# Goofing off at work **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 29, 2000, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goofing-off-at-work/20808 "2000-05-29T16:31:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Pizzle\_Boy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Pizzle\_Boy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pizzle_Boy)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2000, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goofing-off-at-work/20808/21 "2000-05-30T14:56:07Z")
Then there was my last co-op job…my scheduled hours were 08:00 to 16:00. The last 2 months I was there, I would show up at 10:30, play euchre during a 45 minute break. Lunch for an hour and pack up and go around 14:00. No one said anything…talk about encouraging bad behaviour ---
**Author:** ![GraceTX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c4cdca/32.png) [@GraceTX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GraceTX)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2000, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goofing-off-at-work/20808/22 "2000-05-30T16:12:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > I’m sure I’d have noticed an attractive and charming female such as yourself behind me > > Of course I would LOVE you to keep following me around. (I’ll try to come up with an appropriate Shakespeare quote later.) 🙂 > \*\* Who ho ho!! Keep it up. Flattery will get you EVERYWHERE! I posted a lot more than usual last night. I’m a woman of few words (on the net) normally. Since my in-laws visited this weekend, I must’ve had a lot of pent up typing I had to get out. I posted more last night than I ever have before. It seems that every topic I went in, you were there. Of course if you keep up the flattery, I may very well become a cyber stalker. LOL > [@](#): > > \*\* > I’se going to ask you what “GL” stands for on your profile. > Then, as I was about to send this off and reread your quote, I was going to ask which soap. Even I can put two and two together (I hope) > > Duh–Guiding Light?? > \*\* You got it. When we first signed up with AOL my husband thought he was really clever by giving me that screen name. Now I use it everywhere with the exception of this board. I don’t watch the show anymore. Haven’t in years but the name sorta stuck. I still edit the Guiding Light board just to help out the guy that owns the website. Fortunately they’re a good group of people so I rarely have to do anything but delete old posts when the board gets too heavy with posts. ---
**Author:** ![DRY](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@DRY](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DRY)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2000, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goofing-off-at-work/20808/23 "2000-05-31T04:56:31Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > Who ho ho!! Keep it up. Flattery will get you EVERYWHERE! > \*\* ::pondering this very seriously::…::drool:: > [@](#): > > \*\* > I posted a lot more than usual last night. I’m a woman of few words (on the net) normally. Since my in-laws visited this weekend, I must’ve had a lot of pent up typing I had to get out. > \*\* As you may have seen in another thread, my family situation (aunt, not in-laws) caused me to have a lot of pent up typing as well. So I can relate. > [@](#): > > \*\* > I posted more last night than I ever have before. It seems that every topic I went in, you were there. > \*\* I have feral instincts: I mark my trail. 😃 > [@](#): > > \*\* > Of course if you keep up the flattery, I may very well become a cyber stalker. LOL > \*\* If anyone would stalk me, after I was through being flattered, I’d advise them to seek professional help. Not for any psychoses, but for an obvious lack of taste. > [@](#): > > \*\* > You got it. When we first signed up with AOL my husband thought he was really clever by giving me that screen name. Now I use it everywhere with the exception of this board. I don’t watch the show anymore. Haven’t in years but the name sorta stuck. I still edit the Guiding Light board just to help out the guy that owns the website. Fortunately they’re a good group of people so I rarely have to do anything but delete old posts when the board gets too heavy with posts. > \*\* Cool. When I first saw your profile (gotta click on anyone’s profile who actually says two kind words to me), I thought “Great Lakes”? It was only after I reread your post re “soap opera discussion boards”, that I clued in. ---
**Author:** ![DRY](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@DRY](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DRY)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2000, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goofing-off-at-work/20808/24 "2000-05-31T04:59:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > ::pondering this very seriously::…::drool:: > \*\* Apparently after 124…make that 125 posts…there are still some things I’ve yet to figure out. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Pizzle\_Boy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Pizzle\_Boy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pizzle_Boy)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2000, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goofing-off-at-work/20808/25 "2000-05-31T13:02:02Z")
How did this become a flirt session for Grace and DRY??? ---
