Ellen as hostess/bartender.

OK, I've been sick two weeks with this ridiculous sore throat and cold. Two weeks! For two weeks, this was my schedule: I worked, I came home, I crawled into my bed, and I watched TV until I fell asleep. No kidding. I started thinking that I might need an intervention, you know have some friends come over and drag me out of the house at night before I become a total hermit.

Thank goodness that, before I got sick, I had made a commitment to Rookie (www.supersinglemixers.com) to be a staffer at one of her parties. It was a Sake tasting and dance at the Pacific Asia Museum in Pasadena, a really lovely place I hadn't known existed. About one hundred people, and it looked like a good time was had by all. Great place, good food, a lesson in sake tasting, a piano player, and a DJ with good dance music.

My first task was being a greeter to the partygoers, directing them to the check-in table, and my co-host was Dale, a guy from Corona. From being with Dale, I learned that men like women for more than their breasts, but that they notice the size, shape, and whether they are wearing a bra before they notice hair color or height. I learned that dating today is different from seven years ago, that woman like more control and pay for more now than then. I learned that punctuality is important and that one shouldn't keep a date waiting. I learned that women no longer let the guy pick them up on the first date.

My second task was as bartender, a nice job. Offer a drink, fill their glass, and everyone is happy. Dale hung around, kept me company and kept me laughing, until he went to ask the DJ to put on a slow song so he could "rub up against me" and then spent the rest of the evening rubbing up against a tall, willowy blond.

So the evening was a success. Rookie puts in an enormous amount of effort to make her events fun and it shows. It looked like almost everyone was having a really good time. I had determined ahead of time not to be invisible, so I was outgoing, talked to everyone I encountered, and really enjoyed myself, even though the guy who propositioned me on the cruise acted like he didn't know me and that was kinda weird. Maybe I'm out of my sickness-imposed shell finally. Check out the pix above - what do you think?