11:01 a.m. - May 23, 2007
What's In My Desk Drawer?
A busy week just keeps motoring along, as I need to drive to Mattoon, Illinois tomorrow to present at a regional user group for the user group board that I�m on.
As I�ve said before, Illinois is BFE land with Chicago added onto it. And Mattoon? Well, that�s, um�exciting, right?
Anyway, because I�m silly, my brain is numb, and I really need to clean out my desk, I�m going to actually list what is in the top drawer of my desk. (My bottom drawer has employee and personal files, special secret stuff that if I disclosed, I�d have to kill you).
So let�s kill some time, eh?
1 pair of scissors � Scissors were a hot commodity, I guess, in this office, before I got here, because this pair has the initials of my predecessor on them. You know, it�s not that expensive to go to Staples, people and it�s not like a stapler. (I have a black Swingline and no one is going to get that one!)
A desk tray that has:
1 box half full of paperclips � That�s odd because I keep my paper clips somewhere else. That�s where these are going. Now.
1 black sharpie � I�ve used this since the caps been chewed on.
1 yellow Enre highlighter
1 green Pocket Accent highlighter.
1 orange liquid Accent highlighter.
1 carwash token someone sent in as a joke gift.
1 pen that a vendor gave to us so we�d buy some giveaway pens.
1 package of extra lead for a mechanical pencil that I no longer have.
1 nametag that�s misprinted.
1 very skinny black marker that looks like it was used on a white board that you put by your phone.
1 CVS extra care card that you put on a key chain.
1 mini screwdriver and hole punch - I was actually looking for a mini screwdriver about a month ago to install the batteries in my Penguin, and I had one all along.
4 lapel pins from campus events.
1 click eraser.
1 plastic package of extra staples that has a broken top � I remember that I couldn�t open the darn thing and tugged on it too hard.
1 funny looking keychain that shaped like a dude and the ring is through his head. It�s from IBM and the Datatel User Group.
My locker combination at the fitness center.
1 black case with personal nail grooming devices in them. I had forgotten about that.
1 printer�s glass that you look through to examine printed material
That�s all that was in that desk tray. I don�t utilize it, really.
1 package of pictures from October 25, 2002 that is all pictures of Katie. Poor Kristin, as child #2 she doesn�t have the photographic record that Katie does.
10 3 �� floppy disks that have various and sundry stuff on them. I can�t really tell, since this computer doesn�t have a floppy drive and they aren�t labeled. I think one of these has my old resume, so I don�t want to get rid of them.
4 3 �� floppy disks for installation of the baseball game I play. I need to take this home.
1 set of old headphones for an iPod.
1 can opener. Cans don�t open themselves. Not even the amazing Criswell can open a can with his mind.
1 cut up credit card. Why did I cut it up but not throw it away?
1 small CD from 1988 by the English Beat. When I say small, I mean tiny. They were trying to make CD singles like that, I guess. It didn�t work. The single had �Save It For Later / Doors Of Your Heart (12� mix) / Best Friend (Live).� I wonder if I can get this downloaded still? Will it work?
11 old cold pills. Corcidin D. It looks like they expired in August, 2005. Oops.
1 installation CD and instructions for the Palm Zire that died about a year ago. Don�t need that, I guess!
1 case number for US Air that we could have used to save a whopping $50 on air travel due to the debacle of our scrubbed New York trip in 2005. Of course, that was the hubbub around Kristin�s birth, so who really cares about that trip anyway?
1 thank you card from Augustana College when I spoke to them about our database. This was from July of 2005. +
1 CD made from Katie�s pictures when she was 2 to 5 months old.
2 CDs for installing a sabremetric baseball encyclopedia. It screwed up my Windows program on my old computer, so I�m trashing it.
1 CD for installing version 8 of the baseball game. That�s going home.
1 card with my Guest Priveleges number for Comfort Inns.
