Visit to NAHB
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Today I had lunch with my good friend, Meg, whom I have known for almost 26 years and I met during my first employment at the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). We have remained friends all this time, and she was the one who helped me get another job at NAHB over 11 years ago. Even though Meg and I have emailed back and forth during the past 6 months, today was is the first time I have seen her since I left NAHB in October 2009. NAHB had its annual service recognition event this morning, and Meg was recognized for 25 years at NAHB. (If I had never left the first time, I would have been at NAHB 30 years in 2010!) Also, on April 11, Meg joined the “Over 50 Club,” so I was sure to welcome her warmly. :-)
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Today I had lunch with my good friend, Meg, whom I have known for almost 26 years and I met during my first employment at the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). We have remained friends all this time, and she was the one who helped me get another job at NAHB over 11 years ago. Even though Meg and I have emailed back and forth during the past 6 months, today was is the first time I have seen her since I left NAHB in October 2009. NAHB had its annual service recognition event this morning, and Meg was recognized for 25 years at NAHB. (If I had never left the first time, I would have been at NAHB 30 years in 2010!) Also, on April 11, Meg joined the “Over 50 Club,” so I was sure to welcome her warmly. :-)
Me and Meg at Disneyland in California in 1985. We were both in our 20's.
For lunch we went to ThaiTanic (clever, huh!), located on 14th Street, NW, near Rhode Island Avenue, in Washington, DC. I love this restaurant and used to go there a lot with my co-worker Jeff when I worked at NAHB. I would always get Chicken Panang, so, of course, I got it today as well. Meg and I sat in what I think is the only booth at the restaurant, situated at the front of the restaurant in the kind-of bay window. We had a wonderful conversation, and I told her all about my involvement with Women of Vision. As we were finishing up lunch, another former NAHB co-worker, Michael Shibley, walked by and saw me and Meg, so he stopped into the restaurant to chat for about 15 minutes. Michael retired from NAHB a couple years ago and has started a second career as an artist, painting gorgeous water colors. I love Michael’s work and would love to have one of his originals.
After lunch, Meg and I walked back to NAHB in the rain, and I visited a lot of my former co-workers on the 7th floor, where I used to work. It was great seeing everybody (well, most everybody!) and it was fun catching up with folks. I spent about 30 minutes with Brenda, whose office was a few doors down from mine (before I moved to the back side of the building) and whom I consider a friend. It was good catching up with her.
The building industry is still in the tank, so the general mood around NAHB is not good. Staff morale is pretty low, from what I could tell. I ran into someone from HR, and she strongly hinted that more layoffs are coming. Of course, I didn’t say anything to any of the staff (well, if they are reading this, they know now!), but many of those with whom I spoke said they were expecting more layoffs soon. That’s something I no longer have to worry about!
I left the building around 4 pm and walked in the rain to the Metro. All of the dignitaries for Obama’s nuclear summit must have been on the move as the streets were screaming with one motorcade after another. In addition, there was a helicopter hovering perfectly still at the intersection of 15th Street and Massachusetts Avenue, so Obama’s motorcade must have been somewhere close by, although I never saw it. I have always gotten a “rush” whenever I see a motorcade, and I saw plenty of them when I worked at NAHB. I think the building must be on one of the main motorcade routes, especially since the White House is only 5 blocks away. So seeing so many of them today was a major treat. I also think it’s so cool to see the tourists’ reactions to motorcades. They inevitably think all motorcades are the President’s, though the great majority of them aren’t. I can tell when the President’s motorcade is coming because there is the hovering helicopter, Secret Service lining the route, cops galore closing off the streets minutes before the motorcade is due, and always, always an ambulance is part of the convoy. I think I’ve only seen the President’s motorcade a handful of times, but it is so exciting when I do see it.
Kathleen called me while I was driving home from the Shady Grove Metro. She bought a new table for her living room and wanted me to stop by to see it. I did, and it was very nice. She is doing a good, albeit slow, job of decorating her apartment. I got a kick out of Roxy, her Chihuahua, who is always so excited to see me when I visit, but yet could have cared less about me when Kathleen lived at my house. However, I have always been one of the very few people Roxy will go to, so I’m special. (Awww…)
I’m going to Harper’s Ferry tomorrow with my friend Denise to help chaperone her 8th graders on a field trip. I love Harper’s Ferry, and I hope I still love it after spending the day with a bunch of middle schoolers. I’ll let you know how it goes. For now, though, “Good night.”
