Pizza, Clouds & Fun!
Brief update today! I have little to tell you about last night because I returned to Steamworks, and I won't write any details about that because I don't consider it appropriate. I suppose the appropriateness of my even mentioning it could be debated, but I also don't like just pretending it doesn't happen. I'm not interested in deliberately keeping it secret either. Suffice it to say: I had a good time, and it was actually better than my previous visit.
I was basically there for the duration of Shobhit's Project Management Class, which ended at 8:00 and he was on the call for just a few minutes after. Ivan asked me yet again shortly after I got home if we were going to watch anything, but I told him it was too late by that point, and Shobhit and I would probably be watching an episode of The Expanse anyway. And we did, although I first went to the bedroom to finally watch the season finale of Loki on Disney+, which I quite liked. I don't think the series quite lived up to the potential indicated by its first couple of episodes, but I also think it brought things around to end the season in a far more satisfying way than either WandaVision or The Falcon and the Winter Soldier had managed. Loki is still by far my favorite of the three Marvel series so far; I think it's in B+ territory, whereas the other two hover somewhere between B and B-minus.
I am getting increasingly tired, though, of all these movies, and all these series, never reaching any true resolution, as every one of them just feeds into the broader narrative of the MCU, which at this point, by all indications, won't reach a true resolution until the end of time. It's like watching a daily soap opera. Nothing ever really ends. It makes me long for movies and shows that are actually self-contained.
I'm posting quite a bit later than usual today because we had an office "Pizza, Sun & Fun!" (that's literally what they called it) party at the office for lunch. There were several snacks and Deli sides from PCC, but the main course was a bunch of Serious Pie pizzas—which were so fucking good, I had about twice as much as I really should have. And there were also cookies and ice cream set out for dessert. I didn't have any of the ice cream, at least!
Actually, I'm now thinking about when I came back inside from the patio to get my second helping of pizza. Noah was standing next to me and I mentioned how it was too good for me not to get any more, even though I didn't need any more. He asked, "How much are you hating yourself about it?" I said, "Not at all," so he said, "Then you haven't eaten enough!"
I'm still not hating myself about it, even though when Tracy and I kind of closed down the party, being the last two hanging out on the patio furniture, she went inside to get another cookie at one point and I told her to bring me one—even though I had already had one. "What kind?" she asked. "Surprise me!" I said. She then came out with two cookies for me! Dammit. She had two for herself too, and she said as she handed two to me, "This makes me feel better about grabbing four of them." Uh, okay.
Anyway. Claudia came for this! She's been generally working at home, and we've already had discussions about how that's her current preference. I was so happy to see her. I sat with her at one of the tables in the dining room for a while, and later near the end of the party she came out and joined Tracy and me.
So, even though this was a midday work event, it was still a party replete with fairly elaborate "tacky tourist" theme decorations. I'm going to dole out some Social Review points for this: for Tracy, of course; for Claudia; and for Justine, as I also sat with Justine and Tracy after they sat down at a kitchen / dining room table together. (Tracy had set her plate next to me at one of the long tables, then moved it over to sit with Justine. So I went over there and crashed their party.)
Claudia said something really funny when describing me to Julie, the Director of IT. Let's see if I can remember exactly how she said it. "Matthew's a little chilly. He's chilly until you pay attention to him just the way he wants you to." I think that’s pretty damned close to verbatim. Never have I had someone describe me that way, and yet it may be more accurate than any other description ever said of me. Oh my god, I laughed so hard. Even though it's clearly why, it is pretty clear, some of the newer office staff here are currently convinced I don't like them. Even Tracy keeps telling people how standoffish I was when we were first introduced. She keeps demonstrating a "look" as though I outright scowled at her, which is absolutely an exaggeration, goddammit!
Anyway. I had certain periods when I chatted with other people as well. The weather isn't "sunny" in the slightest today—our first overcast day in literal weeks—but it's still totally dry, and absolutely warm enough, at about 66°. Still, I think just because of the clouds, when people first dished up their food they were only sitting inside the kitchen. I was the first to go sit outside . . . and then everyone else who came outside sat at tables separate from me. To be fair, I understand wanting to be at a table with a plate of food; I was just at one of the cushioned chairs arranged facing other similar chairs and outdoor couches. Later several people from IT (including three of the office's four Chris-es . . . okay one of them, a man incidentally, spells it Kris) did come and sit in my area.
It was a good time. I really need to get back to work now.
[posted 1:12 pm]