Happy Birthday, Naomi!
You are 17 months old today!
The snow has melted from the park and you have a new ball…I know how we’re spending the next six months!
Happy Birthday, Dad!
Ben loves delivering presents!
Stuff We All Get
Here’s my answer to the Open Question about office swag:
In case you haven’t already guessed it, I’m a collector of stuff. I have an acquisitive streak a mile wide for baubles, trinkets and shiny things, and I get a kick out of office-related gifts and paraphernalia. Whether it’s a company baseball cap or a coffee cup, if it has a logo and I worked for the company, I think it’s neat.
I’ve gotten my fair share of T-shirts and golf shirts over the years, but I they end up in the pile of painting clothes almost as soon as I stop working for that company. The only exceptions a shirt and a fleece sweater from my first technical writing job, which have survived and steady elements in my wardrobe (though the shirt really has seen better days). I’ve got a long-sleeved plain black T-shirt from a gaming company that is the soul of discretion – the logo it embossed in black on black, so you really have to squint to see it – that I still wear.
Coffee mugs and other drinking vessels are another popular office swag item. I’ve only got two company mugs, but I do have a plastic pilsner glass emblazoned with a now-defunct logo, and a couple of water bottles. One of them has a compass built into the fastening clip! How weird!
I never thought those bottles would ever be used, but I had a co-worker who was on crutches for most of the summer and he used to hobble over to the water fountain, fill the bottle, clip it to his belt and hobble back to his desk.
The company that produced the pilsner glass made a huge deal about giving each employee one (and only one) glass. Everybody had to go down to reception for their allotment in person, and we had to sign a register. After that, the glasses were never given out again, even though there was a case gathering dust in a utility closet. That’s a shame, they were decent glasses. I could have used a couple more.
All in all, I have a pretty ordinary collection of swag. I’ve picked up company bags, tuques, portfolios and pens at conventions and as raffle giveaways, but those don’t count because I didn’t receive those as an employee.
It’s very easy for a company to go the office-supply, clothing or coffee route with their swag, but my favourite has already been the topic of a blog post:engraved cutlery, which I still use, though Dina teases me every time I use the fork bearing my name. That was creative, weird and bemusedly admired by my co-workers, if not outright appreciated.
Delicious Spam
I’ve been getting 30-40 comment spams on my blog a day. It’s gotten to the point where Thunderbird is sorting the “Approve New Comment” notification emails directly into my Junk Mail folder.
That’s twice the spammy goodness!
(The amount of comment spam would be higher, but I close comments on my post after 21 days. If anyone has any observations about an old post, they can just email me.)
Stuff I Watch During Repeat Season
Flyboys
You can tell that an action movie isn’t doing its job when the only thing you notice during the flight sequences is the oddly muted and vaguely inappropriate score. The dull flying bits were only enlivened by Jean Reno’s commander and the flirty bits between James Franco and Julie Jennifer Decker.
Grosse Pointe Blank
I wonder if John Cusak is going to aim for one definitive film per decade? He takes dead aim at the fin de siecle vibe of the ’90s and pulls the trigger. The only thing that dates the picture are the size of the cellphones. One of my shakabuku movies.
Roxanne
Another decade-defining picture, and one of Dina’s favourites. I used to marvel at the language – until I discovered the original Rostand. Then I marvelled at how thorough Steve Martin transcribed Cyrano into C.D., and how he hid some great comedy in the background – especially the firefighter training exercises.
Stranger Than Fiction
The best Charlie Kaufman film that he didn’t write. Will Ferrell plays an IRS auditor who realizes that he’s being narrated by an author who may kill him. So he seeks professional advice…from an Literature professor. Along the way, he finds love with the breathtaking Maggie Gyllenhaal. Sweet and satisfying.
Open Question: Bag O’Swag
Here’s the Open Question for March:
“Do you have a collection of insignia items obtained from your employers, your clients, yours suppliers, etc.? What are your favourites? Do you wear the company golf shirt proudly, or does it go straight into the pile of painting clothes? Do you judge a company by the quality of its swag?”
Leave your answers or links in the comments below. I’ll post my answers tomorrow.
Happy Birthday, Mom!
Waiting for the cake is always the hardest part…
Marking the Space
This morning, I’m going to stand in a long line with impatient people and wait my turn to make my mark on a piece of paper.
No, I’m not talking about the Quebec Provincial Election (though I’ll be voting in that later today).
I’m talking about swimming registration at the YMCA.
There’s always a line up on the first day, but I don’t want to miss out on any classes. Gotta get there early!
Getting Ahead of Myself
So, after enjoying a delicious grilled meal on Friday, I began to think of Spring and Spring-like weather and warm days and nights and taking the plastic sheeting off the windows in the apartment.
Then it snowed on Saturday night.
Well, so much for that!
One of those Circular Posts
One lazy August Sunday evening in Mansonville, we were driving home from a visit to Dina’s parents and stopped for gas.
I tried to pay by credit card, but the station’s receipt printer was broken, so we couldn’t tell if the transaction had gone through. Since this was a summer Sunday evening and there was no hope of getting timely technical support by phone, I decided to pay by cash.
Next month, the gas charge showed up on my monthly statement. I phoned my bank and filed a dispute on the charge. I knew that there was no signed receipt in existence, so I figured it would only be a short while before I had my refund.
The entire process took seven months and one affidavit.
The refund was credited to my account the same day that I used the credit card to buy pretty much the same amount of gas.
I’m no further ahead. Oh well.