smokinandjokin Posted February 5, 2007 Posted February 5, 2007 I met a friend of mine out for happy hour on Friday night at a bar in downtown Buffalo. He works for a pretty prominent Buffalo company, well-known with a good number of employees. Supposedly, they were sponsoring some sort of happy hour function, so I told him I'd meet him out for a few pops. We all have seen the disastrous-yet-hilarious people who over-indulge when out at a work function, Christmas Party, etc. It is typically pretty funny for all of the spectators, rather embarassing for the drunkard, but generally pretty harmless in the long run. Well this one on Friday was far from harmless. I arrived at the bar downtown around 5:45pm, mainly because there was a pretty good snowstorm whipping through Buffalo, and it took me a while to navigate the 33 into downtown. My friend and most of his work cronies had arrived at 5pm at the latest, with many of them skating out of work and getting to the bar at 4pm or earlier. I located my buddy, grabbed a beer, and starting shooting the schit with him and a few of his co-workers who I had met at previous happy hours, card games, etc. Overall, I would estimate that they had about 40 people from their company at the bar upon my arrival, and I knew my friend and maybe just two or three others. Well, the evening proceeds and we continue to throw back some beers, when suddenly a guy kind of forces his way to the bar next to us and was muttering something, seeming a little tipsy and slightly aggravated. My friend sees the guy and says, "Bobber, what's happening my man?" Bobber appeared to be your average Joe Corporate...Dockers khakis, button down shirt, ~mid 30's, nothing out of the ordinary. He talked to my friend and seemed to say something about one of the bartenders, and then my friend introduced him to me. We exchanged pleasantries, and Bobber stood and chatted for a few minutes with our group who was standing there. They were talking a lot of shop which, obviously, I had no interest in and was paying little attention to. Then Bobber says, "What are you guys drinking? What do we need here?" The other 3-4 of us requested another beer, and Bobber got himself a scotch and water. He tipped the bartender a buck or two (drinks were free during the happy hour), he passed out our drinks, and slipped into the crowd. We continue to talk, get a little more drunk and festive, hit on some girls from my friend's company, and some other girls who were just bar patrons, nibble on some of the bar finger foods...You know, typical happy hour stuff. The place was pretty crowded, my friend said there was a good turnout with many people from his company. At this point, it was probably around 8:30pm and I saw Bobber again. Scotch in hand, he was now completely smashed. His cheeks were flushed red, and the eyes were moving a little slow and had the nice glaze going. He came over and talked to the guys I was talking to, saying some very inappropriate things rather loudly. For example, calling one of the female employees who walked by a B word and a skank, harping rather loudly about his boss's Jewish heritage, and generally saying "!@#$" about every other word. He was clearly bombed and heading down a bad path. A couple of Bobber's co-workers, my friend included, mentioned (while laughing slightly) that he was acting a little inappropriately and should probably keep his voice down. Bobber responded with the canned response, "!@#$ that! !@#$ them, I don't care what they think! !@#$ 'em!" (I must say I did nothing to squash this behavior, as it was thoroughly entertaining. In fact, once the free happy hour was over, I may or may not have bought Bobber a scotch and water... ) So, the night goes on, it's after 9pm, and I'm getting ready to head for the hills. There was still a good crowd in the bar, most of them the layovers from happy hour, along with a few early arrivals for the Friday night out. I'm about half-finished with my final beer when the whispers begin and my friend alerts me to look over toward the bar. There is Bobber, drunk as a skunk, being helped up by his boss, who had been standing and talking to a group of people. Apparently (I didn't see it but this is what I'm told) Bobber tripped and was going down, and his boss was right there and turned around to try and catch him. As his boss tried to keep him up, he grabbed Bobber's shirt and popped a few buttons off. That was the situation when I looked over. Bobber gets up, looking pissed, and his boss is kind of laughing and asking if he's okay. (His boss looked generally horrified, but was trying to put a good face on it.) Bobber slaps his bosses hand off his arm, and starts pointing and yelling at his boss. His boss kind of puts his hands up in the "I didn't do anything" gesture, but Bobber is hot! He rips the rest of his own shirt apart, tearing it apart at the buttons, and let it hang loose revealing his white undershirt. His boss puts his arm around his shoulder and takes him off to the side, away from the group, where they can talk. Bobber is yelling and going crazy, slamming his hand down on the table and and yelling and pointing at his boss, saying things like "You purposely embarrassed me" and things like that (mind you, there was music playing in the bar and they were about 10-15 feet away, so I was only picking up pieces.) My friend and his co-workers were just staring, jaws dropped, and I was bouncing up and down extremely excited. Basically everyone in the place was staring at these two. Then it happened: I see Bobber reach into his pocket, pull out his laminated employee i.d., slam it down on the table and say "I !@#$ing QUIT!!!" He then stormed out and nearly knocked me over on his way out, muttering something that ended in "that !@#$ing Jew." He busted out the door and into the cold with his ripped shirt, leaving his jacket behind. I emailed my friend this morning, and he said Bobber came in today, on time at 8am! My friend said nobody really knew what to do, and nobody really said much. Bobber was slinking around quietly and first tried to pretend that nothing really happened, a la George Costanza. Then, the boss he argued with called him into the office, and 15 minutes later, Bobber was escorted to his desk, and in his arms was a cardboard box and the jacket he forgot at the bar. He packed up and was gone, and is probably at the unemployment office as we speak. Sorry the story was so long, but I had to tell it. It really had to be seen to be believed. It's impossible not to watch when somebody is self-destructing right before your eyes. I was waiting excitedly for the "I !@#$ing QUIT!!!" and almost didn't believe it when I saw it. Pretty wild. I guess the moral of the story is that if you plan on getting drunk at a work function, you should at least drink beer instead of scotch. It will take you much longer to get bombed, and hopefully your boss will be gone by then.
