Office Supply Joy

My first full-time was as a secretary for managers in a systems group at Vanguard.

Not exactly what I’d planned on out of college, but it was a job that paid bills. Even better was that I had an awesome boss who knew my life’s goal was outside my current position and let me take on more responsibilities such as creating a departmental newsletter.

Even even better was I was in charge of ordering office supplies.

Now, that may not sound that exciting. How much fun can it be to order pens, folders (hanging and tabbed), etc. for a bunch of programmers, right?

Wrong.

Strange People Out There

Just a quick post. For the past 2 years, WordPress has sent a summary of the blog: how many visits, where IP addresses are, that sort of thing.

Since my trip to London a couple years ago, I get a lot of hits from people searching for the Crown Jewels – the sceptre and St. Edward’s crown, to be precise. This year’s summary revealed another top 5 search term to get to Small Pond.

Seriously? Who searches for kid-appropriate axe pictures? And how does Google Images decide the picture of an axe I included in a post about words is what people want for this search?

Checking It Twice

I love Christmas. I unabashedly love this holiday. I love the lights, the tree, the snow, the carols … all of it. And I love giving Christmas presents.

I’m human so I also like getting Christmas presents. Some years I resist the idea of a Christmas List. I may drop a few hints or answer direct questions, but I tend to resist giving specifics. Maybe I think it makes me look greedy. Maybe I don’t want to limit your gift-giving potential.

Gift-shopping for Me: A How-to Guide

The holiday season is coming up. For me, this starts with my birthday at the beginning of November and continues through Christmas. Some of you may be wondering what to get me to show your appreciation of our friendship and/or the wittiness of this blog.

Besides, gift-givers may not be the first people I trip in a zombie apocalypse.

Your goal as a gift giver should be to elicit the official look of birthday wonder worn when receiving a great gift. I’ve sprinkled examples through this post so you can compare my reaction to your gift with the ideal. Let the hover text be your guide.

On to the tips …

The Princess and the Pea: a True Story of Sleeplessness

nce upon a time, a beautiful princess lived in a golden castle where her only worry was not stepping in the sparkly rainbow poop left by her pet unicorns Dewdrop and Johnny. Life was pretty nifty for our fairy princess until she suddenly was unable to sleep through the night.

Months of investigation dragged on while monks chanted Gregorian cover of songs by The Who. Finally, a magical mayfly discovered a pea underneath the princess’ mattress. Yep, her sensitive nature detected the pea and kept waking her up every night.