Flynn XMas Party

What can I say, I am feeling a lot of love tonight and it is not just the 3 vodka-n-juices that I threw back in rapid succession (did I mention the 2 cups of eggnog that preceded them?).

Nope, it is quite simple really. I love my co-workers at the Flynn and will be sad to leave them in January.

Whether it is Nancy spinning Odele around the room, Paula and her big smile, Carol C and her crazy sweaters, Carol G and her reindeer hat, Gloria and her mad MC skills, Joan in the purple scarf I was furiously knitting all day, Carlos in his smart tie, Jack in his flashy tie, Andrea who even cut a rug with us in the copy room, Arnie who forgets to lock the bathroom door or my gaggle of gloriously hot gal pals that dance on table tops with me - I am thankful to have worked there for as long as I did and to have had the pleasure of meeting all these wonderful people. And it is always nice to go out with a big XMas party BANG!

It is a funny thing, leaving a place. Once all the struggling and the awkwardness is done, you can sink back and enjoy what you have.

I have been very lucky to spend almost 2 years of my life working day by day with this supportive, intelligent, hard working and creative group of odd people. They enriched my life and gave me the strength to take the leap to the great beyond.

They never once made fun of me for shooting silly videos involving office supplies and dance montages (well, maybe once or twice but it was good natured fun and who can blame them?). They accepted me for who I am and even loved me for it.

It is too soon to get sappy as I have another week or so left (and a going away party at which I can drunkenly wax poetic for hours on end). But there was something about tonight that left me feeling really glad and really lucky.

Getting gussied up in my office with the girls and then watching as we went up one by one to receive our individual awards (anyone seen the Dundees episode of The Office? anyone?), my heart felt warm and fuzzy. From the back of the room, we were free to heckle and yell insulting comments like surly teens.

I think that is what having a big family must feel like. You love 'em, you hate 'em, they support you, they annoy you, you tease them, they make fun of you - but you know them inside and out and you are all in the same boat together.

My award, "Most likely to be a famous movie producer," (HELLO, I'll take it!) was followed by my Yankee gift swap choice (think The Office yankee swap but without the Ipod). After drawing the #1, I was the first to choose and got to make the FINAL choice at the end of the night.

Choosing the biggest box is not always the best idea as it wielded an ugly white ceramic decorative basket (still not even sure what it was used for? roll retention?) but WHAT would I swap it out for?

I chose the alarm clock that made cool peaceful noises like water rushing and dolphins quacking. Of course, once this job is over, I won't have to get up early for a while and I can finally embrace my true deadbeat status for real (until I have to find a way to feed myself again). But I will probably need some soothing ocean sounds to get me through those unemployed hard times as well.

Then we all tromped upstairs to shoot the dance montage segment of the FINAL installment (sob) of The Offasty. Dancing on the conference room table, abusing office supplies in the copy room, guest spot walk-ons by Sky and Scott, and Carlos ripping his shirt off with wild abandon - it is gonna be a good one.

And no doubt, tomorrow morning there will be an Offasty email to ALL scolding us for scattering office supplies and not cleaning up properly because he/she is not our mother. And I will even find that touching cause I am a sentimental old fool.

Sigh, I'll miss you Flynn. But thanks for all the good times, the fabulous dance montages and for being the closest thing to a Big Fat Greek Family I could ever hope to find.

Take it away Babs:

Memories,
Like the corners of my mind
Misty water-colored memories
Of the way we were
Scattered pictures,
Of the smiles we left behind
Smiles we gave to one another
For the way we were
Can it be that it was all so simple then?
Or has time re-written every line?
If we had the chance to do it all again
Tell me, would we? could we?
Memories, may be beautiful and yet
Whats too painful to remember
We simply choose to forget
So its the laughter
We will remember
Whenever we remember...
The way we were...
The way we were...