Retirement Party Planning...

...apparently can be a bit of a pain in the behind, even for a pretty informal get together. I am finding this out first hand as I am in the process of trying to put together a party for a co-worker/friend who retired a few months back. As was usual, when he retired, I figured someone else would arrange for his retirement party. I guess most of those someone else types have all retired by now because despite this guy being well liked around the office, no one put anything together for him. Well, it could also be that moral on my job being at an all time low also had something to do with it. So as it turned out, i figured I would try to arrange a party for him - just something where those who want to attend will meet at a local restaurant/watering hole, and we will split the bill for dinner and drinks. Actually this is not as much a pain in the backside as it is a daunting task for me because I am not that self confident that I am going about it right, but since no one else stepped forward to do it - so what. I know some folks are interested in attending, I already checked on that; and so too is the honoree looking forward to it.

Forging right ahead today, I went to one of a few places I had in mind for the party here in Manhattan. I took a co-worker along and we had lunch there this afternoon. The place is called Giggles and is a restaurant/bar combo. It has a pub like atmosphere, is pretty big with lots of seating, has a lot of variety on the menu, has lots of variety behind the bar, and has fairly reasonable prices for Manhattan, especially in midtown. For lunch I had an everything burger, a huge burger covered with fried onions, mushrooms, bacon and cheddar cheese. It sat on a likewise huge bun. It was accompanied by tomato, raw onion, lettuce, pickle and fries. My pal Bob had a Cesar Salad. We both had sodas for our beverages (no booze because it was lunch on a work day, and booze and my job do not mix).

The waitress who served us was a pretty young lass, and not only that but she was a good waitress too. She was quite attentive. Once our order was in, we were served bread and butter, and our drinks arrived quickly. After a decent wait, pretty much just a short time later, our meals were brought out. I could not believe the size of the burger, it had to be 1/2 pound of beef. besides that, it was cooked just how I had asked for it to be - medium rare. It was a tasty burger indeed, and I washed it down with a tasty beverage too. Bob enjoyed the salad, and he noted that the service had been great. The waitress stopped by a few times to check on us, and was quite pleasant. Before leaving we asked to speak to the manager about arranging for a party, but the manager was not available. I'll have to give them a call early next week after the holiday. I am hopeful I can work some sort of discount out if I can assure them 25 or more people at the retirement dinner, hopefully they will be able to accommodate us on the nights I have in mind. Once I find that out, I will put out the word that the party date and place has been set, and wait to see who responds by or before whatever date Giggles gives to me as the cut off date for making a reservation.

Once that is all set I can only hope those who will have told me they will attend, will actually show up. I guess I can also hope that parking will be none too hard to find, but that is almost always a problem in Manhattan. Of course, I will have to also hope that the retiree shows up! If this comes off nicely, who knows, I may be elected as the office's Grand Poobah of retirement party planning.

If you are ever in NYC, and need a place to have a decent lunch in midtown Manhattan (very close to Times Square (2 blocks away) I recommend this place. Good food, good drink, and great service. I hope it is likewise for you if you ever get the chance to check it out.

All the best,
Glenn B