I LEFT MY HEART IN SAN FRANCISCO, AND MY ASS IN CHARLESTON, PART 3/FIN

I accidentally lied to you in that last post.

Well, is it lying if it was just a mistake? Who knows?

Anyways, I did break something in that office. A box fell over and a small candy dish shattered. I cut my hand on it. I can’t imagine how I forgot about that since I bled on my jeans, but it was just part of the experience, I guess.

Anyways.

**ETA - I worked in the morning. I don't usually work on Fridays, but I got caught not working and was given things to work on. It was unanticipated. I don't even remember how long I was at the office. Maybe we left after lunch? 

Friday was “Moving Hotels Day!” We had been staying at a place near the airport, but we ended up moving downtown so that we would be closer to the place where the Christmas party was being held. The party was at The Francis Marion Hotel (a place I’ve stayed before and loved wholeheartedly) but due to the season and the rooms being booked up, the people from our company booked rooms across the park from it at the Embassy Suites, which looks like a castle. I think it used to be the Citadel Military School. It was old and pretty cool!

We left the first hotel, dropped off the rental car early, because you can walk wherever you want downtown, and got into our room. I actually took about half an hour to walk down King St. before I got ready because I was looking for a gift for someone. I was hoping to find a local business, but it was all chain stuff as far as I was able to walk and I never found what I was looking for. Oh well.

I got back to the room and got ready for our party!

I had to be there early to make sure everything was ready to go, so I left Steve in the room, grabbed my folder and supplies, and hoofed across the park to the event venue. 

I suppose I could describe the party in painful detail, but I won’t. I’ll just say it was a great party! The hotel did a wonderful job, the food was fabulous, and everyone seemed to have a really good time! I met a lot of really cool people that I’ve only ever talked to on the phone, and everyone was very impressed with the way things turned out. The VP introduced me to the entire room and complimented me on the party and on the work I did at the office and they applauded. I was touched, but I don’t think I deserved it. I was just doing my job. It made feel like I wanted to go hide in the bathroom, but I didn't. Haha!

When it was all over we got everyone out of the room and down to the bar for after party drinks, and while we were there, that was the exact moment my ass fell off. I remember it because it came out of nowhere. I was, at this point, mentally and physically depleted. I sat off to the side and watched people drinking and talking and having fun, and I’d planned to stay there until everyone was gone. Steve came and sat down next to me and we were talking, and he- comfortably blurred from the drinks he’d had at the party- said something to me that hit me the wrong way. It wasn’t his fault because it wasn’t anything bad, or mean, or even very important. At some normal time, it wouldn’t have been a big deal. Maybe it would have deserved a “Dude, we should probably look into that.” or something along those lines, but it broke me. 

I overreacted. I knew I was overreacting at the time, and I tried not to, but I was so tired and worn down, and just mentally spent from the lack of sleep and normal food (by that point I was 33% trail mix) that I couldn’t do anything to stop myself. I’m very good at holding back tears, I promise. Over the past year or so, I’ve gotten even better at it. I don’t even let myself cry in private anymore, but I knew in that moment I wasn’t going to be able to stop and I had to run out of the hotel bar so no one would see. 

BTW, If you ever visit the Francis Marion and find my ass in the bar, please mail it back to me.

I walked back in the rain, trying to get a hold of myself, but I wasn’t able to do so until I got back to the room and got into bed. I was embarrassed and ashamed of myself because I knew Steve didn’t deserve my reaction, so I crawled under the covers and fell asleep. Hard. I don’t even know when Steve came back (Late, is all I know, because he went out for more drinks with some party people.) He was annoyed with me, for good reason, but I apologized and he got over it. Such is life.

We had to get up early the next morning to catch our plane home, and so we did. It was fairly routine. When we got home, we slept for hours and hours! As much as I love Charleston, I was very glad to be home. Kind of an anticlimactic ending, but again, such is life.

So that was my great adventure in Charleston! I want to go back under less strenuous circumstances, and maybe when it isn’t so hot. Is it ever not hot there? 

Let’s go and eat at Chubby Fish and visit the museums, and stay in some historic place and just…not work! Wanna go? 

