Somebody mentioned this might be a fun idea and I agree.

List some fun, dumb, crazy, lovely, weird thing(s) you keep near you in your office space (or home work areas for the domestics).

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~I have an absolutely hilarious painting of a frog hanging on my work area wall that my daughter did when she was in the third grade. I had it custom matted and framed in glass because it still makes me laugh when nothing else does.

Normal: pictures of my kids

Not so normal: In itself it's not strange, it's only my obsession level that makes it creepy- I have a stack of CDs here of my favorite singer. He is my ONLY singer- I rarely listen to ANYONE else. He is almost all the music on my Ipod and in my car. My 3 year old daughter even knows his name.

Not fair, Muffy...not fair.
You should be publicly flogged for leaving us hanging like that.

(...it's gotta be Elvis, lol)

SO WHO IS IT?! Gotta know!

LOLOLOL no, I only left out his name because I doubt many people here would have even heard of him. His name is Michael Ball, and he is about the biggest singer in Britain of the past 20 years- he's a superstar over there- but not many people in America know him, except if they're into musical theater.

EDITING MYSELF: I've been in love with him sice I was fourteen, so my husband can't complain, because he knew about it before we got married. ;-)

*crickets chirping* wow...it got really quiet around here....did I scare you all off??

No, not at all -- I think we all have some musician we obsess about. I think I spent all of the 1980's collecting everything David Bowie did. Then his creative output started leaving me cold, so there. Now I have a Brahms obsession, rapidly filling up my ipod.

As for my own desk, right now I'm looking at a little Obi-Wan Lego guy, which isn't weird because virtually every room has at least a few Legos. I guess it's time for them to return to the mother ship.

Most of the stuff laying around my "office" isn't so unusual for where I am, but I doubt you'd see it in most civilized places. I'll just go down the line with what I see..

1. A metal detector wand.
2. A hand grenade (for destroying the radios if we're overrun. it's rather melodramatic, really)
3. A 10-lb bag of pistachios.
4. A big jar of Atomic Fireballs. No one eats them.
5. A three-hole punch. This is actually more unusual than the explosives.

There are all sorts of militaryish items, rifles, radios, body armor, etc., but everyone tends to keep their personal knicknacks near their bunk, not in the command post. This is the modern army, so we have no less than six computers running at a time in here, and this is a TINY base. I'm not complaining though- satellite internet, baby!

Drop-A-Deuce: You get an award for most unique "office" stuff. And, I'd like to award you a Serving Your Country Dundie. I hope you all know how much we appreciate you! If the troops need any care packages, don't hesitate to let us know!


My desk: I made the mistake of disclosing I have a Monkey Conspiracy Theory -- so over the years my office mates have given me a pile of them, including Cornelius and Mojo Jojo.

And, I have a tiara.

I guess this is considered weird. I have one of those burlap wall dividers besides my desk and I have 18 desk calendars hung up on the wall. I like having something to rip off and read (18 times) everyday. The most calendars I've had on that wall would probably be close to 30. Don't laugh.

A hot pink plastic Slinky, a pink Koosh ball, and one of those little treasure chests from the latest Happy Meal.

I swear I'm 34.

I don't know if these should count because I'm at a resort, so we have a wide variety of things that get left in here, or things that people give us...


a bird (peach-faced cockatiel named Arvey), who is VERY squaky
a cat (an orange & white named Hobbes)
swim goggles
baseball
misc. clothing and accessory items (hats, glasses, etc.)
a squeaking stuffed bird
hawaiian hibiscus decorations
decorated piggy bank
horseshoes
prescription bottle filled with quarters

ummm... that's all I see now that's strange. *shrug*

Great new avatar, Deuce!

Monkey Conspiracy Theory! Genius! Tell us more.

umm... weird things on my desk... wow, a lot... I'll just list the weirdest.

* Tiny stuffed elephant, the cloth is leopard print so I guess it's a pretty confused elephant.
* Hello Kitty bubbles necklace
* Gormet Chocolate SEX Herbal Aphrodisiac (yes, you read that right)
* Travel size Aquafresh Extreme Clean toothpaste
* White Sea Otter bath toy (got it from a hotel in Monterey on my honeymoon)
* Ace Bandage

I have a golf ball. I do not golf, but the moral of the story is, "Play the ball where it lands."

I have a My Little Pony from a kids meal (and I am older than 34 and have no children) She's pink, and she likes to have her mane and tail brushed.

