A moment of calm

And I want more. It's been a crazy week of work and play and it's done. Well, almost....

Half of my parents arrived on Tuesday. Wow. It's hard to believe it's been two months since I've seen them. I met them at their hotel and many hugs were had, their travel plans were discussed and dinner locales were tossed about. We ended up at Port of Call, one of the better burger joints in the city. I have a wildly different palate than my mom and step-dad, so a burger place seemed like it would be pleasing to all. And it was. Wow. Seriously good burgers there.

After dinner we walked around the Quarter for a bit and then up Frenchman street and back to the car. We drove up Esplanade and then over to Uptown, showing them the St. Charles streetcar line and where I'm thinking about moving to (when my lease is up, of course). I dropped them off after our drive and went home.

Wednesday I picked them up and we made our way to Cafe du Monde. I've had a fair share of beignets here, and I've been by The Cafe, but never bothered to stop in. Too touristy, too crowded, too much to look at elsewhere in the quarter. It was magnificent. Really truly amazing pastries. The coffee was meh, but most coffee is.

We drove around the places we went Tuesday night, to see them in daylight. I gave them the grand tour of my abode and then I went into work. Oh, how I wish I wouldn't have. I won't discuss it here, but suffice to say that one of the biggest challenges I've had since I moved hasn't been the adjustment to a new city or the lack of friends or even the job itself. If you've spoken with me in any capacity in the last 5 months (has it really been that long?!?!), you know. Basically, I like throwing stones at hornet's nests. But you knew that about me.

After work, we grabbed a bottle of wine and hit up a local pizza joint to watch the Twins game. All was going well until the end of the game of course. Thursday brought a day of pampering....from manicures to ice cream to prosciutto and pedicures, to more wine and pool time, it should have been a lovely day that was completely marred by things going on at the office. I felt absolutely awful about my mood and have sworn to myself that it won't happen again. My parents came from 1300 miles away, and they deserve me at my best, not the crabbiness that infested me yesterday.

And so here we are today, with only two full days left. I was supposed to join them on a river cruise this afternoon, and life had other plans. So, tonight we'll do dinner and tomorrow brings a swamp tour. And me in a better mood. It makes me sad that 60 hours from now I'll be on a plane to LA and they'll still be here. Yes, I'm sacrificing time with my family because of my job. It'll never happen again, because at the end of the day, family will always be there, jobs will come and go.

Success!!

I have successfully completed my first big, complex group! Not ever, but first since I jumped back into the event planning arena. I didn't realize it until this week, how much I missed being in front of guests and making them smile. It's true in every aspect of my life - all I want to do is make people happy. I'm good at itand I enjoy it immensely. There is no greater satisfaction to me in life, than to know that I had a hand in making someone's day.

This group was awesome. It's a foundation run by a Major League All Star. It's a foundation that provides scholarships to exceptional students. To qualify, they have to be a high school student with a 3.5 GPA or better and do some type of extra-curricular activity, be it a sport or a club. They also must do a certain amount of community service. The group is based out of two cities, and this is the first time they've traveled out of their respective communities to do service projects. They picked New Orleans because of all that's happened here - built a baseball field, created a playground, made furniture and trash can holders for the Boys and Girls clubs, etc. All in all, a spectacular group of kids.

The planners are amazing as well. I truly hope they come back to NOLA - for fun or with this group again. I now have even more people to visit when I go to my favorite city on the planet. It's amazing to me to see the smile in my client's face when I say "Yes, we can do that" to even the most impossible task. There's truly nothing like it. I can't take all the credit though. Despite some initial skepticism, the team that I work with and for is incredible. Without each and every one of them, I wouldn't be able to confidently say, "Yes, we can do that" to those impossible tasks. I don't and will never take each of these people for granted. I work for an amazing company that only employs the finest. I'm grateful for that beyond words.

I may have my moments of "what was I thinking?!", but I really do love what I do, and where I'm doing it. I don't plan to be here forever, but I am going to enjoy every moment of it, even the crappy ones. That which doesn't kill us only makes us stronger, right?