Left hanging

I had a shoot last night for a project I put together completely myself, and a tardy couple almost screwed it all up!

I had an idea to do this roundtable discussion on how our area is seeing an influx of rich retirees and how that affects everyone from high schoolers to the retirees themselves. My bosses said, "Great! Do it!" I was hoping it would be more of a team effort and not just me, but I was up for the challenge.

I found my eight guests, and we figured out our format and scripting. Everything was falling into place nicely. At the agreed upon time, six guests were in place, and two were missing. The guests were sitting in their chairs squirming under the hot lights. Members of the crews were milling about and my boss was sitting in on the whole operation. I started to get a little panicky when they were about 20 minutes late. I repeatedly called their home phone as my mind raced about what to do. They had just confirmed a day before!

A girl I work with realized her mother knew the father of the couple, so we started calling around to get their cell phone number. About 30 minutes after they were supposed to be here, I finally reached the woman. They had gotten very lost despite my specific directions and just went back home. Hey, thanks for the extra effort. Once they arrived 40 minutes late, we settled in and things went smoothly and quickly. My boss seemed very happy, and I was incredibly relieved.

----------------

Today, I had to emcee a big event and both my boss and my boss's boss were at the front table. Very nerve-racking. That sort of thing is just not my forte. I dread it a bit actually. I had these two big events hanging over my head this week, and it is wonderful to have them behind me. I forced myself to speak slowly and to be calm, and I think I did well. I am just not a natural, but I figure the more I do things that make me uncomfortable, the better I will become. Though, I have been doing them for several years, and it's not getting much easier.

---------------

I waited forever for Q to say "mama." For the longest time, it was "da-da" this and "da-da" that. He never would correctly address the one who actually birthed him! But, now he calls both of us "mama." Excellent.

--MM