I have experience in creating a Disaster at a Work Party! 

So I feel more than qualified to give you tips on how to Avoid A Work Party that Lives On in Infamy!”

Here is my story.

It was the December Holiday Season, not long after the Anniversary of the bombing of Pearl Harbor, which President Franklin D. Roosevelt called “A Day that will go down in Infamy.”

We can file this story under work communication, what not to do at a work function. And it sure fits my particular category of “Wanting Ice Water.”

Cause I was in hell, and people in hell want ice water.

I have good excuses for my work party disaster. 

Here is the shortlist:

• A cheating husband,
• My quest for a master’s degree,
• My little girl,
• The Gulf War,
• Non-stop work

Since I have had this experience, please, don’t repeat my mistakes.

Don’t Do Stupid at A Work Function.

And there is a very simple way of achieving this goal.

I wrote this post on Tuesday, December 7, 2021.

According to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, this is the day to live in infamy.

It’s was a Sunday morning on December 7, 1941, when Japan, especially the Japanese Navy and Airforce, launched a surprise attack and bombed the hell out of the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii.

We got out asses kicked.

And then we entered World War II.

I’m Gloria Moraga; welcome to the Podcast.

I write about communication, politics, work communication, family communication, and movies.

I encourage all of you to talk to each other. One-On-One. Even during the holidays, when we are stressed out.

Please Subscribe

I also encourage all of you to subscribe to my Podcast.

I ask you to subscribe each time I post a podcast, and I rarely get new subscribers.

I think I figured out why.

I was listening to a podcast recently, and I wanted to subscribe, and I could not find the subscribe button for the life of me.

Jeeze. Wow. What a disaster.

So I would explain to you where the subscribe buttons are, BUT! My podcast page is broken right now. The Site is podcast.gloriamoraga.com.

I’ve been on the phone with Hostgator and emailed Podbean, filled out tickets, etc. And we still haven’t been able to figure it out.

Of Course, I Called.

I got this message; you know the one that says, how about we call you back, rather than waiting on hold. I had been on the phone all day. So I thought, why not?

Guess what?

The wait was supposed to be 13 minutes. Right now, it’s been an hour, and they have not called back.

Communication. Broken promises. Liars.

But as problems go, this is not a major problem. 

Late Last Night, the Site was back up! 

YAY!!!

But let me share a universal work mistake I’ve made that is a huge no-no.  

Since Pearl Harbor Day is the holiday season, let me share a Holiday Work party Mistake.

Don’t EVER Do This

I’ve made many others; this is the worst one.

Relax, sit down, pull up a chair.

I was working in Washington, D.C., and suddenly, my life went to shit.

I rarely talk publicly about my divorce, but my marital problems played a significant role in my “Big Pearl Harbor Work Holiday Party Mistake.”

I was covering the Gulf War, working on my master’s degree, going to school all day Saturday, raising a little girl who was four, and my husband stopped coming home after work.

The babysitter, who lived next door, was very strict about one of us getting home by 6:00 p.m.

Well, I was frequently doing live shots at 6:00 p.m., and I rarely got home before 7:00 p.m.

This Happened Frequently

I’m getting ready to do a live shot for one of our television stations, and Barbara, the babysitter, would call and say, someone has to come home and take care of Alexandra.

No husband.

Of course, you all know where he was. He was having an affair with the elementary school secretary. He was a school teacher.

What a loser. (This is why I don’t write about my divorce. I can’t communicate like a grown-up.)

So I’m just exhausted, stressed out, it was so bad, I could not eat. Now, this is a huge factor.

I always have an appetite. But I was on the divorce diet. When I tried to swallow, the food would not go down.

The Bureau Christmas Party

My boss throws an expensive, lovely Christmas dinner at a nice Washington, D.C. restaurant each year. And he gives us all great presents.

This was a big deal because he was very cheap, and this was the only thing he ever did for us. (or maybe just me.)

So, I get to the Christmas Party, and the first thing I do is drink some Champagne.

I try not to drink much. But I love Champagne. LOVE IT. I definitely could be a drunk if I was rich and had full access to the expensive bubbly.

EVERYONE KNOWS ABOUT MY BROKEN MARRIAGE

My friends and work colleagues, David Snepp, David Chase, Zelda Wallace, and others, were worried about me because they knew what was going on with the Cheater.

And I drank, and I drank on an empty stomach.

Sure enough, when the boss asked all of us to sit down, he would make toasts and give out gifts; before the lavish dinner, I began to throw up.

I make it to the bathroom. But I could not stop heaving. I threw up all over my dress, all over the floor, in my hair.

I was throwing up Champagne. Nothing else in there.

A Very Nice Lady Attendant

There was an attendant in the lady’s room. A nice woman. Who kept asking me if she could do anything for me?

