Misery with Company, Pt. 2

Well, since it's been almost a week since I went to the dreaded department outing at my manager's house, I figured I'd recap it.

It was highly tolerable.

I will say this:  The food was EXCELLENT.  Basic grill-out stuff, but it just seemed to hit the spot.  Among my favorites was a sweet cornbread dish made by one of my coworker's girlfriends (more about her later).  It was so good my wife and I had to get the recipe.

We also didn't have to sit outside if we didn't want to, which is a plus for me.  I'm not an outdoors type by any means, ESPECIALLY when it comes to eating, because I swear all the bugs are more attracted to my food than anyone else's.  Plus it was rather humid from a rainstorm earlier that day so being out of the sun was a welcome relief.

Other highlights:

1. One of my manager's daughters pointing to me and saying aloud at the table as we ate, "He has a big tummy, daddy".  Ain't that PRECIOUS?!? (note the sarcasm there)  I took it in stride as best I can and said, "Yes I do, so I can enjoy all of this wonderful food!"  And that seemed to mollify her.  Now, I get that little kids have no filtration system; they don't know that saying things like that is shamefully rude.  But oh, how I wanted to say instead, "Yes I do...it's big because I eat little children that say mean things to adults!"  Yeah...kids say the darndest things.

2. One of my coworkers' girlfriends (the one that brought the cornbread) looks EXACTLY like Selena Gomez.  If you don't know who she is, Google her name and you'll find out.  Anyway, the resemblance is stunning.  Same facial structure, same hair, same body type, height, weight....you'd think she was a twin sister.  Well, the daughter of one of my other coworkers went BERZERK over this.  Turns out she's a major fan of Ms. Gomez and insisted she get a picture sitting on "Selena's" lap so she could show everyone in school.  I found out from "Selena's" boyfriend the next workday that she gets that A LOT, and that he actually encourages it, which she dislikes, much to his amusement.  She's actually had little girls following her when they go shopping.  Funny stuff.

3. Some people are just naturals when it comes to getting along with children.  One of my closer coworker/friends is probably one of the most friendly, outgoing, and lively people I've ever met.  He's had such a colorful life, and it's fascinating to hear one of his stories.  Anyway, the kids at the party flocked to him like he was a slab of metal and they were all rare-earth magnets.  He was so good with them that they could barely stand to be away from him for more than a few minutes.  I couldn't help but envy him, honestly.  I'd love to be that comfortable and carefree around children, but it's just not part of my wiring.

So, yeah...I didn't have a BAD time.  But, do I feel any closer to my coworkers or even my manager as a result?  Do I feel like we have a better "team" dynamic now?

Nope.  It was a lot of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

But, on the whole...there are worse way to spend a Saturday, I guess...like being on-call and taking customer calls on the work cell phone, like I'll be doing this Saturday.

Faaaaaaaaantastic.