Two weeks before National Boss Day (NBD), which was Wednesday, October 16th, I sent an email to our department of (mostly) writers, asking them if they were interested in doing a little something for our boss, Laura, on NBD.
In the email, I suggested we each write a haiku about Laura, if they'd be interested in that, and then we could make her guess who wrote which one. To my surprise, and utter delight, they jumped all over the idea.
"I've got the denim duster," one replied, alluding to something Laura had shared with them about wearing such a garment many years ago.
Because Laura is known for wearing very high-heeled shoes, another replied, "Dibs on her shoes for my topic. It'll be a haishu," she added.
Someone else wrote back saying, "If one was about sneezing, it would be a haichoo!"
After reading those responses, this feeling came over me about my new job: "These are my people. Two of my favorite things: word lovers and witty repartee."
On the day, Laura was in an all-day meeting, and we blew up 75 red balloons and after situating some moveable whiteboards to block off her workstation area, we filled it up with them.
When she eventually returned from her meeting, we yelled surprise, and I read the haikus to her, while she tried to guess who wrote each one. Here they are for your reading pleasure:
From Brandon (on the team thatoverseas oversees our documentation getting translated into a multitude of languages):
I don't write haikus
En ingles ni esponol
Thanks for being you
From Matt (Zimbra is our email system):
Always on the move
She meets so we don't have to
Zimbra pings again
From Bascha:
umbrella o'er us
foundation beneath our feet
thus we stand as one
From Amy (alluding to Laura's running):
Sneakers hit the road
Stretching to the finish line
Victory is here
From Zach (who accidentally bent the little card he had on which to write his haiku, so just incorporated that in):
The card may be bent
But our thanks are true as -- beer
Happy Boss' Day
From me (alluding to Laura's habit of twirling her hair with two fingers while she's reading or thinking; RHEL is one of Red Hat's products):
Laura sits nearby
Fingers twirling hair about
Contemplating RHEL
From Jared (who is not a writer by trade; we had to adjust his 5-6-6 to make it 5-7-5):
Tree leaves are falling
Gamecock football is here. Be-
cause of the Clowney
From Ashleigh: (who debated as to whether "acid washed" should be "acid-washed"):
O denim duster
Trimmed with Billy Squier buttons
Were you acid washed?
From Leigh:
Making shit happen
With most meaningful f-bombs
All day, every day
From Arrie (who wrote the "haishoe"):
towering platforms
steady on her feet she runs
at break-ankle speed
A fun time was had by all, and Laura just loved the surprise!
In the email, I suggested we each write a haiku about Laura, if they'd be interested in that, and then we could make her guess who wrote which one. To my surprise, and utter delight, they jumped all over the idea.
"I've got the denim duster," one replied, alluding to something Laura had shared with them about wearing such a garment many years ago.
Because Laura is known for wearing very high-heeled shoes, another replied, "Dibs on her shoes for my topic. It'll be a haishu," she added.
Someone else wrote back saying, "If one was about sneezing, it would be a haichoo!"
After reading those responses, this feeling came over me about my new job: "These are my people. Two of my favorite things: word lovers and witty repartee."
On the day, Laura was in an all-day meeting, and we blew up 75 red balloons and after situating some moveable whiteboards to block off her workstation area, we filled it up with them.
When she eventually returned from her meeting, we yelled surprise, and I read the haikus to her, while she tried to guess who wrote each one. Here they are for your reading pleasure:
From Brandon (on the team that
En ingles ni esponol
Thanks for being you
From Matt (Zimbra is our email system):
She meets so we don't have to
Zimbra pings again
From Bascha:
foundation beneath our feet
thus we stand as one
From Amy (alluding to Laura's running):
Stretching to the finish line
Victory is here
From Zach (who accidentally bent the little card he had on which to write his haiku, so just incorporated that in):
But our thanks are true as -- beer
Happy Boss' Day
From me (alluding to Laura's habit of twirling her hair with two fingers while she's reading or thinking; RHEL is one of Red Hat's products):
Fingers twirling hair about
Contemplating RHEL
From Jared (who is not a writer by trade; we had to adjust his 5-6-6 to make it 5-7-5):
Gamecock football is here. Be-
cause of the Clowney
From Ashleigh: (who debated as to whether "acid washed" should be "acid-washed"):
Trimmed with Billy Squier buttons
Were you acid washed?
From Leigh:
With most meaningful f-bombs
All day, every day
From Arrie (who wrote the "haishoe"):
steady on her feet she runs
at break-ankle speed
A fun time was had by all, and Laura just loved the surprise!
Profile
dailyafirmation- DailyAfirmation
Comments
- 2 Nov 2018, 12:01No. And now I'm glad I don't have children to worry about what this planet will be like for them in the years ahead.
- Thank you for sharing your very successful financial journey with us!! I am inspired by having read it. Question please, quite a bit of time has passed since you initially wrote this piece, did you…
- 1 Oct 2018, 20:27In my investment account, there is a "one view" function that just shows my net worth whenever I log into it, which is often. :-) Thanks for reading and commenting.
- 1 Oct 2018, 20:26I don't have a single spreadsheet with my spending in it. I don't even fill out the register in my checkbook. I know how much I make, and I not only don't spend more than I make, I actively strive to…
- You sound a lot like my Ex boyfriend who kept meticulous spreadsheets of every cent we spent - and at the end of the month balanced every cent so we pay exactly half. (Mind you my salary was not the…
Comments
...overseas... ?
Hope you're well
Jayne (Ashton)
Fixing now!