Yes, I know it's been three weeks since I last wrote, but I promise I have an excuse. The fact of the matter is that I was so incredibly busy and VERY stressed out from work. If you think being an event planner isn't a stressful job, take a moment to think about planning your own wedding. Ready? Okay, now throw 2,000 guests into the mix (half of whom will be sharing a room with a roommate which needs to be assigned and communicated and approved...), and an entire weekend of festivities into the mix and maybe you can imagine what my life has been like! Of course, it has also been the time when the most interesting BLOGGABLE events have been happening to me as well - but what can you do?
Our event (the project I've been eating, breathing, sleeping, and dreaming for six months) was a huge sucess. We only had minor setbacks. My personal duties and responsibilities were completed as flawlessly as humanly possible, which was a major accomplishment considering the fact that I'm still trying to make a good impression on my boss and coworkers. Not only that, but I also got the chance to meet several celebrities (they were there doing meet & greets as a part of our function and I was roaming the VIP area). Here's a break down:
Misty May Treanor and Kerri Walsh - complete sweethearts! Just as down to earth and personable as you'd imagine them to be. My coworker even managed to get me a signed, personalized volleyball before they left town (we weren't having them do autographs during the event, so this was a surprise she orchestrated for me as a thank you for my hard work).
Dennis Rodman - exactly as you'd imagine him to be. He was most definitely enjoying the effects of some kind of - um - 'social lubrication' and thought he was WAY too cool to be in the presence of meer mortals. His handlers and entourage were just as bad.
Hulk Hogan - how could he be anything other than AWESOME?! Other than the fact that his girlfriend really does look eerily similar to his daughter, the guy was just plain cool. Friendly, personable, professional - he even helped calm down Rodman.
Jerry Rice - amazing! So friendly and personable and willing to interact with our participants. They loved him! The guy knows how to work a crowd.
The Rams, Titans, and Dallas Cheerleaders - amazing, friendly, charismatic and patient. True professionals that really brought our event up to another level. The guys couldn't believe they were meeting REAL professional cheerleaders. On top of that? They were wearing pantyhose in 105 degree Las Vegas heat - it doesn't get more devoted to a job than that!
We had several other celebrities there (John Elway, Jerome Bettis, Bill Mazeroski, Steve Garvey, Rollie Fingers, and Spud Webb), but the ones above were the ones I interacted with the most.
And, lest you start to think I lead some incredibly glamourous life and you should be highly jealous, let me add that I now have SHINGLES. Yes, that's right - over the past 10 days I have basically come down with adult chicken pox. Apparently the stess of the last six weeks or so led my immune system to drop and for me to get SHINGLES (anyone can get them if they've had the chicken pox).They are incredibly painful and horrible and plain old awful. So, would I trade not having shingles for the chance to meet Misty May and Kerri Walsh? YES. Yes I would!
But that doesn't mean I'll be giving up my personalized volleyball anytime soon, either.
You poor thing. Hope you feel better soon. Heard that can be really bad.
Posted by: nancy | September 16, 2009 at 09:19 PM
Oh no!! One of my friends has gotten shingles twice after dealing with stressful situations and my mom had it once also, so I have heard stories and seen how awful it is. I really, REALLY hope you feel better soon and congrats on pulling off an awesome event!
Posted by: Angela Noelle | September 16, 2009 at 09:30 PM