Not so bright and early

If yesterday was my motivated morning, today is kind of the opposite.  Last night was my companies Winter Party.  After spending about two and a half hours there, my friends and I headed to a local dive bar for some karaoke for a few hours. 

It was a good night...in fact, despite the fact that I didn't win the Bed and Breakfast basket raffle at the party, it was actually a great night.  Early on, I was did my part by acting a curmudgeon...I had to spend half an hour watching videos so I could remember how to knot a tie.  Dress for my company party is a varied thing...everything from jeans and nice shirts/sweaters to full on suits.  Last year I wore nice slacks and a brand new Hawaiian shirt, but this year my wife begged me to wear a dress shirt and tie, her point being that we have been together about 12 years, and she has only seen me in a tie 3 times so far.

Pain in the butt, and I felt like I was choking the first hour, but, my wife...she's worth the effort and discomfort.

Compared to previous years, the party was a bit...reserved.  Contract negotiations are still not going well, and so there was not a lot of craft participation.  Also, with budgets becoming an issue, there weren't quite as many gifts given out as there had been previous years. Still, it's a quite a party, and both this one and the summer picnic are different from the parties I went to in The Shipyard...those were potluck type get togethers with volunteers setting up, tearing down and manning the grill.  At this company, they are catered affairs, and, yeah, it's nice to show off your beautiful wife sometimes without having to bring your own cooler or get grease splattered on you manning the grill.

Karaoke was fun.  We were seriously overdressed for the bar, but we were with a group, so, who cares.  The tie stayed on until my 2nd song.  It had worked with Billy Joel but after that, I moved a bit more uptempo.  I was a meanie, because I made my wife order her own drinks at the bar...I just could bring myself to walk up to the bar with a bunch of bikers standing there and order a 'Shirley Temple'.  Yeah, I'm lame. 

Now, it's Saturday.  At some point, my wife and I will head to the new house, and make progress for the day.  I only accomplished about half of what I wanted to yesterday, and the wife needs to mud and prime the guest room.  We'll stick the girls in the family room with the kindle or lap-top for a few hours, and hopefully have a productive day.