Holy shit, what a day. What a morning. What an afternoon. So much shit happened, most of it great!
I'm talking about yesterday by the way. This would be why I did not post a Daily Lunch Update yesterday: I was too busy stuffing myself at the annual PCC "Foraged Feast," this year yet again scheduled
after Thanksgiving rather than before—I much prefer when it happens before, because now I suspect there won't be a separate office holiday event. This means that, just like in 2019, I'll have to duplicate
this photo album across multiple Flickr album collections across multiple holidays, both
Thanksgiving 2024 and Christmas (in the latter case, both
Christmas 2024 and the
PCC Holiday Office Parties full history from my time here). That's how I have the album sorted currently, but if by some miracle we
do have a separate holiday office event this month like the "Ugly Holiday Sweater Brunches" we had the past three years (I do not expect this, but you never know), then I'll just readjust.
Having had no time to post an update yesterday, I haven't told you anything about Tuesday evening. Luckily there's nothing to tell! Well, except that I did take myself to a movie right after work that day:
All We Imagine As Light, at SIFF Cinema at the Uptown. Honestly I did not feel it quite lived up to the expectation set by it being the best-reviewed wide release film of the year. It was fine. A little slower and quieter than I was in the mood for, I guess.
I took the bus downtown and then transferred to another up Capitol Hill. I wrote my review. Shobhit suggested going for a walk earlier in the evening, and when I was done writing I was totally up for taking a walk. Shobhit was the one who declined, though. I think he was too cozy under his throw blanket watching a movie.
So! Let's talk briefly about the PCC Foraged Feast in 2024!
I kept confusing myself as to how many of these I have actually attended. I have been at PCC now through 23 Thanksgivings, but have been present at all but one of the Thanksgiving potlucks that actually happened; there was another year, 2020, when we were all working from home so it didn't happen at all. Before adding this year's photo album, the Flickr collection had 19 albums in it—but I have no photos from 2003 or 2004. In 2008, I missed it to see Madonna in Las Vegas. And even though there was no potluck in 2020, I still have a "Giving Thanks at PCC" photo album from that year.
I kept having trouble with counting the number of Thanksgivings that have occurred since I worked here, versus the number of photo albums I had, minus when I knew I did not attend one, combined with counting the years listed in
the history that I keep. This should be very simple, but I kept going back and forth between this being my 21st PCC Thanksgiving potluck or my 22nd. I even initially posted to my socials that it was my 21st, then correcting it to 22nd, then realizing I was right the first time and changing it back to 21. Sheesh!
I couldn't tell you
exactly how many attended yesterday, but it was certainly
at least 42, as that is how many were in the group photo Matt P took yesterday, counting Matt himself; there had to have been a few people already gone back to their desks who did not make it back for that wonderful group shot out on the balcony. Let's just round that to 45: that's 54% of the total office staff, and it would be an even higher percentage of office staff who actually regularly work at desks here (the Store Development team, for instance, spends most of its time out at stores). I would guess this is the largest number we've had attend since before covid, and was nice especially considering how many people still work from home most days.
I'm usually pretty shameless and unrepentant about being right at the front of the line when it's finally time to start dishes ourselves up at the buffet, but I spent a couple of minutes taking photos. That put me maybe midway through the entire number of people who went through the line, so by the time I had
a plate full of food, the center, long table in the office kitchen was full up, except for a chair at the end where otherwise our CEO and legal councel were sitting, and I certainly didn't want to feel like I was "head of the table" right nex to those two. So, I went to a three-chair table over by a window, where both Cathryn and Amy were already sitting. They are both in my department—Amy being specifically on the "Pricing and Promotions Team" with Gabby as the manager—so as a result I did not sit and chat this year with any office staff I don't often interact with in person. In fact even Gabby came and joined us at that very table.
Gabby, Amy and I were the only ones who came dressed in any overtly festive way. Both Gabby and Amy wore holiday sweaters, and I wore my Santa hat, fruticake earrings, and my trusty green FRUITCAKE T-shirt, which I haven't worn to the office in years (back in the old-office days I would often wear it the day before Christmas Eve, my last day working before Christmas). We were all sitting together anyway, so I had Jennifer B
take our picture. I was still chewing on one of Gabby's delicious brownies so my mouth looks a little weird, but what can you do? Both Gabby and I were really concerend there was brownie in our teeth but our teeth all appear fine.
