Friday, July 13, 2007

Why, It’s Three Days Wrapped Into One

Yes, today is Friday the 13th, but there’s nothing new or exciting about that. It’s been done before. However, today IS Embrace Your Geekness Day. Roughly translated, it’s a day for me to just be myself. I should also tell you that today is Fool’s Paradise Day and Barbershop Music Appreciation Day. Yes, I’m thinking the same thing you are: these 3 holidays are all related because if one chooses to celebrate Fool’s Paradise and a holiday honoring Barber Shop quartets, they must possess a great deal of inner geek. See, my inner geekness is already working; that punch line formed much better in my mind.

I found an internet reference stating that a fool’s paradise is a state of being happy because of false hope. Therefore, I have already placed a sign at the entrance of my cubicle stating ‘Welcome To A Fool’s Paradise.’ For in my office sits someone who tries to be happy because of the false hope that he will tunnel out one day or a car will strike the side wall, thereby creating a window. I also have visions of large objects falling onto our office, but don’t want to share that publicly out of the feat that I will be blamed should something like that ever occur. I have done a lot of things to create a false hope in my office. I’ve put up bamboo sticks, hung little pink flamingoes on the walls and as my coworkers will tell you, I act like a fool. Yes, I’ve already been asked to take the sign down. Again, my exclamation that today is Fool’s Paradise Day and I am being prejudiced against did nothing to help my cause. Why can’t any of these holidays have a basis in religion? It would make justifying my celebration of them so much easier!

As far as celebrating the Barbershop thing, I wish I had been a little more prepared today. I thought about singing barbershop music in the halls as people passed by but I don’t perform well as a one-person quartet. To make sure, I looked up quartet and by my estimation, I am anywhere from 3-7 people short of the necessary number to perform as a quartet. I think. Oh well, there’s always next year.

I want to make sure that I celebrate my inner geekness to its full extent today. I’ve started using my 50-75 cent words and asking questions about the universe, trajectories of objects I want to throw and questioning most of my company’s procedures, thereby suggesting I may have better alternatives. I want to stick a piece of tape on my glasses, but I don’t want to confuse nerd and geek. Although I am working on a very geeky laugh that seems to be attracting lots of attention. It involves scrunching up my face and snorting a few times.

Because everyone and their mother has a quote or tag line at the end of their email, I’ve started searching for a quote by Einstein, Stephen Hawking or Jeff Foxworthy – all legendary minds. If my hair wasn’t so short, I’d go into the bathroom, wet it down and part it down the middle. I’ve already debated cutting my pants shorter with my office scissors to create the ‘high-water’ effect, but then next week when it isn’t Embrace Your Geekness Day, I would get really upset when I have once less pair of dress pants to wear. However, seeing them in my closet might make me wistfully look back on today and think ‘good times, good times…’

To establish my geekness today I am also working on a few software related things and finishing up a spreadsheet in MS Excel detailing the number of times I have assisted my boss or coworkers with projects in relation to the number of times that my coworkers have provided assistance. This serves two purposes. It gets people to say what a geek I am and helps to justify my job in lieu of the Fool’s Paradise sign I had to take down and just a few other offenses, some of which I have previously detailed. Um, and many of which I haven’t.

So there you have it. Happy Embrace Your Geekness Day. You know what; I just realized the holiday is NOT called Embrace Your INNER Geekness Day. There is a difference there. I can’t believe I didn’t notice it sooner. Well, since I have spent all day trying to be geeky, come embrace me!!! Just don’t squeeze too hard. That sunburn from last week is still killing me! And I don’t want anyone to pop the pens out of the pocket protector in my shirt…

28 comments:

Tammie Jean said...

Ooh! I want to embrace my geekness! I did wear my thick-rimmed glasses today... Maybe I'll go home and watch Star Wars (is that geeky?)

Michael C said...

Tammie: That sounds like a perfect way to celebrate. What's geeky about that ;-)

Patti said...

I still get geeks and nerds mixed up.

Michael C said...

Patti: Don't worry, I do too. I just try and remember that no matter the definition, I am both
;-)

Anonymous said...

I'm pretty sure that high-waters are a nerd thing not a geek. Geeks tend to be able to blend into society better then Nerds

Michael C said...

Texas: That officially makes me a nerd then!

Patti said...

Geeks are good, really good, with computer technology

Michael C said...

Patti: Oh, then I'm a geek too ;-)

Scottsdale Girl said...

Geeks are also excellent lovers.

I'm jes sayin.

Michael C said...

Scottsdale Girl: Well that changes everything now, doesn't it? :-)

Scottsdale Girl said...

I thought it might.

Michael C said...

Scottsdale Girl: You thought right!!

Anonymous said...

I knew there was a reason I thought about wearing suspenders today. And can I just say, it warms my heart to come back after a holiday and see Dwight up on your blog? Ahh good stuff. (Perhaps I can geek it up even more and admit that my Dwight Shrute bobblehead is the only thing on my nightstand other than my lamp?)

Michael C said...

Brandy: Welcome back!! Are you kidding with the Shrute bobblehead on your nightstand. You are SO much more cooler than geeky!!! ;-)

Scottsdale Girl said...

It's all about um, being verrry technical, and also a twee bit grateful and um technical.

Michael C said...

Scottsdale: The same things that make them good employees huh? Sadly, I am not a good employee ;-)

Scottsdale Girl said...

Michael: no, so verymuchnot the same things. *sigh*. I have to stop this because my system needs a serious reboot, and the geek at home is going to be....grateful.

Michael C said...

Scottsdale: Ha! You know, I don't usually miss the point that badly. Maybe I am more on the nerd side of the ledger ;-)

Ralph said...

Michael, your geekiness touches my heart: An Excel spreadsheet showing your the number of times you assisted your co-workers? The ultimate metrics! Nothing geekier than metrics

Michael C said...

Ralph: I'm not exceptionally good at it, but it is a tool in my workplace aresenal, you know, to keep the coworkers away.

The Rock Chick said...

I love geeks! I married an IT guy! :)

Thank you so much for your offer to guest write an article for the Blogathon!!!! I would LOVE that! I'm pretty long-winded but 24 hours of blogging is a long time.

You are one of my favorite bloggers and it would be so cool to have you in on my gig!! I'm still working on the actual party plans :)

just send it to me when you're ready (well, before the 28th!)..

jessicatherockchick@yahoo.com

Thanks again!!!!

Jessica

Michael C said...

Rock Chick: My pleasure! I'll get it to you pretty early. After all, I love music. I'd do the blogathon myself, but I already blog 29 hours a day ;-)

Odat said...

You should form a Geek Quartet...and call it Fools Paradise...
Have a great weekend.
Peace

Anonymous said...

MC- There are some things I would never joke about- my height, my fear of Steven Segal, and my Dwight bobblehead.

Michael C said...

Odat: I will do that and I'll even kick some royalties your way for the awesome idea!!

Brandy: Understood! I don't mind joking about height, I just don't joke about my lack of it!! ;-)
Can you believe I am Dwight Bobbleheadless. I plan on fixing that very, very soon now that I know you have one!!

AndreAnna said...

Never call a geek a dork, or a dork a nerd, or a nerd a geek. It will be the end of you.

magickat said...

I'm arriving at this post a couple of days late so I've no idea how you ultimately celebrated these "holidays" but I am hoping you chose to geek out like you threatened too. It sounds like a fun way to make the work day go by.

Rebecca said...

" It involves scrunching up my face and snorting a few times."

Good times indeed! Happy late geek day! :-)