I LEFT MY HEART IN SAN FRANCISCO, AND MY ASS IN CHARLESTON, PART 2

I woke up at 4:30. EASTERN. What fresh hell was that?

Have you ever been completely physically exhausted, but your brain wouldn't shut off? That was me on my second day in Charleston. I lay in bed, trying desperately to go back to sleep, but since I couldn't, I just got up and showered. Again. I think I forgot I showered the night before.

Let me just stop here and say that you are never quite as naked as when you are naked in the full glare of florescent lights and in front of a huge mirror. That was what the hotel bathroom was like. The tub was right across from the sink and mirror, and I looked up after moving the shower curtain aside. I looked up and saw this:

*Shudder* It was...concerning. 

 (That was not an invitation to think about me naked. Stop it.)

Anyway, after getting ready it was time to start the day. I decided that I was going to be administrating the hell out of the Charleston office, and all of that started with a trip to Wal-Mart and Sam's for supplies because they do not have an admin assistant in that branch, and stuff that we all take for granted in Huntsville simply isn't dealt with over there. I crammed the rental Malibu as full as I could with snacks and supplies and somehow managed to man handle them all into the building. That sounds easy, but it wasn't because the parking is weird and the office is on the second floor, and I didn't have a cart or anything to assist carrying all of that stuff. It was multiple trips carrying heavy, unwieldy stuff and it sucked, but I managed to get it all up and inside!

I was all alone in this strange office and you'll be happy to know that I didn't snoop or break anything. In fact, I was useful! I cleaned and straightened and replenished all kinds of things. I organized! I made lists! I...got my groove interrupted in the middle of the day to go to Chick-Fil-A to buy lunch for the people at the conference! You know, I like Chick-Fil-A as much as the next person, I guess, but there is absolutely nothing so special about them that I should have to sit in a car line for 45 feckin' minutes to buy food!! It wasn't even that they weren't fast, it's just that there were that many people in line. Unbelievable. 

Anyways, I got them all fed and watered and headed back to the office where I got back into what I was doing. The main thing I had to do that day was organize a storage room filled with all kinds of stuff and computer equipment. I set bout inventorying everything, down to the last lapel pin. I actually had to make myself stop take a lunch break, and had one of the best hamburgers of my whole life from a place called The Tattooed Moose. It was called a Brunch Burger and you should try it immediately. I also met an awesome dog and I bought a t-shirt from a local shop on my break before getting back to it. It was all very confusing and busy, but I finally got things organized. 

At some point through all of that I had to leave and pick up a box of flyers, and the print shop was out in the middle of nowhere, but I found them and hauled my carcass back to the office to keep going.

By the end of the day I was dirty, tired, and my brain was fried. I went back to the hotel (where Steve was by that point) and I changed so that I could go out to an after party thing and dinner with our coworkers. Apparently, I didn't have to go, but unless I wanted to sit alone in the hotel room and eat trail mix for dinner again, that is what I had to do. I also learned that going to these after-party things is political and everyone feels obligated to do them. Not me so much, because all I am is a glorified secretary, but everyone else did. We went to a very loud, very crowded bar and hung out being seen until finally we got away to go have dinner. The marketing director (who is younger than me and I love her to bits) wanted to go to this particular restaurant to eat something she'd seen on Instagram, and because she'd been working her ass off and was more tired than I was, I made sure we made it happen. The restaurant was called Chubby Fish, and it was sublime. I don't use that word lightly. You order everything tapas style and share with everyone at your table, and everything we ordered (that I tasted, anyway) was excellent. The wait staff brings it out, explains it all, and lets you enjoy. I want to go back!

By that point we were all punchy and tired to the point of feeling drunk, so we walked through downtown for a while and then got a ride back to the hotel and went to bed.

BTW, the Charleston staff was thrilled with everything I did. They were so kind and excited to have had help. It made all the hard work worth it!

The next day was much less extreme, but still exhausting. I was on call all day, lived almost solely on that same damn bag of trail mix because I didn’t know our hotel had a restaurant, and had to run errands and buy more supplies. I did manage to sneak a quick nap that afternoon, which was nice. I had to take a break and go to a local mall, because I realized didn’t pack enough clothes! I mean, I had clothes, but because I didn’t realize what I’d be doing on the trip I brought things like leggings and long shirts/sweaters which weren’t appropriate for what I was doing and where I was going. It had been so hot that I needed short sleeved shirts, too. I didn’t expect Charleston to be hot in December!

