singing praises

ok, so mm lived through one of her biggest catering jobs of the year- a dinner/dance for 300 at the new convention center......the convention center is a very nice place......huge if left 'open', but convertible into smaller spaces with movable partitions......i do not think that 300 actually showed up, as there were lots of preplated salads and desserts left over........we have catered this party before, for fewer people.........at the convention center the task was made easier by the catering kitchen, to which a van laden with food may be backed up right to the door for unloading...........and the non-smoking status of the facility.............we have done this party at bright leaf in mercer county, which allows smoking..............the room was unventilated, and a cloud of smoke soon hovered over everyone after an hour or two of chainsmoking madness.....the convention center allows parties to bring in alcohol, and but does not allow people who step outside to smoke to bring their beer along......they even hired a security guard to make sure that this did not happen...........this group became incredibly trashed despite their alcohol-free smoke breaks.......i have not seen bottles of herve quervo passed around since my college days.........oh my.............i still have a few catering jobs before we close on wednesday evening for a few days, but nothing terribly complicated...............maybe now i can start christmas shopping............