take Betsy to work with me today. It’s a great excuse for a day-in-the-life entry, though I limited it to work hours because if I’d taken Betsy into the shower with me and later to bed, Tara would’ve given me the side-eye. I chose a Tuesday because for me, it’s the most “typical” day of the week. And oddly enough, I hardly ever post on Tuesdays. The last time was February 21. Feels like a lifetime ago.
Without further ado, here’s how Betsy and I spent our day at CenturyCo!
I picked Betsy up and we were ready to rock ‘n roll, as the kids say! (Or maybe they don’t, but I still do.)
We pulled out of the driveway at 7:45 on the dot. Work is about 10 minutes away, but I’m the type of guy who is late if he isn’t five minutes early, so we arrived at 7:55. In other words, right on time.
Side note: look at those beautiful blue skies! You’d think it was going to be a lovely day or something. Spoiler alert: you would be wrong.
I swiped my badge and unlocked the door for my coworkers, who believe arriving on time is being on time.
What a bunch of weirdos.
The lobby was deserted at that hour. Betsy got a kick out of the Marketing Department Tenets scrawled on our white board:
- Less is More
- It’s About Them, Not Us
- Show Don’t Tell
- (Good) Liquor & (Educated) Guessing
It used to say cheap liquor and wild guessing, but we wanted to make it more professional for when we have visitors.
I switched on the lights and fired up the computer. No, not the overhead fluorescent lights! I can’t stand those. My coworkers sometimes joke that I work in a cave, but I’ve never been a fan of bright lights. The lava lamp, glitter lamp, and salt lamp are illumination enough for me. Plus, there’s ample natural light.
The first thing on my agenda this morning was checking Facebook planning out interview questions for my upcoming business trip next week. I have seven confirmed interviews and an eighth pending, so that’s a lot of questions. Took me most of the morning.
Our weekly marketing meeting takes place every Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. We meet via Microsoft Teams, even though all but one of us are in adjoining offices. The agenda includes current promotions and ongoing marketing tasks; site statistics and e-newsletter open/click-through rates; upcoming public articles, press releases, and emails; and other miscellaneous marketing business. We wrapped that up in an hour, and then I futzed around got some more stuff done before heading home with Betsy for lunch.
My lunch routine consists of three important orders of business: eating, reading, and petting Sydney. Not necessarily in that order, though often simultaneously.
The kiwi was damn good, by the way.
I tuned into SiriusXM on the drive back from lunch. SiriXMU is my go-to, though I’ll sometimes flip over to Spectrum or Alt Nation. Mitski’s got some good tunes, so there was no flipping today. It started to rain on my way to the office. In fact, the clouds were looking downright ominous, and rumbles of thunder began to echo in the distance.
Here’s CenturyCo. My office is that darkened (naturally) middle window. I have a great view looking to the west—which, if I’m being honest, is sometimes distracting. Especially when there are deer or other wildlife grazing in the field, which is often the case. The grass is incredibly green thanks to an abundance of rain this week. We’ve been suffering through a drought for the past couple of years, but have gotten almost 2″ of rain in the last four days alone. Hallelujah! Yesterday, we had strong thunderstorms roll through mid-afternoon. Today, the National Weather Service issued a Severe Thunderstorm Watch for Rapid City until 7 p.m., so this is where my Tuesday deviated from the norm.
With tennis ball sized hail a possibility, Betsy and I didn’t want to take any chances. We hauled out the hail cover and got the Markmobile covered up. Thank god I used protection, because within half an hour, all hail broke loose.
Honestly, as far as hail goes, that’s not too bad. Could’ve (and has been) a lot worse. But now you know what I mean when I tell you that view can be distracting!
Next up, Betsy and I had a webinar to attend. It was titled “Marketing Pep Talk” but it could have used a lot more pep. Sadly, it was pretty much all talk. I have a feeling Betsy snoozed off at one point. Hey, the job isn’t always glamorous for eight straight hours.
After the webinar, I took care of our weekly donation requests. CenturyCo supports the rural South Dakota communities we serve through donations and sponsorships for everything from post-prom events and youth sports uniforms to rodeos and golf tournaments. And somehow, they put me in charge of that! Actually, it’s one of the more gratifying parts of my job. Feels good to throw a little corporate money toward deserving causes.
Finally, it was 5:00. Quitting time!
My work day may have been finished, but Betsy and I enjoyed a glass of wine together before I tore her from my arm parting ways.
I hope everybody—not just Betsy—enjoyed this fun little introduction to a typical day at work! But more than anything, I hope the next contest I win comes with a better prize.
Cash would be nice…
Mark My Words 
Betsy got quite a tour! So, blue skies are merely temporary there too, eh?
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This time of year, yes. It still amazes me that it can be perfectly clear at 10 a.m. and storming like crazy at noon!
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A “better prize”? Exsqueeze me?! There is no “better prize,” unless I sent MYSELF in that box with the oranges. (Spoiler: the oranges would not have survived the trip.)
Okay, so that was fun. I especially liked petting Sydney and the glass of wine while enjoying that cool vine crawling up the wall! The hail was neat, for sure. Don’t get a lot of that where I normally am! Your conference call sounds so similar to my Thursday conference calls, I forgot where I was for a moment. Then the bubbling from the lava lamp reminded me.
Thanks for the tour! It’s the first time *I’ve* been torn off like a Band-Aid. It hurts for the Band-Aid too, it seems.
