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August 24, 2007
Black tie and a fuckup
Last night I went to an anniversary event for a local charity. I get assigned a lot of these stories (profile pieces, human interest), so I mostly knew what to expect. Or so I thought. The event started at 7:00, so I showed up at 7:20, having learned from experience that if you get to one of these things on time you stick out in a painful fashion and no one wants to talk to you.
So at 7:20 I walked through the door, and backed out in a hurry. All of the eight people milling around inside were wearing black tie, something the invitation email definitely had not specified. I was wearing a sundress and a corduroy jacket.
Hell, I thought. I'm going to have to chat up people in tuxedos while I look like a turnip-truck refugee.
Still, a job is a job. "When will things get started?" I asked the woman at the door, who gave me an odd look and said "It started at 5:30. This is pretty much the end of it."
Ah. Again, I was misled by the invitation. Just to be certain the evening was a total loss, I asked about the media rep I was supposed to meet there, whom the staffers had never heard of and who was not on the guest list.
Undaunted, I made my way home and telephoned the charity offices. The woman who answered was utterly panicked. "I just got in," she said. "I just work here. I don't know about that."
"That's ok," I said. "Maybe I can just leave a voicemail for whoever deals with press?"
"I don't know about media!" she said.
"Okay," I said, "I'll call back tomor--" CLICK.
So now I am going to start making my calls in an effort to find out whether this charity even exists. If it's just a money laundering scheme I guess I should expose it. If not, I guess I should interview someone. At least I know the dress code for today: PJs, bottomless coffee and cheerful cynicism. (On casual Fridays we at the home office are permitted to wear cheerful cynicism. On other work days, it's strictly wry good humor.)
Posted by didofoot at August 24, 2007 08:06 AM
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