Getting settled & helpful Christmas party tips

I have now been in my house for a full week, and I am really enjoying it.  I love having my own place.  It feels like all of the stress, worrying, and headaches over the last few months have ultimately been worth it.

Slowly, I am finding places for things, and I am tarting to feel slightly more settled, too.  I managed to get numerous boxes of books unpacked and put away this weekend, and I even hung some of my art.

Art in the kitchen!

I have been enjoying my trails as well.  My "new" routes take me through a park that I previously only would run to on weekends, so I am getting to know this area better.  The run have been good, however Saturday's run was brutal.  7 degrees when I started out, wind chill of -5.  Yuck!  Winter begins!  But I managed 11 miles, so I will call that a small victory.

Oh, yeah, and I am still enjoying my kitchen very much...

Last week's sesame chicken stir-fry

Tomorrow is the annual Christmas party at work.  I anticipate it being a tame affair, as we are holding it at the office in the afternoon/early evening, and it is being catered by Buca di Beppo. 

Christmas parties do tend to create some memorable moments, however.  And every year, you read helpful news articles advising you of the "do's" and "do not's" of attending your work party.

Years ago at my very first real job in the mid '90's, they held our Christmas party at the Golden Valley Country Club.  The party had a DJ.

If you are familiar with the movie "Pulp Fiction" and its soundtrack, you are probably aware that the soundtrack contains excerpts of dialogue from the movie.  The very first track on the album is the profanity-laced scene where Tim Roth and Amanda Plummer are holding up the diner (there might have been a few "F-words" thrown in there, along with a promise to execute everyone in the diner).

The DJ actually played that track by accident when trying to cue up another song.  And this was during dinner when he was just playing Christmas music to set the mood, long before the dance started! 

I can't imagine a party in the banquet room at the Golden Valley Country Club has ever been rendered silent so quickly. The DJ turned absolutely white and looked like he wanted to die.  This was followed by the hushed murmur of appalled party guests.  I felt really bad for the guy.

On the other hand, I was like, "Hey, this is the 'Pulp Fiction' soundtrack!"  I knew exactly where the dialogue came from, so I am not sure what that says about me! :)  In any case, true story. 

So here is a Christmas party "do not" - make sure the "Pulp Fiction" soundtrack is not included in your Christmas party playlist. ;-)