Weird Work Party, Part 2

Okay. So the work party got even weirder. We were supposed to re-convene at a certain time in this shelter next to a big toy thing, so our kids could run around if they wanted to. There was a serving table, and then three picnic tables. Corey's whole family took up one table:

So Ben and I sat down at the next table. And we only took up half:

We thought maybe one of the very smaller families would sit with us, because there was just a couple who didn't bring their kid:

and then there was one lady and her baby, and that's it. Here's her baby, Rainy:

But nope. Three very small families all squished up at the third table (this is one side of that table):

leaving Ben and I with this huge space at our table. I was like, um, do we stink?? And the way it was set up, it was kind of difficult to carry on conversations, because everywhere you turn, there are backs of people. Ben didn't really seem to mind; he's so weird. He just sat there and ate, and then just sat and listened in at the conversation at other tables. But it really bothered me!! So I would sometimes try to join the conversation at the table behind me, but they would just "one word" me and that was it. I finally got fed up and went to help my kids at the big toy. Well, help my kid at the big toy - Sadie. Dylan is quite proficient and brave to handle it, but Sadie is a total wus and refuses to try to do anything by herself. I came back once to see if Ben was being involved any more in the conversation, but nope. Just sitting there, with Micah, while both tables around him are having these nice, fun conversations. I totally don't get it. Maybe they don't like Ben?? How could they not like Ben?? I know that, when I take Ben his lunch sometimes, it's like a crypt in their big office. They all have desks in the same room, no cubicle walls or anything. But I'll come in, and I'll say, "Hey!!" and they hardly look up from their desks. Sooooooooo weird. Is it an architect thing??

Okay. Some more interesting facts about the people Ben work with. Rainy's mom is Kristen, spelled Kristen, but pronounced Kristine. She is from Germany, and she just barely moved back there. She is a single mom and wanted her daughter to know her grandparents. Ben's boss, Richard, has two kids, named (get this) RYLICK and RILLIAN. They sound like they're from outer space, in the year 3010 or something. Here is Richard's wife, Misty, and their daughter, Rillian:

Misty and Richard are extremely buff. They must work out a lot. They're both very, very short. Like, 5'2". And solid muscle. Misty has had a hard time getting pregnant. In fact, I think both of them are, like, 40 years old or something. So they do in-vitro fertilization, which costs them like $20,000 a pop, and they just put it on credit cards, so that they can have children. I really should count my blessings for being able to get pregnant so easily.

Ben's co-worker, Jason, who only came with his wife, leaving his step-daughter at home, met his wife (I can't remember her name) on that online game, Second Life. And this is crazy. On that game, Jason is an architect. And she is a fashion designer. So she paid him Second Life money (fake money that you accumulate when you do these pretend careers in this game) to design a shop for her! And that's how they met. And this lady quit her real life job, because she makes so much Second Life money, that real people pay her real money, in exchange for some Second Life money. Because some people just do Second Life recreationally, because they have, you know, real jobs. But they need Second Life money to move around in the world of Second Life, so they pay this lady real money so they can have Second Life money to spend in Second Life world. And this lady was able to quit her real job!!! Isn't that CRAZY??? What a world we live in!!

Corey, the one with all the teenagers, actually lives in Sugar City, which is like 45 minutes north of Idaho Falls. He commutes every single day, yet he shows up like an hour before work and leaves like an hour after work is supposed to be done every day. He's a work horse.

So that's Ben's weird office, and weird office party. I've never been at a loss to meet people and chat comfortably with them - I'm not shy - but I felt like I kept getting rebuffed by these people!! It made me feel kind of bad! I don't know if it's me, or if they don't like Ben (all indications are that they all like him very much, according to him), or if they are all really weird, socially. So. It's a mystery.