Thanks to Totof, I was invited to Mercury's Holiday Party. Mercury's Holiday Party always had a theme. The theme for 2005 was masquerade. The theme for 2006 was black.
Masquerade Holiday Party
Totof received a formal invitation. The invite said the theme for this year was masquerade. The invite was well done. You saw a miniature mask attached to the invite. The people who handled it must have had many party experiences. We looked at the location. It was in San Francisco City Hall. A party in San Francisco City Hall. Incredible. We never had a chance to attend a party in City Hall. Tempting. Looked at another attachment. It was a parking voucher. You could use this voucher to park your car across street of City Hall. We knew it was hard to find a good parking space in San Francisco. We did not want to spend 30 min on circling our car to find a decent space. We did not want to park our car far away when we dressed formally. We would be frozen if we needed to walk 10 min at a windy night with our evening dress. So, this voucher was a very thoughtful gift.We were so excited. I imagined the party would be alike to the one in the movies: luxurious decoration, beautiful people, elegant dress, champagne...
Let the party begin
The party did not fail my imagination. At the entrance, someone took care of your coats. 5 steps forward, someone served you champagne. After a long corridor, you entered the main body of City Hall. You heard music as soon as you entered the main body. Mercury hired an orchestra. The music certainly enriched the holiday atmosphere.
There were many stands around the main body. You saw delicate appetizers. Salmon, cocktail prawn, cheese, bread, some exotic looking food. I guessed it was Israeli appetizer. After all, Mercury was an Israeli company. Beverage stand had wine, champagne, soda, orange juice, sparking water. You could also ask for cocktail. We tried sour apple martini. Professional.
People chatted. Everyone looked gorgeous. Nice greetings and conversations were all over the place.
There were two rooms connected to the main body. The left one served the dinner and the right one was used as entertainment room. After a thank you speech, the dinner room was open. The dinner was a buffet. Pork was juicy. Beef was tender. Asparagus, salmon, bunches of entrees. The most impressive part was that Mercury hired a group of Sushi chefs to serve Japanese food. The sushi stand was placed in the center of the left room. Everyone enjoyed it.
We discovered a photo stand on the back of City Hall. Mercury hired professional photographers and they set you up with their experience. Everyone could have two photos. We of course went for it. It would be memorable if we had photos taken in this Holiday Party.
Masquerade. Mercury hired some painters. We saw a long line of people waiting to be painted. You could have a mask painted on your face. You could have a fake tattoo on your arm or neck. You could let your imagination go wild to have something unique. These painters had some famous patterns. So, if you did not have ideas, it would be fine. They helped you. Besides, you could put fur on you. Masquerade plus fur. Sweet.
Around 10, the right room was open. The right as mentioned was an entertainment room. You knew what it meant once you entered it. You saw a casino inside. Not just like that. You saw a live band. This band performed something like country, house, 70s, 80s music. People went crazy with casino. People yelled. People screamed. Happy sounds never stopped.
Along the walls of the entertainment room, you had many desserts. All of them looked tempting. You would hesitate which one to take. You would just want to try them all. We tried many types. I especially liked its Zabaion.
Mercury knew how to throw a party.
AFTERTHOUGHT:
I used the past tense because Mercury no longer existed. Mercury got acquired by HP. Would HP continue Mercury's tradition to have a Holiday Party? We will see.
