Party planning

[vanillafluffy]

Chatting with missybrat this afternoon reminded me that I needed to assemble a guest list for The Party. Sat down with my phone list and my contacts list and tried to pare them down to reasonable proportions. There are a bunch of you all that I'd love to invite, but I can't afford to fly you in or put you up. Think of me, and I'll do my best to get/post pix.

It was also good practice in Excel, which I haven't used in quite a while. I've done stuff with it before, but not in XP, Gawd, it has to be...*counts on fingers* since '97, at least. Mb and I also discussed job leads; I must hone my resume!

Meanwhile, Party. I did my best with the guest list to ensure that everyone would know at least one other person, so no one would be off in a corner sucking their thumb. I'm already daydreaming about introducing various people to each other---nothing romantic, just folks with common interests. It ought to be a lively bunch!

Since I'm not doing any of the hands-on stuff, I'm viewing it as a surprise party for someone who likes good suspense. Like, I'm one of those people, who will take the gift-wrapped box and weigh it and squeeze it and shake it and guess what it might be, and then I'll spend five minutes painstakingly peeling back each strip of tape. So, there's a party, and I know where it is, and the theme, and I have an idea of who-all is coming, and maybe a guess or two about the menu---but I don't know what music will be playing, or how they'll decorate---I'm hoping for some real flowers!---and I don't know how long it'll last---I'm hoping for hours and hours of fun!

Yikes, it's just 20 days away!

Comments

[pwcorgigirl.livejournal.com]

That is really very cool that you get to choose the guest list for your surprise party. The older I get, the less I like surprises. :)

[vanillafluffy.livejournal.com]

Honey, I know the feeling! The thing is, I have multiple spheres of friends, and they rarely overlap (and when they do, it isn't always successful), so to me, this is also a daring experiment. I have the people I've known forever, people I've met through various jobs and gaming, my church cronies...I've excluded a couple people on the grounds of being loose cannons, but I still have a remarkably healthy RL friends list. (If I thought you had any desire to zoom down here for Labor Day weekend, you would totally be on the guest list, you know that, right?)

[pwcorgigirl.livejournal.com]

I have that problem with my friends too. I could never put my college friends (both religious Republicans) in the same room with my newspapers friends (basically anarchist radicals) and hope for anyone to come out unbloodied!

Sorry I have no plans to be in Florida that weekend, but it's so sweet of you to think of me. I bet it's going to be a blast. :)

[vanillafluffy.livejournal.com]

My recent coworkers may get a surprise, since all of the party planners are wiccan, and my affiliation is something I haven't advertized. I don't think it'll come up, but it could be interesting, and shouldn't make a difference, work-wise. (By then, it should all be over but the job hunt...and no, I'm not fired yet, but I don't want to post about it until it's final. I appreciate the concern everyone has shown, but going over the details again and again is like being repeated disemboweled.)

[ang5fam.livejournal.com]

Do you know the actual date of the soiree??

[vanillafluffy.livejournal.com]

It's Saturday, September 5, Labor Day weekend---but I don't know what time it'll start. I'm thinking mid-afternoon, but what do I know?!

[socialhermit.livejournal.com]

I would totally come if I could (assuming, of course, that I'd be invited)...

;-)

[vanillafluffy.livejournal.com]

If there's anyone I know who needs a carefree getaway, it's you. Wish I could import you for a few days!

[socialhermit.livejournal.com]

I need that getaway (though preferably somewhere LESS hot than here) even more now that Asshat's mommy-girlfriend spit out the spawn this morning.

Just... ugh.

[vanillafluffy.livejournal.com]

Too bad we can't both escape together---I just got back from being fired. Maybe the Rockies...nice and cool and I could use a cowboy!

[socialhermit.livejournal.com]

Oh, God... I'm SO sorry. I know, you were pretty much over it last week or whatever, but still. It's never 'good' news and with this economy... Dammit. Again, I'm sorry they're such f*cking assholes who couldn't find their ass with both hands and a flashlight. They'll never have an employee who gives good phone like you do.

[vanillafluffy.livejournal.com]

I have a feeling that there are more jobs in my corner of the country than yours. I've been told that there's a lot of stimulus money headed this way for retraining...I'm going to look into that. If I can get some training in *current* bookkeeping methods, I should be able to get a decent office job. At least, that's what I'm telling myself.

[socialhermit.livejournal.com]

I've been hearing the same thing (for years) - that there's more available down South than up here. I'm inclined to agree with that, based on the shrinking Classified Ads and unemployment rate thisaway. Still, I'll keep my fingers crossed for you. You *will* get unemployment compensation.... right?

[vanillafluffy.livejournal.com]

Eh, that's the question. I couldn't get a straight answer from the HR individual about benefits, but I *was* told on the DL by someone else that I was eligible to be rehired as a seasonal rep. Also, I was able to sign up on the wait-list to do e-mails from home, and was told that, as a former employee, I would have preferred status as a candidate because I Have a Clue.

Florida is a mixed bag for job seekers; we have tons of people coming here to look for work, but we also have to build homes for them, give them places to shop, etc. Not to mention retirees and snowbirds and tourists, they need services, too, especially medical. That's huge. So, I'm established here since high school---which is practically a native, with an extensive local job record, and a gamut of skills...we'll see!