Office Christmas Party

When you work at a company of 15,000 employees, you can't have your holiday party just anywhere. You have to rent a convention center to accommodate everyone. So last night we got all gussied up and headed downtown to the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center for Phil's company's holiday party. One of Phil's co-workers and his girlfriend came to our house before the party and we carpooled (yes, we've seen An Inconvenient Truth). We ran into a nice little traffic jam on the way downtown in which Phil's road rage emerged, but we all helped to keep it in check. We ended up parking about a block away in the mall parking lot; I think we got lucky with our parking spot because one of his other co-workers who we met there said it took them 45 minutes to find a parking spot!

We arrived at the party and posed for a quick shot outside the bathrooms before heading in.


We of course headed to the buffet tables first to check out the spread. They had h'ors deuvres in one room and we took our pick from the cheese and crackers, artichoke spinach dip, and chicken skewers, and headed into the main room.

We found a table and sent the men to check out the buffet table. They came back with pasta, roast beef, turkey, salad, chips & queso, tamales, and 7 layer dip. While the guys were in line getting food, Tracy and I went over to the dessert table and made up some big ole plates of yummy desserts. I ended up eating too much dessert too quickly and realized I needed more solid food in my system so we went back for more pasta. It's so easy to indulge when it's all free!

I wanted to take a photo next to the great set-up with the professional photogaphers (Christmas trees, fireplace, stockings, etc.), but after finding out that the least expensive photo package was $35, we decided we could just take a photo at our own house in front of our own tree for free. Plus, you had to pay up front so if the photo was not to your satisfaction, you'd already bought it!

The most entertaining part of the party, surprisingly, was the concert. They had booked the Foreigners to play. While I had never heard of them before, I think that is simply due to my age, because once the concert started I realized I had heard most of their songs. The lead singer kind of reminded me of Steven Tyler of Aerosmith with his long hair and tight pants, and the lead guitarist was definitely balding in a major way, but they did put on a pretty entertaining show. Plus, what other Christmas party puts on a full blown concert?!

I am sure that many of you are pretty jealous right now that we saw the Foreigners LIVE... but if you don't want to admit it because it may date you (Amity...), we understand.