**Author:** ![JimmyNipples](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/eb9ed0/32.png) [@JimmyNipples](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JimmyNipples)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2000, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goofing-off-at-work/20808/26 "2000-05-31T14:27:53Z")
MY job is all about goofin’ off. I’m a radio announcer. Play a tune, tell a joke, play another tune. I surf the web to find material for my show. I end up here quite a bit… You’re all very inspirational. Of course, I take all the credit. Regards, Thief of words and thoughts, Graeme ---
**Author:** ![GraceTX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c4cdca/32.png) [@GraceTX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GraceTX)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2000, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goofing-off-at-work/20808/27 "2000-05-31T23:47:14Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > How did this become a flirt session for Grace and DRY??? > \*\* Just lucky I guess! 😛 Look at it this way, DRY and I are keeping the topic from falling to page 2. That makes it a better chance for others to see the topic and answer about goofing off at work. If it makes you feel any better, how about I just think my nasty, dirty little thoughts? Then again, what’s the fun if you can’t share. Eh?? Or even better, you can join in and compliment me on my…uh, ahhhhh, :::cough::: typing skills. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2000, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goofing-off-at-work/20808/28 "2000-06-01T00:00:16Z")
DRY wrote: > [@](#): > > If I were a legal secretary, I would be able to goof off with impunity [though it helps to be discreet if others are busy]if the attorneys I work for had nothing for me to do. However, paralegals and attorneys in most private firms have billable hour requirements. Fortunately, paralegal requirements at my firm are reasonable. Hah! I goof off at work **by doing** legal research!! Speaking of which, can a trust be a grantor or trustee of another trust? I can’t find a single precedent for this in the case law anywhere… ---
**Author:** ![DRY](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@DRY](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DRY)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2000, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goofing-off-at-work/20808/29 "2000-06-01T09:37:48Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > How did this become a flirt session for Grace and DRY??? > \*\* Because we’re busy goofing off at work! 😃 (Also because Shayna didn’t come here after my invitation to make it a menage… ☹ ) ---
**Author:** ![evilbeth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/evilbeth/32/2268_2.png) [@evilbeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evilbeth)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2000, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goofing-off-at-work/20808/30 "2000-06-01T09:47:27Z")
As I have posted before, I work 40 hours/week and I spend almost all of them right here on the SDMB. Sometimes I check my e-mail but mostly, I just post and read here. My job is such that I don’t really have much to do but I have to be here in almost a watchdog capacity. I’m not even really allowed to leave my office except to go to the bathroom (usually once a night) so I have lots of time to surf. Frighteningly, I am the most competent employee in my department. I do what little work I have to do, I do it right and often, I do more than required–which confuses the hell out of my slacking co-workers. (I call them slacking because they don’t even do the work they are supposed to do and when they do work, they do it badly.) ---
**Author:** ![DRY](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@DRY](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DRY)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2000, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goofing-off-at-work/20808/31 "2000-06-01T09:47:56Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*\* > > How did this become a flirt session for Grace and DRY??? > > \*\* > > Just lucky I guess! 😛 Look at it this way, DRY and I are keeping the topic from falling to page 2. That makes it a better chance for others to see the topic and answer about goofing off at work. > > If it makes you feel any better, how about I just think my nasty, dirty little thoughts? Then again, what’s the fun if you can’t share. Eh?? > > Or even better, you can join in and compliment me on my…uh, ahhhhh, :::cough::: typing skills. > \*\* Don’t mind him, my dear. But you absolutely most share with me your nasty, dirty little thoughts! (That’s how we got started on our flirt session isn’t it? Well…that, and the fact that both of our computer monitors are facing AWAY from our office doors. I can’t wait to whisper those sweet nothings in your ear. You know, just as soon as Pizzle Boy goes to the can for a half hour 😃 (Hint, read the OP) Oh, and Tracer…any job openings at your present place of employment?? ---
**Author:** ![Pizzle\_Boy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Pizzle\_Boy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pizzle_Boy)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2000, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goofing-off-at-work/20808/32 "2000-06-01T13:34:03Z")
Menage sounds like fun…but I think I have some work to do… 😉 Dirty thoughts…eh?..Grace…do you ever dress up like a pirate :eek: HA…The irony is…today I actually have to work…some network problem…the…\…irony…overwhelming…can’t breath…\…ugh… ::fade to black:: How 'bout an emy… P.S. Grace…I’m 5’12" can bench 700,000 pounds and have been known to resurect the dead…impressed? