10/11/2004: "Holiday Mixup!"

music: Some weird stuff ron is subjecting the office to.
mood: Queasy and distracted...oh and mildy amused

So, our early bird Jeff who usually is the first one in the office was abnormally absent from the office this morning when I walked in just before 10. 10:30 came and went and our little Jeff was still amiss. ( well a Mister still, but you know what I mean. And then he appeared online. A quick IM confirmed that Jeff was celebrating Columbus day with a day off. Hmm...we all thought looking at our various calendars. Yes, we knew it was columbus day, but this wasn't a day we thought the office observed. Then I looked at my yahoo calendar. I had the holiday written down, but for tomorrow, not today. Interesting. Might have been nice to sleep in today. So further investigation followed. I whipped out my 2003 holiday sheet that was given out to me when I was hired, Jeff looked at his from 2002, noone seemed to have a 2004 list. Both calendars we did have though listed columbus day as a Monday Holiday. VERY interesting. SO, Againsts Ed's instructions Jeff comes into work, and I head off down the hall to do some dectective work. And HERE'S the scoop.

The folks in the office across the hall VOTED at a staff meeting to MOVE the holiday to FRIDAY becuase they are moving to the 5th flor and will be shut down Friday and Monday. SO, not only did they VOTE to MOVE a Holiday ( I didn't know you could do that), they voted to EXTEND the Holiday as well ( Can I do that with other holidays and what constitutes a fair vote?) and somehow we at the other end of the hall who are not moving, were left to work on a day that is debateably the most anti clamactic and pointless Holiday (although strangely enough it is celebrated in parts of South America as well). SO, the Artsopolis crew had a brief meeting once I reported the important news.

WE have a board meeting on Friday, so we can't take Friday off. Jeff and Ron will be coming in Monday and part of Sunday to help with Computer hook up for the new office. So the decision was made, we can take 1-2 days off with pay this week or next on our own. I have decided I will probably take Tuesday Morning at least off to treat myself to Watercourse Way hour of hot tub soak and steam and get my jeep window zipper fixed and visit with my niece a bit who is visiting from London. Then I would need to decide which other day or partial day I should take off. I was looking at lists of Holidays this week and next and looking at my schedule to see when it would make most sense...here are some possibilities...

My favorites include...National Pet Peeve Week (Like moving holidays without telling people. I don't move my birthday do I??? Though that would be kinda cool, and while I am at it, let's make my birthday a nationally observed day)

National Kick Butt Day ( that's today..and I don't know what it means, but it kicks butt!)

National Pork month...Need I say more. It's the other white meat holiday.

I could also make up my own Holiday...I could celebrate the opening of Team America: World Police and see a matinee...but that would be no fun unless at least one other person was celebrating the day as well at the same time...

I could celebrate the opening of the play I am directing.... but it's already being celebrated sort of on Friday with the opening night champagne reception.

So I suppose if anyone can think of a good reason to take a day off over another, if anyone wants to play hookey, if anyone wants to make up a Holiday, I am up for suggestions. Then again, since the spirit behind celebrating a relatively arbitrary day has been left up to me, maybe since Columbus was such an explorer, I will celebrate his "day" by adding a day to a vacation next time I get one. I figure I can afford at least a 2 month long paid vacation adventure somewhere around August-January of 2006.

Hope your "Holi" day is great no matter what you are celebrating.