white folk problems – not on the list edition

so, much like the presidential election, this hasn’t been OFFICIALLY decided…

…but it looks like our holiday tradition of going to the trudy’s xmas party might be drawing to a close.

we had a good run.

in 2009 and 2010 i hosted an “unofficial” after party for the atomic tattoo xmas party there. the first year was VERY unofficial because it was totally unplanned – harold got his dates mixed up and didn’t show to the atomic party. when the boss asked where he was i called him (he didn’t have a cell phone at this point) and he answered at his apartment. when i asked him if he was going to the company xmas party he said, “yeah, but it’s not till next week”. i replied back, “really, i thought it was today?”. when he responded, “no, it’s NEXT sunday” i bounced back, “well, i thought it was today…and so did our boss, who’s sitting next to me. and the owners. and the guys from the mlk shop. and…”

“FUCK!”, i heard on the other line, followed by a hang up.

harold walked in about thirty minutes later to see everybody passing him on the way OUT of the bowling alley we held it in back then and he said, “fuck that, i came out in the cold and left the kid and woman at home – we’re going drinking!”. i called trudy’s, and away we went…some other random atomic stragglers saw us and joined us at the patio table. the next year we did a facebook event for it and had quintuple the turn out, including the bosses.

but in 2011 i walked up to trudy’s the week before our xmas party (and i had my laptop with me to design the graphics for the invite over dinner) to see a flyer announcing THEIR xmas party and that they’d be closed…THE SAME DAY as ours. when i bitched at a bartender for fucking up my plans, she told me to just come to theirs because they invite regulars as well as staff and got me an invite. that year i took my buddy nate (the same guy that’s been tattooing the family portraits on my forearms, for all who know me in person) but then our first xmas together i took the ufc and we had a great time in 2012 AND 2013…we had to skip 2014 due to the kiddo spending xmas with us versus his dad’s in colorado, and when went back in 2015 a lot of the magic was gone. most of my friends that worked there in management and what-not had moved on, as happens in the restaurant industry, and none of my friends that were regulars came either – so we walked in, had a drink with dinner, another after, wandered about a bit, and left.

fairly uneventful, but as i recall that year it was actually ON xmas eve.

this year the holidays are fairly fucked anyway – because xmas and new years eve fall on saturdays i have to work – till seven on xmas eve, lord knows how long on new year’s eve. the atomic party is tomorrow, but the trudy’s one is NEXT sunday, the eighteenth – the same day i’m taking off work so we can travel north to see my cousins and sisters. i have no idea what time or how long it’ll be, and we might not feel up to another shindig after driving back anyway…but when i asked about an invite yesterday when i was in for lunch for the first time i was denied. that stung – but the more i think about it, it might be okay. i’ve been going south more than north lately, so i know a good bit more of their staff…but i don’t necessarily need to hang out with them. i’m happily married and forty-five – it’s not like i see this as my shot to nail the waitress or bartender i’ve had my eye on for a while.

the manager has my email – it’ll either happen or it won’t. and if it doesn’t, i might be at peace with it more than i realized…time will tell, i suppose.