My First What Canadian Experience?

My Dinner Table From Left" Monica, Bridget, Vicki, Me, Chris, Steve, Grant, Matt
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After weeks of hearing the rumors and bitching and moaning about the catering staff having to work the COP Staff Xmas Party, Wayne made the decision that Tess and I didn't have to work it so that we could go. What did I tell you about Wayne? He's a super boss. (Although the sad thing is, he resigned as a manager because he had to commit to finishing off school and the job was too stressful for him, he was working at least 15 hour days everyday of the week, I don't know how he does it.)

But moving on, it was the day of the Xmas Party, the dress code was Semi Formal and I didn't have anything to wear. I didn't bring any fancy clothes over and I sure didn't think I would have needed them. First I was thinking about borrowing a shirt from someone to wear to the xmas party, but then Rob asked me to go to Westhill(a nearby outdoor factory outlet shopping centre where each store is on it's own, like a huge carpark with stores randomly placed everywhere) so I decided to tag along for the ride. There were a few other people that came with us and fortunately we were able to get a ride there. First we went into Roots(now for those of you back home who don't know, Roots is a famous Canadian Athletic Clothing Brand). I know it can be funny if you interpret it to our Aussie slang so you may chuckle at the thought of everyone wearing Tshirts with "Roots" printed on it but once you get over that novelty, you kind of get use to it. Although the stuff in here were pretty heavily reduced, I didn't find any clothing that I liked or fitted properly so I gave it a miss but I did end up buying a new fashionalbe belt that I liked. We spent most of the afternoon going through each store, some of it was good, some not so good but as soon as we went into the Guess store, it was like a shopper's heaven. Now I don't own any Guess stuff back at home, I don't know why but I guess the stuff can dig deep into your pockets back at home. But as soon as I went in and checked the prices of a few things and it all seemed pretty cheap so I went I an rampage grabbing all the clothes that I liked first. I ended up having a mountain full of clothes that I had to carry to the change room so I can weed out the ones that I didn't like so much. After at least 45 minutes in the store. I ended up with 4 carry bags, a few more fitted Tshirts, a semi dressy shirt for the Xmas Party tonight and $150 bucks less in my bank account. But boy it felt sooooooo good to be able to go on a shopping spree.

The Geelong Boys: Clint, Trent, Trax
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By the time we got home it was about 5.30pm and the Xmas Party was scheduled to start at 7pm. So I quickly took a shower and slipped on my new shirt, borrowed my room mates flask and topped it up with Vodka and off we went to the Xmas party.

It was so different seeing everyone dressed up, the most outstanding costume was Trent(from Melbourne - Geelong) who I've been told looks like Frodo from Lord of the Rings but on roids because he is so bloody buff that it looks like he tenses his muscles even when he is picking his nose. He was suited up in a Cowboy outfit with a white Cowboy hat, a utility belt with toy guns on either side and knee high cowboy boots that he got all for $5 bucks from the Op shop. Not bad I say. Why didn't I think of that instead of spending $50 bucks on a shirt only.

Matt an Me
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The night was full of all sorts of fun filled games and prizes, like some people were acting out winter sports events for prizes(when they did the bob sled without an actual sleigh it was the funniest thing ever) or playing Deal or No Deal to even have the chance to win some money. Dinner was a buffet style meal and the wierd thing was seeing my boss and other people I work with serving me. I felt so bad sitting down and enjoying myself while they had to work especially when it could have easily been me working instead. But after a few minutes of guilt I just decided to get absolutely trashed and not having to worry about it at all. Then when Wayne came up to me and said "Your drinks are on my tab." Immediately I heard the Devil voice in my head saying "SWeeeeeeeeeeeeeT" then the opposite little Angel voice saying "Ohhh this could be bad" But anyhow from that moment Wayne went from being a super cool boss to the most respected boss that I have worked for ever, it was something about Wayne's Management that made every employee that works under him to actually work hard and do a great job just for him.

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So it wasn't long before the devil had won me over and I had drinks after drinks(but I did the good deed of actually tipping good when I asked for a free drink) so in the end, it did cost me some money but not a lot. Drink after drink my stomach started to bloat and churn as if it was slowly brewing away. None the less as I got more drunk, the message "Your drinks are on my tab" was still concreted in my mind and that was enough to persuade me to return to the bar for another drink. After sculling down this drink, I had to excuse myself to go to the toilet and burgghhhhhhhhhh .....pause.... blugguuruurhghghhh ....pause...... blurgghhghghghgh. My abs were pushing and contracting relentlessly to the point where it felt like I was being stabbed over and over and everything rushed out of my stomach that had been brewing in there since the start of the Xmas party. After my abs had a 6 pack work out I wiped my mouth from all the excess left over bits and for a moment I felt like I was sober. There was a disgusting sour taste which remained in my mouth so I headed straight to the bar to get another drink just to wash the taste down. It was nasty. Fortunately by this time the end of the night was clearly approaching as all the lights went on and everyone started to head home. Once I got home, I managed to stumble my way up the stairs, unlock my room and slam my body onto the bed and I was out like a light. So that is my first chucking experience in Canada. Oh yeh, I even finished my flask of Vodka some stage during the night.