Office Party

Time once again for that time-honored tradition, the office Christmas party. As parties go, ours is rather tame. We have it on the sports court in the university sports annex (the fancy name for the deep underground college bar, bowling alley and all purpose sports court). The ceiling is thirty feet high, so it's difficult to hear. All the heat rises, and we freeze.

Still, it's free food (last year we ran out of food early), beer (you never run out of beer on a college campus), wine (poured from those little single-serving bottles) and soda. And door prizes, culled from the stash of vendor give-aways our purchasing director squirrels away all year, supplemented by a few gift cards and centerpieces. The centerpiece I won is rather nice, actually.

We once again had a silent auction, although this year I wasn't in charge (last year I said I would only do it for one year, and I managed to stick to that). One of our staffers' family runs a Hmong grocery/deli - she donated a pig roast to the auction. Our directors won the bid, so it seems as if next springs picnic will be a pig roast.

We did play one game - each table was given a sheet of alternately titled Christmas carols to unscramble. Our table finished about ten minutes ahead of everyone else, but a couple of us are word-nuts, and the clues are very similar to cryptic crossword clues. You've seen the puzzles:

Far Off in a Feeder*

Loyal Followers Advance

Jehovah Deactivate Blithe Chevaliers

Arrival time: 2400 hours - Weather: Cloudless

All this fun, and still home by 5:15 (we started the party at 2:00). There is a bunch of guys who will stay at the bar for at least another hour, but most of the women still have shopping to do. I need to figure out exactly what I really need to get done at work tomorrow, as it is my last day in the office until January 7th. Woo hoo!

*Away in a Manger; O Come, All Ye Faithful; God Rest Ye, Merry Gentlemen; It Came Upon a Midnight Clear