Once when I was working at The Houston Post between 1989 and 1995, I had to go to a training class right after lunch. Training classes scheduled right after lunch are an abomination in my opinion.
I was late to this particular training class and all of the chairs facing the presenter were already taken. So I had to sit in a chair that was lined up against the wall. I was facing the space between the audience of my coworkers and the person teaching the class.
The class was boring and my high carbohydrate lunch stated to kick in so, naturally, I start to doze off. My chin hit my chest numerous times which would wake me up, but then I really dozed off. At some point I guess I dreamed I was falling. It turns out I actually was falling. Forward out of my chair. I woke up just in time to stumble several steps forward out of my chair and ended up in between the audience and the presenter. Everyone laughed. I was so embarrassed that I just walked out.
Another embarrassment was meeting my friend Macarena. My sister-in-law, Christine, introduced her to our whole family when we were all gathered at Easter a long time ago.
Macarena is the second youngest child out of nine siblings. Her family members were migrant workers so they moved around a lot but the valley in south Texas was their home and they had one bathroom for 11 people.
After lunch I needed to go to the restroom so I went down the hall and was standing there but hadn’t started when the door opens and she walks in and closes the door behind her and leans up against the sink and starts talking as if this is the most common thing in the world.
I zipped and buttoned back up very quickly and walked out. To this day she has no idea how embarrassed I was. She just thought I was being chivalrous and letting the lady go first.
Evidently in the valley chatting and waiting your turn in the bathroom is perfectly normal, but it was the first time it had ever happened to me.
I was embarrassed twice in the same story when I worked at The Greensheet.
One of my coworkers was about to have a baby so I decided to get her a gift certificate, and I knew other coworkers would want to chip in so I sent them all a message saying the pregnant coworker was about to “domino.” No one got it. They thought they were chipping in for pizza. I felt embarrassed and old.
Anyway, I would find money on my desk for several days after that and I knew what it was for so I added it to the gift card money.
One day I found some baby shoes and a pacifier on my desk from my coworker, Pam. It never occurred to me that they were for the pregnant coworker. I thought they were for me so I took them home.
That night I tried the shoes on my baby, a pug named Sweet Pea, which she didn’t like very much. And she wanted nothing to do with the pacifier. I posted a picture of her sniffing around her gifts on my social media and tagged Pam.
I was never so embarrassed as that night when everyone was laughing at me for thinking the baby stuff was for my baby. I stole shoes and a pacifier from a baby who hadn’t even been born yet. I never lived that down with my coworkers.
I can laugh now about all my little embarrassments even when, at the time, I thought I never would. Funny how some of our most embarrassing moments can turn into some of our lives best laughs.
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