The room cleared out a little more quickly than it has in years past, I would think. The event was scheduled at 11:30 and it was getting pretty empty several minutes before it was even 12:30. Come on, people! Let's hang out for a bit!
There was more food than I had room on my plate for. I could have gone up for seconds but I got really full fast, possibly in part because I had deliberately skipped breakfast, which was definitely a smart move; I was up a pound this morning as it was. I did feel bad when I found out later the green bean dish I did not eat any of had been made by Marie in IT, who I worke with a lot. She, along with several others, were very impressed with
the cucumber sandwiches I brought—and which Shobhit had assembled for me and in the plastic container by Tuesday evening. Concerned that they would dry out, he put a damp paper towel over the sandwiches before sealing on the lid, and that actually worked perfectly. The sandwiches were great.
This was the first time in three years that I actually brought anything to this, and the first time I brought cucumber sandwiches, Shobhit's and my potluck dish of choice of late. It's also one of the two dishes we brought to Gina and Beth's for Thanksgiving, and we took them a couple of times to Action Movie Night. For these, we used the same cream cheese used for Thanksgiving: chives, and other herbs including thyme and rosemary, mashed into it. In addition to the sliced cucumbers we added jarred pickled peppers, which really tied them together. I'm glad I took two when I went through the line yesterday because by the time I might have otherwise gone for seconds, they were all gone.
Amy made these savory onion tartletts that were amazing. Probably the best dish I had. Although I was with the two other people I heard say how good the Field Roast Celebration Roast was. Maybe it was just prepared with greater care than usual, I don't know. I always like it but this year it was delicious.
There were several desserts, as usual. I wasn't certain I could finish
my dessert plate but I believed in myself, and eventually, I made it.
The coolest thing about the Foraged Feast was what Emma C did: because she knows where I now store historic office event photos in folders on a shared drive, she went in and printed one or two from each year, and
stuck them to the glass wall that separates the kitchen from our largest conference room. Other "old timers" in particular really seemed to enjoy them, namely
Sara J and
Thao. It became kind of a game, of identifying people who either left PCC ages ago, or who have passed away. One photo from 2005 had at least four people in it who are now dead. Even though that was 19 years ago, none of them would be particularly old by now, although some would likely at least be retired.
It was really nice to experience the memories this way, though. Several years ago, Andrew from IT ran a slideshow of many of these same photos on minotors in the conference room, when our potluck crowd was big enough to cram into tables in there as well. Even by then there had been so much turnover that few people looking at the old photos had any idea who they even were. Maybe there's something different about having printed photos on a wall, though. It just worked out better this way.
Anyway. Having this event post-Thanksgiving is never ideal, in my view, but I always appreciate it happening, regardless of the timing. Grant is a very new Office Administrator and I'm guessing someone told him very late in the game that organizing office events like this falls to him. And given that he mentioned it in his first calendar invite for it, whoever brought it up to him must have mentioned that we particularly want it to happen this year as it will be the last time we
can do it in a space this large, as it's our last holiday season at this office location. (How we might handle this at the new, much smaller office remains very much up in the air.)
I am just realizing now that, since we had to postpone the Thanksgiving potluck until after the holiday for the first time in 2019, because everyone had been so busy between two store openings, we have actually gone back and forth on these each time we've had the next one: it occurred December 6 in 2019 (Friday the week after Thanksgiving); then of course was canceled in 2020, but occurred November 18 in 2021 (Thursday the week before Thanksgiving); then happened November 30 in 2022 (Wednesday the week after Thanksgiving); then back to November 14 in 2023 (Tuesday the week before Thanksgiving). This year it moved back to Wednesday the week after Thanksgiving, and maybe if there is less upheaval of one sort or another next year, it'll go back to the week before—maybe indefinitely for following years. But who knows!
That brings us to yesterday
afternoon—when we had our Merchandising Fall Social outing scheduled: we all went to the Seattle Art Museum.
This had been the idea for our fall/holiday outing last year. Which was then postponed until January. And then postponed because of the threat of a strike. And then postpone again, and again, until by the time
we actually did something again, it was the next summer (last summer)—a solid year since the last time we managed one of these events.
That had been the Titanic Exhibit, something I was thrilled to get to see for free, but which was met, understandably, with mixed reactions at best, at least for a "team outing" where we all just walked around an exhibit with headphones on. No one even thought to suggest going out for drinks after until we were actually there, and maybe half our group went ahead and did that.
