Look Around. What Do You See?

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I’m in an office, probably 3m by 5m, white walls covered with maps and schematic drawings of pipeline facilities throughout Canada (mostly Alberta.) There are posters on the wall in front of me detailing how to report an incident (“What is an Incident? An incident is an unplanned event that results in undesirable consequences…”) Interspersed throughout the maps are drawings by my daughter, pictures of my wife and Little One, and inspirational posters (“Change is a challenge to the adventurous, an opportunity to the alert, and a threat to the insecure.”)

In front of me is a lateral filing cabinet, with a plant (some kind of ivy, I think) and my Doug and Bob McKenzie diorama on it. On the wall to my right is my Britney Spears picture (laminated), and two calendars (one company issue, one Mayhem calendar - today in history, Pamela and Tommy Lee’s video hit the Internet in 1997, and Steve McQueen died in 1980.) Behind me is my bulletin board with the requisite Dilbert strip, lottery tickets, and general work papers.

My desk is strewn with paper, some in piles, some not. There’s a label-maker, a digital camera and a small tape recorder on the desk. On my computer is my Homer Simpson Pez dispenser, a Cairo Cat from a Kinder Egg, and a stack of business cards that I’ve been meaning to do something with. On the right hand side of the computer I have a bottle of Rolaids, some Advil, and some Visine. There’s also a cup which may or may not have something growing in it.

Behind me and to the left is a small bookcase full of technical manuals and phone books, with a coffeemaker on top of it (most days, I’m the only one in the office who drinks coffee.) I also have a fire extinguisher and some portable radios on my floor.

Look around right now. What do you see?

2

I had a nice long description written out, but accidentally hit TAB one too many times, so I actually activated the “Clear Fields” button. Now I’m pissed and I’m not gonna rewrite it!

3

Directly in front of me is my desk, scattered with bills I MUST pay today, another computer, fax,scanner and a stuffed moose. (no, silly, a little stuffed animal type of moose!) To my left is a window, filing cabinet and copier. Behind me is a wall with a tiny refigerator and a shredder, and to my right is the door. The walls are painted a warm terra-cotta, and there are numerous American Indian prints and artifacts.

I feel SO special! It’s my first post after lurking for almost a year!

4

To the front and slightly right, my computer with it’s neato little rear view mirror on the side so I can see everything behind me and if a LtCol or higher walks in. On top of the computer are two finished Rubik’s cubes. A small model of a YF-22 fighter. Two bottles of vitamins now with citrus bioflavinoids. (Whatever those are).

In front of the computer I’m looking at a ruler, a clock, a small line of crumbs from the peanut-butter cookies my mom sent me, and my keyboard and mouse. To my right is my desk calendar, leave paperwork, flight cap (garrison cap for you Army folks), lightweight blue jacket on it’s little wall peg above my desk, and our NT server for this office.

To my left are various pieces of paperwork, my beige phone that looks like something from a cheesy 70’s movie, 3 water bottles, my coffee maker, a bag of French Vanilla Roast from the Beanery, two boxes of tea (earl grey, and orange delight), three coffee cups, stapler with sticker on top from a box of Botan Rice Candy, paper clips, my Far-Side calendar, four service awards certificates, two promotion certificates, and 3 pictures of my sister, my mom, and my SO, all of whom I love very dearly.

Above that are two cabinets filled to the brim with technical manuals, IT magazines, a copy of PowerBuilder 7, a copy of Sybase Server, a phone book, and a yo-yo. On top of those are my collection of balsa wood airplanes.

Behind me, (in case you haven’t guessed I’m surrounded by desks, three to be exact), there’s an in/out box, an interoffice mail box, my collection of taco-bell plastic cups, tape dispenser, fingernail clippers, butter knife, jar of peach preserves (also courtesy of mom), and lots more paperwork.

Directly above me there is a paper clip embedded in the ceiling with a rubber band dangling from it, and a very irritating flourescent light that flickers constantly and I think is making me dyslexic(sp?).

Anyway, this is the most stupid and pointless thing I’ve ever posted, but for some reason I feel really good after doing so. I think everyone should post the stuff in their office or home, as it seems to be excellent therapy and a great stress reliever.

5

90% boring office stuff: computer, reference books, in-box full of stuff I should be taking care of . . . A few little personal touches, such as that framed photo of the girl who’d jumped off the Empire State Building, and a Farmer’s Almanac calendar . . .

I like to keep my office simple, in case I ever want to storm out and not come back, I won’t have to make two trips.

6

I have my desk pushed right up to the windows in my office - 3 big windows cover approx the top 2/3 of the entire east wall. I am on the 30th floor and look over the Chicago loop - approx the S 1/2 of my view is of the lake. On a clear day I can see Indiana, but this is not a clear morning. Lowering my gaze I see photos of my wife and kids. I try to avoid looking around me, as that will remind me I’m at work. (Groping blindly behind myself for yet another cup of joe.)

7

I see the library. There are others on the computers. All is quiet.
I see outside the window, its gray and damp, but stopped raining.

