I knew it wasn’t going to be fun for Conrad to travel to work with me, but I had no idea it was going to be so horrifying and traumatic for him. First of all, his cage is made of metal and it’s got lots of loose parts (the doors that open and close and lift to change his food, etc.). All the loose parts were vibrating and making a lot of noise. He likes to sit on his swing, and it was swinging all over the place and he was just holding on for dear life.
When I went to STARBUCKS (Well, you know I had to stop at STARBUCKS!), I leaned over to get my purse and knocked his food tray into his cage. Good times!
I finally got him to work and parked in the employee garage, because I didn’t want to have to walk with him all the way from the parking lot. Oh, I forgot to mention it was SO foggy out that you couldn’t see 10 feet in front of you, so driving was especially precarious. All I could think of was that I was going to get into an accident with my parakeet in the car!
When I was walking with him, it was damp and chilly, instead of being bright and sunny, which he actually might have enjoyed!
I brought him upstairs, put him on my desk and went back down to the car for his little table, his seed, and my lunch bag. When I got back I got him settled on my desk. He was totally freaked out. He’s always skittish, shy and quiet, but that was amplified and magnified by the experience he had coming to work.
All I had to do was look at him and he started shaking. I was so upset, because he was mad at me. I swear he was. He seemed to be saying, “Why are you torturing me this way?” And I didn’t have a good answer. I just had no other choice!
I sent the girl who is babysitting an email this morning, asking when she wanted me to bring him up to her desk and I get an "instant reply" that she’s out of the office today! Okay, that’s great!
I find out that she called in sick, but one of the guys in her group gave me her cell and I was about to call her when she called me. She said she would come in and pick him up, even though she pulled something in her back. I said I pulled something in MY back, too, and it wasn’t a big deal. I thought Conrad would be fine staying on my desk overnight. It’s quiet and dark and he’ll just sleep anyway. I definitely wasn’t bringing him home and making him go through that again – twice!
It was definitely a very entertaining day, having Conrad at my desk. Not only did he keep me entertained, but everyone in the office who came by thought he was beautiful – his periwinkle color astonished them. Most parakeets are green, or a regular blue, but he’s so unusually colored. He’s a beautiful boy!
By the early afternoon he was eating and drinking, so I knew he was feeling better. I kept busy all day, filing, working on a big mailing for the girl who does medical benefits to send to all the employees, and processing resumes. The day flew by. I left a little before 5:00pm and went to my Thursday appointment. It was great to tell her how excited Eric and I both are to be together again, and how we're looking forward to all the great things we have planned.
When I got home I just dropped my stuff on the floor and turned around and went to the laundry room. I had put everything right by the door so it was all ready. I did two loads and came up and ate my salad and salmon while I watched TOP CHEF (how appropriate!). It takes place in NY this season, and I love the exterior shots of Central Park, Rockefeller Center (including Radio City) and Times Square.
One of the girls in HR is in NY right now, at a week-long training session, and she saw the play with Katie Holmes and John Lithgow (I don't know the name) and also saw WICKED. She loved both. I was so happy she got to see some great theatre while she was in NY. I really believe Broadway is the true New York Experience!
I went down to throw my stuff in the dryer and hung some of the other stuff on my clothes line. It will be dry by tomorrow and there are a few things I’ll throw in the suitcase before I leave.
I am trying not to pack too much, but that’s almost impossible for me. I don’t travel much, but whenever I go anywhere, I am notorious for taking much too much clothes. I just don’t want my suitcase to be too heavy. I heard checked luggage can’t be more than 50 pounds. I also have my carry-on, but that’s for my laptop and other stuff I don’t want to check.
Tonight I was working on the table arrangements for the Greenberg Soiree. Thank goodness my parents and Eric’s parents did the table seating for our wedding, because it’s a frustrating task. We only had two tables of friends at our wedding (although we had about 4 or 5 tables of sisters, brothers, and cousins (we both have a lot of cousins our own age), so we had a lot of our contemporaries there.
Anyway, I was trying to do 5 tables of 8, but I couldn’t get it to work, so I called Guillermo, the manager at the restaurant. He said he could do different sized tables. We discussed, I rearranged, and I’m pretty happy with the way it turned out. I realize that you can’t put everyone you want together, and that you can’t sit with everyone either. I just hope everyone realizes that they should get up and mingle and don’t have to be glued to their chair all night! I did my best and hope everyone will have fun.
It’s going to be hard to have a real conversation with everyone, because there are so many people and it's just one night, but I feel the most important thing is just to see their faces, give them a hug and a kiss, celebrate our friendship, and let them know how much they all mean to us!
I went down to the laundry room one last time to get the linens and towels out of the dryer. I wear my pajamas with a jacket over it. It’s dark and there’s really no one out anyway.
I can’t believe I’m leaving tomorrow night. It’s finally here. A trip I’ve been thinking about, worrying about, dreaming about, and now looking forward to so, so much. There’s a lot to be happy about – the party, BILLY ELLIOT on Broadway, Thanksgiving at my sister’s house, Jessica and Ken’s wedding (really, the reason I’m going to NY right now), but mostly I just want to see Eric’s face. I just want to hold him and feel how good it is to have him in my arms. I’ve really missed him more than I can say. I’ve been strong, and I’ve done what I had to do these past months alone, but the truth is – I’m really not complete without him.