I'm proud of myself.

Today was the first conference that I have organized for my job. I was very stressed out about it, but everything went smoothly. It runs from today to tomorrow. I had to reserve the space for the conference, work out technical details (A/V equipment, power strips, VCRs, etc.), order catering for breakfast and lunch both days, reserve hotel rooms for 35 people and provide room assignments, work out a shuttle service between the hotel and conference center, prepare all of the written materials and overheads for the conference, and much much more. I could barely sleep last night because I kept thinking that I had forgotten something, but everything went perfectly today. All of the teachers who attended were so nice and welcoming to me, and they heaped praise on me. (The quick and easy way to my heart!) I was a little concerned when I took this job that I would be able to coordinate these conferences that we have every month, and I feel like I needed today to prove to myself that yes, I can do it. Yay me! (Pats self on back.)

Okay, but I HAVE to tell you the weirdest request of the many that I received during the day. One lady came up to me and said, "I have a baby at home who I am breastfeeding, and I need to pump my breastmilk for her during our lunch break. Could you talk to the building people and find a quiet, private room for me to do this?" I was so shocked/embarassed that I had to ask my boss to do it for me. I didn't even know what to ask! I almost said, "Why can't you use the bathroom?" but I guess that wouldn't be appropriate...

In other news (and I will keep this brief before my blood begins to boil), I received my cell phone bill today... for $150!!! I am SO mad. I deserve to pay $80 of it, but the other $70 is TOTALLY not my fault. Long story that I won't go into. But I ended up on the phone with AT&T Customer Service for half an hour today, and they wouldn't do a damn thing even though the AT&T employee who sold me the phone LIED to me about my calling plan. I'm so mad that I had to drink two beers in quick succession just to calm myself down. Where's a Vicadin when you need one?

And this is funny. Here's what I had in my car last night for the conference:

Five TV/VCR units

Two bags of flourescent feathers

Three bags of assorted ribbon

Five glue sticks

Six bottles of Elmer's Glue

Two tupperware containers of markers

Ten boxes of Metallic Crayolas

Forty folders filled with printed materials

A boombox

A digital camera

And I had to schlep this from work to home to the conference and I'll have to schlep it back to work on Monday! In Minnesota! In the winter! In the coldest weather we've had in a decade!

For those of you who weren't fortunate enough to be unloading art supplies in Minneapolis at 7:30 this morning, there was a windchill of -33 degrees. No shit.