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So they counted down from 50 to 41; our company wasn't listed.

This is the countdown of Great Place to Work ranked companies, divided into categories of small (up to 99 employees), medium (100-999) and large (1000+).

They do the count down quickly, naming rank 50 for all three sizes, then rank 49 for all three sizes, and so on. For those of these companies that were present, they queue up and get their photo taken after the group of 10 companies are announced; then they announce the next 10.

40-31; still no eXplorance.
30-21; still no.

Last year our company placed 22nd, so at this point we know that we have either done better than last year, or, we've done so poorly, we aren't in the top 50.

20-11; still no,

The tension at our table is deep, rich and palpable. We cheer whenever we don't see our company name as it likely means we have ranked higher.

Then they count down from 10 to 4 leaving the top three to be announced one by one for each size grouping.

eXplorance placed 4th in the small company size listing. We jumped from 22nd place last year, to 4th place this year, a rather amazing feat. We were just under the small company size; so for 2019, we'll be competing with a whole set of different companies that have 100-999 employees. A detailed report will be provided to us that gives us tips as to what we can do to continue to improve; so there may be some changes that come up in the next few months.

After the award ceremony there was an After-Party. There was loud music, dancing, drinks. I was holding the plaque that our company would take home; and what I should have done is to bring it back to my hotel room and then return to the party. What I ended up doing was bringing the plaque back to the hotel room and stay there.

Though I do like to dance; I wasn't really in the spirit of it that night. What I was more interested in doing was to see about meeting some new people and having conversations. Partly because of how loud the music was and partly because of how far outside my comfort zone it is to approach people, I decided to bow out. The thing, though, is that this would have been an ideal way to meet people and strike up conversations; the event was the 'Great Place to Work' award ceremony, so an easy opening question is 'what makes your company great to work for?' Easy follow up questions; 'how long have you worked there?' 'How much has your company changed since you started?' 'what else do you think your company could do to become an even better place to work?' 'How did your company rank this year vs last year?'. The conversation could have then lead to more personal topics, or not, depending on how receptive the interlocutor was. It is unlikely I will get to go again next year as they will likely ask new people to go; so this was a missed opportunity. I could use as much practice as I can get in striking up conversations. I'll need to see how I can find other opportunities.

I think I disappointed a few of the others from my company who stayed and spent more time with each other later into the night. I left at 22h23; others left at 23:54 and a core three stayed up until 2h30ish. I could have stayed up with them but elected not to. Part of me is regretful about this; but the major part of me figures that it is not up to me to determine how other people feel; it is up to them.

Our CEO has referred to us, on a number of occasions, colloquially, as a 'band of misfits'. He recognizes that quite a few of us in the company do not adhere to neuro-typical perspectives or standard social interaction devices. I think I qualify as a misfit under fairly typical circumstances.