*wipes brow* we did it! it's over! no more auction stuff for another good 8-10 months... phew!
as usual, bumps and grooves pop up when you least expect them, however it did still go better than the previous year's event! we had lots more stuff, way yummier food, and a higher level of original organization!
Obviously, once you get too many hands in the pot, and the recipe isn't laid out explicitly... and there are a buttload head chefs in the mix... it gets a bit crazyfied-wompy! However we held it together better than I'd have expected under the circumstances!
First and foremost it simply baffles me that people would actually have the audacity to not only expect us to be ready for "check-out" mere seconds after an intense silent auction of over 100 items, but to also be snippy/haughty/put-off when we were calmly explaining that was not the case (all the while feverishly sorting through pages and pages of info, bids, etc.) "I have a dinner party!"
"I've got a 2 year old!"
"Can I just pay later?"
Get a grip people... it's an event! There's still a live auction going on only feet away...
What complete order we had acquired and maintained all the while explaining ourselves redundantly to pestering folk, was lost and sent to Helena's home once handed to the next couple of volunteers who were mostly trying to kissbum™ vs. maintain 'the system'. So over an hours headache later we were deservedly brainstorming for next year's improvement upon the very system that fell apart this go'round.
We talked, jotted down notes... and I got the sudden revelation/epiphany of electronization... so it is now my goal to further discuss this with techy-folk and/or come up with my own data-base style functioning system that would suffice and ease said situation for the future! *beaming, al the while wheels still spinning*
On a more fun/functional note: I got a couple sweet items.
- Blue Princess Dress for miss ella-bella... my favorite little princess-pie. It's this lovely royal blue velvet top, with shimmery light blue wisps of silky chiffony stuff cascading down as the skirt... *sigh*
- Cat Basket filled to the brim with fun toys, vitamins?, shampoos... and more than you could possibly think of... top it all off with a $50 certificate towards a local veterinarian!? I was sold [for only $29: a steal!]
I was so excited to get it to her that I drove my the Rand's to see if they were still up.
They were just wrapping up with the Beckman's et al. and invited me for a final round of UltimateUno.
She'll certainly be thrilled they assured me! woo hoo!
Pacey's more interested in the golden curly ribbon attached to the basket, at the moment... we'll release the toys one by one for a while, as they lose interest and/or disappear into the oblivion of prior cat-toy heaven!