DrDawkinstein Posted February 5, 2007 Posted February 5, 2007 im sure theres a good story in there. but pyrite gal might be the only one who can read it...
duey Posted February 5, 2007 Posted February 5, 2007 I have a feeling the guy could have survived the night and the boss incident had he not pulled the race card. The, my friend, was the nail in his coffin. Appropriately so, I might add.
duey Posted February 5, 2007 Posted February 5, 2007 im sure theres a good story in there. but pyrite gal might be the only one who can read it... HEY! So I'm bored OK? Sheesh. Was a good story though.
smokinandjokin Posted February 5, 2007 Author Posted February 5, 2007 im sure theres a good story in there. but pyrite gal might be the only one who can read it... Yeah, sorry 'bout that, I just starting typing and decided to include all of the details I could remember...Like I said, it was pretty crazy, I was trying to do it justice...
MattyT Posted February 5, 2007 Posted February 5, 2007 I've got caffeine-induced ADD ...but that was worth reading.
DrDawkinstein Posted February 5, 2007 Posted February 5, 2007 Yeah, sorry 'bout that, I just starting typing and decided to include all of the details I could remember...Like I said, it was pretty crazy, I was trying to do it justice... lol, no worries, youre usually a pretty funny/good poster so im sure its a funny story i just really wanted to make a pyrite comment.
Hardy Pyle Posted February 5, 2007 Posted February 5, 2007 haha...well told. No more afternoon scotches for me from now on.
VABills Posted February 5, 2007 Posted February 5, 2007 Since you helped contribute to his quiting, I hope you offered to present his resume to your current company.
smokinandjokin Posted February 5, 2007 Author Posted February 5, 2007 Since you helped contribute to his quiting, I hope you offered to present his resume to your current company. I wouldn't say I contributed...I just saw a train fly by, I hopped on, and then hopped off and watched it wreck...And what a firey crash it was!
VABills Posted February 5, 2007 Posted February 5, 2007 I wouldn't say I contributed...I just saw a train fly by, I hopped on, and then hopped off and watched it wreck...And what a firey crash it was! Want to try again? In fact, once the free happy hour was over, I may or may not have bought Bobber a scotch and water... You contributed.
stuckincincy Posted February 5, 2007 Posted February 5, 2007 (edited) Yeah, sorry 'bout that, I just starting typing and decided to include all of the details I could remember...Like I said, it was pretty crazy, I was trying to do it justice... The "Bobber"'s are best considered as an occasional occurrence in a what a boss comes across..and should deal with, on or off the job. It happens. In the old days ..if you had rank over an employee - even you were in a social situation, you wouldn't - and very positively wouldn't -allow a worker embarrass himself or you or your business. Case closed. 'Course, things have changed - that concern could end up in a race or sex suit these days... I understand about letting people "be", but as a boss, you have some responsibility. I would have grabbed they guy aside and told him to cool it. As he continued, I would have grabbed him publicly, and muttered some inanity like "Celebrating Holy Thursday, Bobber?" or some such, and arm over him, leave the area and get him taken care of and on his way in a taxi or a family member come to pick him up. If he physically balked at that...I'd still try, and make sure he didn't re-join the crowd. Words from a new drunk mean nothing. I'll wait for the repeat performances. The idea here is - if you have a good employee, a guy that has usually been a good egg, maybe a guy with a family of good eggs to support - you as boss have to think about that first. A good boss never allows a good guy to fry himself. Loyalty still counts...and today's intolerance makes me shake my head.... Edited February 5, 2007 by stuckincincy
smokinandjokin Posted February 5, 2007 Author Posted February 5, 2007 Want to try again?You contributed. He bought me a beer, I bought him one of his back. Standard bar etiquette for any gentleman. Any of his transgressions resulting in his inability to control his behavior after the fact are completely his problem.
KD in CA Posted February 5, 2007 Posted February 5, 2007 He bought me a beer, I bought him one of his back. Standard bar etiquette for any gentleman. Any of his transgressions resulting in his inability to control his behavior after the fact are completely his problem. That is correct. Man Law.
I 90 Posted February 5, 2007 Posted February 5, 2007 "Bobber, what's happening my man?" Nice hook. Another page in that greeting alone...
RayFinkle Posted February 5, 2007 Posted February 5, 2007 I found the story to be lacking in two key areas: No hot chicks and no senseless nudity.
MattyT Posted February 5, 2007 Posted February 5, 2007 Want to try again?You contributed. Water meets blanket. Jeez you must be a real hoot to hang out with.
smokinandjokin Posted February 5, 2007 Author Posted February 5, 2007 I found the story to be lacking in two key areas: No hot chicks and no senseless nudity. There were a couple of hotties at the bar, but my editor sent those details to the cutting room floor in the interest of post length. As for the senseless nudity, that's a toughie when dealing with the corporate crowd from 6pm-9pm. I do have a company Xmas party story from two years ago involving a lot of booze and a hotel pool........
bills_fan Posted February 5, 2007 Posted February 5, 2007 I do have a company Xmas party story from two years ago involving a lot of booze and a hotel pool........ Do tell...
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