Necessary Evils and Darling Angels

Necessary evils. That's what some vendors are to me. My nemesis vendor from September met me and my boss at our other building down the road. Luckily for all, he brought two smart reinforcements. The meeting went well and I had new eye candy during the meeting. I know - it is shameless, but he was about 6'3", early 40's, professional, had this sexy deep voice, charisma, held eye contact and knew his stuff well. Can't tell you how that combo is rare...but I digress.

Met my second homework buddy in one of the conference rooms where we spent the next hour and a half discussing server architecture. It wasn't as painful as I thought it would be. I was very thankful for the lesson and he was impressed by my booking a conference room so he could explain things on the whiteboard and by the kinds of questions I was asking. I only hope it pays off.

My long-time friend Dan stopped by my desk and asked, Play Santa? Huh? He then explained about the Angel Tree in the reception area. Oh, yeah - now I remember! Our company is participating in buying gifts on behalf of the Safe Child Coalition for children in the state foster care system. A tree is decorated with stars bearing the child's name, age and their Christmas wish list.

Let me backtrack about nine Christmases where Dan and I worked together in a different company...Back then I had a serious chip on my shoulder and I was very broke that season while Dan waited until he had 6-8 live paychecks before depositing them into the bank. He was a different man at the time and less aware and took pride in his not having to work paycheck to paycheck. I was angry, resentful and gave him a tongue-lashing about generosity. I told him that if I had his fluidity, I would take every goddamn angel off the lobby tree and buy all the kids gifts so they could have a good Christmas. It was not nice, but he needed a dose of reality. Poor Dan, I've been his second conscience for about 10 years.

You remembered that? I asked. Yes, he replied. Why? He gestured to his heart and said, Because it got me right here. Oh, God. I felt shamed by my temper nine years ago. Before I could digest it, he wanted to make arrangements to get several stars and for me to help him shop, but he would pay for everything. How could I say no? I told him we would firm up plans tomorrow for this Saturday.

Meanwhile, the rest of the afternoon was bust because our financial application was down for a few hours. I left early to meet Kristey after work at the mall. When I got home, I was so tired but felt the pressure to study for my morning interview before calling an early evening. Whatever it takes, I guess..
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Necessary Evils and Darling Angels