For a while, there was a consultant in the cubicle next to me who burped. A lot. It was so often, that he made no effort to mask it or even excuse himself. Those of us around him would refer to him as "Burpy."

I know. It's not nice, but if you had to listen to this everyday, you'd come up with a name, too.

Anyway, it got me thinking about all of the places I've worked and it seemed that every single one of them had a unique individual who earned a nickname. Here are some of the ones I remember:

• Claws - a woman with incredibly long fingernails. They weren't long enough to win a World Record, but they made you wonder how she typed, filed...picked her nose...
• Slurpy - a guy who drank incessantly from a sports water bottle. As he finished each swig, you heard, well, a slurping noise.
• Tootsie - a manager I had who looked like Dustin Hoffman in character. I didn't give her this one, I swear, others did.
• Bend-n-blast - a woman who thought the coast was clear in a looong hallway and released some gas. Loudly. She didn't notice the other woman in the hall with her.
• Track Runner - This was an exec who walked in a loop through cubeville to keep an eye on everyone in the area, even though none of them reported to him. At least he got his exercise in.
• The Spy - every office has one of these, admit it
• Spongebob - an incredibly annoying man with a square head
• Matt Foley - for an exec who reminded us of Chris Farley's famous motivational speaker. Classic.
• Poncho girl - a woman who wears the same poncho every day. And it is apparently never, ever washed.

So there you go.

Ford Scares Customers in a Whole New Way

With all of the talk about auto recalls, I guess the folks at Ford decided their customers needed something else to be afraid of. The company worked with an organization that creates Halloween events and told their customers that part of the test drive included a trip to a car wash. Then they proceeded to scare the hell out of them.

I'm not sure I would've been to thrilled with this had I been in the car.

Oh, poo!

My brother and his finance live with their daughter in a lovely colonial, on a sizeable lot, in a so-so neighborhood. Since living in said so-so neighborhood, they've had many exciting things happen to them, the least of which was someone torching their cars. I really didn't think anything could top that until he shared the following tale...

In the morning, as I leave for work, I bring the garbage out. As I was walking to the garbage cans, which are down the driveway, toward the back of the house, I saw something near the foundation. As I got closer, I realized it was a very large pile of poo. Now, I had to run back into the house, get a bag or something to pick it up with, and clean up the mess. I was so angry that someone would let their dog do that on someone else's property, that I decided to check the surveillance system when I got home. Then I was going to confront the neighbor about not doing that again.

Later, when I returned home from work, I pulled up the video. After sitting through some very uneventful footage, the camera picked up a light-colored car pulling up in front of my house at about 2 am. I watched as a middle-aged man got out of the car, looked around, then walked out of view.  A few minutes later, he returned, retrieved what looked like a napkin from his car and walked in the direction of my house.

And that's where the other camera, the one mounted near the back door, picked him up. He dropped his pants, squatted and did his business.

People always blame the dog.

Ridiculously amazing

Yesterday, I received a very nice compliment from a colleague. I was told that I was "ridiculously amazing." I am a behind-the-scenes person in a behind-the-scenes job, so kudos don't come that often, but when they do, I feel a bit more energized the rest of the day.

It reminded me of an incident a few months ago at my local supermarket. There is this absolutely sweet woman who oversees the self-checkout lanes and is ready to assist with any problems you may enounter. She helped me bag my groceries and I thanked her, as I always do, when some old geezer chimed in, "Don't thank her. That's her job!" I glared at him and told the woman that I sincerely appreciated her help and I'm sorry that others are just miserable human beings. (He didn't chime in on that comment. Maybe the battery in the hearing aid died.) 

I went home and wrote to the store manager to let them know what an asset she was to their company, that her customer service skills were unparalleled and that I wish more members of their staff were like her. That note was long overdue.

Here's the thing: There are many people out there, like me, who do their jobs -- giving 110% -- and go unrecognized for the work they do. It could be the person helping you bag your groceries, the person taking your appointment at the doctor's office or the person who cleans the bathrooms at your place of work. Take a moment or two to say thanks and tell them you appreciate the work they do. It will not only make that person feel good, but it may just put a spring in your step, too!

What's old is new again

So, at the request of a friend, I dusted off this blog. I had to chuckle when I read the last post. In 2009, I was talking about President Obama and the swine flu. Now, in 2014, I could swap out "swine flu" for "ebola." I guess it is somehow comforting to know that whole years can pass and everything is just the way you left it.

Speaking of leaving things alone -- a thing that a lot of people have trouble with -- I was working on something this week that required edits from a more senior person. While one would think that the focus would be on whether or not the content was right, not so for this VP. Instead, I was questioned my use of the word "brand." You can't write "brand new clothes" because that might get confusing when talking about a company brand several paragraphs later. Ummmm...I am not sure that readers will be THAT confused by the use of the word "brand" in different ways.

And if they are confused, who are these people?

As the kids say, "whatevah!"