Back in the Saddle

Damn, it sucks to have a job. Well, the money is nice, but being away from your job for 5 straight days and then coming back to it is not a lot of fun.

Despite a thumb amputation, the weekend was a blast. Although I'm sure the phrase "Girls' weekend" probably conjured up visions of pajama-clad pillow fights when the most sexuality we cared to muster was the constant use of the word "bitch." Mostly to describe Precious when she was mocking me for not having any kind of Donkey Konga skills. Swampette, on the other hand, was a General in the Rhythm Nation.

The only big bummer was me realizing that I wanted to buy some local, only available in THAT state wine on Sunday. Then remembering that alcohol isn't sold on Sunday. Of course, I didn't remember this until I was at a supermarket looking at the bottles of wine and wondering how much it would take to bribe a cashier. I totally didn't have enough cash for that.

I got back on Sunday but spent Monday and Tuesday mentally preparing for my triumphant return to work. By mentally preparing, I meant shopping. It took me weeks to get used to my new Kroger. I finally got it down and then BAM! I walked in on Monday morning to see that they were remodeling. I'm back at square one.

Anyway, I came back this morning without much kicking and screaming. Spent most of the day fielding calls about Katrina and its impact on our events. And of course, I've laughed my ass off. I got an email from the PRSA, a professional organization for Public Relations professionals. The email included in it the following line:

"Time and again, you have asked, 'How can I use my public relations skills most effectively to help in this terrible disaster??'"

Is PR really the first thing that New Orleans needs right now? A better, glossier image? Are there actually people that asked that?

I'm impressed. Our organization not only set up a fund to field staff donations for the relief efforts, but also is allowing us to donate by giving up to half of our days off. They will then convert them into money and add them to the fund. Not a bad deal.