Dinner with Colleagues. Man, We're Getting Old.
Two Nights in San Diego #4
Back at the hotel - Wed, 26 Jun 2024, 9pm
This evening my two colleagues and I who traveled to San Diego for a couple of customer visits met for dinner. Perhaps this is what May, my sales colleague, intended when he told me to arrive in time for dinner last night.
Business dinner was nice. The pick of a restaurant was good. The camaraderie was good. The casual format and flow of booze helped loosen up the conversation a bit. I gained some insights I never would have heard during ordinary business hours.
Speaking of the flow of booze... it wasn't as much as you might think. We're all getting older. 😂
First, there was a "social hour" at the hotel 4-5pm with an open bar I had a free pass to as a benefit of my Marriott Lifetime Titanium status. Neither of my colleagues were interested in joining me. They wanted to go back to their rooms before dinner to rest and call their their families. I decided just to rest in my room, too. Wow, "Free beer!" is no longer enough to draw me out.
At dinner we all started with cocktails then ordered more drinks as food arrived. I was the heavy-drinking leader. I had four drinks over the course of two hours. May had three, West had two. (Despite the pseudonyms I'm using, May and West are both men. And none of us are literal lightweights.)
Early in the evening I had suggested that we could enjoy a nightcap at the hotel bar after dinner. As another elite status perk (plus a comp for being assigned an unclean room when I initially checked in) I had four free-drink coupons. May and West were both interested- before dinner. When push came to shove after dinner, though, once again "Free beer!" wasn't enough to draw any of us out. We all bade each other good night after walking back from the restaurant. I've been resting up in my room for the past 45 minutes and figure I'm in for the night now.
Back at the hotel - Wed, 26 Jun 2024, 9pm
This evening my two colleagues and I who traveled to San Diego for a couple of customer visits met for dinner. Perhaps this is what May, my sales colleague, intended when he told me to arrive in time for dinner last night.
Business dinner was nice. The pick of a restaurant was good. The camaraderie was good. The casual format and flow of booze helped loosen up the conversation a bit. I gained some insights I never would have heard during ordinary business hours.
Speaking of the flow of booze... it wasn't as much as you might think. We're all getting older. 😂
First, there was a "social hour" at the hotel 4-5pm with an open bar I had a free pass to as a benefit of my Marriott Lifetime Titanium status. Neither of my colleagues were interested in joining me. They wanted to go back to their rooms before dinner to rest and call their their families. I decided just to rest in my room, too. Wow, "Free beer!" is no longer enough to draw me out.
At dinner we all started with cocktails then ordered more drinks as food arrived. I was the heavy-drinking leader. I had four drinks over the course of two hours. May had three, West had two. (Despite the pseudonyms I'm using, May and West are both men. And none of us are literal lightweights.)
Early in the evening I had suggested that we could enjoy a nightcap at the hotel bar after dinner. As another elite status perk (plus a comp for being assigned an unclean room when I initially checked in) I had four free-drink coupons. May and West were both interested- before dinner. When push came to shove after dinner, though, once again "Free beer!" wasn't enough to draw any of us out. We all bade each other good night after walking back from the restaurant. I've been resting up in my room for the past 45 minutes and figure I'm in for the night now.