Christmas Party

Our office shut down today at 1130 for its annual Christmas Party. The format was identical to last years, and it was at the same place we had it last year. Being armed with this information, I maneuvered just a little differently this year:

1. DRINK MORE: Last year, our office arrived half an hour late and didn't get to enjoy the entire duration of the open bar, and once we went down to the formal lunch, there were no more drinks. This year, I managed to get the entire office there on time drinking three Scotches before they closed the bar, and taking a 4th to my table.
   
2. EAT MORE APPETIZERS: I tried to fill up on the hors d'œuvre as the formal lunch itself is horrid. Tough pan-fried beast & chicken. The hors d'œuvre on the other hand were fantastic!
   
3. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE CHOCOLATE FOUNTAIN:
It has been twelve months to the day since I last partook of the chocolate fountain. This time, I came prepared to face that chocolate fountain, and win. I may have rec'd some battle scars in the processes, but I gave it a go.

There was one constant: Sit betwix galinda822 and bigdog_etc. Always a good call. They do a great job of insulating me from myself after three drinks of scotch. There was also something new I tried that I will remember not to do next year - seeking out complete strangers to fill your table. Live & learn, I suppose.

Burkalurkadurka

Kids went to a birthday party today - they were gone 4 hours. I wish I could tell you that I took this opportunity to clean the backyard of all the branches which had fallen over the course of the ice storm, but that would be misleading as it would suggest some sort of internal motivation. Rather, my wife encouraged me to do so. Once all that was finished, the birthday boy showed up at the house asking if we'd seen our daughter, as they couldn't find her. Thankfully, neither my wife nor I flew into a blind panic. I don't know what kept her level headed, but I simply assumed she was small and therefore overlooked. The mother in charge of the party was more anxious than I was, but my daughter was quickly found in a restroom after an emergency in which her need for assistance frustrated her independent nature and she was mulling over this dilemma in silence.

Spent an hour visiting with our neighbors from Bethlehem after which we agreed to attend a cultural Arab party in late January. I'm pretty sure we'll be the only Caucasians there. It was a nice visit though, as I'm familiar with many of their customs from my time in Saudi, and my wife being a lover of Mediterranean cuisine (their cuisine seemed to run about half Med and half Mid East). Oh, and they brewed some strong Turkish coffee for us (as is their custom). My first fully-leaded cup of coffee in over a month, and sweetened something fierce. I'll probably remain in a zombie-like state for the duration of the weekend because of it; not being able to sleep, yet not being truly awake.

Burned the remainder of Battlestar Galactica Season 3 from my TiVo for Bill. Cannot WAIT for the Season 3 soundtrack. The piano solos were beautiful. I want. Badly. La La Land Records is of course not even accepting pre-orders yet. *Le sigh.*