My 15 year old was without his mobile phone for a day while it was away getting fixed. He told me that night, he realised for the first time just how long the wait for his bus was after school – being forced to just stare at the ground, unentertained.
On my last commute into the city, my regular train service was unavailable due to their staff members being on strike. I shared the update with my work group chat, and that I still managed to get into the office.
Their emoji reactions show they’ve become familiar with me perhaps running more than most. Covering 102kms between home and my work office though!? I must say their expectations are severely out of touch.
I had a chance encounter with a former colleague. It turns out we work in the same building on different floors. It was quite a surprise, even more so that I remembered her name!
We were briefly sharing our work history since we worked together and she mentioned after our org she went to Mecca. I acknowledged with a knowing head nod, and mentioned that’s great. But it came as a bit of a shock, as I had no inkling she was Muslim. I thought her beliefs were quite the opposite, in some respects.
Back in my office I looked up her professional profile on LinkedIn. After we worked together she joined a company called MECCA Brands, that sells cosmetics and associated products.
Today I was trying to arrange an appointment with a receptionist for the latest spot on a Wednesday.
She found an available slot on the 14th of February, and was about to share the details but stopped herself, realising it was Valentine’s Day and said we could look for another day.
Reading Time: < 1minuteI’ve always enjoyed humour based on satire and wit. Like when comedian Steven Wright observed that a shin is a device for finding furniture in the dark.
Back at school I bought Colin Bowles The Wit’s Dictionary, which over time I even added to in pencil when new satirical terms from other sources took my fancy.
I also came up with some of my own from time to time, with some help from my kids. Below I’ve been capturing some of my own warped meanings drafted with tongue-in-cheek, sprinkled with some #kidlulz.
Term
Definition
Source
Agenagenagen
(Hindi) "You're unclear, please repeat what you said in a simpler way."
Attending a data dictionary workshop, and I was confused by one of the columns and they explained the title in a completely opposite way to the term's definition.
(For anyone else new to Victoria) "Jeff's Shed" is the Melbourne Convention Exhibition Centre. It has that colloquial title in reference to the former Vic premier.
(??): refers to the evolution of an idea to a sticky note, to an online tool, to a print out, to a photo, to an email message, to a reply-all, back into a tool, and into a brand new idea.
Reading Time: < 1minuteA friend of mine once worked for a large supermarket chain.
The job came with a couple of perks.
All supermarkets have a “Shrinkage” rack. This is where damaged stock goes, before it’s registered for refund and/or trashed.
From time to time, some desirable food items would find themselves on the shrinkage rack, almost coincidentally.
And not too surprisingly, the temptation for hungry staff would be too much.
Management tried a few strategies to put a stop to this practice.
An entertaining one was a handwritten note they added to the rack warning staff “DO NOT eat food from the shrinkage rack as cockroaches crawl all over the items”.
Someone from staff made a mockery of things with their own handwritten response:
I’ve always enjoyed humour based on satire and wit. Like when comedian Steven Wright observed that a shin is a device for finding furniture in the dark.