Giving (And Therefore, Receiving)

In a little over 24 hour period, I had three different volunteer opportunities.

On the evening of March 15, 2022, we had an organizational meeting for the upcoming (first time since 2019) HRC fundraising dinner, to be held in August. I helped in registration and with the silent auction last time and would expect to do so again. I also said I would help with anything that I am able leading up to the actual event. Simple one hour meeting, there and back, quick and easy (but cute) outfit.

The next afternoon, March 16, 2022, I had what ended up being a solo shift at the art museum information desk. It was a glorious day, upper 60’s, so I decided I had to wear a dress. My second shift, working for Destination Cleveland, required a t-shirt and jeans. No way I was doing that on this day! All day in a dress, all over town, that’s all me!

The museum shift was quite slow, so I spent a great deal of time, including this post, writing. I do enjoy doing that at this desk. It’s such a great space!

There was a convention for woman in cybersecurity at the convention center, so I signed up to be a greeter and wayfinder for a couple of hours. What I do, get dressed and stick my face in front of as many people as possible.

Quick side story. I stopped at the mall and walked through Dillard’s to see if there were any late clearance items left. Once an item goes on clearance, it eventually gets marked down to 65% off, then 50% off of that to get rid of it. This is generally how I stock my lingerie drawer. Anyway, I am walking though the store and a woman is wiping down her counter, basically killing time. We smile at each other and she tells me how nice I look! Made me feel so good. She did that exactly because she knew who and what I am and wanted to know she recognized how well I looked. So sweet!

I walk into the Hilton for my Destination Cleveland shift, wanting to grab a bite before I had to work. A quick glance and I don’t see anything set up and then hear from across the lobby “Kandi!”. If you look back at my recent STEM post, you’ll see me in a photo strip with my new friend Crystal. She’s actively involved with the convention and was sitting with a number of other woman, from all over the country. I sit down and am immediately accepted as one of them (no, not a cybersecurity professional, as a woman). I then find out I was signed up for the Thursday shift, not the Wednesday shift I was there for. No loss there as I ended up having dinner and drinks with four other women from a Virginia-based company, there for the show. I spent about three hours with them and fit right in! And that could have been difficult since they all work together, me being the outsider. But they were so kind to me and I fit comfortably into all of the conversations. A senior executive from the company and I quickly bonded over shared marathon stories.

Another quite memorable experience!