Happy Saturday! Welcome to another edition of #weekendcoffeeshare, hosted by the lovely Natalie of Natalie the Explorer. Let’s grab a drink and have a chat!

I was at not one, but two Christmas parties this week and I must tell you, mingling and socializing is exhausting. Maybe it’s because I’m an introvert or maybe like my doctor said, I just need to rest more because the amount of rest I’ve been getting isn’t remotely enough.

I do wish for more rest but my brain and body just wouldn’t let me. It wakes me up before it’s bright outside, especially on weekends. These days, the sun rises at around 8 AM and my brain usually wakes me up at 6 AM. I think my circadian rhythm is off.

Anyway, the first of the two parties was on Tuesday. We, as a department, went to the expensive restaurant next to the company. When I looked it up on Google Maps, it had “$$$” next to the name, so it’s got to be expensive. Let’s just say if I was paying, unless I’m no longer pinching pennies each month, I can never afford to eat a place like this.

Much of what the restaurant served were dry-aged steaks, which it would take my body an eternity to digest. I don’t know since when, but my body seems to have a difficult time digesting meats. In the end, I opted for the salmon with a salad. I was hungry and would’ve eaten an entire steak but would I be happy afterwards as I’m most likely battling a stomach-ache? Not likely.

Thursday was the company’s annual Christmas party where the entire company gets together and celebrates the year’s achievement. Despite being a part of the company, my mom blamed it on her back, stayed home, and ignored the entire thing. To be honest, I doubt she would’ve gone to the party either way. She hadn’t been any of the company events in 3 years, what does that say about her?

This year’s party was a little different from the past. The last 2 parties were in the movie theater. This one was held in a hotel conference room with what was advertised as “gourmet buffet lunch”. I grabbed a little of everything. I would say the only thing fancy might be the focaccia bread and maybe the salmon.

It was also my first time trying brussel sprouts. It was in the tray labeled “seasonal vegetables.” It wasn’t bad, actually, and it made me contemplate on growing brussel sprouts next year.

I stayed at work for a little longer after the party since I was an hour behind. When it comes to the holidays, getting that 40 hours in each week can be hard sometimes, especially during weeks like this when there are so many activities going on.

Besides, with a full stomach, it’s one of rare times when I didn’t have to get home early.

My mom has been preparing dinner earlier and earlier these days. Before the pandemic, we would eat at around 5:30 PM. After we started working from home, dinner became 4:30 PM. Lately, it’s become 3:30 PM. So it made me hesitant to have lunch because with dinner at 3:30 PM, it’s either lunch or dinner. What sucks is that even with a full stomach after dinner, I would be hungry again at around 10:30 PM.

That night, with an extra-full stomach, I stayed at work until around twilight before putting my things into the car and wandering across the street to the mall. I wrote previously that I’ve been having trouble getting into the Christmas spirit this year. I was hoping seeing the Christmas lights would help. Yes, I’m looking forward to the holidays but not because of the holidays but because I really want to rest.

Well, that’s all I’m going to say, thank you for dropping by and I’ll be back next week.