Interactive Holiday Dinner

Tonight all of us from work had our department holiday dinner (for Emmis Interactive). We met up at Uncle Julio’s, where we hung out for a bit as they found room for our group.

I got to meet several of the “significant others,” which was great. I’m remembering some three years ago, when our department was super small. I was the newest member, and there were maybe five of us all told in the office, day to day.

Tonight? We had something like twenty people. I’m amazed at how we’ve grown, and how quickly it’s all happened. Once upon a time, Justin and Ben were the only two guys building sites, tucked into a back room coding away for all hours of the day. And now, we’re a group so large that it takes the restaurant a full hour to find enough space to seat all of us.

While I did have my camera on me, I really wasn’t in any sort of blog mode. Instead of going around snapping pictures, I ended up just enjoying the company of my coworkers, and talking with everyone.

Towards the end of the night, as things were winding down, Justin leaned over to me and said “Look at all these good people.” And he was totally right. My coworkers are fantastic. They’re good designers and developers, strategists and thinkers. They’re smart and creative, resourceful and empathetic. They make me smile and laugh on a daily basis (and I’m talking genuine, deep belly laughs here).

I take a lot of things about my job for granted. But tonight reminded me how much fun I have at work, how much I enjoy the company of my coworkers. How much I admire their skills and their abilities. They’re all very much, as Justin declared, “good people.” And I am so very lucky to count myself among them.