That night we did a bit more socializing, and then afterwards three of us went out to a quiet dinner to get away from the noise. Again, we were so punchy and exhausted that when our Uber picked us up, we started laughing and couldn’t stop. I’m sure our driver thought we were all high, but really, we were just so tired that we lost all sense of composure. 

I LEFT MY HEART IN SAN FRANCISCO, AND MY ASS IN CHARLESTON, PART 1

Oof. 

Earlier in the year I volunteered to go to Charleston, SC to help out with a conference. Rookie mistake.

I like the city of Charleston a lot, and to have an excuse to go was exciting! I work closely with my company’s marketing department, and I knew that this conference was going to be a big deal and that the marketing director could probably use my help. Plus, Steve would be going, and he’d be attending the Christmas party we were having for the Charleston branch of our company, and since I’d been planning that party, I figured that it would be nice if I could attend, too. I figured I’d go to this awesome city on the company dime, do a bit of work, schlub around the place like a tourist the rest of the time, and then go to a party. It sounded like the perfect plan!

Things didn’t go like that. They didn’t go like that at all!

My first indication that this trip wouldn't be what I expected came via email from the Sr. VP of our company giving me a list of all the things I needed to do for our remote office in Charleston. So, I wouldn't be attending the conference like I thought, but I'd be running support for the people wo were there, as well as doing office admin work for the office in that town. Unexpected, but fine with me! I just had to trim my sails a bit.

I left on a Tuesday (Steve had a concert that night and couldn’t leave until the next day) so I was on my own. I caught an early morning flight from Huntsville, made it to Atlanta (I still hate the Atlanta airport, but my connection was fairly simple) and the only snag up to that point was that I had to ask a person to get out of my seat (the seat I chose and therefor one I wanted) on the second leg. For someone who has only flown alone once before - with disastrous results - I managed to do pretty good this time. I even remembered to buy snacks from the airport to have for emergencies later on!

Snag number two happened when got to The Charleston airport. When I went to pick up my rental car, I discovered that I hadn’t rented my car from the airport Enterprise like I thought, but one that was downtown. Damnit, damnit, damnit. However, not to be discouraged, and I wa determined not to be discouraged, I caught an Uber to the rental place and then drove back across the city to the hotel. Thank God for GPS.

I was exhausted by this point, but I hadn’t even gotten started on my day. The marketing director called me before I had even picked up my car to tell me I needed to be at the office to get ready for the first event, an after party for the first day of the conference, like…immediately. I told her I had to check in to the hotel, change out of my leggings and into grown up people clothes and I’d get there as fast as I could. I practically had to pull off my clothes in the elevator up to my room, dress again as fast as possible once I got inside and run out of the room and drive across town (again) so I could get there. It was across the street from the event venue, so that was convenient, at least! I was given a key, shown around a bit, and then sent across the street to the restaurant where the party was being held to act as a greeter and drink ticket passer-outer.

It wasn't a hard job, obviously, but it was a bit confusing. I'd been stationed at the hostess stand of a restaurant - a restaurant that wasn't closed to the public - and so I was not only greeting people who came to our party, but I ended up handing out menus to regular customers and directing them to tables. I wasn't asked to do this by the venue, and to be fair, I might have been doing it all wrong, but no one came out to stop me! Should I ask for a W2?

The event was eventful! I was charming, and I smiled and passed out tickets and got harassed by a creepy old dude, and had a young dude run his hand down my back down to my hip without an invitation to do so. A man went into cardiac arrest at the bar and the bartender had to do CPR to bring him back and emergency services were called (our party never even paused at this, believe it or not) but it was a bar patron and not one of our guests, so I guess that we weren't supposed to be worried! I don't even know how long I was there, I just know it was a long, loud night and someone almost died! 

Thankfully I was able to get back to the hotel before an obscenely late hour, eat some airport trail mix, and take a shower. It was weird sleeping alone in a hotel, but I didn't have much time to contemplate that because I was asleep before I could think of much of anything.