Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Society
Another spectacle was experienced recently. I was invited to our CEO’s place for his annual holiday party, which was themed “Wines of the disco era”. So I took a car from work to his grand building on the Upper West Side, I get into the elevator, go to his apartment, and find he owns the whole floor.
I walk inside to an apartment that looks like something out of a 1920’s society page: Huge rooms, intricate woodwork, waitstaff, and a vast view of Central Park and Midtown through the Victorian rooms. I went around to these tables staffed with wine experts pouring and explaining the wines. I honestly thought much of the wine was not entirely to my liking, until I was told they were $500 a bottle – no exaggeration – at which point they suddenly tasted “exquisite”. So I rubbed elbows with our investors and other of his direct reports. I was also pleased to discover a professor friend of mine was there and we were able to have a relaxed conversation while downing hundreds of dollars of wine, port and some food.
Honestly, the whole experience was something out of a movie, surreal. And I was in it. It was really something to have the CEO introduce me as “this Matt, he has a background in labor economics and is in charge of all our non-exempt workforce compensation”. I guess I’m growing up.
I walk inside to an apartment that looks like something out of a 1920’s society page: Huge rooms, intricate woodwork, waitstaff, and a vast view of Central Park and Midtown through the Victorian rooms. I went around to these tables staffed with wine experts pouring and explaining the wines. I honestly thought much of the wine was not entirely to my liking, until I was told they were $500 a bottle – no exaggeration – at which point they suddenly tasted “exquisite”. So I rubbed elbows with our investors and other of his direct reports. I was also pleased to discover a professor friend of mine was there and we were able to have a relaxed conversation while downing hundreds of dollars of wine, port and some food.
Honestly, the whole experience was something out of a movie, surreal. And I was in it. It was really something to have the CEO introduce me as “this Matt, he has a background in labor economics and is in charge of all our non-exempt workforce compensation”. I guess I’m growing up.
# posted by otas : 11:28 AM
