Friday, November 18, 2005

What Moments Divine, What Rapture Serene

Last week we had a baby shower for one of our brightest accountants. As her manager, I got up to say a few words. We have a lot in common, I said: she’s hard-working, smart, and well-liked by everyone. I got the expected laugh, which got even louder when one heckler shouted, and you’re both pregnant! My side profile invites comments like that. O, how they mock me.

She’s going on maternity leave after Thanksgiving and will be absent from the December 31 close, the audit, and all the 10-K supporting schedules. Guess she is kind of smart, at that. It shows a lot of foresight if she was thinking about this last March. Good tax planning, too, with an extra exemption popping up, or out, as it were, right before the end of the year.



We ordered plenty of food and invited dozens of people, including her husband, some of her relatives and people who used to work here. There’s been a lot of stress on everyone lately with the heavy workload and management changes, and this was an unalloyedly happy occasion. I cheerfully signed the bill for the lunch under the heading of organizational morale booster.

The baby shower is an event that men can witness but never be truly a part of. None of the guys present ooh-ed and aah-ed over the little pajamas, hats and booties as they were held up by the mother-to-be. If you’re single and straight, though, it’s a great place to meet women; females outnumbered the males by 5 to 1.

We finished with a piece of rich chocolate cake from Just Desserts. We have done our share to promote the great season of eating, which runs from Halloween to New Year’s Day.

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