all the fun at work.

Ok, so there generally isn't much fun at work. But here are some pictures anyway.

This is the pile of stuff I've accumulated that I don't know what to do with. I'm trying to see how high I can stack it before it falls on my head and I can start collecting worker's comp.


Better living through post-its.


The bane of my existence. I once calculated how much it would cost to keep the office in candy for a year: $750. Buy your own damn candy; the dish is now donations only.


How I feel every day.


I made an xkcd inspired sign for the archive room door.


Up close.


I showed it to one of the supervisors and he laughed and had me make him a copy to hang in his office. I don't think anyone else in the office has seen it yet.

chalk the walk

Last Sunday we went to the second annual Chalk the Walk in Mt. Vernon, where artists create chalk drawings on the street.


The things these people could do with chalk were amazing.


There was also a giant recreation of Georges Seurat’s painting “Sunday Afternoon on the Island of Grand Jatte” (and yes, I had to look that up) that was gridded off into 2x2 squares that you could buy for $10 and chalk yourself.


I like art, but I'm pretty much lacking in any sort of artistic ability. When I draw animals I have to give them speech bubbles so you know what kind of animals they are. An example of a bird:


I figured I couldn't do any worse than the 5 year olds drawing with chalk, so we bought a square. The woman tried to sell us 2, then gave the second to us for free anyway after we refused because they were so far behind - upgrade!

Our fancy chalk set.


Amber goes to work.


It's all about the blending.


Damn, we're good.


Me with our finished work.


A perk of art for me is that it gives you an excuse to get covered in whatever medium you're working with, and the chalk was no exception. My hands were green for the rest of the day.

As a bonus, on the way home we drove by two giant giraffe sculptures in front of the ugliest house ever.


The bigger giraffe has a picture frame around its neck. I drove by a similar giraffe in someone's front yard when I got lost in Iowa City once. It had a wreath around its neck. I'll have to try to find it again. I feel there may be more out there, all with random objects around their necks.

Cinco de Mayo/birthdayness

Saturday was Cinco de Mayo, or more importantly (as she will tell you), Amber's birthday. I love birthdays, but tend to have Sixteen Candles-esque birthdays myself, so I perhaps get overly excited about other people's birthdays.

What's a birthday without cake? I got a Coldstone cake and cleverly hid it in the freezer. I let it sit there for about a week and made her wait til 12:01 am to open it.


It's not really a dead dove, it's cake!


Along with cake, there was a cornucopia (see, Amber, not just for Thanksgiving!) of presents.



Some highlights:

I bought this solely for the challenge of wrapping it.


Success!


This was purchased for the illustration.


And this because it's sweet as hell.


The following is my favorite purchase, mostly because I like to picture the marketing meeting that lead to its inception. In my head it goes something like this:

Bob: We need a new product for kids. Something fresh and exciting.
Pierre: Well, what do kids like? Candy and toys. We need to figure out a way to combine the two. Something like Pez, but radder.
Bob: I've got it! What are kids' favorite things? Gummy worms and lawn care! We'll combine the two and call it Little Sprouts Candy and Grasshead.
Pierre: Genius!
*fin*


Of course birthdays aren't all about rampant materialism, so there was a homemade present as well. It's what I like to call the greatest mix cd in the world, and it contains some of Amber's favorite songs, as well as some random ones I found in my music collection (I'll leave you to figure out which are which).


Track listing:
1. Old Fashioned Fun - from Human Giant
2. The Sign - Ace of Base
3. Rock Your Body - Justin Timberlake
4. Don't Stop Believing - Journey
5. Milkshake - Kelis
6. Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go - Wham!
7. No Diggity - Blackstreet
8. Lonely Goatherd - Sound of Music soundtrack
9. Oops! I Did it Again - Britney Spears
10. Ice Ice Baby - Vanilla Ice
11. Macarena - Los Del Mar
12. I Want it That Way - Backstreet Boys
13. Mickey - Toni Basil
14. Jump Around - House of Pain
15. This Love - Maroon 5
16. Walking on Sunshine - Katrina and the Waves
17. Copacabana - Barry Manilow

"What's wrong with this picture? It's just me...WITHOUT MY BIKE!"

So I got a bike. I'm super excited, but I also feel a bit like I'm in a Choose Your Own Adventure book and I just chose the ending that leads me down a dark path to certain death...and I forgot to mark the last page I was on so I can't cheat.

Anyone who's familiar with my post-driver's license biking history can attest that this isn't that irrational of a fear. Two of my last bike outings ended rather badly - one with me face down in a bush on top of my bike, the other with me face down on the concrete trapped under my bike. Now add riding in traffic to the fact that I haven't been on a bike more than half a dozen times in the five years since the concrete episode, and you'll see why I'm a little afraid of impending death.

But yay, bike!

I'd been thinking about a bike for a while when I heard about the Iowa City Bike Library, which is exactly what it sounds like, provided you think it sounds like a place where you can check out bikes. The Bike Library fixes up donated bikes and lends them out for 6 month periods for a deposit. After the six months you can either return the bike and get your deposit back or keep the bike. Best idea ever. So last Saturday I took the bus downtown and got me a red Univega Nuevo Sport and a youth size bike helmet. It needs a few accessories - headlight, fenders, horn, baseball cards in the spokes - but it rides pretty well. I've ridden downtown and back a few times and have yet to die, and I've been riding to work. I was already walking to work, but now I have an extra five minutes in the morning (which can make the difference in me having a lunch or wearing matching socks) and I can ride to the park for lunch.


Bike!


And don't forget, Bike to Work Week starts May 14.