Esri Christmas Party

Last night was the first Esri Christmas Party in Calgary since 2019. So much has changed in the time in between. The office has grown a lot, with 50% new employees since the last time.

The party was held at Santorini’s Greek Taverna, a Greek restaurant on Centre Street. From the view on Google Street View, I wondered if it would actually hold 50 people, but as it turned out, we fit into the main area of the restaurant, while other patrons were eating upstairs.

Tammy and I hung out mostly with Steven and Krisztina, and had a great time, as usual.

Tammy and I took an Uber to the restaurant and back home again. That was a novel experience: I’ve taken them before but not for years and usually it was someone else who did the ride hailing. I reserved a pickup for 5:30 and the driver was ready outside our place about five minutes early. On the way home, I just requested a pickup right away, and a car with reggae music playing was there to pick us up in about 5 minutes.

The dinner was excellent. There was wine (red and white), and I started with a couple of Stella Artois but shifted to sipping white wine. The food came in courses:

• Pita with hommus, satziki, and tarama
• Saganaki
• Horiatiki (Greek salad)
• Kalamari
• Pastichio
• Arni Kleftiko (Roast Lamb) & Broiled Chicken Tights -Includes Roast Potatoes

The courses kept coming until after 9:00, so we didn’t get home until 10:30 or so. We had a great time.