The Performing Arts department went out for a much-deserved celebratory lunch today. The cause for celebration? The completion of Sarah Michelson’s residency and performance, last September. And Philip Bither’s birthday in November. And our annual holiday lunch/happy-hour in December. To make it seem not as pathetic as it really is, I try to call it “efficient.” Conversations to get something – ANYTHING – planned have usually gone like so:
PA Staffer #1: We should really go out to lunch to celebrate our hard work on this…we deserve it!
PA Staffer #2: Yeah, that’s a good idea – when?
PA Staffer #1: Um, how about Friday?
PA Staffer #3: I can’t, I have to go pick up (insert artist name here) from the airport .
PA Staffer #2: Next Monday?
PA Staffer #3: No, that’s when I’m taking (same artist) over to Perpich for their residency stuff. How about Tuesday? Tuesday works for me.
PA Staffer #4: No, I’m shuttling around (insert different artist name here) and then have to do a Costco-run for the backstage hospitality stuff. And Wednesday’s their tech rehearsal – so I need to stick around.
PA Staffer #1: Thursday?
PA Staffer #5: Oh, I’m sorry, I can’t – I have three back-to-back to meetings straight into prep for the post-performance talk.
So, yeah, four months later – we finally did it. Maybe we should start planning now for something in June to celebrate the next possible success that might happen in March.
Oy.