I spent a few days in Aspen, Colorado on business a couple of weeks ago. You remember. I mentioned that I was off to Aspen, and you all thought I was living the jet-set life! Ring a Bell? Leave it to me to exploit every single day-in-the-life experience as yet another facet of my all-too-glamorous life. I’m good like that. But it was really great to get back there and exercise, hike the Maroon Bells, and realize I’d not lost all my lung capacity by moving to sea level in Los Angeles!
Well, there is so much to this particular Aspen trip, I can’t possibly tell the whole story here – BUT – there was ONE incident that is just too priceless NOT to tell.
If you are new here – look out baby. Things are about to get CRAZY. Glad to have you – but hang on to your hats! It’s going to be a fun ride!
So, I showed up at the Aspen Meadows resort bright and early on Monday morning, prepared for a productive week of meetings. I was there for some in-depth training offered by a marketing and PR client of mine. I don’t usually attend trainings offered by my clients, but this particular client teaches a business practice that is very intense and heady. So, basically, it was important for me to dive in head first, learn the process, and participate in the practicum in order to promote the client effectively. Makes sense, right?
Now, let me set this up for you just a bit:
I’ve been to a few of these week-long training sessions offered by the same client, but I’d never been an actual participant until that week. It happened to be the very same week that my client’s brand new Chief Operating Officer (I’ll call him Mr. Motley – you’ll see why in a bit) decided to come to the training as well.
Needless to say, there was an air of – how shall I say it – trepidation? caution? fear? among my client’s team members, because of this new guy’s presence. It was interesting to watch. Of course, I was seated right next to the guy all day in the meetings.
I quickly decided (dopey me), that there was nothing to fear from Mr. Motley. He seemed so cool, funny, and harmless enough. He was from the same town my client (the CEO) was from. His wife was friends with a friend of mine in that same town in Florida. He also had a wicked-smart sense of humor. I learned that pretty quickly. I liked him!
So, back to that first Monday.
Since I’d been to a few of these sessions, many of the resort staff recognized me as “staff.” I made a point of smiling at the resort staff and saying hello. I stopped each of them and asked how they’d been, how their summer was, etc.
Hey. It’s not weird. I use to work for a 5 star hotel. I felt a certain camaraderie with these peeps – like we were part of a secret little hotel-workers club.
Apparently, one of them (I’ll call him Tall Dark & Handsome – “TDH”) was actually new, and I’d mistaken him for our regular event manager. (Hey – he had dark hair – how was I to know)!? Needless to say, he didn’t know who I was. I soon learned that he was pretty glad I’d been so friendly.
Later that afternoon, I left our meeting room in search of a cold Diet Coke. You know? On a side note: that kind of thing gets me into trouble time and again! I go out looking for chocolate or coffee, and come back with cocktails, and a bachelor party of guys or something. Okay – that only happened once, at a bar in Hollywood, but it happens, you know? When you LEAST expect it! I’m sure that’s a major reason why my single girlfriends love me! I’m just social like that.
So, as I walked down the corridor, I saw TDH walking toward me. I smiled as we made eye contact, and as I got closer to him, said “Are you the one that can give me a cold Diet Coke?” He smiled and said, “That’s me! Come with me,” as he stepped into the employee kitchen.
Suddenly, he appeared nervous or sick to his stomach or something. As I waited for him to hand me the beverage, he paused, looked at me, took a deep breath and said as he stuck his hand out to shake mine, “Hi” he said, “I’m TDH.” As I shook his hand, and looked into his eyes, I said, “Hi TDH! I’m Ms. Cheevious!” (of course, we used our real names, people. Try and keep up, would you)!?
Anyhow, as I shook his hand, I noticed a strange object in his hand. In my mind, as I was smiling and making nicey nice, I was also trying to make out what it was in his hand. Some sort of weird, stiff band-aid? I didn’t know! But my brain quickly calculated that it definitely needed to STAY in his hand. So it did.
He handed me a luke-warm Diet Coke, and looked like he was going to vomit. “Here” he said as he shoved the object into my hands, now short of breath. It was a little piece of paper, that apparently he’d spent some time writing with the hope of this very meeting. It had his name and a phone number written on it, with a little heart and an arrow through it.
So. I am blond. Have I told you that?
I still had a smile on my face from speaking to him, and being glad to safely deliver the weird band-aid thing back into his hands in one piece, when he shoved that thing my way.
It looked like this (I’ve changed it to protect the innocent – hee hee):
I looked at it. I looked at him. My smile was fading – and not because I didn’t want to smile – but I was now concentrating really hard, and obviously very confused – plus, it was super hard to smile and concentrate like that at the same time. Then I said, “Is this your number?”
DUH. I’m surprised I have ever been able to get a date in my life. WHAT THE HECK DID I THINK IT WAS?
The poor guy looked green, I kid you not! He said, “Yes.” As he hyperventilated, and I quickly said, “Thank you so much!” and headed back to my meeting.