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![GraceTX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c4cdca/32.png) [@GraceTX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GraceTX)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2000, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goofing-off-at-work/20808/33 "2000-06-01T14:01:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > I can’t wait to whisper those sweet nothings in your ear. You know, just as soon as Pizzle Boy goes to the can for a half hour 😃 (Hint, read the OP) > \*\* I can’t wait. Meet me back in this topic when PB heads out for his daily appointment. I mentioned this topic to Shayna but I think she’s too busy terrorizing her fellow Prom Queen nominees. Something about cutting holes in swimsuits and replacing hair mousse with Nair. > [@](#): > > \*\* > Dirty thoughts…eh?..Grace…do you ever dress up like a pirate > \*\* I tried but the parrot kept falling off my shoulder and the wooden peg leg chafes. ---
**Author:** ![dook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/cdc98d/32.png) [@dook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dook)\ **Post date:** [June 1, 2000, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goofing-off-at-work/20808/34 "2000-06-01T21:00:20Z")
You guys are all amateurs. I added it all up once and it turns out I do about 6.5 work days (52 hours) worth of work in about 6 months. Let’s see… I play darts accross the hall in another guy’s office. Smetimes we play golf in the boss’s office. We bring movies to work sometimes and watch them in the training room. I’ve spent 2 hours at a time on the back dock, smoking my pipe. This morning I slept for an hour and a half. I took a 3 hour lunch once. Oh yeah… and every once in a while, 5 or 6 of us will go down to one of the computer labs and play Allegiance for hours on end. I think I actually did some work last week… I can’t remember what though. ---
**Author:** ![GraceTX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c4cdca/32.png) [@GraceTX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GraceTX)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2000, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goofing-off-at-work/20808/35 "2000-06-02T02:26:43Z")
As far as goofing off goes, I kinda go in spurts. Sometimes I work so hard I go days or weeks without doing anything but work. Then other times (like this week), I’ll goof off most of the day. The thing you have to do is master a 90-10 split. Goof of 90% of the day and get your work done in 10% of the time. Yesterday I reached an all time high in goofing off. Not only did I play on the board most of the day but I also called my boss at home and asked her to stop at the ice cream store bring me an ice cream sandwich. When she got to the office, I told her I’d finished a project she had me working on and then kicked back and took a 20 minute break while we all chatted and ate ice cream. ---
**Author:** ![DRY](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@DRY](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DRY)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2000, 9:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goofing-off-at-work/20808/36 "2000-06-02T09:14:15Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > I can’t wait to whisper those sweet nothings in your ear. You know, just as soon as Pizzle Boy goes to the can for a half hour 😃 (Hint, read the OP) > \*\* > [@](#): > > \*\* > I can’t wait. Meet me back in this topic when PB heads out for his daily appointment. > \*\* I like the idea of going over to THE PIT and flirting there! HAHAHAHAHA 😃 😃 😃 > [@](#): > > \*\* > I mentioned this topic to Shayna but I think she’s too busy terrorizing her fellow Prom Queen nominees. Something about cutting holes in swimsuits and replacing hair mousse with Nair. > \*\* Tell her to be careful. Cut holes in the wrong places, and she could actually IMPROVE her fellow nominees’ chances! :eek: The Nair thing might work, though. 😉 > [@](#): > > \*\* > Dirty thoughts…eh?..Grace…do you ever dress up like a pirate > \*\* > [@](#): > > \*\* > I tried but the parrot kept falling off my shoulder and the wooden peg leg chafes. > \*\* Hon…I’m going to ask you to ixnay on the pirate costume. As lovely as you are, I can’t get that scene out of my head from Monty Python where John Cleese interviews a pirate and slowly turns into one! 