I Won! I Won!

I am on a roll with the drawings lately! Friday we had our DCC meeting. That is, the Department of Community and Culture – the Utah Arts Council’s parent department. They always have drawings at these meetings: at the beginning, the middle, and the end. A strategy to keep people from leaving I assume.

I remember my first department meeting. I was still a little part time temp at the Utah Arts Council. But I won the drawing. I won a $50 gift certificate to Thanksgiving Point. That was a great prize.

And then there’s this prize: 2 hours off. Woo hoo! My coworkers cheered (with the exception of one that enviously shouted “Booo….” I know who you are…

Anyway, I know I should be grateful for this little certificate and all, but c’mon…what kind of a prize is that? It even says it’s subject to supervisor approval. Geez. The department is getting cheap if you ask me. State History was giving away historical photographs. They probably found those laying around at the last minute and brought them as prizes, but still, that’s a heck of a lot more interesting than two hours off. Whatever work I miss during those hours I’m away I’ll have to make up for later, right?

I wouldn’t be surprised if at the next department meeting they use the new DCC golf shirts as prizes – the shirts they offered us for free on Friday. Or maybe they’ll take away our sick leave benefits and then offer sick leave as a raffle drawing.

I don’t know one person who enjoys these meetings. (Read about last year’s by clicking here). When I walked up to get my 2 hours off certificate I thought about asking if my two hours could begin now and then excuse myself from the meeting. But that would have been disrespectful. So I returned to my seat and continued my game of Yahtzee with George on his blackberry.

Actually, there was a segment of the meeting that I thought was interesting. David Hart from the Capitol Preservation Board gave a presentation on the Capitol Renovation. I love State Capitol buildings, and I absolutely love our Capitol Building. I love that I live right by the capitol, but I hate that it’s been dark for the past few years and surrounded by heaps of dirt and yellow tape. Last week I drove up Apricot Avenue and saw even more lights coming on the capitol building as I pulled into my drivewy. It made me so happy. I volunteered to be a docent for the re-opening tours, so I’m excited about that.

If you’re interested, you should visit utahstatecapitol.utah.gov. They have a lot of photographs on there. They have a virtual tour you can take, and they even have webcams logging the construction from day one so you can see a time lapse progression video from different angles of the Hill. Pretty exciting stuff!