They were generous with the booze, but not with the food, which is not usually how I like school parties.

Tonight was a farewell party for two English teachers at the school where I work. One is moving to Tibet (long story) and the other has found a full time job and will, within a few months, wish he was in Tibet.

The event started with booze, which was unusual because they usually start with random appetizers of questionable content and origin. After a while we got salad, tuna, tofu, and raw vegetables. After that was more booze.

After enough booze I found myself looking around for a menu. Food hadn’t arrived in a long time and I thought we were expected to order it. During a school party, food is usually a form of self-defense. It provides something to do other than drink and it helps slow down the impact of the booze.

It turned out I was wrong, though. We didn’t have to order because after a while more food arrived.

The trouble is, by the end of the evening, a lot more booze than food had arrived, which magnified the power of the booze. (In defense of the restaurant, they served bourbon neat, even though it wasn’t on the menu and were generous with the amount.)

On the other hand, they were generous with the amount, which means I’ll soon have regrets. Especially as there wasn’t much food.