Venturing, Panicking, Drinking

I ventured outside the house yesterday! I went to work for about an hour since I had some reports due that obviously I hadn't been able to get to. Then I met Kap for coffee. -- If it hasn't become abundantly clear to you by now, several of us are being laid off. Our department was informed we were all getting the axe about a month ago, so we've been just waiting for it to finally become official and public. And that is what happened this week. -- My plan was to get coffee and then go back to work and attend the staff/faculty meeting about the layoffs, just to see what they would say and so I could let Nicole (who's out of town) know what was up. We got to the room where it was to be held; I reached out and grabbed the door handle, and was about to  push the door open when I looked through the window and saw that everyone was sitting in a big circle.

I panicked.

Completely unexpectedly, only somewhat inexplicably, and quite undeniably.

I let go of the handle and spun around:

Bekah: "Oh my god. I can't do it. They're sitting in a f***ing circle, Kap. A CIRCLE. I can't do it. I can't go in there."
Kap: "Oh thank god. To the car?"
Bekah: "YES, let's get out of here."

We practically ran to her car.

Kap: "Where to?"
Bekah: "TO BRENNAN'S!"

We drove to Brennan's and promptly ordered two irish coffees. Aaaaah. That's the ticket.

Hanging out at Brennan's is sort of like hanging out at Cheer's. I always expect Fraiser or Cliff to walk through the door at any moment. You get the feeling that if you go there more than once pretty soon everybody's going to know your name (got the song stuck in your head yet? I do.), since everyone seems to know everyone. But you don't feel like you're out of place at all. The bar tenders are amazing (and make the BEST Irish coffee). The napkin in the picture was given to us from a lovely woman called Dorothea, but who went by Bekah as a child (??? that's what she said (not a joke, that's just what she said)). She got laid off 3 months ago and carries these napkins around with her to console those who have recently found themselves in a similar predicament? Actually, I think she got them for her birthday last week. I wasn't completely clear on the story but she was great.

I can't totally explain my panic at seeing a room of people arranged in a circle. Part of it was the inability to slip in unnoticed and thus the inability to avoid the inevitable looks laced with pity (I swear to god people look at you as if you've just been diagnosed with a terminal illness). Part of it was the knowledge that the circle would most certainly turn into some sort of horrible prayer circle. And part of it was the fact that it would be impossible to slip out quietly. But I feel like the panic was more than the sum of its parts. Whatever the reason/s, I think retreating to Brennan's was more than certainly the right choice.