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I’ve been meaning to take you to work with me for so long! I’m glad you enjoyed your tour. I didn’t even notice the vine on the wall, ha. That’s all Tara. Plant by plant, she is turning our home into a botanical garden!
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I love plants. So nice that Tara tends them well.
I noticed you didn’t REALLY put the tattoo on. Weren’t ready for that level of commitment?
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Wait. It was on there! Stayed on all day. Did I do it wrong again?!
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Maybe you did. I didn’t think they could be torn off, more like washed or scrubbed off, but I don’t know for sure. I didn’t put one on myself. How pathetic would that be? (Ha, I’d accidentally first written “tat be.”)
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Man, those things are tricky! I thought the fourth time was a charm (yes, I screwed up attempt #3). No ink ever adhered to my skin, but the sticker did. Ha. Well, you clung to me all day, so…mission accomplished!
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Did you use a wet sponge along the back of the tat?
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Sure did!
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Did you peel off the clear plastic first? Did I remember to mention that step?
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Ahh. NOPE!
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That explains it. Well, just as well. Then you weren’t “stuck” with me for long. I’d hate to see Tara’s side eye.
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hilarious and I’ll bet your check is in the mail. or Chex
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Ooh, I hope Betsy is reading all the comments!
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Wow, my homegirl Betsy had quite a day! So nice of you to take her to work and show her the glitz and glamour of working at CenturyCo. You should be grateful that your prize didn’t come with cash… it just would have screwed up your taxes.
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Good point. I’ll be sure NOT to report the oranges as income on next year’s taxes!
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Love it! Thank goodness you had Betsy there to kick butt all day (that’s my best martial arts joke, I need to get some better ones since I’m a huge fan of Betsy)!
But you know what’s funny – when I wore a Betsy tattoo, it was on for the better part of a week. So I’m wondering about your application and thinking “What the hail happened there?” 🙂
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The real question is, why did YOU have a tattoo of Betsy? Is this something all the cool kids are doing??
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That is the real question. I left it out of my previous comment because I didn’t win any contest and didn’t want to rain on your parade! I simply raised my hand when she said she had extra tattoos and who was willing to wear one. And I was willing to wear one: https://wynneleon.wordpress.com/2021/09/24/and-then-i-woke-up-with-a-tattoo/
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Now that’s the way to honor a gift. But please, if you’re going to flaunt that tattoo? Get some sun on those guns. That bright white damn near blinded me.
😉
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It hasn’t been warm enough and/or sunny enough yet. But we’re going kayaking this weekend, so there’s hope for me yet!
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This was great, and not because Betsy was involved. I like knowing about your work day and couldn’t agree more with point #4: (Good) Liquor & (Educated) Guessing. I’m guessing Betsy would agree.
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I’ve wanted to do a post like this for a long time. Betsy’s tattoo provided the perfect excuse.
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What a clever idea for a post AND wearing your Betsy tattoo. Your office is SO nice. And I didn’t realize you get to go home for lunch. Extra nice! I have never heard of covering a car for hail. Is that just a car cover that people use when they store their cars long-term, or a special hail one?
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Going home for lunch is the best! If I were even five minutes farther away, it probably wouldn’t be worth it.
I bought the cover specifically for hail. It was the heaviest-duty cover I could find, and yes, is meant to protect against hail…but the reality is, it’s not super thick. If we had ended up with tennis ball sized hail, I’m not sure it would have done much to prevent damage. But, it’s better than having nothing, I suppose.
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When my daughter was in grade school, they had to take flat Stanley out on adventures, including pictures. I think clearly that’s the way to go….
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Maybe Stanley and Betsy are related!
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They both end in Y….
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Ooh, I smell a conspiracy!
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I didn’t know hail covers were a thing. Interesting. If we keep having hailstorms around here, we may need to invest in a couple.
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They are a thing. In fact, since writing this post, I’ve had multiple ads pop up on Facebook. I ALREADY OWN ONE, GUYS!
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I always wonder what people’s hour-to-hour work life looks like like, so thanks for the tour. One thing: I don’t understand how a mere fabric cover can protect against hail dents. Please elucidate.
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Well, it’s a pretty thick cover, and padded on the bottom. It says it will protect against up to golf-ball sized hail. I’m sure there’s some convoluted scientific explanation dealing with centrifugal force and whatnot, but I’m no expert.
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Do they make kevlar car covers? I feel like there’s a tornado alley market for that.
Also, I am very interested in this vanilla bean interview. I hope you share whatever facts you…extract.
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If they don’t make Kevlar covers, they should! They’d probably be too heavy for the average car though. You might end up with more damage putting it on and taking it off than you would from the hail.
I’m especially excited for the vanilla bean interview. I’m actually a customer of theirs and my first bottle of homemade extract, eight months in the making, was finally ready last month. It’s always easier writing about something you’re personally invested in.
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What a fun day for Betsy. Not so much for you, but you know, work is like that. Or so they tell me. 😜
Notes: I need to look into SirusXMU. Never heard of that channel, but I do like The Spectrum.
Covering up your car at work for incoming HAIL. That is a new one for me.
I love that you named your car The Markmobile.
I too would love to be the one helping with the Donations! Woot woot.
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Some people go with women’s names. I’m just more direct and to the point, I guess!
SiriusXMU is great if you’re into indie music. They play a lot of slightly obscure but great bands and artists, everybody from Band of Horses to Parquet Courts.
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