Whine and Cheez and Roller Coasters

Ok, it's been a while since I've posted. Only a few dozen major catastrophic events have occurred since the last time I took the time to take time.

Ok, maybe they weren't that catastrophic. But it sure feels like it this week.

In general, people regard me as a super nice person. I'm not really sure how I managed to fool them, but they do. Maybe I smile too often? :) I don't know. Maybe it's because I really hate confrontation and tend to avoid it whenever possible. Huge character flaw, I know. But I'm almost 29 years old. I'm not sure I'll grow out of that one. It's on my to-do list.

Anywho, back to this week. I thought it was going pretty well, actually. I redesigned our corporate website (http://www.jdrweb.com), and to go with it, I asked a few of our clients if they would submit testimonials for our testimonials page! What I received was way more generous than I ever expected, and I actually had to get my tissues out on one of them. I was taken aback by how appreciative some of them truly were. Warm Fuzzies Abounded!

Then, I made the mistake of inviting a bunch of people to a meeting that I thought they might be interested in. The Director of this organization (whom I had also invited, thinking it was showing her how our group was stepping outside the box) replied to everyone I sent the email to that it was a horrible idea, went against the principles of the organization, and she couldn't believe we were hosting such an event.

Oops.

Two dozen emails later, I finally found out she had reacted that way because apparently after I sent out the invitation, she got blasted with emails and phone calls wondering why she was hosting something that went against the main focus of this organization. Unfortunately, she reacted in such an unprofessional manner, that I doubt the people I sent that to will ever be interested in joining her organization. Ever. Which is really too bad because it's a great organization to help you grow your business. Oh well. For the record, I apologized to all the people I was hoping would be interested in joining the organization for being included in the public reprimand I received. I late apologized to all the people I sent it to who were in other chapters of our group for thinking they might be interested and to clarify that the Director was not the one sponsoring the meeting. I took full responsibility for the mistake I made.

The upside to this is that in those two dozen emails, several of them were warm fuzzies supporting me, even if it was a bad decision on my part. It's good to know I have friends. Up goes the roller coaster...

And then we go back down. I play on a game called Star Wars Galaxies. I had a conversation with a friend on a public chat channel. We talked about a million things, the game, life, our families, our careers, everything. At some point in the conversation, I made a comment she apparently took offense to: "So how do you get any work done if you're playing here all the time? :P" We change topics three or four times, she goes afk, five minutes later comes back and blasts me over the chat channel that it was the second time I had made reference to her playing too often, that it was none of my business, and that she was very successful in her career, found the game enjoyable, and I needed to "stop making assumptions without knowing all the facts." Huh? Let's back up here...

I was a little shocked.

Ok, maybe more than a little.

This, after the snowball of emails I had received in real life. I needed that, thanks.

I felt bad. I didn't want to correct her publicly, so I switched to private tells. I didn't say, but wanted to, that she made an assumption without knowing all the facts. I think it's great that she can work and play at the same time. I think it's great that she has six different characters and can keep them all straight. Lord knows I'm not organized enough to do that. Anyone who can manage that is tops in my book because it means (to me anyway) they probably have their life really together, something I doubt I'll ever achieve. I did tell her I adore her, and I did tell her that whatever I said that upset her was definitely not intended the way she took it because whatever it was, I certainly didn't mean for it to upset her.

A few hours later I found out that I wasn't the only one who had mentioned she plays too often. I just happened to be the icing on the cake and got the brunt of her attack.

Thanks, I needed that this week.

So, reaching the valley of this roller coaster ride, we start the ascent again.

My character's in-game boyfriend proposed to her that night!

This in itself presents a quandary.

I'm married in real life to someone else, whom I adore very very very much. Nobody will ever be as perfect as Lars is, and nobody will ever change that. We've been together five years, and I still think he's as wonderful as he was the day we met. There is only one thing I don't like about him, and he doesn't even do that hardly anymore: he tends to grate his teeth on his fork when he eats. (Ow my ears!) Something to be really upset over right? Heh. All the things in the world he could do wrong, and he picks that flaw. Darn my luck. Just to make things even, I subconsciously click my fingernails. Drives him up the wall. Darn his luck.

So anywho, to accept or not to accept? That is the question. What to do? The real-life-wife in me says decline, out of faithfulness to your real-life-husband, and because you've told your friend six dozen times this character will never marry. However, it is just a game. My friend knows I'm married, and very much in love, and my friend and I will always be only friends. In fact, up to now, the casual flirting has been relatively PG rated. (We've hugged!) Sooo.. knowing that, I accept. Side note, today I mentioned to him that I was concerned our relationship was getting "too real" for him, and he assured me it wasn't, and he was absolutely aware of where I was coming from. Whew! That's good news.

But wait! This ride isn't over yet! One more last push uphill... I get a phone call from one of the people I sent that email invitation to, part of the group I later apologized to for being so presumptuous as to assume they'd be interested in the meeting. (Remember that?) Not only is he interested, so is his chapter president, whom he shared the invitation with. They both want to come. Are we still having it? Woohoo! I wasn't a complete and total failure with that, at least. I thanked him profusely. I really needed to hear that from someone who wasn't in my immediate circle.

Ok, so, let's go back down before we level out this ride and abandon it. (Have I ever mentioned I really really hate roller coasters?) I get a phone call from my boss. Yeah, I think I'll leave that one alone for this post.

It kind of worked itself out the next morning. My boss's boss wants to be more involved. He hasn't taken enough interest in our division, and now he wants to. This is a good thing. I think. I'm pretty sure it is. I think it means I'm no longer the forgotten stepchild.

So, let's see how the rest of this week goes. I'm not sure I can take anymore unexpected results. My heart just isn't that strong. By the way, this all started last Thursday. I'm on Day Six. Can I get off the roller coaster now? Please?

More cheese?