A pathetic potluck

The past two years, my company sent my coworkers and I to Tucanos for our annual Christmas lunch.  This was already a downgrade from the breakfast -- for us and our families -- and gift certificates they did the first couple of years I worked there.

This year, we had a potluck. Apparently we blew our budget on the summer party.

When the time came to start our Christmas party this is what the food table looked like:

I brought the vegetables

The saddest potluck you ever saw.

The irony is that we've had quite a few fun potlucks in the last six months or so. But, either because the power went out the day before and everyone worked from home so we missed the signups, or we just couldn't believe this was our real party. Those of us who came sat around for a while and watched QVC in the break room. Others gave up and went out to lunch (one guy snuck out to see Star Wars). After an hour another coworker came with a bunch of different options for soup. They were quite tasty!

The head honchos were kind enough to send a gift-wrapping service to us. I only had 6 gifts, so it didn't do me a ton of good. Although, I like the paper they offered. One of my coworkers -- the one that snuck out -- had about 50 gifts. Apparently, when his wife heard about the deal she sent all of the kids gifts. He had them all on a two-decker trolley. Smart guy. Smart wife.

But, you know, after the parties we've had in the past, the potluck felt a little like a diss from corporate.

Hopefully next year will be better. Ah, well, as a wise woman once said, "A terrible party makes for a good story!"