Thursday, December 10, 2015

Festive Gatherings

Inspirational song: Queen of the Silver Dollar (Dr Hook & the Medicine Show)

Ten or twelve years ago, I starting spending a significant portion of my free time socializing with various incarnations of that (mostly) ladies group that was so very important to me when I first started this blog. It still means a great deal to me, and it has given me great training for the community giving side of my new job. But in those early days, it was more about getting to hang out with my peers, where we all banded together in remote locations, far from our home towns and families. Way back then, I gained a reputation as being stupidly lucky. I would come home from game nights and dinners with goodies almost every time. My kids dubbed me the Doorprize Queen. And then, after about five years, my luck dried up. I didn't win anything for ages, not door prizes, contests, bingo games, nothing. I was mostly okay with it, knowing that I had all the home decorating items I could ever want, and it was fine to give younger women a turn at that. Can't say I didn't covet a few of those Starbucks gift cards when they showed up as prizes, though.

A week ago, at my first sales meeting at work, all of us agents out our names in a hat, to see who could fill the two slots available to attend the Business Cares luncheon scheduled for today, where we would rub elbows with people from the United Way and other businesses interested in volunteering in the community. I was surprised and excited to be chosen. I met a lot of interesting people and learned about a lot of opportunities to do good deeds. I get fired up being around these folks. In a good way.

I nearly skipped my evening invitation. A smaller mortgage lender had an open house/holiday party, and I was a bit nervous about showing up to a party full of absolute strangers. Before I could completely talk myself out of going, a certain gentleman prospector who lives in my house reminded me that I am in a relationship business, and I'd better get out and build relationships. So I put my professional attire back on (I'd already slipped into jeans and a sweatshirt), and faced the scary bankers. It turned out to be a good time, and I got to get familiar with the whole lending team who has a worked for years with my managing broker. Good people to know. And right as we were edging toward the door, they grabbed the basket of business cards for the doorprize drawing. I had a stack of the "cards of shame," the generic brokerage cards, on which I'd written my name on the back. The first one pulled was mine. I got a Tervis tumbler containing a Lowes gift card. 

Today was a double win. Does that mean the Doorprize Queen is back? Bring it on!


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