I'm at work, and we're having the staff Christmas party today - hardly anybody's working and the whole library is decorated (looks rather like a department store - high ceilings, serious glitter, great big displays), and everybody's dressed up. The lights are dim, the whole place is a giant cocktail party. Bonnie and I share a desk, and she's actually working - a couple of guys are here to be interviewed (not for jobs, I think - it's something else we do). I've rented a movie for some of us to watch, we wanted to see a Christmas movie, and boy this was the only one left, practically - I get it all set up, and this one girl says, "Boy I hope you didn't get _____, I have seen that a hundred times and I sure don't want to see it again." Woops. Well, I think I'll just look around for something else to do for a few minutes here... I go back to the desk but these guys are just now ready to be interviewed and I have to get up again. I go a wall or 2 away, and sit down, and Brad Brown shows up for a visit. He does this just about every year, I think, and I'm really glad to see him. I sit and watch and listen for a while, while he visits with various ones of us. Shortly I'm on the 5th floor where the staff association party is in the staff room, and as I come off the front elevators I see all these folks, they're all doing the real cocktail party thing with drinks and long glittery dresses, and tuxes. When I turn to go around the microform tables I hear loud music from behind me, and turn to see this sort of procession coming in from the elevators. They're midgets, couples arm in arm, stepping out in time to some pop music. Then I notice the camera equipment, and realize they're making a music video. After the midgets, a girl singer has come out and is wailing away with a mike while everybody's gettin' down. I decide to sit on the floor and watch a bit - I actually lie down, propping myself up on my elbows. Once I'm settled I find there's a group of people sitting in a ring right in front of me - and right after that I grasp they're all more or less at eye level with me. And immediately after that I realize it's because they're all midgets! That's funny. After watching a bit longer I go on into the staff room, and there's another singer in there - actually rather a big-name entertainer, ain't we uptown? Quite crowded in here. Later I'm at home with Ruben (we live together) and we're wanting to go to the Christmas party but we have a plumbing emergency. We got hold of a plumber, and she came and she's finished now - thank Heaven - but it's a quarter to nine and probably too late to think of going now. We settle up with her (she's rather tall, blonde, and good-looking, good figure - wearing khaki coveralls) and thank her, and ask for one of her cards - we only had her phone number, not an address, and don't know how far she had to come. Would be nice if she was local in case we need her again. She's very nice. I allow as how I need some stamps, so if we're not going to the party how about we go out and get some at the post office? We do that. Outside the building is a stamp dispenser that's a sit-down console where you put in your money and punch buttons. Rolly and I are talking away while I feed a dollar bill into the machine. It starts to work, and then the change starts to come out - but a whole lot of change comes out! I don't even realize it at first because I'm distracted talking to Rolly, then I see this shitload of change. Not small stuff, either, lots of quarters. Must be $30-$50 in here. I poke at it a bit, wondering how I'm going to pick it all up, and thinking maybe I should count it out by type, but a car pulls up and a couple of other people arrive - they're here for stamps too, and they'll be wanting to use the machine. O dear. How do I pick all this up without making a lot of noise and letting them see? They'll probably want to share - or maybe they'll expect me to turn it in - maybe I should - really I should, of course - but geez, you know, I really don't have to, no one would ever know. There's a piece of paper here, and while I'm dawdling (hoping they'll get impatient and go away) (knowing there's no good reason to expect them to) I draw it casually over the pile, and then I notice the machine's belched out a whole bunch of stamps too. O boy. Well, well. Now what? About this time (while I'm still making conversation, but now I'm inserting a lot of "uh..."s and "er..."s) I notice something else odd. It takes me a minute to get it, but then I realize that there's light now, dawn. How in the world can it be morning when just a little while ago it was a quarter to nine at night? Have we been here all bleeding night?