I also put in my office any gift I get from someone that I think is really tacky or ugly. Like the Lipton teabag in the industrial frame that says "Life is like a teabag; you never know how strong you are til you get in hot water." What a waste of a perfectly good teabag. Well, I don't really have that any more. I wrapped it up last week for my sister for her birthday and told her I made it just for her. She pretended really well that she loved it.


Muffyduffy, doesn't Michael Ball have at least one show tunes CD? I think I have heard him on the showtunes channel on my cable tv. I like show tunes and I am not ashamed to admit it!

Deuce-man, do you do Vietnam sounds when you play with your wargames toys? I sure would.

He has several, that is what he's most known for, he's on a ton of cast recordings as well (Aspects of Love, Les Miz-plays Marius in the 10 anniversary concert, too, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Passion, West Side Story, etc....) Like I said, he's been the biggest musical star in Britain for over 20 years.

Unfortunately, I have no need to do Vietnam sounds. There are plenty of Afghanistan sounds to go around, although they're probably pretty similar: helicopters, radios, gunfire, and artillery. Lucky for us, me and my boys make the artillery sounds. King of Battle!

I have two xrays in my office. One is a plain xray of a guy's skull with a huge cleaver sticking into it, very impressive. The other is a barium study of a guy who has a vibrating type of device lodged where it shouldn't be. I just remember how embarrassed he was in the ER when it had to be extracted. Seems he just "fell' on it.

Bwahahaha!

A have a nurse friend who's told me horror stories like that. ;-)

We're not allowed to have personal items in my workplace so there really isn't anything unusual lying around. Yeah...boring!

HAHAHA! ~Y'all have some pretty wild azz stuff in your lives.

My carved bamboo backscratcher (made in China) suddenly feels very insignificent.

This:
Also a cheese hat and a buddah statue.

Ok, you asked. First, I was always facinated by Planet of the Apes which was released in 1968. It just so happens that I was born in 1968. And, according to the Chinese Zodiac, 1968 is also the Year of the Monkey. Eventually I became very suspicious of attempts by scientists to study & humanize primates (the chimp in space, Diane Fossey, Jane Goodall). I am particularly ANTI teaching primates sign language because, ultimately, language = power. Not to mention that no matter where you turn, monkeys always find their way into our popular culture (if you've never sent a monk-e-mail from careerbuilder.com, do so immediately). And now, some lady just taught a chimp to play Texas Hold 'Em and he is going to play in the next world poker tournament. F.

I really haven't gotten anyone on board with my theory, but I'm telling you.....as soon as those monkeys are able to advance their communication skills, they are able to deconstruct humankind--at which point they are going to have their d.a.m.n.e.d dirty paws all over us.

"One in a million shot, Doc" Can anyone guess what tv show that line came from?

Normal: CD's, pens, and pics

Unusual: Frames with no pics and tags still on, tank top and bra.

HOME OFFICE!!!!

I HEAR YA, SIS! ~I knew mankind was in big trouble the minute those little bastards learned how to pick their nose and scratch their butts like we do!!

I cleaned out my office today after inhabiting it for five years. I found the following items, all of them marked with logos of various organizations:

(4) crystal paperweights
(3) hats (two baseball and one Gilligan style)
(2) totebags
(3) pen sets
(3) watches
(1) travel clock
(3) leather portfolios
(4) cheap calculators
(6) rubber stress balls
(3) thermos/squeeze bottles
(4) ugly, oversized t-shirts/polo shirts
(18) lanyards
and
(27) cloisonne pins

This is what the convention business does to you.

I used to work in the marketing department of a pharmaceutical company; had a coffee cup with our laxative brand name on it. And a yo-yo with the name of our drug for genital herpes.

Ha! My brother sells pharma...he trumps me as king purveyor of useless crap..

Speaking of drug company paraphernalia, I had a Viagra pen that was initially folded over but when you pushed a button on the side, it kind of flipped up. Very classy.

Man, and I thought my purple Nexium pen was cool!

I also have on my desk a gift card for Old Navy worth .84 cents. Guess what my sister is getting for Christmas?

Since I was cleaning out my desk for my 'new super dooper finally got here' computer I found in my desk:

3 boxes of staples(i have no stapler)
black electrical tape
husband wallet from about 5 years ago(no money in it )
3 velcro curlers
and 3 generations of dust bunnies in the corner

A little "See No Evil:Hear No Evil:Speak No Evil:DO No Evil" Monkey Statue

A Pilipino Bahay Kubo (Shack) w/ little Ninjas that I bought from those Quarter machines

Office Voo-Doo Kit

Small Sombrero


iiiiiiiiiii'm a packrat.

I have a whole shelf and drawer full of corporate branded gifts, promo items and motivational toys.