8

Typical office stuff. My computer, office supplies, and a box of kleenex. A little green basket that holds the assorted office supplies on my desk. My pen holder from my “real” job as a tech writer (I’m currently out on contract doing QA work for an investment firm) that says “The IntellectualEdge–the power of knowledge, shared” which is our motto. I have a mug from the AdvisorXpress website I’ve been QAing, and a paperweight my dad gave me with a nonspecific Egyptian pharoah in profile. My stainless steel flat-bottom travel coffee mug, full of coffee (my 3rd cup since 8 am). Various pictures, one of my best friends from college, another of me and my 2 baby cousins, one of the aforementioned best friend’s son whose name I chose. A card that is a reprint of Van Gogh’s Sunflowers. Various org charts, and test matrices on the walls. A pile of system design specs I need to read but won’t bother to because I hope to God I’ll be leaving this place soon. On the wall above me, a stock ticker, which serves to remind me that I’m in the heart of financial America. If I look behind me, which I try not to, I see a huge article reprint of “Why Christians should not vote for Bush.” Have I mentioned I don’t fit in here? :wink:

9

Damn. It says “Why Christians should not vote for Gore.” Same difference.

10

God, do I work in a dump…

11

modular furniture - just like everyone else in here has.
a picture of hubby, daughter, and me taken 13 years ago.
current pic of daughter - she’s 15
little sailor angel figurine sitting atop an old clock radio tuned to the local muzak-like station
two plants atop my cabinet
25-yr service award certificate
in-box overflowing with drawings I’ll need for my current design project
papers all over the table top
and a ratty jacket-like thing hanging from the end partition - just in case I get chilly

What a tacky place!!

12

I am in “temporary” “A” control.
I’m seated in front of a WBS R2K Series mixing board. To the right is my internet computer. Further right is the DCS computer. That’s where all the music and commercials are generated from. To my left is a rack of limiters, switchers, patch fields, cassette decks, CD players and several power supplies for the above mentioned computers.

Through a window in front of me, (behind the mixer) is our news booth. The very lovely Jocelyn is reading the news right now. Behind me is a third computer we use to send commercials to other stations in our network, and to split them so we can hear spots meant for this market and air spots meant for other markets.

The counters a covered in prep…did you know that a survey is being conducted in the South Pole to see if Penguins tip over while watching airplanes fly overhead?

That is what I see.

13

I didn’t know people could post from work… wouldn’t that get you in trouble? :slight_smile:

As I look to my left I can see my kitchen and one of the scariest sights known to man, an empty coffee pot. Panning right I can see the thermometer and the call display box on the wall and below that is where I hang the the game pad and the headphones. My desk is pretty typical with all the computer paraphanelia; my coffee cup is on my left with a big glass of OJ next to it. I set my pens there last night along with the contents of my pockets. There’s some cash, assorted change, and a shopping list. Looking to my right I can see my CD tower which is simply overflowing, my printer, and an ashtray which needs changing. My front door is 90 degrees to my right, I seem to have got the weatherstripping in right as I can’t feel the draft that was there yesterday. There are so many shoes one would think that Imelda Marcos lived here.

My livingroom is behind me… I can look over the back of the couch and watch my daughters playing together, they are best friends. The entertainment centre is nestled between two big bookcases that are overflowing with all manner of books, these three pieces of furniture occupy an entire wall. The “Dark Crystal” is playing this morning as it often is, my three year old is pointing out the bad guys to the baby. What else are big sisters for?

If I look down I can see my feet and now realize I need to cut my toenails, the excitement never ends around here.

I have to make some more coffee… brain is … freezing… up…

14

Desk area:
Papers to the left of me.
Permits to the right of me.
Extra office supplies under my desk. (sssshhhhhh! otherwise we’d have none.)
Reference books, field guides, membership lists and public safety/forestry equipment catalogs on the book shelves.
Bookend (cat in Buddhist meditation pose).
Typewriter.
Clock radio - alternate among NPR/Classical station (corporate classical), NPR jazz station (really good), and NPR/College station that is being taken over by NPR/Classical station and will soon lose its individuality and Wednesday opera programming [grrrrrrrr].
Unopened mail.
4 different pen and supply holders ( one on each desk, so I do not have to reach far).
2 coffee mugs (‘Ask Dr. Science’ and ‘Grateful Dead Dancing Terripins’)
Stack o’ disks (better label those soon).
Computer (with a plastic condor, an eagle statuette, a squeaky Buddha clutching a latte and cell phone, and a turtle vertebrae sitting on to).
Phone.
Poloroid picture of me with a Florida Panther and me chewing on a leaf.

Coffee area:
Printer.
Hot water pot.
Herbal teas (six different flavors) and Earl Grey tea.
Honey.
Turbinado sugar.
Stirrers.

