Friday Fun...

What could be more fun than working through the holidays?

I know:
1) Actually having to do a lot of work and...
2) Not being able to organize your desk or get caught up on little housekeeping things because you're actually doing work and...
3) Not being able to enjoy coming in late, long lunches or leaving early which most people do that work during the holidays because you're actually working and...
4) Working while knowing your husband has 16 days off and...
5) Expecting to work a half day on New Year's Eve knowing that that it will be more like a full day and lastly...
6) Coming back to work in 2008 without having been able to enjoy the holidays to their full extent because you've been working the whole time

Now that's fun!

Friday Fun...

The Nutcracker like you haven't heard (or seen) it before...

Enjoy...

http://www.strategymag.com/screeningroom/20061218/holidaycard.html

Friday Fun...

A family was at the dinner table. The son asked his father, "Dad, how many kinds of boobs are there?"

The father, surprised, said, "Well, son, there are three kinds of breasts. In her 20's, a woman's breasts are like melons, round and firm. In her 30's to 40's, they're like pears, still nice but hanging a bit. After 50, they're like onions".

"Onions?"

"Yes, you see them and they make you cry."

This infuriated his wife and daughter so the daughter said, "Mom, how many kinds of 'willies' are there?"

The mother, surprised, smiled and said, "Well dear, a man goes through three phases. In his 20's, his willy is like an oak tree, mighty and hard. In his 30's and 40's, it's like a birch, flexible but reliable. After his 50's, it's like a Christmas tree."

"A Christmas tree?"

"Yes. Dead from the root up and the balls are just for decoration."

12 Days and Counting....

Okay, so technically it's 13 days but in my opinion Christmas starts on Christmas Eve and that is only 12 days away...

It's hard to believe that the holidays are less than two weeks away. Actually, I wouldn't really call them "holidays", not for me anyways. I won't be taking any time off this year except the statutory ones but I think that's okay. The office is always really quiet, we usually only have to work a half day on the 24th and 31st and the rest of the days I'm sure we'll take long lunches, numerous coffee breaks and probably leave early. When I think about it like that why would I want to waste a vacation day on that...I mean, I would much rather take a day off in the middle of a busy time when I could actually use the time off.

It would be nice to spend time with the family but there will be lot's of time to do that and I'm sure they don't want to spend 24/7 with me anyways!! Dave has 16 days off (as he keeps reminding me) so it will be nice to come home to a clean apartment and dinner on the table...maybe some clean clothes in the closet too. Or, maybe I'm kidding myself...if there's any chance Guitar Hero is under the tree then it's a whole 'nother story and take-out will be looking pretty good.

Our decorations have been up since the end of November, all of our shopping is done, presents wrapped and under the tree. I've been playing Christmas music at work since mid-November...I know that's a little much, but it helps pass the time and I think if people see you with headphones on they don't ask as many random, annoying questions.

I also took this past Monday off to do some Christmas baking - I made 5 things but have realized that isn't near enough and I had so many ingredients left over that I will have to try and find some time to make some more goodies.

We are having our Holiday Hoopla on Saturday. Lot's of people haven't responded but it looks like it will be a great turnout nonetheless. Some of the people we haven't seen in months so it's always nice to get together and catch up. It'll be a long night but I'm in for the long haul and there will be plenty of cheer to go 'round.

Friday Fun...

Bob was in trouble. He forgot his wedding anniversary and his wife was really pissed.

She told him, "Tomorrow morning, I expect to find a gift in the drive-way that goes from 0 to 200 in under 6 seconds!!"

The next morning he got up early and left for work. When his wife woke-up, she looked out the window and sure enough there was a box gift-wrapped in the middle of the driveway.

Confused, the wife put on her robe and ran out to the driveway and brought the box back in the house.

She opened it and found a brand new bathroom scale!

Ouch...

Move to the Back of the Bus...

A lot of what we do in life revolves around lining up and waiting.

(Cue bulleted list)

(Bulleted list removed because the list is long and never-ending)

So, why, if everyone generally takes their turn and the chaos is somewhat organized do people constantly think that the bus stop is any different? I mean, why would anyone think that if I've been standing outside in the cold, watching two full buses go by without stopping and waiting 15 minutes for the next bus to stop, that they can just stroll across the street and hop on the bus without waiting more than one minute? I guess first come first serve is more like closest to the door wins. Stop being a selfish prick and wait your turn in the bloody cold or the pouring rain until your the next one to get on the bus and then show your very cool metro card and get on your merry way, a**hole.

Have a nice day!

Cubicle Christmas...

'Tis the season for parties, getting together with friends and family, and silly drunkeness with co-workers. Usually the calendar has filled up by now with random work engagements and especially with all of the Agencies we work with (at least 7 major ones) but we've only seen one invitation come through so far and I have already declined...and I feel good about that.