🙂 > [@](#): > > \*\* > As far as goofing off goes, I kinda go in spurts. Sometimes I work so hard I go days or weeks without doing anything but work. Then other times (like this week), I’ll goof off most of the day. > > The thing you have to do is master a 90-10 split. Goof of 90% of the day and get your work done in 10% of the time. > > Yesterday I reached an all time high in goofing off. Not only did I play on the board most of the day but I also called my boss at home and asked her to stop at the ice cream store bring me an ice cream sandwich. When she got to the office, I told her I’d finished a project she had me working on and then kicked back and took a 20 minute break while we all chatted and ate ice cream. > \*\* Well, to get back on topic, I didn’t have a chance to goof off, as you may have been able to discern by the times of my recent posts, including this one (I work from 10 to 6. That’s \*\*AM to PM \*\*, in case you were wondering!) And now, to get back off topic, visulaizing Grace licking an ice cream sandwich is getting me steamed up again!! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![GraceTX](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c4cdca/32.png) [@GraceTX](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GraceTX)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2000, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goofing-off-at-work/20808/37 "2000-06-03T03:52:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > I like the idea of going over to THE PIT and flirting there! HAHAHAHAHA 😃 😃 😃 \*\* Oh I’m in trouble over there for that one already. Did you read the post by your missus. I have to say that if she keeps it up, I may have to pimp slap her around a bit. > [@](#): > > \*\* > And now, to get back off topic, visulaizing Grace licking an ice cream sandwich is getting me steamed up again!! 😃 > \*\* Oh you say the sweetest things. I’m willing to share…that is, if you don’t mind licking it up from certain places. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![DRY](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@DRY](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DRY)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2000, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goofing-off-at-work/20808/38 "2000-06-03T04:29:33Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*\* > > I like the idea of going over to THE PIT and flirting there! HAHAHAHAHA 😃 😃 😃 > > \*\* > > Oh I’m in trouble over there for that one already. Did you read the post by your missus. I have to say that if she keeps it up, I may have to pimp slap her around a bit. > \*\* In the words of…no–not Shakespeare–Darth Vader: “Leave that to me.” :eek: > [@](#): > > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*\* > > And now, to get back off topic, visulaizing Grace licking an ice cream sandwich is getting me steamed up again!! 😃 > > \*\* > > Oh you say the sweetest things. I’m willing to share…that is, if you don’t mind licking it up from certain places. 😛 > \*\* Of course! “So we grow together, Like to a double cherry, seeming parted” 😃 A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act 3, scene ii ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2000, 10:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goofing-off-at-work/20808/39 "2000-06-03T10:48:56Z")
Okay, I’ve heard enough!! All of you guys are fired!! I get to work at home and I never goof off. Never. Oh, sometimes I swim for a while during the day but that is exercise. It keeps me healthy so I can work even harder. If I should happen to shoot a few games of pool, that sharpens my eye so I can spot details in work projects so that isn’t goofing off. That helps my job performance. If, while I am exercising in the pool, I should happen to fall into conversation with some bikini clad young lady, I am only practicing my interviewing skills, so that benefits my job performance, doesn’t it? And a little nap two or three times a day never hurt anyone, right? Being rested improves my job performance. But you guys, man, you guys are just plain goofing off. Shameful behavior. ---
**Author:** ![DRY](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a87d85/32.png) [@DRY](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DRY)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2000, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goofing-off-at-work/20808/40 "2000-06-03T11:18:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > Okay, I’ve heard enough!! All of you guys are fired!! > > I get to work at home and I never goof off. Never. > > Oh, sometimes I swim for a while during the day but that is exercise. It keeps me healthy so I can work even harder. > > If I should happen to shoot a few games of pool, that sharpens my eye so I can spot details in work projects so that isn’t goofing off. That helps my job performance. > > If, while I am exercising in the pool, I should happen to fall into conversation with some bikini clad young lady, I am only practicing my interviewing skills, so that benefits my job performance, doesn’t it? > > And a little nap two or three times a day never hurt anyone, right? Being rested improves my job performance. > > But you guys, man, you guys are just plain goofing off. Shameful behavior. > \*\* “By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes.” I LIKE the way you think!! 🙂 Welcome to the board! 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goofing-off-at-work/20808.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/goofing-off-at-work/20808.md?page=3)