On the Company Christmas Party

I didn't drink anything alcoholic last night (despite the availability of lots of free booze), so why does my head hurt today? *mutters grumpily*

While I totally failed the schmoozing part of the program (I stood around and looked awkward instead), I did find the event fairly interesting. Too bad I didn't take pictures.

Nobody got dead drunk, though many got tipsy. It's hard not to get tipsy, I suppose - the first thing the waitress does upon seeing arrivals is to offer cocktails.

People are a little strange when they are tipsy. Well, more ridiculous than merely "strange", actually; no surprises there. Quite a few giggles and unusual ravings about silly things.

Being feminine in a formal setting is a challenge, as well. Youtube is actually quite useful as a crash course in makeup application. I still fail at using eyeliner, but the rest looked ok. I think. Nobody laughed outright, anyway. Also, high heels, despite the height advantage they confer, are deadly. Not only are they painful to wear, they lack sufficient friction on icy ground to make walking at my usual rate an option. How can people do this on a daily basis, I have no idea.

The jazz ensemble in attendance is pretty decent. Lots of random solos; why am I not surprised? However, the keyboardist's stage piano is absolutely lovely - a Roland RD-700GX! (That's Roland's top-of-the-line stage piano, by the way.) Most handsome being in the room that evening, I tell you, despite being a completely professional stage piano (i.e. far too many buttons, bells and whistles for an amateur player).

Something I've wanted to say to various guys throughout the party, but never did: No, I don't need you to get a drink for me. If I had wanted one, I would have gotten one myself. Now go away.

(In the end, I got myself a glass of water, just to shut people up. "Hey, look, I got a drink! It's water, though.")

Randomly, my boss wore a graph-paper dress shirt with his suit to the party. It was a wonderful shirt! (However, I felt no temptation to graph on it, since I don't like curve sketching anyway.)

More randomly, a senior member of the company cornered me to quiz me about my university, because his child is at the "where should I apply next year?" stage. I hope my sales pitch was sufficient.

Most randomly of all: the keyboardist hit on me. That was quite strange! Such a thing had never, ever happened to me before. You can tell how mentally mature my coworkers and their significant others are by comparing their reactions - most of my coworkers laughed (the bastards*), while their companions tend to be much nicer - even parental - about it.

Overall, it was a worthwhile party to go to, if only to find out from attending coworkers how a major project went. (The answer: the experiments worked, if imperfectly. Yay!) School and work are much easier than social interactions!

And now, one day later, I sit, slacking off. Must...write...reports...

*My coworkers all enjoy swearing; I fear that they have unduly influenced my own diction, as well.