Christmas and Everything
Last night was my Mom's work's christmas party and I was the sacrificial +1. Apparently I'm not supposed to tell people that because to them it's a big deal. I can see how small-town Indiana may think that. It runs until 1 or 2 in the morning and there's free booze. The company also rents out the entire hotel it's in, so there are free rooms so there aren't also 50 accompanying DUIs. I figured that I'd let my dad off the hook this year because all he does there is argue with my mom's hopelessly (and radically) conservative co-workers about the effects coal is having on global warming. Also, I'm now old enough to drink.
Did I mention that my mom works at a coal company? Before my father got into a huge argument at the dinner table, we used to sit at her boss's table. No longer. I'm guessing both arguers were under the influence of alcohol. I'm also guessing that my dad drank as much as he did because he really didn't want to be there. At all. Previously I wouldn't have wanted to be there either, but I've discovered how much alcohol can help you make it through an event you REALLY don't want to be at. I was squished between my mother and a semi-horrible 79 year old woman. Her husband works (worked?) at Solar Sources, Inc (which shall now be referred to as 'there') and was happily engaged in conversation already. She started to tell me about the church social and bingo she had just been to (no joke), and I bolted for the bar.
Halfway through my first drink, I realized that I really didn't want to get shit-face drunk because I was facing two hours with my mom on the drive home. No matter how much better we're getting along now, nobody wants to face two drunk hours in the car with their mother. Ever. It's a recipe for disaster, seeing how she disapproves of drinking in the first place.
I learned the wonders of pacing yourself, and the horrors of bad cooks. I also learned that most of the people there wouldn't even realize that the food was sub-par. But we left as soon as we possibly could without offending mom's boss or the woman who organized all of this. We sat through the awards, and the door prizes, and escaped before the dancing and corn-hole began. It wasn't as bad as it could have been, but there are a few ways I may have preferred to spend my saturday night.
Did I mention that my mom works at a coal company? Before my father got into a huge argument at the dinner table, we used to sit at her boss's table. No longer. I'm guessing both arguers were under the influence of alcohol. I'm also guessing that my dad drank as much as he did because he really didn't want to be there. At all. Previously I wouldn't have wanted to be there either, but I've discovered how much alcohol can help you make it through an event you REALLY don't want to be at. I was squished between my mother and a semi-horrible 79 year old woman. Her husband works (worked?) at Solar Sources, Inc (which shall now be referred to as 'there') and was happily engaged in conversation already. She started to tell me about the church social and bingo she had just been to (no joke), and I bolted for the bar.
Halfway through my first drink, I realized that I really didn't want to get shit-face drunk because I was facing two hours with my mom on the drive home. No matter how much better we're getting along now, nobody wants to face two drunk hours in the car with their mother. Ever. It's a recipe for disaster, seeing how she disapproves of drinking in the first place.
I learned the wonders of pacing yourself, and the horrors of bad cooks. I also learned that most of the people there wouldn't even realize that the food was sub-par. But we left as soon as we possibly could without offending mom's boss or the woman who organized all of this. We sat through the awards, and the door prizes, and escaped before the dancing and corn-hole began. It wasn't as bad as it could have been, but there are a few ways I may have preferred to spend my saturday night.