Lingering Effects

Last week, specifically Wednesday, was tough. Challenges included having a temporary layout guy (who worked his tail off yet pulled it all together) while our regular guru Steve was on vacation, wonky email service, Excel issues that made it nearly impossible to print route sheets for our delivery people and a reporter who was experiencing an allergic reaction to a medication. Throw in a checkbook that was compromised and it made for one awful week. Unfortunately, we are still dealing with the repercussions of having to close our bank account and open a new one to curtail any further issues; what a pain! But that seems to be the end of it. Our reporter who was in distress is feeling better, our office manager was able to recover most of the delivery sheets, my email seems okay and – gratefully – Steve is back from vacation. Whew! We survived!

I did get some blowback from my column last week, “Thoughts from a Privileged Woman.” One was rather rude and included curse words and misspellings while another, though in disagreement with my assessment, kindly directed me to reading material that she thought appropriate. On the flip side I received several notes and comments of support.

But there were highlights last week, too. On Thursday evening, CV Weekly hosted a business networking mixer for the CV Chamber of Commerce (there’ll be pictures in next week’s paper). It was great seeing so many familiar faces, most unmasked and ready to meet and greet. On Friday, a member of my Kiwanian family held an intimate get together at her home and I met some interesting people. It was a nice way to unwind.

Kicking off the week, on Sunday Steve and I headed to Memorial Park in La Cañada to hear Past Action Heroes, a fun band (complete in costumes) that covers music of the ’80s and ’90s. Oh my gosh – did we have fun!

Monday was a melancholy day that included attending the funeral of a very dear friend. We’ve known Stan Birchall for over 45 years; he and Steve worked together, specializing in electronics. Stan was also big in cars and owned four. I would ride with him every year in the Sept. 11 patriot motorcade.

On Monday evening Steve and I headed to the Hollywood Bowl to attend the annual meeting of the Southern California Rotorcraft Assn., a group in which he’s a member. After the meeting, our small group made its way to watch a rehearsal of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra/LA Phil. Now that was a treat! To sit near the stage in the shade and have some beautiful music wash over us – well, it was awesome! I’m so grateful to the association that made it possible.

It’s a new week that, so far, has presented fewer challenges. Oh, we do need a paper delivery person. If interested, check out the job listing on our Facebook page and in the classified section of this week’s paper.