I took my staff out to dinner last night to celebrate Christmas and another
great year of working together. Renate, my administrative assistant, has
been with me the longest at eighteen years, and Katie, the most recent hire,
came on board in September. There are eight in all, which sort of boggles
my mind when I think back to the days with that rented manual typewriter on
the kitchen table.

We had a fun evening. This was our first dinner together–in the past it was
always an office lunch. I learned something new about my team. They are
party animals. Katie started it all by ordering a cocktail called the
Pretty Virgin, and then Renate jumped in with a drink called Woo-Woo, and it
didn't take long for Doris to decide she wanted one, too. Before I knew it
someone was asking about Jell-O shots. That someone would be me. To
demonstrate what a great staff I have, everyone showed up at the office this
morning on time. Okay, I was a few minutes late, but it was due to traffic.