Feeling a Little "Bridget Jones"

Last night was David's office holiday party. It was at The Pond House in West Hartford: http://www.pondhousecafe.com.  Very lovely, but can I just say, have you seen Bridget Jones' Diary?  The slightly chubby, slightly awkward, slightly odd but lovable Bridget Jones? Is it Darcy who loves her so desperately and never judges her based on any of the above?  I haven't seen it in a while, but I can't wait to see it again......for one scene in particular....but I'll get to that in a minute.

Now, it's an office building, right?  I've gotten ready for dates, parties, all kinds of things in plenty of office bathrooms…..well, gosh, Dunkin’ Donuts bathrooms, Starbucks bathrooms….if there’s a sink and running water, I can get ready there. So, an office building, no big deal, right?  Well, here's the deal..........Our little office is owned by a  family man. He also takes care of the building maintenance and cleaning.  So, at 4:55 he blocks off the bathroom and cleans it so he can go home and eat dinner with family by 6:00.  Sweet enough, I guess, but REALLY a hassle when you need to get ready. We have a small closet-size bathroom downstairs in our supply room.  It's the "scary" bathroom that all us girls  try to avoid, but, he doesn't get down there right away to clean it. I juggle bags with makeup, lotion, perfume, curlers and shoes. I throw my suit and coat and scarf over my shoulder and  head for the stairs.  I try to carry it all, but constantly drop things and stop to pick them up, re-juggling, causing me to  drop something else.  David's waiting at work for me to get him....Ugh...I have to hurry up. It's about 10 after now.The party was on a Monday at 6:00 in the evening.  So, those lucky enough not to work, had all day to get gorgeous and festive. Those of us who have to work for a living, had to clock out of work mode at five and hit the party by six. I had two bags and a ton of hangers full of clothes waiting for me in the car. About 4:45 I snuck out and carried everything into the office. I plugged my two sets of hot rollers in under my desk and let them heat up while I finished up an org chart. The clock hit 5 and I shut down my computer, bundled my stuff in my arms, and headed for the bathroom.  

I make it to the bathroom and start to arrange everything. I brush my teeth and wash my face. I plug the rollers in and put them on the sink ledge. I decided to wear my black suit jacket and skirt that goes below the knee.  (Joanie gave me a heads up on Friday that it was not a formal thing, and a dress would be too much. Thank goodness! I was spared dress shopping on Saturday afternoon – FANTASTIC!)  I get out of my giant sweater, my t-shirt, my thermal under shirt (its cold here!).  I slip on my skirt and zip it up.  I put on another thermal shirt and a camisole.  Then I peel into my jacket. Huh…I don’t remember it being this snug.  The buttons pull a little as I try to get them fastened. I wiggle around in the jacket trying to magically create another inch or two of room.  No luck.  I take off the  thermal shirt and go with just the camisole.  Still snug, but it buttons.  I try to change shoes and slip my foot from one shoe to the next so I don't have to touch the dirty floor. I'm planning to wear my red birthday shoes, and they are NOT easy to just slip into. I fall against the wall a couple of times, but never touch the floor! David's waiting at work for me to get him....Ugh...I have to hurry up.  It's about 20  after now. I turn around and knock both sets of rollers off the sink and they land with a loud crash. The rollers and pins fly EVERYWHERE - under the sink, behind the toilet, into the corners. I feel my eyes start to tear up with frustration.  I have to get down on my hands and knees and collect my things.  It's dirty and nasty and I try not to notice.  I collect everything and hear a knock on the door.  He's coming to clean the bathroom.  "Just a minute," I call out.   

I throw on my coat and repeat the juggling/carrying/dropping  scene taking everything out to the car.  The parking lot is dark and empty by now.  David's waiting at work for me to get him....Ugh...I have to hurry up.  Time seems to be getting away from me. It's about 30 after now.  It's also about 30 degrees.  I start the car and turn on the two small overhead lights by the rearview mirror. This will have to be my dressing room now.  I start to roll my hair - mostly by memory as I can't see a thing in the mirror.  I've done it millions of times.....surely I can do it without looking by now. The curlers are starting to cool in this temperature anyway, so they probably won't work.  I start to put on my makeup.  It's dark and I am trying to see in a tiny compact mirror....all of a sudden I get tickled.  I remember the scene in Bridget Jones (not sure which movie exactly) where she is running late and has to get ready in the car, in the dark, on the way to a party. She pops out of the car and enters the room with a giant smile on her face as she approaches Darcy…..do you remember this…..all the while with PILES of makeup on her face.  Clown-like rosy cheeks and dark circle painted eyes.  I’m sure her buttons were pulling a little too……I’m SO Bridget Jones right now, I think. I better go light on the makeup. Again, I go by memory, I’ve done it so many times before.  Thank goodness I have a Darcy at the other end of this to smile at! Oh yeah, that reminds me, David's waiting at work for me to get him....Ugh...I have to hurry up. It's about 40 after now.  

I throw everything in the back and head toward his office.  The phone rings. I dig around in my giant bag looking for the phone, but can’t find it.  I finally grab it and call back. “I’m on my way….just a few minutes.” “Okay”, David says in his always calm tone.  I finish up my makeup at stop lights.  When I pull up to the office, David is walking out with another girl.  Oh no, I think. I guess she’s grabbing a ride with us.  I get out of the car, head still in rollers, I start to climb in the back of my little 2-door Honda in a skirt and heels.  “What are you doing?” David asks. “Oh, I thought….”  “This is (I have NO IDEA her name today…..let’s be honest.) She wanted to meet you”.  I awkwardly stick out my hand, a roller sort of falls to my shoulder as if rehearsed.  …..So Bridget Jones…. 

We head to the party and as I am taking out my rollers, I break a nail.  Rats! “I’m in a bad mood,” I say to David.  I’m hoping he’ll say something sweet or funny like he always does, but he was too busy trying to figure out where we were going. We arrive and park and I watch all the girls walking in in their black pants……Ugh. I wanted my black pants.  It was cold out!  I tug at my jacket and make one last glance at my hair …. Nothing I can do now.  “You look pretty,” David says.  And the nice thing is, I think he actually meant it. I smile and we are off.  

The party itself was actually very fun for an office holiday party.  It’s fun having an IT guy for a date, because  they know EVERYONE! We talked to people in Research, Accounting, IT, Executives, Engineers, and Admin.  We worked the room and talked to one group no more than 10-15 minutes and we were off to the next group. No long-winded conversations. No awkward standing around.  It was fun too, because I got to meet a lot of people that I worked with from Dallas over the phone but never  actually met face to face.  I  got to meet the “big guys” that I knew by name only.  It’s fun going with David, because everyone loves him.  It’s fun to watch him “work the room”.  He can talk to anyone about anything.  (A skill I’ll NEVER have).  David would introduce me and say I was from Texas. There would be small talk about the summer heat vs. the winter cold and “how’d I like CT so far” and then we’d be off.  We had so much fun talking that we forgot to sit down and eat. About 8:30 or so, we decided to sit and eat something.  I grabbed a plate….walked up to a man slicing beef. It looked great!  I grabbed a few slices and moved down the line. Problem was, the food was GONE! There was NOTHING left.  We walked across the room and found another table of food.  One container was empty. One had pasta.  Score! We scooped up a little pasta and sat down.  Before I knew it the party was over.  It was a fun night – lots of smiles and laughs.  I had a great time - my first Connecticut holiday party.