I sat back down next to Mr. Motley. We’d already bonded on the humor level, so at the very next break, I told him what just happened.
I know what you are thinking. How heartless of me! That poor guy was taking a risk, and here I was joking about him to my coworkers.
It wasn’t that at all. I was actually joking at my own expense. I’d been so befuddled by the whole experience, I thought it was hilarious that I was such a dimwit and didn’t know the guy was trying to hit on me!
Granted – he took great risk to do this. He could have been fired if anyone knew he did that, yet he chose to do it anyway. Ahhh. To be young again, and not care if you lose your job for love. He WAS young too. I wasn’t sure at this point, but on further analysis (throughout the rest of the day, as I really tried to get a good look) I determined he must be about 23 or something. He looked sort of like Orlando Bloom, with a very nice, muscular body.
He was probably about 6’0′ at least, since he still towered over me, even though I wore my five inch wedgy heels that day.
Anyhow, as the day wore on I suffered my share of jokes from the rest of the team, who’d learned the story of poor TDH and his failed attempt at getting a date with me.
At one point in the afternoon, I sat down, and even though I’d put TDH’s paper in my leather portfolio, there it was again, next to my papers.
I looked again, however, and realized it had a familiar area code – much like my girlfriend’s in Florida. Okay – so this is where I am SMART people! I am QUICK. I looked at Mr. Motley and said, “This is YOU, ya big goof!” And try as he may to maintain a straight face, he caved pretty quickly and fessed up to his plot.
“I was just WAITING to get a drunken phone call from you at 2:30 in the morning — ‘Hey… (hiccup) TDH? This is Ms. Cheevious…(hiccup)! What are you (hiccup) doing?'”
“HA HA” I said, with my best motherly tone. “I outsmarted you!”
But I have to say I laughed at that (a LOT) and filed it away so I could use it on someone else some other day! hee hee
Fast-forward to that evening. Remember it was opening day of these meetings. It just so happened that Stealth (you’ve heard about him in my “Forget the Love Guru” post), was in Aspen at the same time as me. He drove out from Utah to meet with some of his own clients and see me. Since he works with this same client as well, he came to our cocktail reception the first evening.
We walked into Aspen’s Social – a very cool, hip tappas place, owned by one of my very good friends, Deedee (also not her real name, but I suppose you could look her up! ha ha!). My friend and client (the CEO) walked in, with Mr. Motley not far behind him. Mr. Motley didn’t know who Stealth was, so he motioned for me to meet him at the top of the stairs by the entrance.
I excused myself from Stealth and my client, and walked over to Motley.
“Have you been playing a joke with me?” he asked.
“Why? What do you mean?” I asked.
“You have been, haven’t you” he said searching my expression. “You’ve been texting me, haven’t you?”
“No, I don’t know your number. I promise. Why?” I asked. Then it hit me. “Oh Nooooo!” I said with a laugh. “DON’T TELL ME – TDH has been texting you?”
Mr. Motley proceeded to show me a series of texts. “Ms. Cheevious is this your cell? Is this you?” With Mr. Motley’s answers to the contrary.
“No way. He has not. It’s been you, hasn’t it. Just admit it.” He said. “How would he know how to text me?” He asked.
“BECAUSE! We left that “JOKE” little piece of paper – remember? The one that had YOUR number on it! He must have thought that IIIII wrote one out, and left it behind for him to find! Since it didn’t have HIS number on it, he assumed it was MINE!” I laughed so hard, I almost choked on my cocktail. But I must admit it felt pretty damn good after being such a blondie about the whole situation, to piece this one together so quickly.
“NO WAY!” Motley said.
I left him standing there, scratching his head and went to tell my client and Stealth the hilarious story. My client thought it was hysterical, and said laughingly, “Serves him right.”
Okay – so where does that leave us?
1) I had a great time in Aspen. I got to exercise a few times in the mornings, went on an INCREDIBLE hike at the Maroon Bells (one of THE most photographed places on earth);
2) I learned all about my client’s changes to their processes so I could better serve them as a client;
3) I discovered that I work with a MOTLEY CREW – headed up by Mr. Motley himself. (Okay – I knew they were Motley long ago, but the name fits him).
4) I was incredibly blessed by the attention of a handsome young guy, who I am sure had the best of intentions. In spite of all the jokes and shenanigans, his gesture made me feel truly special, and – dare I say? beautiful? – and I think he will be a very special someone for a lucky girl some day. What a brave, beautiful, sweet guy.
5) I need to sharpen my brain. Isn’t their some sort of “here’s how you can stay sharp and alert and not miss it when someone hits on you” self-help course??
6) It’s not nice to fool Ms. Cheevious. It ALWAYS – repeat – ALWAYS comes right back to ya! HA HA HA HA!
Have a beautiful, lovely, inspiring weekend everyone!
Love you people! Mmmmmmphhhhuuhhhhh!!!
xoxo,
Ms. Cheevious
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Blog content copyright 2008, LISA JEY DAVIS a.k.a. Ms. Cheevious