Office Music Etiquette

Comments 13 by Rebecca Bollwitt

Aside from losing the “g” on my work laptop, things around the office have been pretty uneventful lately. Gus’ conversation with Dell support about the “g” that keeps popping off on me was rather amusing but aside from that, it’s business as usual.

BarCamp Vancouver It’s before one of our big seasons and there are no stat holidays for another 2 months, nothing will be much fun until the spring now. Something that keeps me going in the mornings is getting to work and plugging in my iPod. Well okay, the music AND a ginormous coffee help me survive the mornings. Usually I just plug it in, open the playlist I was just listening to on my way to work, and continue on from there. I turn my speakers down and find peace in the ambiance I’ve created for myself.

I don’t play my music too loud, I’ve actually turned on my tunes and walked around the newsroom just to see how much of it I can hear from where, and I think I’ve found a pretty good level. Yeah, I’m a dork. The only thing is, what happens when that one kick ass song comes on that I want to CRANK? Do I turn it up a little more for others to hear or do I keep it to myself? These are the current, unspoken, office music rules at my work

  • Only one person may play music at a time
  • You can listen to music as long as no one else can hear it
  • If someone asks you to turn it up that only means that one person would like to hear your music because 2 minutes later a different person will ask you to shut it off or lower the volume
  • If you’re Chris and you play emo, everyone will tell you to shut it off after max. 2.5 songs.

Oooh how about muzak?

The fact that I can walk into work and open up iTunes is pretty neat, seeing as how IT doesn’t even want us to download any programs on office equipment… but that’s a topic for another post. This is the first place I’ve worked where my workstation wasn’t really closed off so I’m learning as I go about respecting the ‘noise pollution’ around others.

So I’m just curious, what are other office’s rules for music out there?

Missing Canuck Smiles

Comments 6 by Rebecca Bollwitt

I pay close attention to the Canucks. I watch their games, I blog about them on occasion and I co-host a podcast where we talk about the team, weekly. Another thing I pay attention to is the guys themselves. Yeah, yeah I’m not a puck bunny but I am female and these boys are in the spotlight. I’ve blogged about Bieksa resembling Nick Lachey [Miss604] and there are a few more comparisons I could probably come up with but this time, it has to do with smiles. Zanstorm had a post about Marcus Naslund recently, sharing a concern I’ve had for some time.

Even after Markus Naslund scored a beauty goal last night, there was not a smile on his face as his teammates congratulated him. Has Naslund lost his smile? Why? Isn’t he enjoying the team’s success? Is he just ‘all business’ on the ice?[Zanstorm]


Photo credit: uncleweed on Flickr

Now, I’ve noticed this more with Trevor Linden, but really the dude had a lot on his mind in the last while. His performance on the ice, being President of the NHLPA up until this year, the law suit that was launched against him because of that role, etc. But does all the weight on your shoulders make you lose your smile?

I’d say someone like Luongo should be feeling the most pressure right now, but he’s always willing to flash a well-deserved and confident grin. What are some of the most memorable Canucks smiles?

luongo.jpgBrendan Morrison’s smile is pretty notable but that’s mostly due to him being our overtime saviour (that, and he’s missing a few chicklets). His crooked, gummy expression is up there along with the likes of Matt Cooke and even Dave Babych – well Babych’s smile is memorable cause of the mustache. As for actually physically expressing the joy you feel after scoring a goal, Kesler’s got that weird glove twirl, but I think Dave mentioned it on a recent episode of the podcast – the Tiger Williams riding the stick down the ice thing Yeaahhhhh!

morrison.jpgSo what’s with all the pouty faces? I don’t think it’s too much to ask, say Cheese! We like to see our guys happy, celebrating goals and the success we’ve all enjoyed this season. I also can’t mention Canuck smiles without giving a shout out to Marc Chouinard. I’ve experienced his smile in person [Flickr] and after scoring his second of the year (after being called out on our podcast the other night) he has a reason to be smiling a little more lately.

At the second intermission watching the Canucks vs Flames on Hockey Night in Canada I’d love to have another reason to smile tonight.

Not Just Punxsutawney's Big Day

Comments 1 by Rebecca Bollwitt

Whenever I think of this day, I get “I Got You Babe” stuck in my head thanks to the movie, Groundhog Day.

In traditional weather lore, if a groundhog emerges from its burrow on this day and fails to see its shadow because the weather is cloudy, winter will soon end. If the groundhog sees its shadow because the weather is bright and clear, it will be frightened and run back into its hole, and the winter will continue for six more weeks. [wiki]

This year the prophetic little critter in Pennsylvania had this to say, which is a lot more than I can get out at that hour of the morning:

wiartonwillie.JPGPhil’s official forecast as read 2/2/07 at 7:28 a.m. at Gobbler’s Knob:

El Nino has caused high winds, heavy snow, ice and freezing temperatures in the west.

Here in the East with much mild winter weather we have been blessed.

Global warming has caused a great debate.

This mild winter makes it seem just great.

On this Groundhog Day we think of one thing.

Will we have winter or will we have spring?

On Gobbler’s Knob I see no shadow today.

I predict that early spring is on the way [Groundhog.org]

Our Canadian version of Phil, is Wiarton Willie in Wiarton, Ontario. He also predicted an early spring. But just how many of these climatically inclined critters are out there? City News gives us a list including, but not limited to: Buckeye Chuck, French Creek Freddy and Balzac Billy. Way to go guys, today is YOUR day.