July 12, 2006 by Amy

Gratitude with Attitude

Tonight we have our AirForce Nutrisoda St. Louis media launch here the spa. The room is going to look great (thanks to yours truly), and it just might be a success despite the children who are planning it. It seems the Nutrisoda has decided, as a start-up, to keep costs at a minimum by hiring teenagers (or those who were recently teenagers) to be their “Lifestyle Marketing Managers” out in the field. Bless their hearts, they have all the energy in the world when it comes to standing around and “yapping.” That’s the one’s favorite word: yap. Other than that, they’re about as useless as a barnacle.

One was here all day yesterday, seven hours, and managed to get about thirty t-shirts rolled and tied with ribbons (my idea). One was here part of the day and stuffed some goodie bags (which my girls in the booking room could have banged out in an hour while answering the phone and booking appointments). The other got flustered when I gently suggested moving her “display” around so that it flowed better, then took over creating it so it didn’t look like Zozo had gotten a hold of it.

I tagged some of their little flyers with fishing line and strung them from the ceiling over where the bar will be, so they whirl and twirl in the A/C breeze, which looks very cool. Then I took some of their nifty silver bags with the cute AirForce logo on them, stuffed them with tissue paper that matches the color of the soda cans, and strung them from the ceiling with fishing wire over where the goodie bags are located.

I instructed them to post people throughout the entrance “process,” scheduling one staffer to wave through the parking lot, one to greet at the door, and another on at the entrance to the room. I told them where their signs need to be posted (and that they needed to get signs).

I met the caterer yesterday and worked with him to match the tablecloths to the soda cans, and to set up room arrangements. This was all done while the goody-bag stuffer girl sat there and watched. Seriously. How about you do your job? What a novel concept.

I remember being young and stupid, and not knowing all these little tricks and details. I was fortunate to have a fantastic boss who was as detail-oriented as I am to teach me to think all the way around an event or a project. In exchange for my ignorance, I worked my arse off. If I don’t have the experience, I’ll wow ’em with attitude and dedication and a boatload of elbow grease.

The people I worked with yesterday obviously don’t have that mindset. Hopefully they will learn.

Other than that, I’ve had fun working on this event. It’s not really my event, so I’ve gotten to have fun being creative without really having the stress of ensuring the event is a success. Does that make sense?

I heard a story on NPR this morning about bad bosses, all due to that new movie, “The Devil Wears Prada.” Apparently there are Web sites where you can relate your bad boss story and share with everyone else. Someone posted that his boss wanted to fire up her employees, so at the sales meetings she’d fire a taser behind people’s heads. Okay, that’s going a bit far. Anyway, it reminded me yet again how much I love my job, and I feel like the luckiest girl in the world. I have a fantastic husband, a phenomenal baby, and a good job that is more than just a job…it’s a career. I have a great house (even though it’s broken). I have tons of good friends, and a wonderful best friend. I have a big family who loves me. My Beans is getting married to a great guy in February…so love is in the air! We really need to pick out a bridesmaid’s dress…wish me luck. Do they still make girdles? Anyway, even my in-laws rock! How many people can say that?!

Good news on the Cloyd front (if you can call anything related to having cancer good news): he has Hodgkin’s, which is very treatable and has a 90% cure rate. He’s young, healthy, and the cancer is only stage 2. We’re all breathing a collective sigh of relief. Thanks for all the prayers…they must work! Keep ’em coming!