I have to doodle to be able to pay attention.

Me too. I would have to switch to writing something, which would mean I was paying less attention, but at least not either dozing off or fidgeting out of my chair.

Work-hour cultures, as opposed to the stated policy, are weird. For years, I worked for companies in which the "virtuous" came in at 6:30 or 7 and left at the crack of 5, while slackers like me staggered in at least 10 minutes after the 8 a.m. starting time, but worked until 7 and ate at their desks. When I did get in earlier, I discovered that the early people all read the paper and drank coffee until 8.

Misha Collins is also batshit insane and a fandom nutter. He was an intern at the White House, worked at NPR, is a published poet, heads a charity, is a distance runner, and enjoys working fans into a complete lather by being a crazy person. I might fangirl him a wee bit.

Married his high school sweetheart, who is herself a published author of a very instructive how-to manual.

Snerk.

Yeah, if I've learned one thing, it's that while perception is everything, it is rarely the truth.

THE BOOK IS ABOUT THREESOMES.

I'm mostly skimming around (to be very honest, since I don't really have the time to follow both Bitches and Natter, I'm just skimming and sucking for posts of few people I remember and miss and want to know how they are doing from time to time).

So first, Liese, I'm very sorry for you loss. ita and Dana, I hope you'll both feel better soon.

Now, remember how I said two seconds ago that I'm skimming Natter like whoa? I started saying it because sometimes I want to say things, and then it seems to me like I'm interrupting/crushing a party. Because in my mind, I was "eavesdropping" and building an opinion for... humm, few minutes/hours/days? But for you people, it seems like I'm coming out of the nowhere. And I'm aware of it.

Now, what I wanted to say is related to the "pushing your luck" notion. First, let me start by saying that I know the relation to work is oh so very different in the U.S. and here (Israel). As an example, sending "thank you" notes after job interviews is beyond bizarre to my understanding of "work". And yet, some of the things you wrote down for pushing your luck, didn't read to me as pushing your luck. They read to me as being human. I don't consider stealing 5-10-15 minutes of web use to yourself at work as pushing your luck - at least not on the same level of not taking life-saving meds or going to life saving tests (and there, yes, I recognize the element of pushing one's luck). I think anyone with internet access at work will, after few weeks tops, use it for a few minutes because it's very much part of life now. I remember an article I read ions ago and opened my eyes, about how there are all these rules, and how it's impossible to follow all of the rules 100% of the time (unless anyone here never j-walked/downloaded stuff from the internet and such), and that a great portion of life actually builds on and counts on individuals' messing up from time to time, because again, it's impossible to follow every rule - and that's a part of what makes us human.

Anyway. I'm just saying that sometimes, it's not pushing your luck. Sometimes slacking off and being nice to yourselves is not just rewarding and necessary in a very demanding world, but also very human. And I probably wouldn't say it to a bunch of random strangers, but Buffistas are some of the most hard working, self demanding people I know.

So give yourself a slack every now and then. If anyone asks/will question it, it's also anthropologically/sociologically approved, and I can give references.

THE BOOK IS ABOUT THREESOMES.

This is why the correct answer to any FCM is M - Misha Collins.

So give yourself a slack every now and then.

Heh. As a people, we are founded on excessive slack. Generally OK excessive slack, but still. The posts don't write themselves!!

I met the CEO here, finally. Good times. He's super-charming.

Ultimate Slacker Business Strategies

1. GET A PLUM JOB

After earning a PhD and working his way up the corporate ladder, microbiologist Edward McSweegan was promoted to managing Lyme disease research grants for the National Institute of Health (NIH). But the job came with plenty of politics.

2. UPSET THE WRONG PEOPLE

When advocacy groups claimed that a “chronic” form of Lyme disease existed and that it required lifelong antibiotic treatments, McSweegan, like many public health experts, disagreed. He just wasn’t diplomatic about it. In 1995, he publicly called one of the groups “wacko”, much to NIH’s chagrin.

3. END UP WITH NOTHING BUT FREE TIME

The statement earned McSweegan a two-week suspension. It did not, however, earn him a pink slip. Instead, his bosses took away the work he had been doing and never gave him anything to replace it with. For seven years, the scientist effectively became a gofer-fetching coffee and forwarding emails. The only thing that didn’t change: his salary. That entire time, McSweegan continued to rake in $100,000 a year.

SLACKER WARNING! Don’t publicize your plight

If you’re sick of coasting and want to find real work in your inbox, do as McSweegan did. In 2003, the bored scientist finally snapped. He took his story to the media, where he publicly asked his bosses for something to do besides write mystery novels on taxpayer time. That year, McSweegan was finally given new grants to administer-a job he still does to this day.

Man, I have been so responsible lately and today specifically that I'm refusing to think about where I'm dropping the ball right now.

This is why the correct answer to any FCM is M - Misha Collins.

Yeah. When presented with FCM Wolverine, Hardison, Misha, ita's brain goes to a very tormented place.