The minds have met, the "creativity" has been entirely spent, and now things are settling back down to (ab)normal. Day Three, which I so dreaded, came and went with a flurry of actually rather interesting activity, I find I have to report. Also, although there was a smidge of bonding (which we�ll get to in short order), I also find that I have to report -- happily so -- that the rough edges of my Hate have only been filed down a negligible amount. Just enough to take some of the sting off for a few days, until the outrage kicks back into high gear.
But let me get to the nitty-gritty. While our time together on Wednesday was spent in quiet, mutual resentment, and our time on Thursday was spent being educated and learning to collaborate without choking the living daylights out of a colleague, our time on Friday was spent engaging in that most venerated of all Field Day/Company Picnic team-oriented activities: the scavenger hunt.
Just a quick aside; why on earth do people immediately turn to competitive exercises as a tool to foster trust and cooperative behavior? I mean, sure, out of a certain patriotism you�re definitely going to cleave to your team and bond with them in a show of solidarity�against everyone else. Isn�t that a bit counterintuitive? As much devotion as you feel for your teammates, simply by virtue of suddenly having the same goal (to win), you�re going to feel an equal amount of enmity towards everyone not on your "team", simply by virtue of the fact that your opposition against them is no longer just a mental state, but a literal one. So, hooray for my team (which, by some ironic fluke, featured no players from the east coast whatsoever), and down with all the rest of y�all. Not seeing the "team" "building" so much.
So, armed with a Polaroid� camera and the company credit card (James, the president, was our team leader), we drove around the city getting snapshots of various landmarks, souvenirs from places such as the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel, and even conducting a blind taste test of two coffeehouse franchises (for those of you who are interested, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf beat Starbucks). Then we knocked off early and met again that night for an upscale dinner and drinks on Arts-Friendly.
Oh, the free drinks. Now, I didn�t Lost Weekend it, or anything, but I definitely took advantage of the free drinks, calling the top shelf liquor and what have you. Obviously I had no desire to become disgustingly drunk at a company function, so I only had a couple, but they were a couple of the finest drinks I�ve ever had in my life. And, as so often happens, it wasn�t until the booze started flowing that the camaraderie actually began.
As it turns out, Anna and Sally aren�t so bad once you get to know them. Provided, of course, that you aren�t working with them at the time. Taking into account the fact that they still don�t know what we do over here, I imagine we�ll settle back into our painful rut of transcontinental rancor by the end of the month. But, for a few hours, we were able to talk and laugh and get to know each other. We followed dinner up by travelling backwards through time all the way to high school, where we bought some booze, holed up in a hotel room, and shot the shit for a few hours more, sans adult supervision.
It has yet to be revealed how (or if) these few and seemingly insignificant hours spent in each other�s physical company will affect our interaction from this point on, but I guess we�ll find out. And I�m sure I�ll keep you guys posted.
Someone Got Here By Searching For: leprechaun shalala �donna And: neuroses I�m Watching: 24, and although I think this episode was technically really good, I�m still at a loss for why they didn�t consider passing an already dead body as Chappelle. And: Alias, which is getting back to it�s deliciously twisted basics.