The UN Dinner Ball, rumours, and fundraising auctions
The event was okay for a fundraising/charity event. There were few unknown faces. As usual there were too many speeches. Surprisingly the food was just of average quality and moreover, it was served almost cold. The entertainment part was boring and worst of all they did not play any ballroom dance. I mean, come on, you cannot call it a ball if not even one ballroom dance is played. There were so many members of the diplomatic corps, which I would assume know how to move their bodies accordingly over the floor. Therefore, my worries as regards to my missing dance shoes were unjustified. I had no reason to wear them.
As regards to wearing something: Please correct me, if I am wrong, but when you are invited to a dinner ball and the invitation says formal, what do you expect people to wear? Women - anything which compliments her beauty, while men should stick to a tuxedo or dark blue or black suit, white shirt and a nice (!) tie and since it usually starts past 5.00p.m. only black shoes with leather soles are acceptable. Well, those "rules" seem not to apply in this part of the world, which is good, otherwise it would have been less fun watching people. Ah, and we also saw a new definition of belly dancing – but this is another story…
I am glad that I can still dress up for a ball in less than 30 minutes. While I had been waiting for my taxi (despite notice more than one hour in advance, it was 15 minutes late), I counted the balls I attended. I think it must have been at least 25 plus innumerable ballroom competitions, where I had to change into my tailcoat with all the necessary little accessories, which made the outward appearance perfect and where I always had to help my partner dressing up. But that is also another story...
Later in the night, I went to my favourite bar, where I ran into a nice person whose company – after I was introduced to him – said to: “I’ve heart about you”. What is your first thought in those moments, when the person you are facing at, drops this sentence? One’s reaction is probably a matter of your self-confidence. Then the other person wanted to know about rumours that have been around about her and others – a funny coincidence. Rationally assessed one might have expected her to disclose, what she told him about me, wouldn’t one. However, it was probably due to my gentleman’s/James-Bond-like outfit, that I ignored the statement and did not raise any question in this regard. Admittedly, later on my way home, I had been thinking about it.
By the way: I think about breaking a tradition. Whenever I went through the duty free area at Dubai airport, I looked at the Omega watches… which would then make the James Bond outfit complete
Speaking about spending money: Is it appropriate to behave rationally during a fund raising auction? There was a draw and one price was a return ticket to Paris – business class. What else would you expect at an event organised by the UN Spouse Association. For some reason, the ticket was auctioned later. During the auction, I stopped thinking about raising my hand, when the price reached the level, I would be willing to spend for a regular Y-class return ticket to Paris. That level was reached soon, so I observed three or four ladies competing for the ticket. Finally, it was sold for 1750 EUR - which is probably fair for a business class ticket. However, it was a ticket from SN Brussels, so you never know when they actually depart in Entebbe...
As regards to wearing something: Please correct me, if I am wrong, but when you are invited to a dinner ball and the invitation says formal, what do you expect people to wear? Women - anything which compliments her beauty, while men should stick to a tuxedo or dark blue or black suit, white shirt and a nice (!) tie and since it usually starts past 5.00p.m. only black shoes with leather soles are acceptable. Well, those "rules" seem not to apply in this part of the world, which is good, otherwise it would have been less fun watching people. Ah, and we also saw a new definition of belly dancing – but this is another story…
I am glad that I can still dress up for a ball in less than 30 minutes. While I had been waiting for my taxi (despite notice more than one hour in advance, it was 15 minutes late), I counted the balls I attended. I think it must have been at least 25 plus innumerable ballroom competitions, where I had to change into my tailcoat with all the necessary little accessories, which made the outward appearance perfect and where I always had to help my partner dressing up. But that is also another story...
Later in the night, I went to my favourite bar, where I ran into a nice person whose company – after I was introduced to him – said to: “I’ve heart about you”. What is your first thought in those moments, when the person you are facing at, drops this sentence? One’s reaction is probably a matter of your self-confidence. Then the other person wanted to know about rumours that have been around about her and others – a funny coincidence. Rationally assessed one might have expected her to disclose, what she told him about me, wouldn’t one. However, it was probably due to my gentleman’s/James-Bond-like outfit, that I ignored the statement and did not raise any question in this regard. Admittedly, later on my way home, I had been thinking about it.
By the way: I think about breaking a tradition. Whenever I went through the duty free area at Dubai airport, I looked at the Omega watches… which would then make the James Bond outfit complete
Speaking about spending money: Is it appropriate to behave rationally during a fund raising auction? There was a draw and one price was a return ticket to Paris – business class. What else would you expect at an event organised by the UN Spouse Association. For some reason, the ticket was auctioned later. During the auction, I stopped thinking about raising my hand, when the price reached the level, I would be willing to spend for a regular Y-class return ticket to Paris. That level was reached soon, so I observed three or four ladies competing for the ticket. Finally, it was sold for 1750 EUR - which is probably fair for a business class ticket. However, it was a ticket from SN Brussels, so you never know when they actually depart in Entebbe...
posted by Torsten at 10:19 am
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home