-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

glad *that* is over . . .

The department holiday party is dead and buried for yet another year, and I couldn't be more relieved.

the good:
- it's over

- Mr. Hubby looked fantastic and schmoosed with the muck-a-mucks like a pro, bringing dignity to well-groomed ponytails everywhere.

- other than telling someone WAAAAAAY up on the totem pole "I'd go all ninja" if he touched my computer, I *think* I mostly managed to keep my spazziness to myself.

- I got to bring home leftover crackers and fancy cheese.

the bad:
- my higher-on-the-totem-pole work buddy who was supposed to help me with the music was too sick to attend the party, and therefore could not bring his speakers, so I ended up using two sets of desktop speakers (with two small bass boosters running from my Mac laptop to try to play music in a large ballrom containing about 90 people an any given time. I was way more comfortable with the idea of sharing the blame if the music and/or setup sucked, but instead it was all my fault.

- hardly anyone had any sort of reaction to the music because they were to busy schmoosing and talking business. In past years, there was dancing to a live band, better (dimmer) lighting, and people were much less uptight.

- I tried to hide my disapointment by drinking too much Shiraz, then pouting anyway and loudly declaring that I was going to make ice cubes out of cafienated water next year.

- My (immaculately tidy) immediate manager and her policeman husband gave me a ride home at the end of the evening and helped me bring my speakers and food loot inside. I was too busy and intoxicated to think to call Mr. Hubby (who left the party earlier) to warn him we were on our way. Fortunately he was still awake and in his party clothes, unfortunately the front hallway was a complete mess and the smell of litterbox may have been wafting in from the laundryroom closet. Oh, and I (atypically) haven't run a vaccuum in the front room for over a week, so my red-wine colored carpet is very noticably heavily confettied with four kinds of fur. My dog and two of the three cats did their best to put on a complete cute spazcase floorshow and then tried to shed all over my highly-pet-alergic boss.

- As soon as they left I drunkenly made jokes about Suki-pup happily greeting the policeman "Sorry I didn't warn you there was a cop on the way, and hey - I think the dog has nark potential, even though she's normally intimidated by big guys, she was all over him!" . . . . *KNOCK*knock*KNOCK* on the door . . . . it was the policeman at the door, bringing me my holiday bonus envelope that I had stupidly left in the back of their SUV. I have no way of knowing if he overheard me, and if he would know that I was being faceous.

~ * ~ * ~ * ~

In other news:
good: I received a nice holiday bonus
bad: I had to spend all of it on new tires for my almost 18-year-old car and repairs to Mr. Hubby's 10-year-old car, not leaving enough to hire a plumber to fix the broken bathtub, I have to share "my" bathroom until tax refund time?

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

procastination (and shared territory)

Well, the holiday party is today and I only have two hours of "safe" jazz/holiday music sorted out. I should have put more time in yesterday, but I felt compelled to wash the dog (then blow dry her 'cause she's spoiled) then clean my (very furry) bathroom.

Seems like bad time management, and I don't have a fantastic explanation, but do know that my dog was smelly and my bathroom was getting grungy.

Once upon a time, the plumbing for the bathtub in our other bathroom worked properly, and I could deny Mr. Hubby access to the "guest" bathroom. Bliss I tell you - if there was hair on the floor, I knew it was mine. If there was water all over the sink stand, I knew it was because I forgot to wipe it up. I'm just glad we've been married for years before we had to start sharing a bathroom, the 30 second fights we have now would have been 30 minute fights back when we were still getting used to being married and living in our "own" house together.

Our house is warm, our bills paid, we've got more than enough food, and have family and friends who love us, so I have no grounds to pout about my place in life's pecking order. All the same, I'm really looking forward to having the "spare" money to fix the other "Mr. Hubby's hairball paradise" bathroom so I can have the "guest" bathroom all to myself once again.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

another intergalatic Elvis Sighting?

Elvis has a holiday joke for you:

Taa Daaaaa!

Thank you . . . . thank you very much

~ * ~ * ~ * ~
I simply cannot get enough of this guy - big thanks to MadameD for sending me this pic.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Run over by a Reindeer

Howdy do folks, long time no type, eh?

This is where I bitch and moan about holiday shopping and preparing for holiday travel, then become self conscious because I'm also grateful that I have people to shop for and visit. Phew!

Today, I dedided to take a much-needed afternoon off work after a mega-busy spree of papershuffling, phone calls, ego fluffing, ego smashing, and other office warfare. Daaaaaaaamn it feels good - no interruptions, no phone calls, no massive amounts of energy put into not telling people exactly where to stick it . . . . bliss I tell you.

Also? I have another mega-music-sorting-task ahead of me. In a perfect world, my full time job would be to sort music. I geek out like no otha, and take pride in doing so. 75% of my digital music collection is sorted and rated, it will be a happy happy day when I've rated the rest, then the "One star rating means marked for death" sorting begins.

Yeah, I'm a bit obsessive, but I think there is no harm in have a meticulous music collection - not like I'm a cat hoarder or spend all my spare money on stuffed animals or weird crap like that . . . but I digress.

I'm pulling together hours and hours of corporate-approvable music for my employer's holiday party. Which means I can potentially impress, bore, piss off or terrify all my coworkers at the same time. I'm aiming for somewhere between impressed and bored.

The first couple hours will be "safe" jazzy holiday schtuff, then the tough part - finding "safe" yet fun dance music for people whose backgrounds, income levels, and personalities vary drastically.

Since I don't want the evening to turn into a music democracy where someone else is drunkenly pawing at my laptop, I'm burning the music to hour-long discs - essentially establishing a music dictatorship. We're stuck with the music I bring, and can skip or repeat tracks as desired. I'm not being paid to be a DJ, and I'm not going to act like one.
nyeeeeeeh.

It's a crime against humanity, but I dont' think that Elvis will make the cut - although I have a fantastic recording of someone impersonating Porky Pig singing "Blue Christmas" in an Elvis-esque style - and I hope to slide it in along with some "Christmas with the Chipmunks" tracks. Hopefully the fuddies will have consumed enough alcohol to also find it freaking hilarious.

Today's question:
What's your *favorite* holiday track?
Mine is Brenda Lee's "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree".
That song makes me so happy I'm sure it would wake me from a coma.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

previous - next