At any rate, with Matt fuming, I decided I'd rather run late and go to bed after him than go to bed first wondering how long he'd stew. So - and I'm sure this will just shock your socks off - Braz and Karen and I had a pick-up session after the regular Hall ended.
Those events didn't officially happen last night - they're happening later this week, in the MeadeHall universe. But we were having fun. It speaks for the sorts of friends that we all are that on one channel, Marten, Glossaria, and Lisl (yeah, Karen twice) were having a discussion on Daoist philosophy (don't ask. really.) while on the pick-up channel, the three of us plus Jeff, who stuck around for a while to chat, were inventing bizarre and peculiar insults. (Along the lines of "Nerf herder!" from Star Wars. Don't ask. Really.)
Anyway, Braz handed out a bucket of clues for us, and once Zoya recovers enough to process things, she'll be looking into certain matters rather carefully. Glossaria agreed to become Zoya's apprentice as a priestess of Erdian, and so Zoya will no longer be "high" priestess by virtue of being Erdian's only priestess. Vallel ate a lobster. (Shut up. It was funny as hell.) And Zoya got a letter from Tyl, which she'll be responding to, um, today. Before the stuff that we worked out last night takes place. Gotta love time-distorted plots.
So, it was about 11:45 yesterday, and I had my supervisor at my computer helping me look for some stupid problem, when the phone rang. It turned out to be Jim, who had decided he absolutely must leave the office for lunch today, and did I want to join him and Becky?
Well, I had a sandwich in the 'fridge leftover from the game on Saturday, but what the heck? I said sure, and went with Jim and Becky to Second Street for lunch. We had a grand time, and I came back to the office to discover that my supervisor hadn't figured out what was causing the inexplicable problem, but had found a workaround. I labeled the workaround as such and went on with my day.
Around 2:45, Matt called. He was at home, about to go to a 3GI company party. (I know what the occasion was, but if I told you, I'd have to kill you. When the press release comes out, I'll post a summary and link.) At any rate, it was big news for the company, and the president, TG, was treating the entire office to drinks, appetizers, and food ... at Second Street.
Matt said that some other spouses were coming, and since I'd recently been a 3GI employee and had so many friends still on the staff, he thought I'd be welcome. I wasn't entirely certain that would actually be the case, but I agreed to stop by when I left work. But actually, when I got there and said hello to Matt, I wound up exchanging a little friendly banter with TG himself. So I made the rounds, greeting old friends and acquaintances, and finally wound up at a table with Jeremy and Elizabeth. We talked briefly about the company news, and I ordered a Tom Collins to sip on while we chatted.
I made a mistake. Tom Collins mix is heavier than gin, and I was drinking through a straw. So as I sipped, I got mostly mix... and then suddenly, nothing but gin. Yuck. So, of course, I had to order another. Shortly after that, I made my way back to Matt's table and sat there eating his french fries in a desperate attempt to equalize my blood-alcohol level so I could drive home.
I was still slightly tipsy when we went to the grocery store an hour later. But that was boring enough to mostly sober me back up.
Word of the Day: lavation - the act or an instance of washing or cleansing
"Lavation." It's got a ritual - almost religious - feel to it, doesn't it? Maybe because it sounds so much like "libation." This can't be something as common as simple washing up, can it? It's a reverent-sounding word, I think. "I take a shower every day, but once a week indulge in a much longer and more elaborate lavation."
Ah, well. Don't forget, after visiting the lavatory, to take your hands to the sink for a lavation. And use lavish amounts of soap.
Update! The press has released. The short version is that the division of 3GI for which Matt works has been sold to another company, called Maximus. All in all, I think it's a good thing. There are some downsides, of course, but most everything has downsides.
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