Memento - A Picture Tells A Thousand Words

I Before E Except for FEIST

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Feist in Concert
Kitchener-Waterloo, Ontario

"One, two, three, four, five, six, nine, or ten
Money can't buy you back the love that you had then
One, two, three, four, five, six, nine, or ten
Money can't buy you back the love that you had then"- 1,2,3,4 - Feist

There are artists who are great in live concerts and there is Feist. Leslie Feist proved why she is so loved by millions. Her voice is both angelic-ally perfect for quiet dinners and for chillaxing. Her flair for artistry combining audio and visual on stage. One note though, apparently after several minutes with that projector art - it gets to be tiring and it being shown on stage becomes less fascinating and drowns Feist's stage presence. They can do away with it.

Oh, what got the goat out of my great night was that Feist chose to sing the Bee Gees remake of "Inside Out" several notches slower. We actually loved the recorded album version. 1234 was sung a minute shorter and that the projector presentation was a tad distracting. Oh did I say that already?

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Watch a short clip of Feist singing "1234" from my Facebook video.

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It's that time of the year that allows you to mix business with pleasure.

I guess that was cryptic. I wanted to talk about Office Christmas Parties. Back when I was donning neckties and thin striped long sleeves, I was always assigned to coordinate this once-in-a-year event that is both a team-building, and morale-boosting party to honor office performers. Raffle prizes, group presentations, and that proverbial good food. 13th month pays would have been deposited and Kris kringle mysteries may have been revealed by your chatty officemate, it was also a time to ask a date from your office crush.

Besides it is the season for giving and being charitable, why not try asking that OC (Officemate crush) for a dance, or a next day lunchdate?

That's what I tried 16 years ago.

Now she's been my constant date, with a shared pizza, a quiet stroll with snowflakes falling, holding hands while walking (HHWW) and a Feist concert to boot. My officemate Christmas date is now my wife.

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Six tips for avoiding office party trip-ups

Ryan offers some advice on surviving the office party with your dignity (and job) intact. (Note: Not everything works for everyone. Read on 2nd tip and my experience...:)

• Pace your drinking -- or don't drink, period. Booze doesn't give you license to do anything that wouldn't be appropriate at the office between 9 and 5.

• Don't hit on, and don't hit up: Don't use the party to hit on a co-worker (if things go badly, you'll live with awkwardness daily) or to hit up your boss for a promotion or raise (socializing at the event is fine, but save requests for the appropriate forum).

• Eat before you go. Don't assume you'll get enough ballast from whatever's served at the event.

• Photos live on. Don't dance yourself into a sweaty mess or do anything else you'd cringe to relive in photo form.

• Leave before it's obvious that you should. No one will remember that you left early, but they will remember you asleep on the coats. The top brass are usually long gone by mid-evening. Follow their example.

• Can't trust yourself to get through the party without a misstep? Don't go.

The bottom line? RoAne sums up holiday party etiquette: "Keep your hands to yourself, dress appropriately and remember: This is always about business."

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