Are We Going To The Mall?

After I graduated from Webster University, it didn't take long before they sent me the traditional letter from the alumni association asking me to become a donor.  Actually, they hit me up for a donation weeks before my diploma arrived in the mail.  As if the $16,000+ they'd already extracted from me for my Master's degree wasn't enough.  A few weeks later, they tried again - this time, with a different approach.  The next letter was an invitation for me to join the alumni association, and in turn, give a donation.  They even gave me a free gift to guilt me into giving them money - a small 15-page notepad with my name and the name of my degree on it.  That didn't work, either.   I did end up joining the alumni association, but they didn't get any more money from me. 

Last summer, a year later, I got another letter from the alumni association.  I was shocked when I read it and found out they weren't asking for any money; this time, they asked me to attend an organizational meeting for our local branch of the university's alumni association.  I thought this would be a great way to network and to keep in touch with my old classmates, so I made plans to attend.  When I walked in the school, I quickly discovered that the air conditioners weren't working at full capacity.  This was the end of June, and the temps were in the mid 90's.  It wasn't very pleasant, but after talking with a few friends, we decided to tough it out and stay for the meeting.  The campus director assured us the meeting would be brief.  Then the director introduced a fellow classmate who had volunteered to run our local chapter; she had spare time, as she was in between positions right now. Re: out of a job with no immediate prospects.  When he said her name, my friends and I looked at each other and picked our jaws up off of the floor - it was Annoying Girl.  The most annoying girl at Webster University's Jeffersonville campus was going to be in charge of our local alumni chapter!!???  We sat through the meeting, and the campus director took us aside and told us not to fear - once we had at least 20 people signed up, we would be a certified chapter and would have to elect officers, so we could campaign for votes and make sure Annoying Girl didn't get voted in. 

During our first meeting, we brainstormed and people gave suggestions for activities.  The rest of the summer, fall, and winter came and went and the group didn't go anywhere nor do anything.  Last week, I got an email from Annoying Girl saying that the alumini chapter would be going to play laser tag.  Yes, laser tag.  I quickly consulted my Executive Planner book, and found the notes I'd taken from the meeting last year.  After reading the list over three times, I still didn't see laser tag as one of the suggestions.  Not that I think people with Masters degrees are better than anyone else, but an evening of laser tag just seems out of place.  Maybe if this was a group of middle school students, it would seem appropriate.  I resisted the urge to hit "reply" and send a note back asking "What are we going to do next?  Go hang out at the mall?"