The Sisterfriends Luncheon or "WE'RE BITCHES," Part Deaux...The Aftermath

Hello my Lovelies!

It's your Cheetah Diva here with the what's happening in her life and why am I not married to Idris Elba yet.

A few weeks or a month ago, I wrote a blog entitled, "WE'RE BITCHES! The Odd Ratchetness of Black Women in the Workplace." It was about the lack of trust that we have with each other in the work place and my desire to see us more unified. One of the things that I suggested was for sistas to get together and have a lunch; have a relaxing afternoon and just enjoy one another.

Well, I don't like to talk about it; I'm all about "be about it." I was leery of the idea (because, you know...some situations are just too ratchet for words), but at the end of the day, I can't say I'm "be about it" if I don't. I decided to throw caution to the wind and host a luncheon with the black women - my treat.

It's not like I'm a balla, shot caller, but I can shave off a few bucks to invite the women to lunch, so what I did was issue a Sisterfriends Luncheon and invited all of the black women in the office.  Not counting myself, there are fifteen (15) others in the office and in the end, ten came on board, three had other plans, one had religious observances, and one I didn't get a response from.

I was more than overjoyed and humbled that I had as many people as I did. Sometimes you never know what to expect and ten was more than I could hope for. I was paying for lunch and since I had a recently diagnosed heart condition, I needed to go where the food won't kill me.

You know how I feel about the "cuisine" in ATHell.

So anyhoo, this guy at work suggested "Sweet Tomatoes," a restaurant chain solely devoted to the culinary need of Today's Grazer, plus they do have some pasta and soup options.  Hmmm...not a bad idea...let's go with that.

As time progressed, two cancelled with other plans but expressed their apologies and I was cool with it.  On the TLC tip, I would have loved for the newest member of the division to come.  She's our Barack Obama in the office but she was moving this weekend, so we'll have to catch her on the upswing. At the end, eight had confirmed: Tahanee, Denise, Laurel, Kindra, Maxine, Lolita, Teresa and Denesha. I was really excited and in the interim, decided to honor my guests with gifts.  The ones who couldn't make it, I bought them a small token to show how much I appreciated them for considering the outing.

So Friday came and that morning, I was actually having panic attacks. I can't explain it but it was really weird; the anxiety. You never know what's going to happen and sure enough, at the appointed time, someone almost hit us as we were getting onto the on ramp, and then there was a near accident as we were getting on the off ramp.

Aint that some shit?  Muthafucka in a cab almost hit my beautiful silver Divamobile! I woulda whupped his bitch ass on the side of the GA400!  I just can't escape drama...

So we made it to the restaurant - I had never been there before so I almost took the wrong exit but the other vehicle got there and I followed her in.

What?  I'm a steak and eggs person...I see this place all the time but I had no idea.

So we all get there; some of us a few minutes later and one had to cancel at the last minute but we got food, sat down, got gifts, and you know what?

We had a good time.

I got to know a little bit more about my co-workers, got to see how they are outside of the work environment and had some really good food.  Well, I didn't like the soup and the mac 'n cheese but I wasn't suppose to have it anyway. There was no stress, drama or hateration, and in the end, it was the perfect ending to the week. I had forgotten how nice it was to go to work and have a good time. Those times are few and far in between for me and I appreciated everyone who came and also those who didn't.

Now, this isn't to say that I'm going to call each one of them and say, "hey girl, let's go out!"  I don't think it'll happen that way and truth be told, it wasn't supposed to happen like that but who's to say?  What I wanted these women to take away from this is we're strong in the work place; we have a voice that deserves to be heard and we're here.  We aint going nowhere and if push comes to shove, we have someone to talk to and to lean on. Perhaps when we pass each other in the hallway or in the break room, instead of wondering about the drama in her life, we'll smile brightly and remember a nice person and a wonderful afternoon. Who knows? Maybe it will open the door to more outings; perhaps going to the movies, Dave and Busters excursions, museums, uh, other stuff...what is there to do in ATHell other than go to a booty club?  Eh? Time will tell.

My week up until Thursday was really long and sucky. In fact, I was Giver of Not Nam Gatdamn. It was that bad. However, by Friday afternoon I walked around with a smile on my face.

Overall, it was the best week ever.

Ciao for now!

nnb