5:00 p.m. - 2006-06-29
SHRM-tastic Fun
While in the midst of the deluge in DC this week, I bravely trekked in and out of the city each day to attend the Society for Human Resources Management annual conference. It was my first, as I've never before worked for a company that wasn't too cheap to send me, but seeing as how this year's was in my own backyard, they let Rebecca and me attend. (The fact that we volunteered and got money shaved off the admission fee didn't hurt, either.)
My first volunteer shift was Saturday, and I spent a delightful six hours on the main floor of the DC Convention Center directing people to the rest rooms and the mini-Starbucks. Gratifyng work to help advance my chosen profession, indeed.
I took off Sunday, opting to skip Colin Powell's riveting opening speech, choosing instead to stay home and work on my tan, which, of course, did not happen, as the sun had taken a long break from shining its carcinogenic rays on the area. I was supposed to be back downtown on Monday at 5:30 am to volunteer again, but well, the flood. I grew up in a household that wasn't particularly handy, so it's really nice to be married to someone who is. When my parents' basement flooded a few years ago, my mom and brother (who was living home at the time) set to work to figure out what to do. Their fondest memory of the experience was having my dad appear at the top of the stairs asking, "Folks, has anyone considered just leaving the water alone and letting it take care of itself?"
So I stayed home Monday to make phone calls and try to figure out what to do. Joe was dismissed from jury duty early, so he was home late morning, and the rest of the day, we watched the rain fall again and lamented about what to do. I checked into my work email periodically and was more stressed out each time I did that. By late afternoon, I hit the grocery store to get the weekly shopping done, to find that the storm had taken on crisis-proportions in my neighbors' minds: shelves were laid bare; checkout lines were long, long, long; and people were arguing about who was in line first, and who was cutting in front of them. By the time I got home, I told Joe, "I'm trying really hard right now not to have a complete meltdown."
Tuesday was the last full day of the conference. I left my house at 8:00 to be there in time for a 9:45 session. I drove in, since I live all of about 8 miles from the convention center. Roughly two and a half hours later, I arrived, my bladder about to burst, and my face tear-streaked from calling loved ones to complain about my misery. Traffic was a nightmare, and many of the major roads in DC were closed due to flooding. Coming home that afternoon was roughly the same experience.
By Wednesday, I was really teetering on the edge. I made it my mission to get downtown in time for the 8:30 closing session, done by a speaker named Liz Murray. I took the metro (someone even offered me a seat! about 10 years ago, I distinctly remember taking the metro to work every day while I was on crutches due to a sprained ankle, and having multitudes of able-bodied people staring out at me from their comfy seats while I hugged the poles and tried not to fall.) and arrived in time and was so glad I did. This woman was incredible -- she's known as the "Homeless to Harvard" woman (Lifetime made a movie about her by the same name a few years back), and her story was unbelievable. What I think was the most compelling, though, was her delivery, which was honest and candid and quirky and kind of unrehearsed. She was so genuine, and so intelligent and sincere, but so self-effacing and funny -- you just couldn't help but love her. She made me cry. I was embarrassed, walking out of that huge convention hall with tears streaming down my face at at HR conference, but I looked around and saw plenty of other people wiping tears from their eyes, too. I thought about her all day, and have continued to think about her and her story and her message all week.
Anyway, I'm back to work and things are getting back to normal now. My mood has improved, the stinky wet carpet has been removed from the basement, and work has even gotten a tad better. But best of all, I had my 24 week OB appointment this morning, and Pumpkin is doing great. She's squirming around more than ever now, and she and I are due to finally meet in about 16 weeks!
