surprise at work

Sales are down, my boss (whom I love) is moving to another floor, and someone in Houston took back a "final sale" item I sold last week and now I am hit with a $400 return that should never have hapened.

So the day is starting poorly.

I spent the past week trying to resolve (eventually successfully) a time-off error. After many hours and many emails and many different faceless people (payroll is handled by people we never meet and can only be reached via email), I finally get everything resolved, thanks mostly to a responsible person in Pennsylvania.

So coming in and seeing the phone in the area where I work (still not working after three weeks) and then seeing a return that shouldn't have happened, immediately puts me in a bad mood. But the phone finally gets fixed; I get over the return that shouldn't have been; and I get into the rhythm of the day.

I approach a guy, who turns out to be from Brazil. We start talking and it turns out he knows of my friend Zelia who was once the country's Minister of Economy (everyone from Brazil either knows or knows of, Zelia). But even more interesting, this man was a student of Zelia's when she was a professor. He gives me his card and I immediately call my friend to tell her.

Then, a few hours later, this woman gets off the elevator, looks at me and says, "Lyn. It's Pam."  Someone I worked with at Unilever in the mid-80's. She looks exactly the same as she did 30 years ago. Pam is smart and talented, and went on to helm major marketing divisions at top entertainment companies.  Though she says I said I look the same too (Pam really does), I'm not so sure.

1987; ad shoot for the revolutionary extra strength aim which was supposed to revolutionize dental care; it didn't

1987; with Jean-Luc and Micahel; the Aim team (which Pam later joined)

at my Unilever Office (with my boss Patrick), which Pam reminded me  had a peach-colored rug that I got permission to have installed

and Pam at my 1992 Baby Shower; she looks the same, but even better.