Party like it's 1999

My head feels foggy today. I'm coming down with a bug and the cats staged their furry rendition of "West Side Story" last night, complete with fangs and claws. Like a fool, I tried to let them sleep in the bedroom. With Chris being out of town and the torrents of rain battering our windows, I thought their furry company would be nice. Which it was, until they started calling each other Tony and 'Nardo and arranged to meet at my ass to rumble. I finally had to shoo them out, all Officer Krupke-like, but the damage was done. I'm a walking zombie today.

Our company holiday party is tonight: three hours after work, in the glass atrium/lobby, with music and food and tropical drinks. Next to our sad, sad tree that looks like the unloved, last tree left on a tree lot on Christmas Eve. Not only are the branches scraggly and sparse, but the whole things lists to the side, like it's plum out of Christmas spirit. I'm trying to recast it in my mind as the James Dean, too-cool-for-school tree. It'd rather be drinking whiskey out of a brown paper bag and smoking a butt out back, but we've forced it to wear the gaudy tinsel and oversized snowflakes and it's all, "Dude, whatever. I don't give a shit."

After working at a tech company during the SF boom, holiday parties are now sad reminders of what once was. My old company used to have splashy shindigs at places like Bimbo's 365…hell, we were slumming the year we had it at the E&O Trading Company. People snorting coke in the bathrooms, sneaking out the door to smoke a joint, untoward remarks to your supervisor, ill-advised dancing everywhere, and an open bar with drinks so strong alcohol fumes were wafting up from everyone's heads. There's something to be said for an era of overly confident marketing people and angel investors who threw their money around all willy-nilly. Even if you were too embarrassed to go back to work on Monday.

I actually forgot the party was tonight and can't stick around for it, but I think I won't miss out on much. Besides, my sister is coming in tonight, and I'm looking forward to proving to her that my cat is really and truly a freak.