Friday, December 17, 2004
Precious Moments
My office had its annual "holiday party" last night, which, since we have no budget for a party, is actually just a bunch of people who don't know each other all that well going to a bar and buying their own beer. Which does not, however, mean that it was free of the expected debauchery. Drinks with whimsical names and hefty alcohol content were consumed. Slapping fights broke out. People were paid for doing things to other people. Oh, and there was karaoke. Anyone who tells you I don't perform the world's finest rendition of Mariah Carey's "Hero" is a goddamned liar.
So today, needless to say, the office is pretty much a ghost town (spooky!). I got in at 8:45 because I was expecting an important call (read: actually work-related) and it was a good 45 minutes before anyone else staggered in. I counted three separate "coffee and bagel runs" made by coworkers before lunchtime. And I caught one of my co-workers trying to sleep on the floor behind his desk. Must be a flu bug going around, eh?
I think we've all really learned a lot about each other. Perhaps not as much as at last year's party, when intoxication led to a rather frank discussion of some rather taboo sexual practices, but there was learning nonetheless. I heard a number of coworkers' childhood anecdotes that really should be preserved for qualified helping professionals, and found out some rather amusing middle names. Perhaps most disturbingly, I was treated to a rather extended discourse on someone's college thesis. I think it had to do with Kant, but it was hard to tell under the weight of all those adjectives.
Regardless, I think even my hangover-saddled co-workers would agree that whatever suffering the office party may cause, it's more than balanced by the day-to-day lessening of pain that actually knowing and liking the people you work with can bring. We're going to suffer, sure, but at least we'll all suffer together.
My office had its annual "holiday party" last night, which, since we have no budget for a party, is actually just a bunch of people who don't know each other all that well going to a bar and buying their own beer. Which does not, however, mean that it was free of the expected debauchery. Drinks with whimsical names and hefty alcohol content were consumed. Slapping fights broke out. People were paid for doing things to other people. Oh, and there was karaoke. Anyone who tells you I don't perform the world's finest rendition of Mariah Carey's "Hero" is a goddamned liar.
So today, needless to say, the office is pretty much a ghost town (spooky!). I got in at 8:45 because I was expecting an important call (read: actually work-related) and it was a good 45 minutes before anyone else staggered in. I counted three separate "coffee and bagel runs" made by coworkers before lunchtime. And I caught one of my co-workers trying to sleep on the floor behind his desk. Must be a flu bug going around, eh?
I think we've all really learned a lot about each other. Perhaps not as much as at last year's party, when intoxication led to a rather frank discussion of some rather taboo sexual practices, but there was learning nonetheless. I heard a number of coworkers' childhood anecdotes that really should be preserved for qualified helping professionals, and found out some rather amusing middle names. Perhaps most disturbingly, I was treated to a rather extended discourse on someone's college thesis. I think it had to do with Kant, but it was hard to tell under the weight of all those adjectives.
Regardless, I think even my hangover-saddled co-workers would agree that whatever suffering the office party may cause, it's more than balanced by the day-to-day lessening of pain that actually knowing and liking the people you work with can bring. We're going to suffer, sure, but at least we'll all suffer together.
