Debriefing After Our Formal

After spending last weekend shopping for formal wear, our black-tie gala went very well. The food was awesome. Half the time, I didn't know what I was eating, but from the five-inch prawns and seared tuna appetizers, the sea bass entree, and ending with the chocolate torte and cheesecake dessert, the food was absolutely decadent (yeah, I know that sounds ostentatious, but it's an inside joke).

The celebrities were out in force. It looked to me like there were a handful of A-listers everyone wanted to greet, several handfuls of B-listers who were relatively popular throughout the night, and a ton of C and D-listers desperately trying to be seen. I'm not going to run down the list of whom was there (two reasons:first I don't want to drop all those names; second, I really didn't recognize most of them).

There is one name I will drop: the main entertainment for the night was Jay-Z. If you know me, you know that I am way, way too white and nerdy to be down with Jay-Z, but he did an outstanding job. Why was I so impressed? First, he kept it extremely clean (not something I would usually associate with him). Second, everyone from the young socialites to the old rich snobs seemed to really enjoy him. Third, there are some performers who are so talented, that even when their skills are not quite your cup of tea, you need to sit back and admit that they have real talent - that is exactly how I felt.

I have no idea when, or if, we will be invited to another event like this again, but we have our formal duds ready to go next time we get the call.

Our Surprise Formal

Earlier this week, Senior Partner calls me and says, "Associate,* I have a couple tickets for a black tie gala at Extremely Exclusive Location, would you and your wife..." To which I immediately interjected, "Yes! We'll go." This coming week, Wife and I will be attending a formal charity gala. Senior Partner warned me that the firm cheaped out and only bought $8,000 tickets so we will not have access to the green room to meet and greet the celebrities, politicians, and professional athletes before the event, but we should plan on mingling with them afterward. I don't want to say where our event will be held, but imagine the location known for being the best view in New York City.

Within two hours of getting the news, Wife had found a new formal gown (she can describe it better than I can, and she would explain that it is not really a "gown" - it's a dress for formal events. Use your imagination). This morning, I bought a tuxedo, which is not something I ever planned on owning, but I figure that if I just wear it two or three times purchasing tux is a better deal than renting one (and I am told I will definitely wear it at least a couple times a year).


* When speaking of work-related matters, I will just call myself "Associate." I can't imagine writing, "and Partner said, 'Husband'..."

Bragging About Wife

Wife has strictly forbid me from discussing her job on the blog, but I just need to post about her recent award. This week, her company had their annual "state of the company" gala with about a thousand employees gathering for speeches, a party, and awards. Wife was given a very prestigious award at the ceremony. I find this especially impressive because: 1) out of about a thousand employees, the number of awards can be counted on one hand; 2) Wife "crushed her competition" in the voting tally; 3) Wife works in a department that has NEVER received an award at this ceremony (she works in the department that nags managers to stop spending money and get their accounts in order; shockingly, the department has never been popular - until Wife took it over). But probably the most impressive aspect is that when Wife walked on stage to accept the award, she was honored with a standing ovation by all of her thousand coworkers in the theater.

Security

For obvious reasons, I have no intention of ever blogging about my work. But here's a work-related blog, because strange things rumble around in my brain. Over the last few weeks, I have kept myself busy with this question: would it be easier for a terrorist to smuggle contraband onto an airplane or into my office. I know I should always respond with the lawyerly, "It depends." But, frankly, I think it would be tougher to get an explosive into my office. I'm pretty sure we have more security guards than an airport. Our security system is certainly more advanced (and that's all I will say about that).

I Love Cheap Food

When people hear about my love for cheap food, I frequently get one question: "Umm...will you still eat like that when you're working for a big law firm?" The answer: of course I will. Wife and I just returned from Chinatown, where we ate an amazing meal, consisting of chicken and corn soup, all the pork dumplings we could eat, and sesame pancakes. The grand total for our feast was six bucks even.

Coming Soon to a Theater/Televison Near You

One day this week I just had to get out of the office for a few moments. Normally, I never leave the building from 8:00 a.m. until sometime after 8:00 p.m., but on this day, I just needed some fresh air. I left our building and started to walk up the street. Suddenly, I saw a sign with the big, bold headline, "Warner Brothers." The sign explained (in language undoubtedly written by a lawyer) that a shoot was in progress and proceeding past the sign constituted consent to have one's image and actions used for any and all commercial purposes. Curiosity got the best of me, so I continued past the sign. I saw plenty of cameras and crew members, but I didn't recognize any stars (nor could I figure out what was being filmed). So, if you happen to see anything made by Warner Brothers, keep an eye out for me bumbling down the street trying to figure out what was going on. If you recognize me, please let me know what movie or television show I'm staring in.