1 letter from our HR director to our social worker for the case study saying that I have been employed here at the college since August 2000.
1 CD for installing a mapping program to enhance excel, plus the installation instructions.
1 thank you card from CASE for presenting at a conference in Savannah in 2004.
1 web enrollment guide for a protection plan for my old iPod. Don�t need that, do I?
2 letters from the Treasurer of the College announcing my salary for the next year. Why are they in the top drawer, and not in the bottom drawer with my personnel files? Yeesh.
2 plastic credit card holders that were in my old Franklin. They have some frequent flier mile cards, Mariott rewards cards, and my AFP and CASE membership cards.
1 CD. I have no idea what�s on it. Let�s look. Isn�t this exciting? Ah, it�s pictures of Katie from 6 to 7 months. Awwww�.that�s a cute one there!
1 Weekend section from The New York Times on Friday, September 20, 2002. Why do I have that? I actually completed a Friday Times crossword puzzle! The first (and only) time I did a Friday puzzle with no help. Mind you, I haven�t done puzzles in a while. But still�I�m proud of that!
1 operations manual for my Sharp EL-1750PII Electronic Printing Calculator. I think I know how it works!
1 brochure from CASE with my first membership card. Yeah, like I need that!
1 instruction book for my phone and voice mail. It�s an AT &T 8410B and we use an Audix system that I think Franklin D. Roosevelt used in the White House. I think I know how to get around on it.
1 thank you card from the agenda chair at the Savannah conference, from her own personal stationary. Yeesh, am I a packrat?
4 of my old business cards from when we were in a capital campaign.
11 random business cards for vendors, colleagues and�.LIZ! Yes, one of Liz�s old business cards. I should frame that one for her.
1 business card holder that fit in my old Franklin with old business cards. How old? Well, it had Designerchica�s predecessor in it, that�s how old.
1 photo of me playing softball (as a pitcher) for the co-ed team at my old job. That was 1999. I wasn�t thinner, but my hair wasn�t gray.
1 photo of me with an old colleague here at work, taken on her last day before she moved on to Meredith College in North Carolina.
1 insurance ID card for my auto insurance from April of 2004. Why is that here?
1 plastic cover for the Palm that died last year.
1 line gauge. What�s a line gauge? It�s what I used to use in the printing industry to measure things. I�m keeping it for sentimental reasons.
2 documents that model my paycheck before and after I took flex payments out of my check in 2005, when I was deciding to go on the flex plan here at work.
33 old pay advices! 33! Most of them date from when I lived in Zionsville, and all of them are over a year old, since now we do our pay advices online.
1 USB connection cord for that same old Palm, and since it fits a Palm it�s butt-worthless for anything else, really.
6 notices on how much I have left in my Flex plan this year. You know, with a plan like that we either use it or lose it. We definitely are using it!
5 keys. Three look like they are to the building and various rooms here in the office, and two lock up my file cabinets.
2 brochures from Cingular explaining my calling plan and coverage area.
2 thank you letters and receipts from my gifts to the college this year. I need to take them home for taxes.
Fast food condiment packages:
1 package of BBQ sauce from McDonalds
1 package of BBQ sauce from Wendy�s
1 package of Arby�s sauce
1 package of ketchup from Burger King
3 packages of ketchup from Wendy�s
4 packages of ketchup from Steak N Shake
20 (count �em) packages of Mild Sauce from Taco Bell.
Well, I can explain the others. I don�t like mixing brands of ketchup or BBQ sauce (especially BBQ sauce). But the 20 packages of sauce from Taco Bell are a bit harder to explain, especially since I always ASK for sauce when I go to Taco Bell. I put two packages of sauce on each taco, but the other things I get don�t need sauce. So why do I always ask for sauce? Why?
Well, that was useful, at least to me. I don�t know about you, but now I feel better having a cleaner desk drawer. Perhaps I can write about the next time I file.
Hello???? Anyone still here???
