Seeing Santa!

Martin and I, while Christmas shopping in Union Square, thought it would be fun to go see Santa Claus in Macy’s just as I had done growing up. After a few too many shops though, Martin and I completely forgot and ended up home before we remembered. Thankfully, Santa came to us the following weekend – all 500 of him. On December 10^th, Martin and I stumbled upon SantaCon 2011.

For those unaware, including me until a week ago*, SantaCon is a global event where people gather together in big cities, dressed like Santa Claus. In San Francisco, in true SF nature, it is a day-time drinking affair…by 3pm our local square – Washington Square Park – was filled with 500+ very jolly Santas. And while some dispersed throughout the day, we still saw large congregations of Santas in our neighborhood all night long.

We saw Santa at the bar, Santa on a bike, Santa on a bus, Santa with a mullet, Santa on a motorcycle, Santa jay-walking across Columbus and, my favorite, Santa peeing in my alley.

Overall, it was chaotic, hectic but oh so festive…how do you really get mad at 15 Santas singing carols while staggering down the street. And even better, even Martin was infected by their cheer and wanted to join in…which means it is time to start preparing for next year!

Merry Christmas!

* in reality I had first heard of SantaCon in 2005 after an encounter with 2 grown men dressed in their velvety red suits on our family trip to Whistler. These Santas had posted up at the bar before the flight, managed to get cut-off from service on the flight (don’t worry they brought their own treats) and brought their cheer to all of the unsuspecting kids upon arrival through the glass walkway to customs…thank goodness the glass prevented the kids from actually getting too close.

Catching Up and Hanging Out in Vegas

Vegas has seen it all…over the top bachelorette parties, divorce celebrations in style and now a Zurich accountants reunion….on December 1, we got the band back together for two nights only in Vegas.

It had been almost two and half years since the first of us left Zurich, marking the last time we (the Blocks, Marks and Gimbel/Breuers) were all together. And with the excuse of a tax conference in Vegas, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to re-set the count to zero.

We caught up on two plus years over drinks (cheers-ing to all those who couldn’t make it), gourmet dinners and an all day shopping spree on Friday with just the girls (including Shannon’s 2 and half year year old daughter who was so excited to try on clothes she rarely waited until the dressing room to get unchanged.)

It was great to see everyone and it was such a great reminder of the amazing (and life changing) times we had in Zurich…After so much time apart, it felt great to have the past few years apart feel like they were only a few weeks.

And just when I thought we had caught up on everything and we had said and seen it all, the crowd (and Vegas) got a chance to see a little more of me… On Friday night we stopped at a champagne bar for a pre-dinner drink before our reservations at Sushi Samba. And with my eerie sixth sense for finding my way around Vegas casinos, I led the charge to restaurant. Feeling ever-so-confident, with a glass of champagne in hand, sparkly gold shirt, skinny black jeans and patent high heels I will admit had a little swagger in my step. So I was a bit surprised when the girls called me back to the rest of the group a few feet behind me. Two quick checks and they confirmed every girl’s worst nightmare…I had a 4” rip in the seat of my pants and was now swaggering down the carpet with my toosh exposed. ..did I mentioned I have been thinking of joining a gym?

Slightly alarmed, but still feeling fabulous (or at least as fabulous as one can feel with their derriere hanging out) I pulled down my shirt and headed to the closest shop…of course it had to be a Barneys. Three tried-on pants later, I wore my new favorite pair of skinny jeans to the register and asked to be rung up. Thankfully this was Vegas and according to the cashier, he had seen it all and worse.

I returned to the group with my new pants and new look, and enjoyed the rest of the evening and two day vacation with everyone without further incident.

Here’s to hoping the rip was due to the low quality material and not a personal issue. But more importantly, here’s to hoping the rest of the crew can make it next year!