Hooray for 4 day work weeks

So today is Friday here at Ashland Inc since we get tomorrow (Good Friday) off. I’ve often told people that working for “Corporate America” is a lot like the next level of high school. Not really college, because I’d be willing to say that only 50 or 60 % of the employees that work here went to college. Let me give you some examples of how I’ve encountered extended school life here at Ashland.

• Short work week’s are often accompanied by less work getting done during 4 days than normally would over a 4 day period on a full work week.
• You can plan that the parking lot on a Friday morning will generally be much more vacant than on a Wednesday, usually due to the large percentage of workers that take Friday off, or just decide to come in late.
• The topics of discussion in the men’s bathroom are just as elementary and inappropriate as they are in a 8th grade locker room.
• The first floor of Ashland can easily be identified as the kindergarten of our school of work. This week the whole floor is decorated with colored eggs, young animal cutouts, streamers and flowers. There is even a picture and sign on one of the walls that says “April Showers” and then on the other end of the room there is a corresponding sign that reads “Brings May Flowers”. BUT, instead of just having flowers, someone actually made a large cutout of The Mayflower. Yes. The ship the landed in America with the pilgrims. Who comes up with this stuff?

So yea, I’m getting the full Corporate America experience. At lunch today a co-worker told me about an interesting game I’d like to play the next time a group of us go out to The Olive Garden. I shall explain:

Name of the Game: Cheese Chicken
Number of players: just 2 of you or as many as you can seat at a table
Location: Any Olive Garden Restaurant
Requirements: Cheese Chicken requires that all participants order a salad
How to play: It is common knowledge that at Olive Garden you get as much salad and breadsticks as you please. I believe this is 25% of the reason a large portion of people go there. Anyway, when the waiter brings over your large bowl of salad you will be asked if you would like some grated cheese on it. Someone will reply “of course” and they will begin to grade cheese over your salad and inform you to say “when” once there is enough. This is the signal that the game of Cheese Chicken has begun. It is simple from here out. The first one to say “when” is the looser and is beaten to death by breadsticks. The waiter may begin to get anxious or get worried looks on his/her face, but do not falter. Cheese Chicken is a game of wits.

I am very much looking forward to playing this game.