It was an especially busy weekend for me. I had my first party since 9/11 and thought it went well, even if it was a little one-sided. I say one-sided because a lot more men than women showed up. But that had more to do with the fact that I work on a floor where the ratio of men to women is 28:1, rather than who chose to actually show up.

When my department first moved to the location IÂ’m in now, it was hard to get to know people because, we were put in the middle of geek land, and letÂ’s face it, geeks are not the most sociable creatures on the planet. So to break the ice and help us get acquainted with the IT division, I co-hosted a lunch pizza party with lots of fixinÂ’s and cake with ice cream for dessert. Those geeks love free food and sweets! That party really helped us get to know each other.

Over the next few months a few of the guys and I shared coffee and a few accidental lunches (when there was no place else to sit in the lunch room but at their table). They, like me, often eat alone and so sometimes, when weÂ’re pressed for time, we ask if we can join the other at their table. That resulted in some really great conversations and more lunch outings. In May, I started lunch group outings were we do fun stuff to engage our creative brain. On our first outing we went to a jazz club and listened to some great up and coming musicians/students perform for their final exam. Last week we went to a gallery opening and had an even bigger turnout, 23. On Monday, I ran into a large group of them that had gathered to watch the soccer match between USA & the Czechs. Somehow one of them suggested we should do something to organize a futbol party for the weekend. Somehow I got chosen for the task because out of all of us, I'm the only one that owns a big widescreen tv. (I may not watch tv but I LOVE MY MOVIES)!

Well, what initially was supposed to be a group of about 10-12 people, turned out being a group of over 30. It was actually the largest group of people I have ever hosted in my apartment. The good thing about hosting geeks is that theyÂ’re fun and they donÂ’t get crazy so everyone was comfortable. It was really neat, there were people from: Russia, India, Australia, London, Canada, US South & West, Spain, France & Germany, all gracing my living room. And the discussions before and after the game were all very fun and ran the range of topics from politics & economics to science and culture. Ironically, no discussion of technology.

Come to think of it, it felt very much like a grown ups party. There were 2 things that surprised me about myself: (1) I really hadnÂ’t lost my party planning skills, and as a result, 2) I never got nervous before or during the party. That makes a big difference for the guests, when you host a party.

I think a lot had to do with the fact that all the food came out perfect. In fact, IÂ’ve already had a couple of emails asking for my spicy bean dip and my guacamole recipes. I placed the furniture and food stations so that traffic and conversation would flow easily and people would move from one group to the next, rather than staying in one place (as geeks and wall flowers are known to do).

The nicest thing was that they all chipped in and got me a “fully loaded” Starbucks card as a belated birthday present. If they know me this well after 6 months, I wonder how well they will know me after 12? The thought frightens me!!!!

Anyway, the party was also a big success with the kids. I had enough fun activities and treats planned for them and they enjoyed themselves as well, with one notable exception. My son acted out a few times, which I didnÂ’t expect or like. But I finally got to the root of the problem today, he had been missing our private time and wanted my undivided attention. Unfortunately, I didn't discover this until after a few timeouts and privileges had been taken away and a few tears had been shed.

Well, tonight IÂ’ll be paying for my planning and fun, because IÂ’m going to have to catch up on house work, job related work, parental work, so it will definitely be a late night for me.

I sign off hoping your weekend was also enjoyable, and for those who are dadÂ’s, I hope that you felt loved and honored!

Posted by: Michele at 08:26 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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1 I'm just a *bit* jealous! I miss parties - hosting, especially. As I show the house, I find myself recanting to the perspective buyer how many fun and such parties my brother & I hosted here. As before, I think you lead the way on our recoveries. You've gotten to the point where social fun is returning. So my hope is that it will for me too.

Posted by: _Jon at June 19, 2006 11:01 AM (aHLPi)

2 Oh man... all these really great hostesses. I happen to be the ultimately worst hostess. Being geeky and being married to a guy who doesn't particularly like parties... I never have done it. I'm glad it turned out so well. Wish I could have been there. Sounds like it was a blast. As for your son - he'll be fine *grin*. Use it as an example of why he needs to learn to communicate. LOL. It won't work, but it's worth a try.

Posted by: Teresa at June 20, 2006 02:28 PM (jgXyO)

3 "I placed the furniture and food stations so that traffic and conversation would flow easily and people would move from one group to the next, rather than staying in one place" If you have time, could you please do a detailed post on this topic? I think that it would be a handy guide for people who are planning blogmeets.

Posted by: Harvey at June 23, 2006 10:23 AM (L7a63)

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ItÂ’s been a busy week of 18 to 20 hr days of combined work and home responsibilities. I knew this week would be hell, and armed with my trusty Treo I was ready for anything that came my wayÂ… or so I thought.

Sitting in meeting after meeting, wearing my monkey suit and 3 1/2in heels, I kept my sanity by either working on silly posts on my cell phone, or composing bad poetry as commentary to my dear blog dadÂ’s posts. However, in all that writing, never in my wildest dreams did I expect a silly blog post about a little black make up bag to foreshadow real life events. The actual events ended with me actually saving several lives with my make-up bag. Never, in a million years could I have thought that would be possible. One yes, but several????? Never!

more...

