esrosedotblog

SCREENING

A caterer came to call yesterday; a candidate for my birthday party in January.

We were beginning the screening process; finding the best person to solve our 'entertainment problems'.

Nice guy. Good at picking up cues. Fed back all the right reactions to our 'story'. A good listener.

By the time we were sitting in the dining room talking about the best times for a brunch/lunch and the kind of food we wanted, I knew that he had gone from candidate to fully elected official.

I simply would not have the energy to go through this kind of ordeal again; getting to know you, telling the story, walking through his story; going back and forth about expectations.

Do you want 'belly tables' (the tall kind you lean on)? Hand held food. What about the drinks? A bartender? There is no booze. Where will the food be served? Let's look at the kitchen. Healthy food please. I try to get organic produce from local farms. There are some really nice little lamb chops. This is lunch. Not brunch. Hand held food no plates or silver. Are the hours OK? A hundred people. (Well, I am up to 80 and John has not even gotten started yet).

You get the drift.

And underneath it all, I am wondering what the fuck this will cost. Yes it is my party and I am not really going to do anything but stand in one place and smile for three hours.

And oh, there is one other thing. I will sign the checks. I am the comptroller.

Well, we finally got to the money part and it was not as bad as I feared. I had already estimated an amount per head and it turned out to be his minimum ball park guess.

This is the usual drill. One projects and thinks about costs and then calls the vendors and finds that all the thinking in the world only got one up to 'the minimum'. Not including belly tables.

It is OK.

We only pass this way once.

This week the market hit a record.

Of course by the end of January it could be in the pits but by that time we will be all a-twitter with the party and all prudence will have flown.

We aren't going to call any other caterers.

Once is enough.

A reliable friend says that this guy is OK. She goes to more parties in a month than we have in ten years here. OK.