Walls (textured wallpaper (3 camel and 1 rust):
Hand-colored J.J. Audubon print of male and female Chuck-will’s-widow (Caprimulgus carolinensis) and Coral Snake (frame needs fixing).
Large photo of Bald Eagle with misshapen beak.
“Golden Addy” award for magazine cover (Bald Eagle headshot).
Large photo of mature and immature White Ibises.
Large photo of Roseate Spoonbills in flight.
Large photo of American Oystercatchers, Least Terns and immature gulls (unidentified).
Matted collage of uncancelled bird-themed stamps from Haiti.
Singing bird clock - I start at the Northern Cardinal and quit at the Tufted Titmouse.
Calendar of the U.S. Senate, ‘signed’ by Senator Bob Graham.

Floor plants in various stages of bloom and decay.
Two large leather chairs, missing upholstery buttons (donated).
Lumpy task chair that does not adjust (also donated, best of the bunch).
Window blinds closed to cut down glare on computer.

My world (for 35 hours a week) and welcome to it.

15

… and see people with too much time on their hands.

16

Worse than this?

17

[singing]
Here I am, stuck in the office with you.
[/singing]

18

In front of me is an extremely messy desk with papers and receipts covering all desktop between the standard computer equipment. Behind the desk is a window looking out into my backyard, where I can see a snowstorm trying to gather strength. The windowsill (my God, who’s supposed to DUST around here, anyhow?) holds various candles, a nameplate from my long-gone office days, a paperweight, two small pictures of my kids, and a “Caution: Laser” sign. To my right is a door that leads to a utility room. To my immediate left is a kitchen table that has served as an auxiliary desk for some 4 years now. It holds a printer, a second computer, stacks of papers, various floppy disks and cds, assorted wires and screws, and other junk I don’t want to look at too closely. Beyond the table is the rest of the kitchen, including a sink full of dishes which I optimistically filled with hot soapy water ten minutes ago in the (vain) hope that someone would be motivated to wash them. Behind me is a freestanding dishwasher that hasn’t worked in probably 10 years. It serves as a microwave and answering machine stand now. On the floor behind me is a lovely one-year-old border collie with horribly malodorous gas who really would like to go through the doorway to the living room, where two children who are off school for Election Day are playing a Pokemon-related game that involves jumping off furniture and yelling. And it’s not even noon yet.

19

I work for a software company that re-modeled an old building in the historic downtown district. My 8ft square cube is in the basement, so I couldn’t tell you if it was sunny or if the world were coming to an end. There are creaky floor joists above me, and it’s like working in my parents’ basement. I am positive that the earth below me is full of limestone caves and underground streams, common for North Alabama. I occassionally picture a sinkhole forming and swallowing me and my desk in one shot. If that doesn’t get me, the Radon will. cough

I am surrounded by vintage brick from the late 1800’s - the company wanted to keep that “historic feel” (translation - they were too cheap to sheetrock over it). If I lean back against the wall, my shirt will be covered in red brick dust. I used to think people were patting me on the back for a job well done, but in reality they were just cleaning my shirt off. There is a 3 foot high water line on the wall behind me - did I mention this was an abandoned building? In some places, I can actually see the beginnings of stalactites forming on the walls.

I have a computer screen in front of me with this post on it. Atop the screen stands Mr. Potato Head, holding a pipe that I would really like to stick a green bud in, but that would be a waste of resources. Hanging next to him is a bound and gagged Mickey Mouse with bulging bloodshot eyes - a warning for any rodents to keep the hell away from my desk. So far it’s working (either that, or they’re shitting someplace else.)

My desk has a collection of toys (a top, a slinky, one of those magnetic sculpture things, etc.) The wall to my left is adorned with various Grateful Dead stickers, and the usual techie assortment of Dilbert and Calvin cartoons, plus pictures from beautiful Harriman State Park in NY, my NYC calendar, and NY Yankees World Series items. It is my obligation to display these items just to annoy my Southern co-workers. :wink:

I’ve posted some mindless stuff to this Board, but this takes the prize. But hey, I’m 10 minutes closer to going home now, so it was worth it.

20

Off-white walls, a window into the hallway, a door (closed) with my coat hanging on the back. From my window I can see the office across the hall and the occasional passerby.

On the walls:
Hanging bookshelf containing mostly unused keyboards, cables, etc, and some snacks
Corkboard holding wall calendar, comic strips, work stuff, iBook poster
Whiteboard that I just cleaned yesterday, so all that’s up there is my contact info.

My computer desk curves around in a backwards J-shape. The lower tip faces the door, so starting from there I have:
Pile of papers, notebooks, writing implements
This computer (PC)
2 CD racks full of music CDs
Another computer (Mac G4)
Printer
Phone
More papers and notebooks
Another computer (Mac G3 - beige)
Kleenex box
Stack of data CDs
Two more computers (Mac 8500s)

Space heater tucked into the curve of the J to keep me warm

Bookcase. Top shelf: varios toys and stuff
Second shelf: books, some work-related and some just for fun
Bottom shelf: boxes and paper

Wastebasket
Can recycling container

Another desk shoved into the corner. Papers, pens, books, a towel, and other junk are piled on it.

A guest chair.

This will all change next week or so, when I move into a new office.