Posted by: Michele at 01:58 AM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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Then Come Out & Play! and experience the true meaning of MoSoSo as it converges art, culture, and technology into a dynamic social venture.

Posted by: Michele at 08:53 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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The angry little man in the disheveled clothing, yelling for the past few minutes, was trying to furiously channel his inner Napoleon. As he yelled, saliva slowly foamed at the corners of his mouth, making him look more like a rabid, tiny lap dog rather than the imperious man he tried to be.

I sat there, holding my tongue, as my left toe tapped incessantly on the heel of my right shoe. I was channeling my frustration at having to be delayed instead of getting on with my dinner. I was starving, and had already waited too long to eat. My blood's temperature was rising fast and reaching my boiling point.

As the angry little man reached his verbal climax, he stood to say, “This is the worst f@#$%&* building ever!"

I couldnÂ’t help but glare at him. Not only was he wasting our time, he was doing it with a futile and pointless effort. Before us was a fully grown, short little man, in a full-blown temper tantrum. His face turned beet-red as he screamed a few more obscenities and then, in a bizarre and dumbfounding move, he balled up his sweaty handkerchief and threw it at me. Barely shifting in my seat, I let the handkerchief slowly sail past me to hit the sweet older gentleman sitting next to me. I had reached my boiling point!

I exploded by slamming down my hand on the table as I stood up and yelled “Enough”. I waited for the shock of speaking so forcefully, to wear off everyone. Having silenced "little man", I continued speaking in a calm, slow and deliberate voice directly at him, glowering and inwardly salivating at what was about to happen. “You are either going to conduct yourself as an adult, waiting for your turn to speak in a calm normal tone, without cursing, or you will be escorted out of this room”. Knowing him full well I added, “this is your only warning.”

After taking my seat slowly, allowing for everyone's temperature to chill, I then recapped for everyoneÂ’s benefit how I suggested the meeting might proceed. When everyone was in agreement, I asked Tony, the building manager, to lead the meeting. After all, I couldnÂ’t be lead and hunter at the same time. I was too busy psychologically batting my prey about and positioning the others at the right angles to prevent his escape to lead the meeting. I wanted to play the cat and mouse game a little longer before fully pouncing on him.

From everyone’s body language “little man” could tell he was in the lion’s den and about to be eaten alive. There was nothing left for him to do but sit there, anticipating the moment it would happen. Yes he tried in vain to escape our grasp, but it was useless. For every anticipated move on his part there was a deliberate and even more powerful swatting, that left him speechless. Yes, in the end he was eaten alive with one big bite and barely a swallow. For violating the building’s bylaws, and for carrying on as he did, the board fined him mightily and heavily. The total damage: $450 payable in full within 30 days. An additional penalty of 10%/month was imposed for any outstanding balance not paid to the board by the deadline each month. If the balance was not fully paid within 3 months legal action would be taken against him.

Afterwards, we were all home licking our paws with great satisfaction. IÂ’m still walking around with a self-satisfied grin on my face thatÂ’s causing people to stop and look twice. ThatÂ’s how I like my prey, feisty until theyÂ’re finally vanquished!

Posted by: Michele at 12:57 PM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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Not to long ago, during my sonÂ’s Pediatric ENT consult, the doctor asked my son what kinds of things he was reading lately. My son quickly rattled off the last 5 books he read (3 of which were in the Captain Underpants series).

The doc then asked my son if he read any newspapers. “ No” was the answer. The doc in disbelief asked him if maybe he read them occasionally. “Nope” he said “my mommy doesn’t let me.” The doctor turned to me with a surprised look on his face. I looked at him without saying a word waiting to see if he would question me on it. He continued asking us health related questions instead.

By the end of the visit, his curiosity was piqued enough and he returned to the topic of my son not reading newspapers. So after confirming what my son said was true, he finally asked me why.

“What good will come from my son reading about rapes, robberies, murders and titillating gossip at the tender age of 6?”

“What about sports?” the doctor countered.

I smiled and said “We subscribe to Kids Soccer magazine and Children’s Sports Illustrated.”

He nodded and paused for a long moment, mulling over my answer. When he finally looked up, he had a broad smile and a glint in his eye. “How will he ever learn about important developing news events.”

I smiled knowingly back, and said to him, “Go ahead, ask him about any current event you want. So he turned and asked my son what he thought about the controversial initiative being contemplated by our City Council, letting first offenders of misdemeanors go through a speedy court process, and if found guilty, receiving lenient sentences or just probation with no time served.

My son quickly responded by saying: “That’s the dumbest idea I’ve ever heard! How are people going to learn not to do bad things if you give them a free pass the first time they do something wrong.”

The doctor then proceeded to give the example of a hungry kid stealing food from a store for his poor brothers and sisters.

My son stood up, arms akimbo, and said: "I donÂ’t care why that boy stole the food, stealing is wrong and he needs to be punished for it. How else will he learn not to do it again? Besides, if his whole family is that hungry whatÂ’s one loaf of bread going to do? He'll have to keep on stealing in order to feed them. And whoÂ’s going to protect and take care of the store owner? Why donÂ’t you care more about him instead of the boy whoÂ’s being a crimina?"

Out of the mouth of babes.... thatÂ’s my boy!

Posted by: Michele at 08:31 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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