I somehow got roped into being the designated driver last night for DH and our next door neighbors who are two Officers from the BN that outrank DH. Thats fine, they come over to the house right before we are getting ready to leave and take a shot of Patron. Already I can tell that this night is going to get interesting before its all said and done.
We hop in the car and head over to the ball. The place is packed and the next door neighbors take off in search of more booze no doubt. DH and I wander in and start chatting with some of his soldiers and their wives/girlfriends and other people that he knows. We grab drinks and attempt to find our friends and get ready for the reception line. We don't find our friends, but we hang out until DH's company is being received. We go into the banquet room and find our table.
After going through all the traditional Army things (bringing in the colors, saying the prayer, toasts, etc.), we sit down to eat. The food is HORRIBLE! That is fine, at least there is chocolate cake on the table. Well, that was awful too! We make it through dinner and the Grog ceremony begins. The Grog ceremony is a traditional ceremony in which all of the Company Commanders from the BN recite a short speech about the unit and its history. After they recite their bit, they proclaim that they are going to add a certain type of alcohol to the mix in order to honor the past. They are required to take a sip (or chug) of their alcohol before they dump the rest in the pot.
That was interesting to say the least. Following that, we had the special guest speaker, and started the raffle. Needless to say, we have been in attendance for more than 3 hours and we have not heard any music yet! They finally remove the colors and the formal part of the evening is over. Anyone who wants to is allowed to leave and the "ghetto" dancing and music begins. The XO and his wife continue to call off numbers for the raffle, the only problem is that everyone lost their tickets, so no one is winning or paying attention for that matter.
We are finally ready to leave and we find our two charges who are riding home with us and head outside to the car. We get stopped just outside the doors and start chatting with the XO and his wife (who are two of the funniest people ever). We are all chatting about God-knows-what and I realize that everyone in this group (all 5 people other than me) are WASTED. We are all laughing and having a good time though. The XO's wife has to go inside and call the last few numbers for the raffle, so I say jokingly that I am going to go inside and claim whatever prize no one wins.
We get in the banquet room and realize that there are 6 raffle prizes left, about 10 people in the room and no raffle tickets. The staff had picked them all up off the tables! I look a the XO's wife and she says, "Which one of these do you want? Just pick one!" DH and I made it home with a "Date Night" package. It included a bottle of champagne, Chili's gift card, tickets to the movie theatre, chocolate, mints, scented candle and body lotion and body wash. Pretty sweet!
Anyways, I am going to start working on my editing that is due tomorrow and get ready to start the day.
Adios!
