Office Girls Gone Wild

Another office Holiday party is in the books. That makes it two down and two to go. First there was the department managers' party, then last night was the company party, next is the department party and then there is the company wide managers' party. That is a lot of food and alcohol and a lot of money that could be better spent elsewhere. Three of the four parties are paid for by the company. I am hoping they will be as generous with the end of year pay raises.

no, not me

The plan last night was to show my face, have a drink, say hi to everyone and head on my way. I figured two hours would be sufficient. I really was not expecting much in the way of fun, I also have a personal rule against partying with coworkers. I have witnessed it time and time again, the abuse of boundaries at work parties. I have always been of the belief that a certain restraint must be shown amongst coworkers and the people you have to face on the Monday morning after. We work so hard at building up our careers why throw out this hard earned image in one night?

Friends are friends and colleagues are colleagues. That being said, the two hours somehow rolled into six hours. I type this slightly slow and slightly tired today. Sunday is a good day to do nothing. I did not abuse the boundaries, just my liver.

*** I think this is worth an update. It's Monday and the emails and stories are spreading throughout the office. Remember the days we would pose for pictures because we only had 24 exposures in the roll? Digital camera allow us to snap hundreds of shots without worry of waste. I recall seeing at least three digital cameras at the party and others snapping pics on their phones. You're on candid camera. I received no less than 180 photos in my email this morning. Some are the usual posing for photos, some are of people dancing or hugging, others are of the 'what's he going to tell his wife' or 'is that so-and-so lying on the floor' variety.

So far I've only seen two pictures where I am the victim subject and in both I am posing with some colleagues in some sort of huddle. I think I am off the hook.

Up Up and Away! Dave Van Horne

Dave Van Horne

Long time baseball announcer Dave Van Horne has won the Baseball Hall of Fame's Frick award for excellence in broadcasting. The Ford C. Frick Award is presented annually by the National Baseball Hall of Fame to a broadcaster for major contributions to baseball. Van Horne will be inducted in Cooperstown, N.Y. in July 2011.

Van Horne originally from Easton, Pennsylvania, spent 32 years calling the game for the Montreal Expos, and the last ten in the Florida Marlins' booth. Known for his smooth, and easy going style, Van Hone is a unique voice in major league baseball.

Not only have the plays on the field made the highlight reels, Van Horne's calls have made radio listeners and TV viewers jump out of their seats with his "up, up and away..." call for every home run. His coverage of the Dennis Martinez' 1991 perfect game is still heard today, "El Presidente... el perfecto!"

I had the pleasure of working with Van Horne in the late nineties while I was producing the Expos games for the local radio broadcast. At the time he was paired with the great former player and a terrific announcer himself, Ken Singleton. Van Horne was always professional and expected perfection from the staff. He may not be terribly concerned if the pre-game show was scrapped due to technical glitches or errors, but the first pitch had to get to air. I remember a colleague of mine being lectured by Van Horne on the importance of the broadcast and being alert and aware of his cues.

For years, he was the only English voice of baseball in Canada, from the inception of the Expos until the Toronto Blue Jays came along. Even after, and until he left Montreal to join the Marlins in 2001, his was the only voice many Canadians had ever hear call a game of baseball. Congratulations Dave, here's to 42 more years!

I wanted to post a video or some audio but I do not have the expressed written consent of Major League Baseball.

Snow Begone!

It's December 6th and I have had enough of winter. Today was the first major snowfall and I have had enough of winter. One hour and forty five minutes of sitting in traffic and I am fed up with winter. The snow started falling early this afternoon. The wind kicked up soon after. I had a meeting across the street from my office. The wind was pushing the snow so that it was coming down sideways, and fast. It hurt to cross the street. Hell, I've been living here in Montreal all my life and I still can't get used to it. Or don't want to. What is the weather forecast for tomorrow?

I left work a little later with the plan of avoiding the afternoon rush. It kind of worked. I think a lot of people went home early in attempt to beat the mess. A ride that usually takes no more than forty minutes took me and hour and forty five minutes. And I had to urinate. Well, I didn't have to. I wanted to.

The roads were snow covered, the wind was blowing and my speed topped out at all of twenty kilometers per hour. Most of the ride home was about focusing on the car lights in front of me, playing follow the leader. The snow had yet to be cleared and there was no way to know where the lanes started and ended.

Time to listen to the radio. Christmas music on 92.5, flip. Delilah introducing Christmas music on 92.9, change quickly. Crappy pop tune on 95.9. Flip. Nickleback on 97.7, change. Okay, settle in on 99.9 The Buzz, until the commercials come on. Flip. Damn missed the news. Flip. The Team 990, crap it's soccer night. Change. So there wasn't much on.

Made a couple phone calls. What's there to talk about? It's snowing and I have to pee . Sorry, I don't have to pee. I want to pee. Then, I finally arrive home, pull into the driveway and my garage door opener doesn't work. I back up, pull into the driveway and park in the one spot with two surrounding walls. Either the semi enclosure will protect my car from snow accumulation, or my car will be buried beneath a six foot snow drift. Something to look forward to tomorrow. The repairman is on his way, we have a service contract for the garage door opener so he has to come and he can't charge a premium for driving in this weather.
I'm not dreaming of a white Christmas. I am dreaming of a warm Chanukkah in Miami.

View from my balcony. That's my car, on the left next to the wall. No, the blue one with the snow on it.

Come on let's go Garbage Truckin'

We're garbage truckin' round the stars  Come on let's go Garbage Truckin'. I was driving to work the other and I noticed a garbage truck pulled over on the side of the road. The driver had set up emergency flares and there was another garbage truck parked just in front. I can assume that one truck broke down but why the second truck? Did the driver call the other for backup? What were they doing now? Were they transferring the load?

A taxi driver or bus driver will call for backup if their vehicle breaks down. The passengers will quickly be off and on their way. A tow truck would be called to take the bus away.

I do not recall ever seeing a garbage truck being hauled away by a tow truck. 

What do you do with a broken down garbage truck? It is a garbage truck. I couldn't stay to watch but I am wondering if the garbage men just heaved the broken truck into the back of the second vehicle with all the other garbage.
That is why I am thinking they just get thrown out.