Sound Off: Why my job is awesome!

Ah, the holidays. I saw a headline this morning that said retail consumer spending is at an all time low. Maybe with the economic crisis we're facing, more folks will actually get into the spirit of the holiday and focus more on family and not on stuff. Maybe too, we'll have less crazies at the mall and on the road. And while we're wishin', maybe Central Texas will get some snow on Christmas!!!!

All the wishing aside, I had to share some really funny things from work today. The first one is some thoughts my friend John had on the good ol' days. John is not much older than my 26 years and he sent me an email talking about how kids have it so good these days. The funny thing is, I'm not yet 30 and I remember vividly the days pre-internet, Caller ID/Call Waiting, PlayStation3 and DVD players (I suppose that's a result of growing up in a rural community). One of the comments in particular was about how there weren't any microwaves.

I know for a fact that this is not entirely true, as Microwaves have been around since the 50's. So ok, the boxes of convenient cooking we have all come to know and love might not have been here since then, but they've been around at least since 1971 when the government placed stringent regulations on microwaves sold in the US. Michael and I inherited his parents old microwave from the 80's, named "The Genius". An IM conversation ensued betwixt John and yours truly discussing the merits of said microwave and other blasts from the past.

I mentioned to John my friend Kellie's irrational fear of "The Genius" nuking myself and Michael and any unborn children and this sparked a further discussion of whether or not microwave ovens emitted radiation (Which technically they do, but not the nuclear kind. The electromagnetic waves are at the right frequency to excite water molecules which then heats them and thereby cooks our food since the majority of our foodstuffs is water based in some way.). The only danger one has from a microwave is if they put something metal inside (since microwaves reflect off of metal) and if you boil water in a narrow necked container – it will explode on you when you open the door, causing severe burns. I saw Alton Brown do it on his TV show once and it was pretty cool. So ignore those dumb chain emails telling you not to boil water in the microwave; just be smart about it and you won't get burned. And you shouldn't put a live creature into the microwave either. That's just not cool.

Kellie still avoids standing in front of the microwave whenever she can, despite the fact "The Genius" has long since departed. Everyone has their quirks: Tracie had her thing about poisoned food, Debi hates chicken, and I can't stand the way my groceries are bagged. But I digress.

The other bit of office fun is this call for music for our upcoming office holiday party:

"So do you ever go to a holiday party and think "Man, this is the worst holiday music I've ever heard!" Yeah, me too. Happens all the time!!!
Well, now's your chance to shape the future of holiday parties.

This year the music for our holiday party is literally in your hands! (okay, not literally, unless you have a CD you're holding)

We are looking for the greatest holiday-themed party music of all time to play at our shindig on December 10. If you have any suggestions, please reply to this email. No suggestion will be mocked, shunned or otherwise ignored.

And if we don't get any requests, then we're going to have to stick to the default playlist, which includes these timeless favorites:

--Jingle Bells by those barking dogs
--Frosty the Snowman by Alvin and the Chipmunks
--Walkin' in a Winter Wonderland by Sheena Easton
--Hey, it's chill in here, yo! by Nick Carter
--Let me Sleep by Pearl Jam
--Get outta my snowflake, flake! by Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong
--Turkey Stuffin' by Snoop Dogg

You can see this is a worthy cause so please don't hesitate and suggest a song today!"

I had no idea some of these songs even existed, which makes me kind of want to listen to them at least once just to see how truly awful they are.

So there you have it, the joys of my job. [sigh] I love my job.

Happy Friday!
K&Co.