I HAVE NO GUEST, OKAY? I AM A BIG LOSER WITH NO GUEST. I HAVE TO SIT THERE, BY MYSELF, AS AN ODD NUMBER, SCREWING UP YOUR SEATING ARRANGEMENTS.

Oh Allyson, I wish I could teleport down there and be your date to the party. Or I'd send you Pete! You quietly mutter snarky things to each other.

I always hated the white elephant exchanges, because someone would get something they liked and immediately have it taken away from them. Vindictiveness doesn't make for a pleasant party.

My excuse for avoiding off-site parties is, "Well, Hubby's health isn't the best, I don't want to leave him alone, and his back really doesn't let him go out for long."

I am now very thankful that my work holiday obligations have devolved to "we all go out to lunch at a restuarant, paid for by the department." There is no booze, and we all go back to work after lunch.

For some reason, me not wanting to go to Office Christmas Parties makes me like Sarah Michelle Geller (bear with me). At one point, it seemed like fandom didn't like her because she didn't like to go to fan events, or wasn't close to the cast, and didn't go to the Buffy wrap party. And I just kept think that she's worked with these people for 7 years, and I would probably be the same if I were in her shoes. It is great when co-workers like to party together and get along, but I like to keep work at work and home at home, and go home at the end of work. Which is why I was fairly unsuccessful in local theater, I think, because one sort of has to get to know people so that they will give you jobs.

Why is Friday afternoon sooooo long?

I should be packing up my office but I mostly want to sleep. (We're doing an office/job reshuffle - I'm losing my office with the window and having to be a receptionist again. I understand why but that doesn't make it easier and I can't help but feel like I've failed.)

I always hated the white elephant exchanges, because someone would get something they liked and immediately have it taken away from them.

Also, sometimes you end up with post-its. No, wait, it wasn't post-its, because they weren't even sticky. It was just a bunch of paper squares. Yeah, thanks ever so, swap contributor!

Allyson, how can you possibly be a big loser? And if you are, what kind of slime-off-the-bottom-of-the-pond scum are the rest of us?

And if you are, what kind of slime-off-the-bottom-of-the-pond scum are the rest of us?

WORD.

Our white elephant gifts one year were so hysterically bad that the most covetted item was a 6 pack of generic athletic socks. It was a small sarcastic group. The fun was in trying to offload whatever horrible thing you received. And rag on the person who brought that item.

I don't like white elephant exchanges for that same reason. I don't usually have the heart to take things away from people.

The Office also did a painfully good episode about Christmas gift exchanges. They get a lot of things right on that show.