Talking at work about drinking at New Years Eve parties

Boss: I don't drink. After that first hangover, I said, "this is not for me." So I don't drink. I worked in the resort business for ten years taking care of drunks. I know there is a difference between drinking and being a drunk. I knew people who drank cologne.

Employees: Gross!

Joel: What are you talking about? That's how you finish out the night. Drinking cologne is the only way to improve the smell of your breath after you've gone around and drank all the empties. It's the only thing that can combat a hundred stranger's combined backwash.

>>Then I looked across the sea of cubicles and saw a new employee pop her head up and do that kind of jaw drop smile face. We made eye contact. Instinctively, I batted my eyelashes, then laughed. She sat down. I sat down. Looked at the clock on the computer. Three more hours to go. Then I thought, you only get one crack at this whole big ongoing mess. Nah! I've got things too good. This has been one rollercoaster of a ride year, but it's ending at the very tippity top. Hey I didn't get arrested, like last year!

Happy New Years!

Lowlights:

1. Demoted at work (less money)
2. The Death of the Goodness Project
   
3. Patting myself on the back and boasting to people about how I paid off this certain bill to the University. When in fact I had not been paying on it for many many months, and I just assumed that all this extra cash I had lying around was due to my sound money managing skills.
4. Dealing with a job that's not making me a better person in anyway, besides teaching me how to tolerate something that I should not learn to tolerate.
   

Highlights:

1. Demoted at work (less responsibility)
2. Camping trips with Rachel - WI, Bad Lands, Black Hills.
3. Drinking coffee on the North Shore of Lake Superior watching the sun rise, feeling full of sunlight and confetti.
4. Visiting the Forevertron for the first time.
   
5. Visiting the The Annual Mustard Festival and learning so much about mustard.
6. Seeing The Twine Ball.
7. Putting all my poems into a book.
8. Being a part of Pete and Brennan's 1940's basketball movie and meeting Mike and Andy.
9. Starting up a "band" with Brian Just and calling it, "Das Freakout". and regularly going to his house to "practice".
10. Putting my pen drawings online and people liked them more than I expected.
11. "The Binder" I made a financial ledger that Rachel and I now have used for three months to keep track of our individual and combined expenses.
12. The "Financial Click" - it sounds absurdly simple, but this year what a budget means finally clicked for me. Before I would just try not to spend too much money, but I  had no idea how much money I really had to spend. This year it finally clicked. I get it now. It's like in math or something, you understand how the parts of the equation work, but you don't "get" it. I get it now.
13. Getting my mom's truck!

Happy New Year!