The Office Christmas Party was Friday night. And going into it, I don’t think any of us really knew what to expect. Everything that we do now is a First time event. Meaning, every time we do something now, it’s the First time we’ve done it since Kidd passed away. And even though it was great fun having the whole staff there, the hole that has been left is a huge one. But we, as a group, are trying to celebrate all of the things that he did and not dwell on the sadness. So, with that in mind, the Party was a hit. Good food, good people, and a great time. And I guess you can say that he taught us how to enjoy what we do and appreciate who we do it with. Later That night, we sang more karaoke than we have ever sang before at the after party at my bar.

The next day, I slept until 10am. And that’s like a new record for me, I’m not really one to sleep in.

From there, it seemed like a normal day. I went to get my morning shave at my new favorite place. “The Art of Shaving” has become my new guilty pleasure. I remember passing by this store in the Mall and looking through the glass doors and seeing that ONE barber chair inside that store and thinking to myself, “Who in the Hell would go to the mall to get shaved?” Then one day, my girlfriend bought me a gift card from there. And I still thought, why in the heck would I want to go to that place to get a shave. A week later, I went there and got my first ever, “Shave at the mall.” From then on, I have been hooked and I have gone back every single Sunday since then.

We did a little shopping at the mall and headed to have lunch at my bar since it was Soul Food Sunday. I walked in and my best friend Kirk was sitting there in the crowd watching the game. We sat and chatted for a minute. Then, another buddy of mine, Gilbert walked in with his family. Then, out of nowhere, my sister walked in from the back. then it dawned on me… I had walked in on my own Surprise birthday party. I guess they were trying to get there before I got back from the mall. Even my girlfriend didn’t know. My sister flew in from San Francisco the night before and had just started calling family and friends. Mom walked in a few minutes later…Cousins were there. Old friends from the neighborhood were there. It was awesome. I was wondering why there was a huge table reserved in the middle of the bar since we don’t take reservations…It was reserved for me! I love my family!