Ever had one of those “permanent earplugs” kind of days? Yeah, me too.

Spend some time in a place as beautiful as Yosemite, it really puts a more-dull-than-usual light on cubicle life. My staff meeting notes from today…

…became a lunch time for-fun illustration.

I need to get back there soon.

Or, more accurately, fun at his expense.

The boss was on vacation this week, and in an effort to drive home the point that we’re still sitting in cubicles while he’s soaking up rays, he sent us the photo below, with a tongue-in-cheek note about unauthorized use of the company Blackberry.

Well, not to be out-done, we put a little twist on his photo before sending it around to everyone, and left him a big printout on his door.

That’ll teach him to send us any vacation photos while he’s out.

I managed to start my day by pouring a fresh cup of good coffee into my keyboard. Are we sure this is really Friday?

My department at the office has begun incorporating a new tradition into our staff meetings: peer recognition. What probably began as an effort to encourage relationships, I guess, was quickly discovered to be a no-cost incentive program that works like this:

Employee A is given an award. It could be anything – an old bowling trophy, for example. Employee A holds onto said award until the next staff meeting, when he/she is supposed to pass it on to another member of the staff and give their reasoning behind why the recipient deserves this prestigious honor.

The one rule (besides a strong probability that the giver will be instructed by management who gets the award next) is that you are supposed to add something to it before passing it on.

Some sort of personalized touch to commemorate the time that you spent with the award? Perhaps. But really what it’s turned into is whatever loose crap sitting near it on the desk gets hastily tied or taped or rubber banded to the it five minutes before the next meeting.

The result is the wonderful objet d’ art that you see below:

When cash isn't an option, apparently
rubbish can be substituted

And yes, it was my turn to hold on to the coveted Rooster – at least for the next two weeks.

And what about my contribution to the award? Well, since you asked, I’m trying to figure out how to affix the spray painted gold mallet I received at the last white elephant gift exchange. And keep the Rooster in one piece.

What’s the strangest/worst incentive you’ve ever seen? And if you won it, what did you do with it?