Holiday Hockey

I made a rare social appearance at the company holiday party last night. I skipped last years party and I felt kind of bad about it. Ever since I've started the corporate gig, I've tried hard keep separate my job and my life. I don't want all of my social dealings tied through my job. I can't live that way. Showing up once in a while lets them know that, well...I have social skills. I can kick it with all the smug bastards and manage to have a good time. Well, the rumours about these kinds of events are true. All the tightwads let loose and kind of surprise you with their behavior. The women seem to be more friendly with a drink in their hand. As usual, there's the predictable but suprising sexual encounter that everybody will whisper about the next day. The assholes, well...you can't complain when they buy you a shot. It's just like TV...and the comedy writes itself. Speaking of shots, I was sent to Planet Jagermeister twice. Mixed in with the vodka and Makers Mark...you can probably predict how my day went today. One boss suggests I switch to a 'better' brand of whiskey for a drink. Another boss gets me a shot of jager and walks out the door...what are they trying to do to me? Anywho, I took the free pass and showed up late in the morning...people were struggling, and production was low...all in all, it was a good but strange time.

Finally feeling normal for the first time in the day, I found myself at the United Center to see the hockey game. It was a classic matchup between the Wings and Hawks. I've heard that the crowd is pretty rowdy. The fans have a different form of sports culture. They watch intently in silence, are less creative in their taunts, and need the violence to keep them happy. Luckily, I was treated to a close game won by the hometeam in overtime. For it being the first NHL game I've ever been to, I got lucky. No zero - zero tie for me, folks. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see a fight. I've never seen man-to-man physical violence at a sporting event yet. The night featured nothing but bail outs and standoffs...even after the game. I got the good game tonight, but not the good fight...all in all, it was a good but strange time.

I'm really going to enjoy the day off tomorrow...I might even be more productive than I would be at work.

. . [~] . 0 (Grumble) Grumbles .