I don't know if there had been a previously-purchased group package that still needed to be used or what, but it was a little surprising to see that location revisited when Dave, the VP of Merchandising, sent out the invite in late October. My thinking was: at least we're getting another event scheduled for the department less than a year after the last one. That said, it was also surprising to have it scheduled the same afternoon as this year's Foraged Feast event—but, Wednesdays are when Merchandising is asked to come into the office; we can't help that the office scheduled the Foraged Feast on a Wednesday; and I'm guessing fewer people in Merchandising could have made the museum work on a Wednesday later this month.
In spite of the two events already scheduled for one day, I piped up pretty early on that I hoped we could go out for drinks or something afterward, so we have opportunity for more interactive time than a museum visit will allow. I responded to Dave the very day he sent the invite to ask if this would be possible. But, I was told fairly soon after that that we did not have the budget for it. Instead, I suggested to Gabby and Amy that we plan a post-museum Happy Hour for ourselves and invite anyone else who wants to join. Gabby even sent out a calendar invite for that.
But then! Tracy, the Fresh Director, came to my desk the week after last, maybe on Thursday. "It turns out we have some wriggle room on that," he told me. And since I am so familiar with downtown, and particularly that area, he asked me to try and think of some ideas of where to go. I didn't even get to thinking of ideas until I chatted with Shobhit on a walk early last week, and he was actually the one who gave me three solid ideas I could send to Tracy and Justine (the Center Store Director—Noah and Frank's boss). We got to three ideas: the Fog Room, which I knew would be way too expensive; Old Stove Brewing at Pike Place Market; and the one they both liked the best, somewhat unsurprisingly as it's right there in Rainier Square just above where our new office space will be, Fonté Bar.
I never do this, but because it would be way too much of a crunch if I waited until I got back to the office Monday this week, I got on my work email Monday
last week to send them these ideas. They got back to me Tuesday morning that they liked Fonté best and asked if I wouldn't mind making the reservation. Okay, fine.
I tried to book online, but even though OpenTable has reservations for 20 as an option, it went to a page saying that was too many and I needed to call the venue directly. So, I did that. I spoke to a guy who seemed unsure about a party of 20 at 4:30 on Wednesday December 4, and then after a beat he said, "What the heck, let's do it!" I had no idea if we'd have even anywhere near 20 people there, but it seemed safest to book for that many.
So, anyway. It was close to 1:00 by the time I got back to my desk after the Foraged Feast. I had asked Gabby if she was driving down to the museum, but it turned out she and Amy were in a meeting they could not leave until 2:00 which was when we were all expecting to meet there. I didn't want to wait, so Noah and I decided to walk together. I suggested leaving at 1:30, but he wanted to be able to "mosey" so he suggested 1:15. So that's what we did . . . and we got there 15 minutes early.
An unexpected thing we found there:
picketers. This put us in a slightly awkward position, especially given my refusal to cross any store picket sign in the event of the union strike we
almost had to deal with last year. (A couple of times someone said, "Are we crossing a picket line?" So I said, "Well. We went around it!")
I don't think this is quite the same, in terms of "crossing a picket line," anyway. We never did get full clarity on this while we were there, but the signs made it clear it was not the entire staff of the museum that was on strike. Signs used words like "guard," and I only see now from
this Seattle Times article that is specifically the
security guards, and no one else who works there, who are on strike. A couple of us did take flyers from them, but we still took our tickets and went inside to view the museum. I didn't get the sense that any of them felt we should not be. Some people driving by honked their support, as at least one of the signs requested they do.
Apparently they've been on strike since Friday last week.
I have to say, though, that I am
really glad I went into the museum—I had not been there to see any exhibits since, as far as I can tell from my Flickr archives,
May 2007 (!—we hadn't even quite yet moved into our condo then), when Barbara and I went for the grand opening of their expanded gallery space. I would have assumed I'd been in there since, but I can find no record of having been, in either my Flickr archives or my Google Calendar. Now, I was last in their
lobby in
December 2011—when Gina had come up to Seattle for a holiday day visit.