These include -

5 stress relief balls
4 coffee cups
1 champagne glass
3 water bottles
A pair of giant dice
1 calculator
1 t-shirt
3 lanyards

Garage sale time!!

I am a little freaked that this thread re-surfaced today. Why? Because today, ten months later, is my last day at my old/new job, and I'm cleaning out my desk right now! Ha! I'm sad to say that the haul hasn't changed much...

My ex bosses desk was odd.

a plastic plant
a pencil cup holder with no pens, only nail files and clippers
a pic of her and husband
a pic of her daugther taken so up close it was like looking through a peep hole
a yoghurt always on her desk
a bottle of lotion
pictures her daugther drew
a bunch of notes written in her estonian lanuage
a fax machine
a anti baterical wipes.
and a stack of papers she was supposed to do for coperate but never did.

my old little work space-

magazines
more magazines
some candy hidden
my cell phone
and more magazines

I was a manager and even though I talked on the phone read my magazines at work I still managed to get more work done than my boss who ran around like a idoit.

This is fun to read!

At home I have:
Pictures of the kids
Writing utensils
One of those magnetic crucifixes that are supposed to go in the car
Shrapnel (Husband brought it back from Iraq)

At work I have:
a small bell
candle
referral/detention slips
librarian action figure with amazing "shushing action"
book of Sears Subject headings
LMC magazine

Ok, I have a box full of stickers, and at any time I have children's toys (confiscated) in my desk drawer. In the desk, I also have a cheese grater, plastic clapper noisemakers, a bug antennae headband, candy, chocolate doughnuts, money from around the world, a yellow reflective vest (like you see on the city workers on the street), a stepstool, cotton balls, a cd of subtraction songs, and of course, coloring utensils of every kind.




ahh, yes... the desk of a first grade teacher...

The only personal thing I have so far is a picture of my daughter, and it's not even in a frame yet. I haven't been at the new job long enough yet to accumulate any weirdness. My desk is pretty big so I have lots of room to fill up.

Let's see...
I have some dead plants on my balcony that I can take in.
A coffee cup that I stole from my last job.
I'm going to need a radio, or maybe an iPod player. No internet music allowed
I'd better get busy collecting some junk

I know a doctor that has a Cialis pen that does the same!

Normal: camera dock, coaster, graduation $$
Strange: some of my dad's military stuff is scattered around...

I was recently promoted and was honored with an office of my own. I have graduated from Cubeville, but since I am a contractor, I make do with surplus furniture our clients no longer use. My desk and credenza are of solid wood from the 60s, some top of the line stuff. One of the desk drawers has a definite tobacco-ish smell and there are BIC pen stains in the pencil tray. I also have a scratched old lab bench and an assortment of network equipment in various states of repair stashed in my office. 1978 has called and asked for my guest chair back! I'm sure its purpleness was fashionable in its day and my inner Martha Stewart is telling me it needs just the right accent pillow.

My only personal stuff: Some family pictures and my mug o' souvenir pencils. Since I am Ultra_Temp, I could clean out my desk in five seconds and nobody would ever know I had ever been here and I'd forget too. But I think I would try to figure out a way to get that sweet, sweet oak credenza into my Dunder Mifflin paper box .....

I have this in a picture frame!!!

Wow Pam, are you posting that on every thread now? Not that I can blame you or anything, it is a VERY nice picture, after all.

I have the power and no one seems to be stopping me.. soooo I am on a mission!!

Well I certainly won't stand in your way

We should organize an Office flan swap meet.

One flan's trash is another flan's treasure.

Cleaned off most of my desk and remembered this thread

3 Swiss Army knives
screwdriver(fix my computer chair on a weekly basis)
Christmas Wreath Yankee candle(almost done burning)
2 empty boxes of Walkers shortbread cookies
various colors of Smarties
losing lottery tickets
3 empty ink cartridges

Song book from elementary school
3 half used notebooks
Hello Kitty calender figurine
Perfect stack of CD's
That's all I can think of at the moment.

I would love to do this with some of my books. I am too lazy to get them together to sell, but I don't want them to go to waste!

Currently:
2 laptops
1 phone
1 Dundie Award trophy
printer
scanner
5 post-it note pads, various colors
Many, many, pens and pencils, (they're like shoes to me)
desk calendar
Supergirl's report card
brown paper bag with oragami heart from Mother's Day, (I just got it yesterday)
hand-painted dog bowl waiting for the paint to dry
camera
stack of teaching journals
Fruitloop necklace
Basket with one year's worth of Kindergarten work
One ticket (written on a leaf) for admission to "Camp Wooster" for tonight, (I've got connections.)