RSS FeedNew Years Eve Party
It’s been a long standing tradition that on New Years Eve, rather than go out and brave the wild and crazy parties, instead we invite over some friends for some games. This year was no exception.
Yesterday started with me returning to work after 9 days off. It ended up being a half-day and we were let go at 11 AM. That gave me enough time to deal with approximately 1000 emails I had received over the past week. The funny part was, out of all of them, there were less than 10 that I actually had to reply to or deal with in some way. After work a small group of us went over to Buffalo Wild Wings for some lunch and a few beers.
We did a little bit of shopping for the party and then came home to straighten up the house. I then took a 2 hour nap in preparation for staying up late. I don’t know if there is anything I enjoy more than a nice mid-afternoon nap.
People started showing up shortly after 7:00. We had some snacks and then I made a batch of Strawberry Margaritas. I haven’t made them in quite a while, but I sure do enjoy them! I normally add a little bit of sugar, but forgot in the first batch. I was reminded of that fact and fixed the situation for batch #2.
When Sarah showed up, she had brought a bottle of Jager and also some banana flavoredMalibu rum, which I had never had before. She mixed a drink for Chris with some rum and OJ. Wow was that good! I’m talking DANGEROUS good. Tastes like candy, but puts you on your butt after you realize you’ve had 3 glasses.
Another drink that I tried last night for the first time was Tequiza. It’s beer made with blue agave. It has a hint of lime flavor as well. I may just have to pick up some of those for the next poker night. It was really good!
The group had a good time playing Rock Band. We all took turns on drums, guitar, bass and vocals. Rock Band is the ultimate party game. Several times we had 4 players playing and a group of people watching and singing along in the background. They even let me butcher a few songs on vocals. I may not be able to sing, but I was still able to get a 98% score singing Radiohead’s Creep. I was pretty stoked on that!
We also played a game called Taboo. I found out something quite interesting about that game. I am way better at playing that game after having a few drinks. I have played the game before and have NEVER done so well.
Thanks to those of you who came over to share in the fun of counting down the end of 2007! I had a great time. I look forward to many more opportunities to get together with you all again in 2008!!
Before I go, here’s a video of Paxton on Guitar, Me on Drums, Craig on Bass and Ashley & Marcia on Vocals playing the Clash’s Should I Stay or Should I go. Enjoy
Cheers.
Secret Santa day plus company gifts
Today at the office, a group of us all swapped Secret Santa gifts. I have to say that the gift I was given is absolutely perfect for me and I will DEFINITELY put it to use. It’s a desktop charging station. You put a power strip inside it and then there are 3 spots on top, plus a tray in the front where you can set items like cameras and cell phones when they need to be charged. The charging cords are all out of the way and kept neat and tidy. I currently don’t know who my Secret Santa was, but I thank you very much (whoever you are).
I was happy to see the reaction from the person for whom I played Secret Santa. We picked up a gift set from Bath and Bodyworks. It came with a purse plus 3 full-size bottles of lotion, bath gel and one other item. I got an awesome deal on it, so she was convinced that we went way over our $20 limit. Not so. I’m just that good of a shopper. OK, fine. I got lucky.
Today was also the day that our company handed out some other gifts. Each employee was given a list of 9 gift packages that we could choose from. I decided on the iPod Nano 3rd Gen. Yes, I already have a Nano, but not one of the new ones that plays videos. My Son has already asked if he can have my old one. We’ll see how it goes.
Speaking of the family, tonight was pretty cool. I got to play Rock Band with both of my kids. I played drums, my Son played guitar and my Daughter sang. We performed Bon Jovi’s Wanted Dead or Alive. It was so much fun playing with both of them. We then switched it up to let my Daughter play drums. That didn’t go so well and we ended up quitting. I tried to get her to go back on vocals, but she didn’t know any of the other songs on the list and didn’t want to play anymore. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted. Hopefully we can talk her in to playing again.
Holiday Party Hangover
Last night was our company holiday party. 10 years ago the Christmas party was Me, the boss and our wives having dinner at TGI Fridays. Our party is now held at Mandalay Bay, has over 500 guests and requires months of planning. I’d say we’ve come a long way.
We started out having a few cocktails and then everybody was called to their seats for dinner. Before dinner was served they showed a pretty cool presentation of some accomplishments the company has had this year. Our CEO and President then took turns congratulating different teams and departments for some more specific projects and accomplishments.
The dinner was quite tasty. It was the first time I had ever had lobster bisque. It was excellent. I’m always amazed at how dinner can be served for over 500 guests and the food comes out hot and doesn’t taste like cardboard. I tip my hat to the people who make that happen.
After dinner they had some drawings for gift cards and an iPod Nano. Then a live band took the stage. They are apparently a lounge act from Caeser’s Palace. Taking nothing away from them as a band, I think it would have been better to have a DJ instead. We tried to tip the band $15 to play some Twisted Sister. They handed us our money back.
We had some more cocktails and then had more cocktails. After that, I think we may have had a couple more cocktails. As the party started to thin out, we headed up to a suite where about 20 of us hung out and had some more cocktails and a few shots of tequila.
Around 1 AM we left the party and stopped by the Forty Deuce night club to try and find some more folks from work who were hosting a get together. There was a line to get in, but I was able to talk my way past the line. I was pretty happy with myself about that. Unfortunately, once we got inside, the place was JAM PACKED and we weren’t able to find who we were looking for. We decided to call it a night and we headed back to our hotel room. I passed out almost instantly.
We woke up this morning around 8:30. I had a pounding headache and my stomach was doing cartwheels. I was in that weird spot where I thought I would feel better if I threw up. Instead we got dressed and headed home. I had a little bit to eat and took some Advil. thankfully, I started feeling better right away.
I spent some time going through all the photos I took at the party. You can see most of them on Flickr.
I had a great time at the party. I don’t even mind the hangover.
