Missoula News

Column: Making it in Missoula

Missoula’s Holiday Party Hangover

By Big Sis, 1-02-07

Someone recently told me that the winter solstice has traditionally been a time for introspection and self-reflection. A quiet time, to spend with yourself and your loved ones.

Why, then, do we squeeze an exorbitant amount of socializing into the month of December? Instead of easing into our shells for the darkest, coldest nights of the year, we eat hundreds of pastries with our neighbors, drink too many free drinks at office parties, and force ourselves to chat with people we only see once a year.

I have a hangover from holiday cheer. I’m exhausted mentally and physically, not just from too much egg nog, but from chatting, traveling, eating, and smiling--usually done all at once.

Between invitations from neighbors, friends, co-workers, family, extended family, and the extended family of all of my neighbors and friends, I estimate that I attended at least 25 parties in the past month. And I bet you all attended plenty, too. In fact, we were probably at many of the same luncheons, happy hours, or non-profit fundraisers in Missoula--but I wouldn’t remember, due to the plethora of holiday wine.

I found myself asking the same questions to the same people at different parties, and also forgetting who I told which story. All of December feels a bit like a dream, and now that I’ve woken up, I can’t quite grasp all the details.

My brain feels like a fruitcake, full of alcohol-induced holes, and my body feels like a sponge cake, full of canape-induced lethargy.

But here’s what I gathered as the two main themes from 2006 holiday parties: everyone’s pregnant and everyone’s in flux with career plans. (Wait…are these always the year-end themes?)

I learned that many people are changing jobs, quitting jobs, or unhappy with jobs. I learned of approximately 22 women who are newly pregnant, and marveled at the amount of offspring who’ve appeared since last year’s parties.

But, after repeated wine refills, I decided to instantly forget anything I was told regarding jobs and babies, in fear of forgetting what was supposed to be a “secret.” This is a lot of work during a party, and resulted in the previously mentioned “sponge-cake-brain.” But those endless canapés are worth it, right?

I’ve also made the following New Year’s Resolution: I will NEVER drink the water in Missoula, as it’s apparently laced with magical baby-making goop. Unfortunately, this birth-control measure may also lead to dehydration, worsening my “sponge-cake-brain” syndrome.

Most holiday gatherings were pretty fun--but not all of them, of course. The holidays also bring obligations: such as the annual dinner with great-aunts and third-cousins with whom you have nothing in common (except, perhaps, the identical feeling of awkwardness as you try to converse over candied yams).

By New Year’s Eve, I could only handle a visit to one party and one bar. This dwindling festive cheer is partly because I think New Year’s is the most overrated holiday of the year, right up there with Valentine’s Day. Too many expectations, followed by too many drunk people driving erratically. And then there’s the pressure of everyone wanting to kiss someone at the stroke of midnight--it’s grueling. Plus, it’s kind of yucky to watch all the spit being swapped.

For the record, I stood on the dance floor at the Union Club when the clock struck 12, clapping madly to: 1) appear festive and happy, and 2) to defend against the circling would-be-kissers. Then I left the bar at 12:20 a.m., proud I’d remained social for a full four hours.

Little Sis, on the other hand, made an admirable showing at several parties and bars, and then brought a festive entourage home at 4 a.m. to ring in 2007 with a bottle of very cheap tequila. Ah, to be young and resilient.

Now, January is officially here. The days are getting longer (by one minute each!), and leftover canapés and chocolate are in trash cans all over town. “Operation Unfat,” the post-holiday movement named by our friend E. Mo. Fish Guy, is in full swing.

I’m in recovery mode after the holiday season, which entails eating lots of carrots and spinach to hopefully spackle any holes in my sponge-cake-brain. I’m also pursing an intimate and extremely satisfying relationship with my down comforter and pillows.

Since many of you might also have more time on your hands since disembarking from the holiday party carousel, we hope you’ll join in our new endeavor: the You Made It Contest. We’re launching this fun segment of the Making It in Missoula Column to hear your stories. Here’s how it works:

Each month, Little Sis and I will pick a contest theme. Then, you can either enter your story or a friend’s to win a “You Made It” bouquet from Bitterroot Floral and bottle of wine from Ten Spoon wines. These lovely prizes will be hand-delivered to the winner or the nominated friend on the last Hump Day of each month.

We’ll kick off the contest with January’s theme: Turn your best (or worst!) workplace romance story into a bouquet and a bottle of wine.

Email us a few paragraphs about that juicy but disastrous water cooler flirtation, or share your friend’s happy ending with a co-worker. You might just get a special You Made It delivery to spice up the end of the month. We’ll announce the winner Wednesday, January 31st, and also publish these stories (with your permission) on the Making It webpage.

Looking forward to your stories! Happy 2007.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

"I feel like I'm always a freeloader on their fun." -Little Sis before entering a New Year's Eve party. (She made plenty of her own fun later, of course.)

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