Last week, as you could tell from the stressed out or small updates, it was like everything exploded at work. Due to a virus outbreak, we were blacklisted by four spam monitoring organizations, and the only way I could fix this was to go around to every computer in the office to figure out which one (or ones) was the problem child. Being blacklisted meant that very little to no email was actually leaving our inboxes. We were receiving just fine, but then nothing was going out. It is very frustrating to diagnose a problem like that, because Microsoft literally has an error message that can actually mean 10 things. I felt like I would probably be better off standing on one foot and point north to fix the problem. I got it worked out, but it meant I put in a 13 hour day to get it done. All of this on top of doing a major voicemail upgrade, working on one of the most heinous reports I have to do, AND doing last minute poster designs for The Grande Masquerade, well, I was about ready to lose my fucking mind!
I know I complain a lot about the reporting aspect of my job, but the reality is that I have done a pretty good job of juggling the IT part and the reporting for the last two years. However, this past week was exactly what I feared most would happen -- when something IT related would interfere with the reporting. What do I choose in this instance? The deadline put in place by the Federal Government, or the people bitching at me in the office? Anyway, enough about that.
The Grande Masquerade was an absolute success. Sure, there were some kinks to work out, but for a group of people who didn't really have all that much experience on an event this size, I think we pulled it off and then some. It was the largest attendance ever (620+), and it was one of the most profitable. For me, it was just
pretty surreal to see my designs all over the place. From the program books at every seat at every table, to the backgrounds on the PowerPoint presentation that Blanche so wonderfully put together, and finally to the monstrous fairy girl that I put together - the mascot of the whole event - as the backdrop for the stage. It was, simply, one of the proudest nights for me. It was also weird that someone actually paid $50 for a framed version of one of the posters I designed for the event. I actually called my parents to say I was officially an artiste now. LOL It was even weirder later on in the night when I found out there was a war going on over who was going to get the blown up versions of the fairy girl. Both Vivian of Talbott Street and Rob from Hoaglin Fine Catering wanted them, I seriously didn't know what to say about that. I know most don't see me as an overly humble person (though, really, deep down I'm that insecure guy cowering in the corner), but I was really just humbled by it.So, it was a rather amazing weekend. Heck, even one of the volunteers for the Masquerade recognized me from by blog! With all that though, the best part of the entire weekend is the fact that I'm taking the next three days off from work! I'm going to make this a focus on me time. Most of all, I'm going to go to the gym all three days, and I hope this will get me back into a groove. I am ABSOLUTELY tired of my current appearance, and I have used this "being busy" excuse to keep me from the gym for far too long. It's going to be a beautiful three days, and I'll even be able to ride my bike to the gym.
Here's to getting back to the gym, back to blogging, back to a someone less busy life, AND to voting tomorrow!
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