Adventures of a Midwestern Girl in Sunny, Sunny California

Last weekend was MPOW’s holiday party. It was much like last year’s party: same band, same food selection, same open bar. This was absolutely fine with me because I had a great time last year. Frankly, I had a bit too good of a time last year. The open bar is both the best thing and the worst thing. I had several too many at last year’s party and, on Monday morning, I was a wee bit nervous going into work. I had only been there 5 months at that point and didn’t want to have done something foolish. It’s not like I was retching in the corner or grabbing one of the partners on the ass, but I was quite inebriated. Fortunately, I was not the only one by far. The only comment I heard on Monday was someone saying they liked my dancing, while I heard many stories of partners up on stage singing with the band. Attorneys at my firm, it seems, know how to party.

This year I was much better behaved. I still drank, but I interspersed my intake with liberal amounts of water. This year, I can remember which partners were on stage. . .

They were also taking “prom night”-type photos again this year. Last year, we had our picture taken too late, after I had already had one too many, and I looked very wild eyed. This year, I am quite pleased with the way it came out.

This weekend was Steve’s POW’s holiday party. It was much less fun. It reminded me very much of the Lucas holiday parties that were always events, not parties. It’s this whole thing that large companies seem to do. They hire an event planner and they rent a HUGE convention-type center. Then they hire “performance artists”. Shudder. How much did it cost to have that guy painted white, with the creepy red eyes, and wearing a toga stand motionless in the bonsai garden to look like a statue? How much did it cost to have a dance troupe dressed in housedresses do a sexy number about working women?

And why did the frumpy housedress-clad women suddenly whip off their housedresses and turn into golden-glitter sex kittens?

Could these things have paid for a decent band?

It reminded me of the last Lucas holiday party I went to where they spent an ass-load of money to bring in some weird dance group that put on this cheap Cirque du Soleil rip-off, to a techno beat, with strangely S&M moments scattered throughout. About 5 minutes in, Steve and I realized we would need a drink to get through it. We headed out to the bar, but the bartender told us she couldn’t serve us until after the performance. We thought maybe we would take in the employee art exhibit instead, but it, too, was closed during the show. There was NOTHING else to do while the show was going on. They might as well have locked us in the room with our eyes taped open.

But I digress. I really do appreciate the efforts that go into the holiday party, but I just don’t understand why the large companies think they have to throw a holiday event. Why don’t they realize all you need is good food, plenty of drink, and an excellent dance band and you have a party? Like the attorneys.

Needless to say, we didn’t stay long. We went with friends Brad and Susan after their Hanukkah party and we all called it quits by 9:30. I didn’t even get a henna tattoo because there was a big line for the 2 people they had at the henna tattoo station. I kid you not. What a let down.