Last Tuesday we had our CM&C holiday party which is Corporate Marketing and Convergence (all of the Marcom groups including Wireless and Sponsorships etc...). It's about a group of 80 and this year we were invited to a murder mystery at Vaughn Estates. A very nice location and free drinks with a fantastic dessert bar...what more could one ask for? The mystery was hosted of course and we spend most of the evening sitting at our respective tables listening to the "guests" aboard the SS Minnow try to figure out who killed the Captain. We had Mrs. Thom sitting with us (she was always a bit typsy) and I was able to figure out the killer which is great but the event didn't leave time for mingling or just casual conversation which was kind of crappy. Luckily, my name was drawn and I won a $50 GC to the LCBO...the next draw was for a $300 GC to Holt's but I'll take my booze and run.

Last night was our RHP Christmas party at our director's house. We have officially had a re-org and three of our team have branched out and although it has only been a few weeks since this happened it definitely feels different and it was great to have everyone back together again for one last hoorah. There was a lot of baby talk as one of our agency partners (the only outside person invited) is due in 3 weeks and there are 6 others (on our team of 10) with children or babies on the way...too much baby talk for me but somewhat fun to listen to as well. We had a secret santa/gift stealing event and I stole these cute little christmas jewel boxes and a lovely picture frame from my new manager...good times!!

Usually we would have an RHP party but with the re-org and RHP being no longer that's another one shot down. We were all looking forward to a repeat of last year or something similar - hanging out in a box at a Leafs game, all you can eat and drink followed with a portable DVD player and lovely fleece jacket. Ah well...there's a new regime now!

This past Monday we did have a cubicle Christmas and that was a lot of fun. There are 5 of us that sit in an area together and we took the latter part of the afternoon to listen to xmas music, drink egg nog, eat yummy treats and decorate our cubes. It's amazing what a little garland, lights and mini trees will do to an area. Did I mention that I created a fantastic village out of Swiss Chalet chalet's, complete with people, trees and snow?! To top it off we're heading to the Keg Mansion on the 21st for our cube buddy holiday lunch.

Most of us are still waiting for a few more Agency invitations but looking at the calendar I just don't have the time... And, these parties definitely don't compete with Gregger's "let's go to the falls in a limo, have lot's of tasty bevvies, gamble the night away and come out on top because I didn't open my own wallet" Christmas party but I guess that's the difference between companies with under 40 employees and those with over 20,000. And no, I'm not complaining - I don't mind, really, I don't.

November...

It has been so long since I posted other than my "Friday Fun" and I'm not sure why because we have been very busy doing a lot of stuff. I figured a bulleted list should suffice - to get everyone caught up and for me to remember what we've been up to:

- November 3rd we found ourselves in Delhi for my girlfriend from college's wedding. I knew her husband during school but haven't seen either of them in almost 3 years and Dave had met them once. We weren't expecting a spectaculr night and told my parents we wouldn't be that late but it's always great when the unexpected happens. We had a great time - the guys at our table were a lot of fun. While I drank, Dave chatted (being the DD of course) and we didn't end up leaving until about midnight. The wedding was very nice and it was good to see my friend...even if it was only for a few minutes of conversation.
- November 10th was C&C's housewarming and also a nice time. It seems like everyone around us is putting down their money and making the big move. It's a cute little place in the Tobs and a great starter for them...very exciting. This time I was the DD and Dave definitely took advantage!!
- November 16th were the CMA Awards (Canadian Marketing Association). It's a big-deal night and everybody and their mom are there, dressed to the nines of course. Our whole RHP team went because we won Gold for "Integrated Campaign over $1MM" - it was for our RHP Re-Launch in the Spring and is kind of a big deal. Everyone looked lovely and we danced the night away but I didn't last until the wee morning like some...
- November 17th were our baseball awards. As you will remember, Backdoor Sliders represented this year and won the B Championship! Yours truly and my lover won for MVP's and Jonny B won "Most Fun or Most Sportsmanlike" - I'm not really sure. We had people over for pre-festivities and post-festivities. Gregger brought GH3 and we are kind of addicted - I think it was almost 4am before we finally shut 'er down for the night! Good times!
- November 24th Dave went to the men's baseball banquet. Although he wasn't actually on the "official" team, he was on the roster and was a spare that ended up playing a lot. Seemed like deja vu from the weekend before. People over for pre-festivites and post-festivities. Gregger brought GH3 and we are kind of addicted. I was out with Lindsay that night and came home and played by myself for about 2 hours but the boys didn't get back until about 2am and pretty much passed out.
- November 26th Dave and I went to the Transiberian Orchestra. It was awesome and they are fantastic. I was a little disappointed with the first half which is called "Christmas Eve" - it could have been great but there was too much narrating and the songs people were singing were rather slow and not so recognizable. But, they rocked out the last half and their lighting, lasers and pyrotechnics were great. I would definitely recommend them and would go again...maybe not for "Christmas Eve" though!!

So these were all of the major events for November...maybe it doesn't seem like much but when you tack on bowling on Mondays for me, multi-sport on Wednesdays for the both of us, hockey on Thursday for Dave and the random lower-key Friday nights playing Wii it makes for very busy times and that doesn't even include household randoms like laundry, cleaning and shopping. Blah...