Today was my office’s lame attempt at a Thanksgiving celebration. It’s a nice idea, I guess, celebrating a week before the holiday because most people have the actual holiday off, but unfortunately for those of us on the evening crew, we’ll be here next week on the holiday proper.
Executives (some of whom reportedly donned aprons this afternoon to serve the day shift) might rather gloss over that part of the deal. For the 27th, those of us working have had to work together to make our own meal and bring it to the office for a makeshift potluck feast.
We were served traditional Thanksgiving grub: rolls, seedy orangey cranberry sauce, ‘mashed potato casserole’ with rubbery cheddar on top, green bean casserole, stuffing and turkey with gravy, of which I ate the first three items. Cups of iced tea were also available. The caterers from Pok-e-jo’s sort of decorated the spread, but it still had more of a high school cafeteria feeling than a warm, thankful celebration.
Hmm, $65 for food for six if you pick it up yourself, and we had at least 100 people, plus they had four workers here serving, setting up, etc. That's at least a $1500 expense!
I suppose I should be grateful that we’re getting anything at all, but given that our parent company is trying to sell us because of the tight economy, I can’t help but wonder if we wouldn’t all be better served by skipping the mediocre food and putting an extra $3-$5 in everybody’s Christmas bonus or just forgetting about ‘celebrating’ this ‘holiday’ altogether. We’re guaranteed to have the same sort of cattle-call country buffet for Christmas, too.
Anyway, maybe I’m just grumpy that I’m not celebrating with family or friends this year. Thanksgiving’s not the “most wonderful time of the year” or anything, but I like it all right, and I’d really like to not be under a fluorescent glow with 100 non-friends for the day.
I love some Thanksgiving foods and plan to make or buy a few of them and freeze or store them for a week or so worth of hearty meals: garlic mashed potatoes, baked sweet potatoes, whole canned cranberries, tofurky or something with beans, other vegetables, salad, apple pie, and something with pumpkin. I’ll skip anything with ‘cream of’ anything in it, all the meat, fatty sauces, stuffing, etc., thanks! For me, it’s a time to enjoy fall produce.
Lastly: What is that sweet goop under the pecans on a pecan pie? I just can’t wrap my head around it.
No sir, I don't like it.
Hope you have a happy Thanksgiving (next week)!
