Another New Year
2007-01-06 @ 3:24 p.m.

Our New Year's Eve party was fun. A real raucous time. The theme was a lingerie sleepover (the women wore the lingerie, not the guys).

I hosted this year. We had the party at my parents home. They are away, in California, and had asked me to keep an eye on the house. I did that and more.

Initially, it was to be a semi-intimate gathering with approximately 20 people. My hope was to have about half male, half female, to keep the cock-to-pussy ratio nearly even. Unfortunately, bouts of the flue grounded a few of the lasses. Ultimately, the guest list included ten men and four women.

The guests included many of the usual suspects: Steve, Luke, Dale, Chad and Kit, as well as Jake and his wife, Ember. Chad's cousin Jason also attended (you may remember him from my vacation this summer). Dale brought two friends, Michael and Bryce. Luke's friend, Mark also came, along with a friend of his named Natalie. So, we gals were somewhat outnumbered.

The house is fairly large, with six bedrooms and 3 baths. Think old, New England farmhouse (but updated). There was plenty of room for anyone to do whatever they wanted. Steve built up the fire, I lit some candles and dimmed the lights. Coupled with all the Christmas greens and lights, there was a very soft, inviting atmosphere.

People began arriving around 7:00PM. Everyone dressed well and looked nice. We had some hors d'oeuvres (I made the crab puffs) and an excellent assortment of wine. There was also a good assortment of Sam Adams. I'm not a big drinker, and even less of a beer connoisseur, but I do enjoy Sam Adams Winter Lager (and love the October Fest).

I've been to parties before that served food and liquor and have discovered that not everyone comes prepared. A pet peeve of mine is good hygiene, so I also purchased toothbrushes, small tubes of toothpaste and small bottles of mouthwash. Therefore, no one would have an excuse for nasty breath.

Natalie proved to be extremely annoying. I took an instant dislike to her which is unusual for me. She is a large gal and frankly, not very attractive. That's beside the point really. She is one of those people that acts to familiar to soon. That, and she was a know-it-all, and not a very good one. She also, in front of me, insulted both Kit and Ember. It was likely unintentional which is truly bad form. If you're going to insult someone, make sure you know when you're doing it.

I'm not sure how the topic came up because I joined the conversation late, but Natalie was talking about how much she enjoyed the movie Troy. I haven't seen the movie because - Homer....Brad Pitt....does not compute. Anyway, she's babbling away, not letting anyone get a word in, interrupting people, in short, being obnoxious.

She starts discussing the plot: How Helen is married to Agamemnon, king of Athens? Natalie repeats this a few times. So, I can't help myself, with her, anyway. I say, "Mycenae." Natalie looks at me.

"What?"

"Agamemnon was king of Mycenae. His brother, Menelaus, was Helen's husband."

Natalie looked at me. In a condescending tone she says: "I'm pretty sure Helen was married to Agamemnon." Then she continues.

"Agamemnon was married to Clytemnestra," I said. "Helen's sister. Clytemnestra kills Agamemnon upon his return home to Mycenae."

"Have you even seen the movie? Agamemnon is killed at Troy."

"Oh," I said.

"I've seen it," she said with pride. "Four times!"

"I've read Homer," I replied. "And Aeschylus, so maybe I'm out of my depth, here."

"Maybe you should try watching the movie!"

Kit laughed so hard she almost had beer coming out of her nose.

Usually, I'm not such a bitch, I swear. I'm not in the habit of belittling people. The girl just rubbed me the wrong way. Can you believe I was having this disagreement at an orgy? Maybe we should have broken-up into discussion groups instead.

I also don't want you to think I'm a know-it-all. Natalie just happened to wander into my undergraduate field of study. I majored in Classical Studies. The topic she was discussing is pretty basic stuff in that field. It's kind of like....hmmm....I don't know.... let me think....a med student knowing where to find a patient's feet!

Thing is, Natalie didn't quite get the sarcasm. So, she kept yapping away. Don't you hate wasting sarcasm? It's to valuable to waste (a much needed commodity in very short supply).

Looks like this will have to be a two-parter. Sorry. I just felt like talking about Natalie.

Around 9:30PM, Luke left the house but returned in a few minutes carrying something.

"What in God's name...?"

It was a Sybian. Or a knock-off. I'm not sure. I have never seen one before, let alone used one.

"That's not going to blow the fuses?" I asked.

"The fuses?" Replied Luke. "No, not the fuses."

Luke set the Sybian up in the study and Kit thought it time we head upstairs to change.