december

My body is in knots.

I can't walk or stand up straight because I have knots in my shoulders and neck, and a freaking boulder in the middle of my back that makes any movement painful. No, my arms have not gotten more muscular - the slightly noticeable added bulges are also knots of the painful variety. I haven't slept well because of said knots. Every position is uncomfortable. Seriously... every one.

I've spent almost every waking hour of the past three weeks working my guts out.

From planning the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's signing with Natalie Cole and David McCullough to taking care of ticketing at the Forgotten Carols, dealing with drama in the workplace and trying to still maintain a life outside of my job. i.e. Making sure my husband gets dinner. And that we have clean clothes to wear. And trying to get in the Christmas groove. Not to mention, trying to find time to breathe or eat or blink.

Curse this hard work ethic of mine. Gosh, Mom and Dad - why'd you teach me to work so hard?

The first week of December, I just-so-happened to discover a pretty big problem - nay, fiasco. Let's call it "Fiasco 2009." I was getting ready to leave work - 5pm was quickly approaching. But I just wanted to check something real fast.

Now, a small part of me thinks that it was no accident that I had such a strong desire to check said something. If I hadn't, said fiasco could have been worse. Much worse. By checking said something real fast, I was able to identify said fiasco and come up with at least some sort of solution prior to the event, as opposed to having to problem solve in a moments notice.

However, the larger part of me wishes I had just left work at 5pm - as planned - and said fiasco would have been cleaned up by someone else. Blast my obsessive compulsive tendencies! See, the problem with my finding and fixing Fiasco 2009 was that it wasn't my job. Sure, I help others with their jobs when necessary. I like to think I'm nice and compassionate like that. But this was completely different. I essentially took on someone else's job. Someone still employed to do what I did for them.

And here's the thing: I shouldn't have been the one to fix it. I shouldn't have been the one to find it. And I certainly was not the one who caused it. You see, there was someone hired to do such things. Someone to make sure there weren't any problems, and if any arose, to solve them. Now, I won't use words like "incompetent" or "failure" or "complete idiot" because I now know how that feels... But believe you me: I've come close. [Disclaimer: I may or may not have used the words "stupid" or "useless." Perhaps. But I will neither confirm nor deny any claims.

Yeah... One night I came home feeling real good [read awful]: Working all day from 7:30am until 11:00pm and being called "incompetent," "a complete idiot," "a failure" and almost assaulting a drama teacher after he completely wrote off any authority I had [story for another day] and basically telling me I could shove it... Yeah. I've had a great time with Fiasco 2009.

Oh, I could complain about this for years. Seriously. It was that big of a problem and that inconvenient. But it has been totally hindering any feeling of the Christmas Spirit. And, for goodness sake, it's the 20th of December. Christmas is in 5 days.

So suffice it to say: I was super frustrated with my non-job job. Frustrated that there was a Fiasco 2009 in the first place. Frustrated that I had to deal with it. Frustrated that not many recognized the depth of heart I put into fixing it. But mostly frustrated because it took away from everything else.

But...

I had an a few glimmering moments that got me through. As previously mentioned, I was in charge of planning and coordinating the Mormon Tabernacle Choir's signing with Natalie Cole and David McCullough. It was well thought out and very well planned, if I do say so myself. I received a very kind email from the manager of the Choir afterward saying:

It was without doubt the best organized, most efficient signing I have been involved with in my 8 years here. I hope it will be a model for all the others we do! You got folks through the line and face time with the artists and did it all in an amazingly short time! The artists were very pleased and you made us all look like superstars!

Yup. Superstars.

But wait. It gets better. I strategically placed myself at the front of the line, facilitating everything to Natalie Cole and David McCullough - Freak. I spent all the time planning and organizing. I wanted to be the one that helped them personally. Once the signing started, along with the help of those I bribed to help me, we had a rockin' system going. We cruised through the line and kept everything orderly. At the beginning, Natalie Cole's manager seemed a little uneasy with the whole situation - so many people, not a lot of time, probably worried that a bunch of crazy mormons would attack her client. But after a few minutes, she was impressed by our system and organization. About 30 minutes into the event, she leaned over to me and said:

"Are you in charge of this signing?"
"Yeah, I am."
"Well, you do a great job!"
"Hey, thanks!"
"No, seriously. This is the best signing we've ever had. Like ever. And we've done a lot of these things. None of them have ever gone this smoothly or been this organized."
"Well, I'm glad it's going well."
"Seriously, I want to take you on the road with us..."
"Me? Ha ha Really?"
"Yeah, really! I'd love to take you with us."
"{awkward, embarassed laugh} Ha ha... Ok. Sweet. Sign me up."

And then I was interrupted by a woman who wanted to take a pitcure with Natalie. How rude of her interrupting my moment of glory! Kidding... Kinda.

It was a huge compliment. Natalie Cole's manager wanted to take me on the road with them. Freaking awesome. Total pay day. It made my 18 hour workday totally worth it. And it helped me remember why I love my job. Because I do. I really do love my job.

And now, I'm off. I've taken off two weeks for Christmas. Two well-deserved weeks of vacation. [I say vacation like I'm going somewhere... But I'm not.] Branson's family is coming to town for the holidays, so most of my "vacation" will be revolving around them, squeezing in some time for my family and hopefully a few days all to myself.

I'm completely in need of a deep-tissue massage.

But now it's Christmas. Truly... the most wonderful time of the year. I'm just glad that now I can focus on that. Instead of Fiasco 2009.

So, what do the next few days hold in store for me?
Well, a massage for one thing. And holiday baking. Playing the piano and reading. Organizing my house. And wrapping presents.

Yes, it's going to be a good holiday.