The Pondering Absurdist

Tonight is the night that my employer’s management team picked for the annual holiday party held for the employees of the office. In the past it has been on a weeknight, so some of us had to show up at work the next day, or others called in mysteriously “sick.” To avoid that scenario, management decided to hold the party on a Saturday night this year. All we, as employees, need to do is show up at the restaurant in some reasonably nice clothing. Everything is paid for out of the company coffers… the appetizers, the alcoholic drinks from the bar, and the main course meals. Everyone sits around socializing with all their other coworkers and their spouses, eating appetizers, and drinking until there is a little buzz going on (some for more than others), and by mealtime the volume in the private room has risen to a level that would probably be considered unsafe by medical professionals. The first few years I worked for my employer, I was right there with everyone else. I usually had a few appetizers (satay chicken skewers, but others also partook of the seafood options, prawns with cocktail sauce or calamari), free drinks, then a dinner option of my choice. Well, maybe I should have worded that differently… my choice of one of three options provided for us to choose from. Each year thus far that has meant either a chicken breast meal, a salmon filet meal, or a steak meal. If you’ve read my previous post, you might see why that could be a little bit more of a difficult choice for me this year.

Food options aside, there is another reason for my decision to abstain this year. I am still feeling the sting of November 6, of living in a country full of people who would re-elect a hateful, misogynist, racist/rapist, and failed businessman into our highest political office. Since I work in an office that is at least 90% republican (for what it’s worth, I intentionally don’t capitalize that word, republican, though the spell-check wants me to… I don’t want to assign more value to the organization than I think it deserves), and I work directly for the president of the company, a card-carrying NRA member who openly brags that “I’m going to go out and kill something this weekend” when hunting season opens, it doesn’t increase my desire to “hang out” with these people during my free time. I guess I chose the wrong career many years ago when I decided to go into the field of engineering. How was I to know at the time that it would be a field dominated by right-wingers? I would rather stay home with my three anti-social cats this fine Saturday night than mingle with a room full of drunk republicans.

After spending most of the day at home raking leaves (when one has 3 large oak trees in their yard, that’s what one does when the weather gets cold enough to let the trees know that it’s time to drop their leaves), I came inside and finished listening to the Stephen King book, “11-22-63,” that I had been “reading” on Audible.com while working in the yard. After that, a quick bite for the cats, then I fixed myself some Impossible Chicken Nuggets and french fries. I decided to take a few minutes of free time to write a bit. When I finish I’ll hop in the shower, then probably go to bed early… sober, alone, and meat-free.