Friday, April 15, 2016

No Rubber Chicken

Today was the Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon for volunteers at Sutter Davis Hospital.  As usual, being me, I was torn with indecision about whether to go or not.  I knew I would be walking into a room full of mostly strangers and that scares me more the older I get.

But I finally bit the bullet and decided to go.  I very nearly couldn't go because of a misunderstanding (I thought I was RSVPd and it was past the deadline for replying that I found out I was not, but Dodie, from HR found a way to get me in).

The event was held at the Yolo Fliers Club, what turned out to be a gorgeous country club on a golf course with a lovely view of a plane (circled)


The rose garden was lovely and I was sorry I only had my cell phone and not my camera with me.
I girded my loins, took a deep breath and walked into the room of mostly strangers.  I recognized a couple of people, but they were at tables that were already full.  I found a table with empty places and sat down.  Everyone was talking to each other.  The lady next to me introduced herself.  I introduced myself and she said she read my reviews and asked if I had seen Newsies, which we saw on Tuesday.  We compared notes on the show.

A woman from one of the other tables came over to say hello.  I recognized her because I have relieved her at the Information Desk a couple of times but didn't have a clue what her name was.  Fortunately she was honored with a pin for long service and I was able to put her face with her name.

Our choices for a meal were "beef, fish or vegetarian," with no explanation of how anything was being cooked. I knew we were having fish for dinner so I opted for the beef.  I was the only one at the table eating beef.  Everyone else had salmon and I remarked to the woman next to me that I was doing Blue Apron and had had my fill of salmon for now.

Turns out she is also a Blue Apron customer and we compared notes on meals and how tired we are becoming of kale and wondering if they will ever send spring vegetables.  Someone else mentioned they were going to leave on a river cruise on the Rhine, and I talked about our cruises, while others chimed in with their cruise experience.  Before you knew it, I felt right at home an having a marvelous time.

The salmon looked and smelled very good and I was almost sorry I had not ordered that until my beef arrived.


It was not dry and there was even some pink to the meat.  It was delicious.

The guy on the other side of me mentioned that he lived in Elk Grove, so I gave him my recommendation that he try Marie's restaurant, Todo un Poco and he said that he would.  I hope he does.

Before I knew it, the cheesecake had been served and we were all starting to go home.  I had survived the luncheon I almost didn't attend because of shyness and I had a wonderful time.

I stopped at Atria on the way home and that is always a downer.  In case you hadn't heard this, she's old.  That's why she doesn't do anything.  At one point she sighed and said "you don't know how lonely it is to have to eat by yourself."  I mentioned the hundred other people in the dining room and the three other women she eats with, but that doesn't count, I guess.  She laid a guilt trip on me for her loneliness and I'm afraid I just couldn't handle it.  I wasn't very nice, then she gets sad.  My only consolation is that she will have forgotten that by now.

I picked up her laundry.  I washed all of her underwear less than a week ago and there must be at least 15 or more pairs ready to be washed 5-6 days later.  She swears she only wears one pair a day, but I think that statement, like the one about her never going to meals (which Atria records show is not true) is a product of her imagination, not a fact.  I bought her 3 new pairs of underpants, which I brought to her today and she managed to lose them before I left.  Then she swore I never gave her any underpants.  I wanted to cry in frustration, but I just took the dirty undies home with me.

I stopped at the post office to mail another pocket letter.  There were FIFTEEN people in line and ONE clerk. I was not up for that, so I came home.

I'm trying to concentrate on the fun I had at the lunch and not how the afternoon turned sour. And I did have fun.

No comments: