So tired

Last night was just weird. So many strange people at my company. I had to drink a lot to survive. And it still wasn't enough.

I think the highlight was when my boss and our big group leader decided to sit next to me to eat their dinner. Horrifying. We made awful small talk. And then... Rock Star Fran and I were sharing a few plates of food for dinner. At one point my boss leaned over and started eating our pasta with vodka sauce. And he finished it right up. Fran and I just looked on in awe. Finally they left and I ran for another drink.

It was not a stellar party. The Trammps played for some reason. And while I do like Disco Inferno there was just too much damn disco played last night. Though Fran and another temp at work, Ace, did make me dance. At one point Ace and I were the ONLY ONES on the dance floor dancing to Copacabana (because the party was AT the Copa). And there was some interesting conversation. But mostly my coworkers scare me. Especially the drunk ones I have to get in a car and get home who then don't come to work the following day due to their hangover... I think going to the party every other year is a good call. Though maybe I won't be here next year.

I did make friends with the other guy in our car and the driver was nice as well. One from Ghana and one from Egypt. Very chatty. I apparently give off a very friendly car vibe. Go figure.

I'm an ancient crone.

So... a friend of mine and I were chatting on the phone last night. And he managed to make me feel like an old lady. Talking about 'older women' (basically women in their 30s and possibly even, gasp!, older). How they all have their biological clocks ticking and they all want to get married. How you have to be leery of dating them because there's no time to date them and relax because they're just hungry for a husband and babies. Apparently he feels I'm different because I'm all take it or leave it about marriage. "You're just eh about marriage. 'Maybe I'll get married, maybe I won't. It's not going to happen soon...'". But I'm still in the same age group as these older women. And I'm not like other women (me being 'not like other girls' is a rant for another day.)

Also, older women (us 30something gals again) can sometimes relax when they find out they can sleep with younger guys and feel all bad ass about themselves.

"So, you're saying that us older gals find validation in sleeping with younger guys?"

"Yeah."

"Putz!"

In my head: "Heaven forbid we do it because younger guys are a lot better in bed than your sorry ass. No, no, no. We do it because we're old and haggard and have to find validation in boys and men and marriage and breeding."

(Daddy, this is all hypothetical as I have no idea how boys of any age are in bed. This is all just based on what I've heard and my righteous feminist ire.)

I don't know. It just annoyed me. Even though he kept insisting I was different and all, it made me angry I don't like this idea of women needing to mate and breed and be reassured of who we are largely by who we can woo into bed and con into marriage. And it also made me feel old. Well, no. I don't feel old. It made me feel that I'm in a group that is now considered old. That there are people out there who think that about me. And it pissed me off.

Putz.

Dancing Economists

So, the department Christmas party is tonight. I work at a big bank. In the Equity Research Department. With the Economics Team. So, I work with the geeks of the geeks of the geeks. It does not get much geekier than my coworkers. And we're not talking like geek chic hipster technology kinda geek that's so popular these days. No. We're talking people who have a hard time interacting with other people and who also have a hard time operating their computers so they don't talk to ANYONE well, in person or electronically. And watching them fake social activity is truly an experience. When I first started with this group we'd have happy hours with the Strategists. And I would have to drink heavily to survive it. Because, while math may get me hot, I ain't got nothin' on the dork/geek of these folks. Tonight will be an experience. I will stand in near the bar with my small posse of friends and make fun of everyone until I've had enough to drink. And then, I will dance. Among the scary geek dancers who make Elaine Benes look good. You wish you were me. You wish you had my rock star life.

I'm bummed though. Sheena, Lovey and I figured we'd get all dolled up for tonight just because. No real reason. We just did. Pumpkin and I even shopped for a cute top for me for tonight. And I kinda hoped everything would pull together nicely. I like things to match; nails to clothes to jewelry to bag to hair things to underwear and so on. And I had a plan. And it did not work. The hair is blah, the make up isn't working, my face is breaking out and I think the toenails clash with the top. And I'm not sure the top works with the pans. At least the top looks cute and does match the jewelry. I just don't look very pretty. And I wanted to look pretty. Ah well. I'll have a camera and there will be an open bar an a Rock Star Fran. I'll make it all work.

COOKIES!!!

I just made lots and lots of egg nog cookies. And I have to say, I was so happy making them. In my tank top and shorts with my TWoP Sopranos apron on, the kitchen smelling like lemon and sugar and nutmeg, my computer playing all my favorite Christmas songs, bopping around baking and tormenting my kitties. It was awesome. And the cookies turned out well, if maybe a little dry. Hopefully everyone else will enjoy them. Because my cooking is ALL FOR YOU!!!!

I also got my secret santa gift wrapped and ready to go. Not the gift exchange one but the one where you answer a child's letter to santa. Pumpkin and I had fun shopping for the 11 year old girl I got. I wasn't able to get her everything she asked for (pants, shirt, CD player, lipstick, hair accessories and a diary), but I did get her an adorable pair of jeans, a cute top and a really pretty pink diary. Hopefully she likes it.

I love Christmas.

COOKIES FOR YOU!!!!!!

I need to go to bed now.

Shopping

Pumpkin and I just had our annual Christmas Shopping Weekend. It started in college when I'd join her and her aunt in Branford, CT for Thanksgiving weekend. Neither one of us could fly home to Hawai'i just for the long weekend and she didn't want us to be homeless so we'd have a great dinner with her and spend the rest of the weekend shopping and watching movies. A great fall break. And now, I go to Boston to spend the weekend with Pumpkin and do our shopping and such. We hit the Malls. We get out photos taken. It's a good time. We haven't had our photo taken with Santa in a while as the line has always been a mess. But we did get our photo taken in the Limited Too at a photo booth so all was not lost.

Pumpkin and I are awesome shoppers. Most people are frightened by our mad shopping skillz. And the fact that we can shop all day quite happily. We were trying to figure out why this is while trolling the malls on Saturday. It certainly didn't come from my parents. Mom and Dad hate shopping. Dad likes buying things and researching big purchases but he doesn't seem to like shopping so much. And Mom just hates it. Though, I do find that some people who don't like shopping like doing it with me.

Pumpkin and I were thinking that it's partially because we're relaxed about it. We know in our heads who we need to shop for and don't make everything all tense and planned out. We like browsing and seeing what looks good. We have similar taste in a lot of things and also know how to look for things that the other might like even if we don't. We keep in mind when the other person might be bored and we're good about entertaining ourselves while the other is browsing for something we might not care about. We giggle and gossip as much as look and shop and buy. It's just a lot of fun spending hours with a friend roaming around saying, "So Cute!" every five minutes. We hardly notice the crowds and the cranky shoppers, unless they're just begging to be mocked. I find lots of purple things for her and she keeps an eye out for pink and red for me. She tolerates my need to hug TiVo every time we walk into Best Buy. And I try not to make too much fun of her every year when we have to go into Brookstone's so she can lay on the Tempur-Pedic Swedish Sleep System mattress they have out. This year they hid it in the back of the store so we thought it was gone. Until I hear someone calling my name. And I turn around to find her head peeking above a ledge (behind which is the mattress she's laying on) informing me, "I found it!". Heh. So Cute!

Anyway, it was a great weekend. Lots of good shopping and some damage done to my Christmas list. Fun brunch at Johnny D's and Soundbytes. Dinner at a tapas place with great food, good sangria and the Worst Service Ever. Visiting with Pumpkin and Fishboy and lots of pets including the most adorable Border Collie puppy ever as well as cute cats and a teeny, tiny kitten who liked running around more than she liked playing with me. Sadly.

But, it was an awesome weekend and I feel much less stressed than I did on Friday. Though I'm now a bit tired. But it is a Monday morning and all.

Thanks for the great time, Pumpkin!