last day (pt. 2)

when mel and i got to the karaoke bar, a few people were there already, sipping on mai tais. we hung out and swapped stories about the company until the rest of the crew arrived and the festivities began.

not everyone sang, but i held anyone who had promised to take the stage to their word. and though some may not have been happy with their performances, i thought everybody was fantastic. i can't believe it'd taken me, a girl who even sings along to commercials, so long to experience coordinated lounge singing. i got on stage and the mic started to shake violently (which seems to be a trend this year). or maybe it was just my voice. i realized that even though in my head i can sing along with ms. karen carpenter, there's a distinct difference between your range when no one's listening and the one you have when you get up in front of a crowd. i had some trouble holding the low notes, but i didn't see anyone cover their ears. regardless, it was my party and it was really fun. here is our collective contribution to the entertainment of the evening:

"summer lovin'," from Grease (duet)
"what's up," four non-blondes
"crocodile rock," elton john
"night shift," the commodores (VERY appropriate considering the company)
"margaritaville," jimmy buffett
"you give love a bad name," bon jovi (a boisterous quartet)
some frank sinatra song that had everyone mock slowdancing up front
"nuthin' but a'g' thang," snoop dogg featuring dr. dre (duet) with cadiz dancing backup
"superstar," karen carpenter

we closed out the karaoke place and because we were having so much fun, we moved the party around the corner to a bar that had a dance floor. my supervisor TORE it up on the dance floor, proclaiming, "THIS IS SO MUCH BETTER THAN THE SINGING!" i didn't agree completely, but i'll admit that after getting on stage, being silly getting our groove on seems like child's play.

it was a great evening. because it wasn't close to the office, was on a thursday night went till 4:30 a.m., i'm happy so many people came out and stayed so long. someone pulled me aside at the bar and said she wished i'd leave every week. yeah, i'm going to choose to believe she meant that she was enjoying herself. and considering the circumstances it sure beats the usual sendoff tradition, which would have had all of us standing around at the local dive bar discussing how i don't have anything lined up and all the things wrong with the people running the company.

i think i've got my karaoke fix for a good while. but if i have a hankering to serenade again, i know just the people to call.