Craving

Lots of people keep food on their desks at work. Much of it is standard Costco fare: the 2-gallon jug of animal crackers, the 1-gallon tub of red vines, the column of Pub Mix.

I just passed an office and saw a bag of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups on someone's desk. Now I really want a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup. And by "a", I mean "fifteen or twenty".

Do you see what I see?

Last week, I got new glasses. Nothing special, of course, but the kind of new thing that you wear self-consciously, totally aware of their newness while at the same time totally aware of the fact that no one else even notices.

I share an office with a guy at work, where we sit facing each other. We occasionally have those workplace exchanges that everyone has, but seeing only each other's eyes and noses above our monitors.

It was during one of these exchanges that I noticed he has the exact same glasses that I do. It's like that old cliche of people showing up at a party wearing the same outfit, except I get to experience it every day.

The rise and the fall of chotchkies

In the movie Office Space, Chotchkies is a restaurant where the staff are encouraged to wear "flair". In the geek world, chotchkies are little things you set around your office.

I work with geeks. Their workspaces are generally decorated with all kinds of flair, like anime figures, stuffed animals, Star Wars action figures, game and movie posters, the works. But even the most unassuming office worker typically has something in their office, and it usually stares at them from on top of their computer monitor.

But now, and especially in high-tech companies, the trend is toward flat-screen LCD displays. That are only an inch or two thick. Which make it impossible to balance all but the narrowest chotchkies on top of them.

If this keeps up, we'll have nothing but work and the internet staring us in the face all day.