Feeling professional.
Today I was sent on an errand to buy wine glasses for an Art Show Preview Party. I went to three separate stores with specific instructions to find the cheapest glasses that were as close a match as possible to one bubble-wrapped in my purse. I needed them to be in boxes. And I needed 60. When I finally made my selection, I requisitioned at least 4 separate store staff persons to help me find three cardboard boxes, wrap the large, breakable quantity of glass in paper and put them in the cart. The most official part of it was having a tax exemption form, which knocked a couple dollars off the purchase price and made me feel even more of an extraordinary customer.
The best part of it, though, was having a blank check. It was longer and wider than personal checks, and had the name of the foundation at the top, and a signature at the bottom. Even though at first I was mortally afraid of losing it when it was first handed to me, it was cool in the end when I filled it out as if I did this every day. I had to show my driver's license to the store representative, who took down my license number and my DOB before running the check through a machine and calling over his superior to validate it.
Ironically, I think the reason why this was fun was because it isn't my real job. It was almost like playing pretend but as a grownup at work instead of a kid at play. If I really did do this every day, I imagine I would get inured to it and it wouldn't seem out of the ordinary to me. In fact, it would probably feel more like an irksome chore. But that's why I'm glad it wasn't.
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