Chp 187. Webchutney’s nite-out

So what happens when an Ad agency suddenly decides to throw an impromptu office party?

All the guys immediately think, “wooohooo free booze!” whereas the first thing on a girl’s mind is, “Shit, I’ll have to go home and change.”

And so there we were. Woman instinct versus Man’s thoughtless disregard for dress-code at times like this. Ah, (we) men!

Women think, “It’s a party at a well-renowned disc with lots of people… I’ll have to look ravishing!” whereas men wonder: “There’s gonna be lots of booze anyway, so after sometime every girl is going to look equally hot. Why then go through the extra trouble of trying to look prettier?” And so we put on our primitive linen sacks, grab our wooden clubs and scream, “Grufff gruff, me like party!”

The party was held at Hawaiian Shack, Bandra. The entire second floor belonged to us, and we definitely made the best out of it.

Here is a tiny little problem when Ad agencies throw a private party. We simply don’t know when to turn it off The Tech team started commenting on the positioning of the lights, sound and wiring system. The art and graphics team felt the whole place could be more appealing with lesser pixels on the disco-light frame and more texture on the histogram of the wallpapers using Photoshop CS3. The customer relationship team mingled with the crowd downstairs and we never heard from them again. And the creative team, in particular the copywriters, started talking in copywriterese after a couple of drinks…

Copywriter 1: Dude… Feeling down? Feeling tired? Looking for a permanent solution to all your worries? Look no further! Just go refill your glass with a Bacardi Reserva! Apply now!

Copywriter 2: Sorry, man. I am lost. I am confused. I feel like I am living in a surreal world. A Bacardi may show me where the light is, but only an Old Monk can take me there! Plus it is a one day offer only!

Copywriter 1: Ok then, go ahead. What are you waiting for? Your road to freedom is just a gulp away. And that’s not all! There are exciting benefits and special offers guaranteed to blow your mind away!

Copywriter 2: Cheers! Salute! Prost! À votre santé! These are just mere words, but only with an Old Monk does the true emotion come out! CHEERS!

Yeah, we sure do love to talk in exclamation marks!

Ok, all jokes apart, it was an amazing night. Webchutney definitely knows how to go all out with guns blazing when it comes to partying. The girls from Bombay Bitch were also there, and a few others I was introduced to but no way in Hell can I remember those names now. Everything felt like a comfortable boat ride across a psychedelic river in the middle of a turbulent earthquake.

Hawaiian Shack - The music transformed slowly from retro to rock to progressive to hiphop to trance. The food was great, the service was remarkable, the PR was excellent, and the crowd definitely rocked! But what I loved the most about that night was of course the free booze, a concept that I was alien to. Cheap me!

Dancing in front of the huge blaring speakers, I could shout into a female colleague’s ears “Hey what did the client say regarding the mailer we sent about the weekend bonanza?” and she would reply, “Yeah me too, I am having a terrific time!”

That’s the fun about loud rooms. You can say anything you want and get away with it. I told Rianna her tattoos were coming off because of the sweat and friction. She shouted back, “Yes the loo is downstairs”. I went up to Veera and screamed “I’m into women!” while pointing my finger around the disc and giving the thumbs-up sign as if to express that I was having a great time, and she would shout back, “Me too!”

You often hear people complain that their office parties stink because they despise the behavior of some of their colleagues. Well, that’s the beauty of being in an Ad Agency. Everybody shares the same wavelength, the same mentality, and sometimes even the same vada pav.

With unlimited booze, you end up seeing a lot of things. Funny things. Things that cannot be mentioned here But the bottom-line is that it brings everybody closer. I told our Branch Head that the way she was dancing made her shine like GOLD.

I repeat, GOLD!

All in all, it was a happy night for everybody and after that it was back to the grind. Parties like this definitely deliver the much needed break from a hectic life-cycle of an Ad agency.



# Signs that you had too much to drink at the previous night’s office party:

1. You walk up to a female colleague and compliment her on how graceful she danced the previous night, only to be told straight in the face that she was never even there for the party!
   
   
2. You head feels like a piledriver drilling inside… all the slogans and taglines you try to think up of for any client the next day always include the words “rocking”, “yo” and “wooohoooooo”.
   
   
3. Your boss comes up to you and say “Lets never talk about what we did last night again… ever!” which can get even more complicated if your boss belongs to the same sex as you.
   
   
4. The Finance team gives you the evil-eye the whole day, as if to say, “bastard the amount you drank last night set our company’s annual turnover back by 5%”
   
   
5. You walk up to the first guy you see in office the next day and say, “Mannn, last night there was one guy crying in the loo. I don’t remember who he is, but he was definitely one of ours. I even patted him on the back.” And the guy replies, “Bastard! That was me! And I was NOT crying. Some asshole was slicing onions on the dance floor…”

Ah! To be alive and partying.

So eventually, remember: If you dread going to the office the next day because you are embarrassed about what you did in front of your colleagues, then cheer up, for you had an absofreakinglutely amazing time! Wooohoooo!!!