Now. I do know I went there once for a temporary exhibit of an artist who made these huge paintings that looked like realistic photographs but were made of tiny black dots. I can't remember the artist or when that was, though, and it's clearly not noted on my calendar. I would have assumed that to be more recent than 2007 but I could easily be wrong, and my records would suggest I am. I even tried Googling this and all the mentions from my LiveJournal are posts from 2002. Sheesh! I'm getting old.
Anyway! Back to the current exhibit: "
Joyce J. Scott: Walk a Mile in My Dreams," on display through January 19. I think I may have been more impressed with this exhibit than anyone else in our group, but I thought it was amazing. I cannot recommend it enough. It's a bunch of art by a Black woman from Baltimore, some of it
pretty funny, and some of it
pointedly disturbing. A lot of it, especially many bead work pieces, was just
objectively beautiful.
Seriously, I could have stayed there at least another hour—even after being done witht the Joyce J. Scott exhibit. I used to get tired really easily at museums, but I found lots of really cool stuff there yesterday, particularly up on the 3rd floor—the only floor, in the end, that I got to spend any time on. I did some wandering on my own, and later I caught up with Amanda and we walked around some of the permanent exhibits together. But, then Gabby texted me that a group was already ready to go as of about 3:15—more than an hour before I had made the reservations at Fonté Bar. And I had only done that at 4:30 because the calendar invite had us at the museum from 2 to 4. But, apparently everyone but me was ready to go after an hour.
Amanda had carpooled from the office with Beth and Mackenzie; they actually arrived not long after Noah and I were the first ones there. She told me she wouldn't be coming to the Happy Hour as she was too busy. "I keep complaining about how busy I am," she said, as justification. Also there was the fact that they were all carpooling together. None of the three of them came to Happy Hour.
Justine had said she didn't think I should need to call and give them a heads up that we were all coming an hour early. Gabby disagreed, and I actually felt as well that it was only courtesy that I should let them know. I called them and it was fine. I also said it was not going to be 20 of us but probably closer to 12 or 15. In the end, there were 11 total at Happy Hour: Tracy, Justine, Michael, Tyler, Erik, Brandy, Peter, Gabby, Amy, Benny, and me. I remember the 11 number because Gabby literally counted while we were there, after she, Amy, Benny and I all walked the few blocks over from SAM together, as the second group to arrive. The other 7 were already in chairs around a table with no more space for us, and Gabby, Amy, Benny and I all sat at the table next to them. This meant we really only visited just the four of us but that's fine.
PCC covered our tabs until the first table left. This included two sharables at our table (sliders that I would obviously not eat, and frites) and one cocktail (or, in Benny's case, glass of wine) each. I had stuffed myself silly already at the Foraged Feast so I only picked at the frites a bit. Gabby wanted to wait for her husband Nick to finish work and join us, as he expected to get out of there by 5:00 and possibly before.
Anyway, getting there at 3:30 rather than 4:30 worked out really well, as it gave us 90 minutes rather than 30 before Happy Hour ended at 5:00. My cocktail, which was more
beautiful than it was especially tasty (it was fine), was not on the Happy Hour menu: I had a "chaitini" that cost $18. Hey, it's not my money!
After the seven at the first table left, Gabby offered us all a second round. I don't remember if Benny had another drink, but Gabby and Amy and I all did. I just ordered a Screw Driver, but it came with a very odd, smoky-adjacent flavor in it that left me unable to finish it. And I really tried.
Among the last four of us, Benny was first to leave. Nick indicated he was on his way right around 5:00, but that was when Amy needed to leave. I did ask for a group selfie in front of a nearby Christmas Tree before she left though, and it turned out wonderfully. She left, and within less than five minutes Nick was there. He didn't order anything and Gabby settled the bill; we chatted for maybe another 10 or 15 minutes before Gabby finally decided to call it a night. I let them know I was going to hang back for a few minutes and get a few photos—Rainier Square is quite festive with holiday decor.
So, between the Seattle Art Museum Visit (47 photos); Happy Hour at Fonté Bar (5 photos); my little holiday decor-tour of the lobby and terraces at Rainier Square (18 photos); and my walk through the Skinner Hall tunnel from there over to Union Square (3 photos), that made for
another photo album with a combined 73 shots in it—certainly a record for
Merchandising Team events.
I walked the rest of the way home up Capitol Hill and basically spent the rest of the evening processing and uploading the day's nearly 100 photos overall. I got very little work done yesterday but I had a really good time.
[posted 12:40 pm]
