Last night was the annual S24 holiday party, and once again it was a great time. Unfortunately Nicole and Alex were not able to make it due to Nicole not feeling well. That was the only low point of the night. This year the party was at the Tam-O-Shanter Country Club, which is different from previous years, but was decided via a company wide vote. I guess the majority of the company was ready for a change of scenery. There was no live band this year, instead there was a DJ playing music. There were also four bars around the perimeter of the of the venue along with side rooms for quite conversations. They also brought back the caricature artists this year, so Melissa and I made sure to get another one of those done, as they are usually pretty good. I have to admit, I drank a bit more last night then I normally would or I intended too, but there was no driving as we relied on the provided shuttle to bring us back to the hotel. Melissa is definitely more comfortable with the atmosphere and people in the company now as well, as we spent a good portion of the night walking around and mingling separately. I think the way the venue was set up, that of a multi-room hall layout, lent to more of a wandering and mingling atmosphere opposed to just sitting at a table. I do feel that fewer people came this year though, I think the change of venue made some people feel like it was out-of-the-way, or perhaps that there wouldn’t be anything to do in the area after the party. I know a lot of people will leave the party at the end of the night and then go to the casino or a Coney Island. We didn’t have this problem though, as we typically just go back to the hotel and sleep by that time. Despite all this I think this may have been the best year yet, because of how comfortable we both were with knowing more people and such. I hope they change the venue back next year, just so more people will come, but if they don’t I think this venue worked out very well. Here’s looking forward to next year already!