PBW: Baby It's Cold Outside

It is freezing outside. This is definitely the time for hot chocolate, alcohol, or any combination thereof. I have two quick items to address before we get to this week's chilly images, best viewed from a computer by a warm fireplace. Firstly, it looks like Kev Bayer gets the win for his contribution to the first(and only...?) MCF RPG writing contest. Congratulations, and check your inbox soon for Leonis, the tenth fragment of the Mysterious Master Prize™.

The second item I'll touch on briefly is my new company's holiday party, which I attended on Tuesday night. There were certainly similarities to parties I'd attended in the past, between the DJ and the food stations. A two-drink limit seemed discouraging, but with a third I'd almost certainly have been on the dance floor, and might have entered the dance-off. Yes, there was a dance-off. There was also a raffle, and the prizes given away for both events were insane. Five iPods. One iPhone. Three plasma televisions. Two GPS systems. A camcorder. A digital camera. I can honestly say that I work for a place that makes dreams come true. Obviously, my name wasn't drawn, though the dude who won the iPhone had only been with the company for two months. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the food, wished I'd heard some of the conversations I was having over the music(“smile and nod” was in full effect), and dessert rocked. There was canoli and pastries and gingerbread men and houses and two kinds of mousse. In the lobby on the way out, there were fresh baked cookies, hot pretzels, hot chocolate, and roasted peanuts. And there were swag bags for everyone, so every employee at least got a CD, a wallet, a keychain light, a cubic zirconia necklace, a tin of mints, and a set of scented candles. All of these items would have made great gifts for various family members, but of course I finished my shopping the night before the party. Overall, life's not bad.

And what of Photo Blog Wednesday? While people celebrate and stay warm, birds and stray cats search for food. One cat even hid in our basement one night.




(The above shot is desktop sized.)







And when it's too cold outside, one might always find entertainment in the diverse reactions two cats have to a cheesy dancing Santa...