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PAGE 4 â€" WATERLOO CHRONICLE, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 1994 Hmmm. Their collective look was highly conspiratorial. I shall advise next week if Thursday afternoon, any of our creatures were still stirming. Even a (computer) mouse. fare, share our little tokens, and get back to the business at hand for a full afternoon of work." "Why, why, that won‘t even give Billy time to do his Santa sliding down the chimney and landing like a bowiful of jelly routine. What the heck kind of Christmas luncheon lasts for 45 minutes?" "Hey," I barked back, "don‘t make me out to be the Scrooge here. After all, I didn‘t even count in travel time. Itll be at least an hour from the time we leave to the time we get back." "Boy, do you ever have the Christmas spirit. Maybe we can phone ahead so our food can be ready by the time we get there. Of course, we won‘t take off our coats, that‘ll save us a good three minutes." *Smashing idea," I agreed. "And speaking of coats, do you want me to play Santa Claus again giving out all the $5 to $15 or maybe less or maybe more gifts to everyone?" "Well, let‘s see," came the consensus. "We‘re going somewhere that was decided under martial law, we‘re buying gifts for people we don‘t know, we have no clue how much to spend or where to put our gifts in the meantime, you‘ve given us 45 minutes for the entire lunâ€" cheon, and once finished, you expect a full and productive afternoon of work out of us. And you want to know if we want you to be Santa Claus? Why suuuuure you can." "Whatever you get," declared a megaphonish spokesman from advertising, "just get it under the tree days ahead of time so we can have fun guessing what each gift is." *No way, I‘ve already bought mune and you can tell what it is from 500 paces, it‘d spol the surprise," I sobbed. "Hmm, obviously Campbell bought one of the $5 gifts," everyone concurred. "Rick, what is the exact time for the luncheon, anyway?" queried a *Uh," I adjudicated, *I do believe several years ago we decided that they were to be fun, gagâ€"omented gifts in the neighborhood of five dollars. However, in retrospect, I do remember everything from an obscenutyâ€"blathering key chain to a Trisha Romance print, so use that as your guideline.* *Aww, [ got Gerry, what the heck are you supposed to buy him, polish for his bowling shoes?" whined one staffer. *Idiot." screamed another. *You‘re not supposed to tell who you get. that‘s the fun of it, it‘s supposed to be a surprise." "All I know is," harrumphed an editorial type, "is that this soâ€" called gag inft is the toughest iift I have to buy every year. What the heck can you get someone for $15 bucks anyway"" *It‘s not $15 bucks, it‘s FIVE bucks," insisted a voice from circulaâ€" tion. *Ask Heather, it‘s five bucks." *No, don‘t ask Heather, she‘s just the chief orgaruzer, it‘s Rick who makes all the stupid rules." *Hmmm, that‘s a tough one, I don‘t know what we‘ll do then," I answered, maintaining my assertiveness. Well, we got the place picked, so the next fun thing was picking a name out of the hat for our token gift giving. Even though in recent years our annual "celebration" has become intensely fiscally and socially responsible (for example, we limited last year‘s lunch to a day and a half), darn it all, we just know how to have fun. Well, mostly it‘s fun. The whispering started a few weeks ago when we finally got around to picking the venue. *A dozen different people will likely want a dozen different restauâ€" rants," moaned chief organizer Heather, who got the task because she chuef organizes the rest of us the rest of the year. *Majonity rules," I barked, clearly laying down the law. *But what if the minority doesn‘t like the choice?" another quened It is our annual employee Christmas lunch Thursday, which, for several reasons, causes us to act weird and wild and goofyâ€"like in anticipation. If you venture by our office this week, expect to see us all acting a tad strange. *12:15 p.m. sharp," I answered. "Great, that gives me time to â€"* "Tolipm." _ "12._15&) 1 p.m., that‘s more than enough time to engage in festive Canadian Publications Mail Sales Product Agreement #136379 Published every Wednesday by The Fairway Group s 215 Fairway Rd. S., Kitchener, Ont. December 14, 1994 Waterioo Chronicle Christmas lunch a la 1990s style Rick Campbell That‘s life M t € )n e fh rrowens a cirrs! _ S BR f»sv,'ér d s cX a M i2 s Mp f‘% Aiptraa lt ';-‘l‘ CDi Sar. * ES e esd J"’:,-,.’ ',‘f F g/ fes {‘fi 6 ,m/ k .$ ¢ e o mc E* # . _ t Your extra touch florist. _ + 135 UNION ST. EAST, WATERLOO 745â€"8411 +619 KING ST. WEST, KITCHENER 744â€"9471 I"":-":-:'«p Make your home bloom with good cheer for the holiday season. We have an excellent selection of first 3ualm, flowers and Chnstmas plants that will add color and life to any room « FLOWERS § LTD. > y aa . 4B / Send our special Send the FTD® [ lsizsws S 1= Joy to the World" \__ & i 1 J 3 Bouquet nc idA / | / G S 4 P ~ ofe s<y ie y CAB y ‘f]- ,.o-\ u.f‘ .‘ 3 " ‘ i stt Oe awain y C K & y s s w ./ lees e e nV Odp ’@Q‘,‘Q e o al Â¥ asgiles esY3 APHliascrty:> tm es ap * : 10. Sre is 1° butecmie : rropmett A Sunday 11:00 a.m.â€"5:00 p.m. Mondayâ€"Friday 9:30 a.m.â€"10:00 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 17th 9:30 a.m.â€"9:00 p.m. Christmas Eve 9:30 a.m.â€"6:00 p.m. CcONESTOGA MALL Make your home h the holiday season selection of first % plants that will a &0 . B At the intersection of Conestoga Parkway & King St. N _\ P oi 0 ”?&‘ y #, &W ins WROe] (or the mmwm es > fyirk s i. _ _ Erese CUT " h‘ : | 2 hX 41 FLOWwWERS & PLANTs \CONESTOGA MALL Choose from: Poinsettias, Cyclamen, Azaleas, Tropical P Planters and Christmas Arrangements, Your Professional Florist 135 UNION ST. E. OPEN SUNDAYS 10 A.M. TO 2 P.M. Send the FTD® 1 ant S Lpek" fas