Laura: Social caterpillar



Last night I went to yet another Christmas party, I seem to be doing the rounds at every Christmas party bar the actual work one. Perhaps if they had gotten a chocolate fountain for the work party I might have made an appearance. This party had no chocolate fountain and I went anyway but this time came home without chocolate stains so on that basis alone I would consider the night a win. The party of course being the Central arts Christmas party.
The great thing about holding the party in Central Hall is that we got to bring our own drink which I find works out both cheaper and more delicious. 

 I was working all day yesterday and it was hard going because I was tired from my late night the night before and I think it's a well established fact that Laura without sufficient sleep is not a lovely thing. By the time I got out of there I was absolutely wiped and my head was full on explodey, a fact not helped by all of the children in store and the very squeaky puppets. I found myself yet again in the position of having committed to going to a Christmas party but really just wanting to go to bed for the night. So I went for a lie down in the hopes of reviving myself and woke up woozy and groggy so I am not sure it was the best decision I ever made. I couldn't decide if more or less napping was required to fix me but there was no time to find out because I was in my pyjamas ( I didn't want to nap in my work uniform) and I needed some food and mild plastic surgery ( I had to settle for make up) I had just finished dinner and was feeling a bit less bleugh when I heard a knock at the door. I assumed it was Stephen arriving much too early so I was going down the stairs ready to give out to him but it was two kids carol singing. I didn't really know what to do as it would have felt a bit mean to close the door on them, in the end I told them I had something cooking but their song was lovely. It was my first encounter with carol singers but apparently the kids do it for money so they must have been sorely disappointed when I fobbed them off with an excuse.
A whole lot of make up and a little while later I was fairly presentable and ready to go party and trying not to look longingly at my very comfy bed. 

 We showed up around 9 and found Central Hall all set up for our festivities. A small bar in the corner, a table full of glasses, a laptop hooked up to speakers and a few tables dotted around gave it a nice, cosy vibe. Someone commented it was like we doing  a low budget play set in a bar, which was fairly spot on only there was a lot more drink and a lot less acting. I had my vodka and whole earth cola because its not every day I have the chance to bring my own mixer. I found a few sips of that perked me up considerably and I was a much better version of myself than last week's Christmas party Laura. Engaging with others didn't feel like a chore and I felt a bit fizzy and giddy. I am not sure if that was the alcohol or the sugar but I was happy to go with it. There are some advantages to being a light weight, I might be able to do 12 pubs of Christmas ( because 12 drinks would have me paralytic) but I was a very happy drunk on my little naggin of vodka and fizzy stuff. It was the kind of drunk where I talk far too much but manage not to say anything terribly embarrassing so there will be no awful flashbacks haunting me today. I actually chatted to loads of people and enjoyed doing it and chances are I probably would have stayed a lot longer if the prospect of getting up at 7 am to go to work wasn't looming over me. 

 So I wasn't quite a social butterfly, more like a social caterpillar which is a whole lot better than my wallflower rountine. Putting yourself out there is hard and it's a lot easier to sit on the sidelines and blog about it later. I wont lie, I am pretty sure Vodka gave me a helping hand much like I am hoping coffee will this morning. Despite my modest drinking and solid few hours sleep, I still woke to a slightly dodgy stomach and a mouth that tastes like sock but otherwise good and feeling more or less ready to face the day ahead  

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