I could barely talk. I was sprawled on the floor next to the john, with dry heaves.

One by one, all my colleagues began coming into the bathroom, standing in the doorway of the stall.

Yup. It was the ladies’ room. But I’m not a lady, and the guys are all Washington, D.C., pushy people.

David Snepp – His Daddy Was a Judge

David Snepp is a tall, handsome blond man from South, South, or North Carolina. Very, very nice. Real southern Gentleman. His father with a powerful judge.

He came in the most and stayed the longest.

The conversation went something like this. “Oh, chicka Pea, how you doing?”

I’d gag.

You’re just feeling terrible, aren’t you?

Dry heave.

We all know why that bastard is breaking your little, ole heart. What can I do? Let me do something.

I’m okay.

You are not. You are not okay. You don’t deserve this. My daddy is a judge. He can give us some legal advice. He’s committing adultery. You hold all the cards. We’ll destroy him.

Zelda Wallace – Whitney Houston Look-A-Like

Then Zelda crowded in. David, I think the boss wants you.

Zelda is a tall, beautiful woman who was the spitting image of Whitney Houston in her prime. She once dated a Secret Service Agent in the Clinton Administration. Oh, the stories he told.

“How you doing, honey. I mean, girlfriend, I will cut his dick off if you want. It is gone. Never to be seen again.”

Want some water, sweetheart.

I gagged. I’m okay.

Want me to help you get up.

I began dry heaving again.

David Chase – Photographer-Editor-Friend

Next, David Chase. My photographer-editor, best friend. He lovingly called himself the little Jew.

“it’s the little Jew he said. I brought water. It will give you something to throw up. Better than the dry heaves.

I took the water. Please don’t look at me I said.

Why I’ve seen you looking worse.

That’s true, I thought.

Did you eat anything today? Get it. DidJew? DidJew??

Go away. Stop with the Woody Allen jokes.

Eventually, everybody came into the restroom and saw me hugging the toilet bowl.

All The Bureau’s Managers – And Their Wives

My boss, the bureau chief and his wife, Dianne, the assistant bureau chief and his wife Et. The assignment editor and his wife. All of these strict catholic don’t believe in divorce. All knew I planned to divorce my husband.

One of the wives said, think very long about this. Don’t make any hasty decisions. Another said you have a daughter to consider.

I thought. Oh, you mean the daughter he doesn’t pick up after work.

Someone said it’s a pity we didn’t get a chance to visit.

Huh??  Was all I could manage.

At that point, I began throwing up the water the Little Jew had given me.

I was in there for about an hour and a half. I missed the entire dinner.

I was humiliated.

I didn’t want to walk out the door. I just wanted to crawl into a hole and die.

I survived. But this is something you never way to do at a party.

Don’t drink. Don’t get drunk. EVER!!

For some strange reason, I did not get “fired” or even get a note put in my file for making a spectacle of myself at My-Work-Holiday-Party-Pearl Harbor-Disaster.

Maybe because the wives all felt sorry for me, I hate pity. But I brought it on myself.

Don’t drink too much at work functions. If you can hold your liquor, like David Snepp, the Southern Gentleman, you can have a drink or two. But NOT on an empty stomach.

But not me. I can’t handle booze.

One Work Party Drunk That Got The Ax!

Before I go, let me tell you about a Work Party at the University.

A woman, a supervisor, got very, very drunk. She also had a very close relationship with a co-worker.

She was his boss.

At this work party, she was flirting with him, and at one point, she told another worker, stay away from “My Man!”

They were both married, not to each other.

It was bad. Then. The drunken supervisor-flirt was stopped on her way home and got a DUI, drunk driving, or driving under the influence ticket.

She was fired.

She was a high-paying executive. And she was fired.

I Was Lucky – Stupid-But Lucky

I didn’t flirt with anybody—too busy vomiting. And I got a ride home. I would never drink and drive. And the cab ride from the restaurant to my house was about two bucks.

But I’m lucky, and this woman was not. She was drunk. And she should have stayed sober.

One-On-One. Talk to each other at the Holiday Parties. And family gatherings. Don’t drink too much. Enjoy.

“From Here To Eternity”

I want to mention one great movie before I go. It’s called “From Here to Eternity.” It is my favorite Pearl Harbor Flick. Great Acting. Based on a Book. Great story. And it really gives you a feel of what it was like in Pre-War Hawaii in 1941.

Coming Up

I will post my One-On-One interview with the Whistle Blower, Paula Pedene. It’s wonderful. She went through hell being bullied by her supervisors.

In the end, she won, but she almost went broke, and she almost had a breakdown.

I’m Gloria Moraga; please subscribe. Please share.

This is a loosely edited transcript of my podcast episode. 

Be safe. We’ll talk soon.