As if there wasn’t enough to hate about the Christmas season, yesterday was the dreaded company holiday party. Since I am once again a full-time employee here, I wasn’t able to squeasle my way out of it the way I have for the last few years. As I was saying to Beau, I would rather stick pins in my eyes than go to the party — not only do I hate mingling under the best of circumstances, but there’s only a small handful of people at work who I’d want to hang out with anyway. Even drearier, the Society opted to make a large-ish donation to the September 11th Fund instead of put as much money into the party as usual. that’s a gesture I approve of wholeheartedly, but it meant that we didn’t even have a big lunch as compensation for suffering through the forced cheer and the tedious speeches. Still, going to the party instead of staying in the office for the day meant getting out 2 hours earlier, and I really needed a nap.