All Things Bubba

Okay, everyone loves a white Christmas, but this is ridiculous. We got about 15" this afternoon. As if that's not bad enough...they're predicting another 7" tomorrow night, from a different storm. Arrrghhh. Make it stop!

Today was the office Christmas party. Our office parties are tedious at best, but this one was really dreary. They moved it up to 11am (from noon), hoping to get it over with sooner so people could get home before the roads got too bad. A lot of people just didn't bother to show up. They either didn't want to drive in the snow, or their kids' schools were closed and they had no child care. Those who were there were nervously checking the weather.

Though they moved the party up, lunch was actually served late. It was 1:30pm when the entrees finally appeared. I think the kitchen staff was probably short-handed, with a lot of people calling in because of the weather. We were all getting really antsy. Not because we were hungry, but because we wanted to get it over with and go home. When we finally got our food, we scarfed it down and hit the road. No hanging around for coffee, no mingling to catch up with the retirees who only show up once a year at the Christmas party, no games of darts or billiards, no hitting other bars afterwards. Usually, I'm one of the first to sneak out, but this time, I was one of the last there. (And I didn't stay long. I left at about 2pm - half an hour after lunch was served.) It was unreal. Some people even took their meals to go.

Nobody really enjoys the Christmas party, even when it's not in the middle of a blizzard. It's such a hectic time of year that an office party is more a burden than a pleasure. Some have suggested not bothering, and instead having a summer picnic as our social function/team building exercise. There would be no snow worries, and we could do a potluck, which would be cheaper than going to a restaurant or hiring a caterer.

I like the idea, but the brass probably doesn't. They're very traditional. I suspect they'd be very hurt that people didn't appreciate their Christmas party.

Anyways, I had only a two-mile drive home, but it was harrowing. The roads were really awful. I skidded trying to turn onto my street (even though I wasn't going very fast). I could not turn the car in time, and ended up stuck in the middle of the intersection when the light changed. Luckily, there was no one behind me, so I could back up, out of the intersection, and try again when the light turned green. Parking was also a nightmare. There wasn't that much snow at the time, but it was pretty greasy.

Some of my coworkers had to drive an hour or more home. That must have been really awful.

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