The Annual Office Chris...er um I mean Holiday/Winter Party

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Suntory
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The Annual Office Chris...er um I mean Holiday/Winter Party

#1 Post by Suntory » Sun Dec 02, 2007 7:41 pm

I had to go to my company's holiday party this weekend. Ok I didn't have to but if I didn't at least show my face
for a short while it might not be good politically. You know?! I somehow escaped going
the last couple years. Almost did this year too but ran out of excuses.
I figured though I would just stay an hour at the start and then find an excuse or not and leave.
It was at a hotel downtown. I took my date and told her the story and said we could go out to some nice place downtown
after we left and she was fine with that.

The company I work for is pretty mellow and staid, in other words youre not going to find wild and crazy sales
and marketing people drinking up a storm and going wild.
And in fact the people are all for the most part nice and pleasant to be around. But yet it is still too wierd for me
because although people may be like that for the most part they have their cliques and
never try and socialize with me. There are only a handful of people there I am more friendly with though and will socialize with.

We go in and it's in a hotel ballroom with tables setup like it's a wedding or something.
Few people are seated yet for the most part we are ignored.
I run into a few people I am more friendly with and we talk for a short while and do the introductions and then they
run off and we get some appetizers.

We end talking to this one couple and as time runs by most people are now seated so anyone who we might've been seated with
that I like are at full tables and I feel like I'm in Jr or High school again and
there are these cliques and I'm left out again.
It is at this point I say to my date yup its time to go. We slip out and since most people are in the ballroom now and not in the hallway we exit unnoticed. We had a very nice evening after that!

What are other people's experiences with company holiday parties this year or in the past?

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#2 Post by Ithildriel » Wed Dec 05, 2007 6:19 pm

Hate hate hate the company party.

Hubby loves his though, since he works for a winery, there is always plenty of booze flowing and someone walking around with a lampshade on their head. I'm pretty sure one year it was me, but it's all a bit fuzzy.

Since I quit my job in October, I only have hubby's to deal with. It's this Sunday, I'll post here if I remember anything after. :lol:

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#3 Post by Just Like Honey... » Thu Dec 13, 2007 1:19 am

I find they have the potential to be really good or really bad, usually depending on the amount of liquor consumed. Working at night at a hotel, I get a sober look at countless christmas parties every year, in a setting almost identical to the one you described, and it has done nothing but make me want to avoid them like the plague that much more. It's really incredible how retarded some people get at staff parties, and I can just feel the awkwardness that they're all going to experience the next day at work.

That said, it probably does depend a great deal on the co-workers, and mine are markedly cliquey and pretentious, so I just chose to work that night.

I have to comment on the politically correct distinction between Christmas/Holidays/etc. I made a long post about it on another forum. http://rantandroar.canada4life.ca/viewtopic.php?t=738. Suffice it to say, I don't think calling it Christmas is still offensive, so tell them not to worry.
I'd rather be a gear in a big, deterministic, physical machine than just some random swerving.

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#4 Post by Congruous » Sat Dec 15, 2007 5:28 pm

I can't stand company parties...there are too many opportunities to screw up and the alcohol can make people you thought you knew act weirdly. I have an old friend who ended up with two sexual harassment complaints after one of his company's parties. He eventually had to change jobs.
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#5 Post by Suntory » Sun Dec 23, 2007 3:56 am

Ithildriel wrote:Since I quit my job in October, I only have hubby's to deal with. It's this Sunday, I'll post here if I remember anything after. :lol:
I take it then since we haven't gotten an update that you don't remember anything. . . :shock: :lol:

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#6 Post by Congruous » Mon Dec 24, 2007 4:12 pm

She's probably trying hard to forget.
"Are there no more arrows left?"

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