PHOTO PROMPT © C.E. Ayr
ROUND AND ROUND
There ought to be a picture of Heller’s book, Catch 22, on the office wall as an (un)motivational poster. Herding cats was looking easy.
HR had volun-told him to organize the company Christmas party. It seemed easy, until…. The Alcoholics Anonymous group wanted a pay-bar, and free, non-alcoholic drinks, so that they didn’t stand out. The vegans wanted a menu with yams, not hams, and a table as far from “The Flaming Pit of Death” barbecue as possible. The Indigenous employees wanted a drumming circle….and on, and on, AND ON!
Dilbert wasn’t just a comic-strip character. He was a visionary.
***
Go to Rochelle’s Addicted to Purple site and use her Wednesday photo as a prompt to write a complete 100 word story.
Archon's Den 
Catch-22 and Dilbert – love it. We just have to accept you cannot please everybody these days!
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It seems you can’t please anyone these days…. except me. I’m pleased that you dropped in. 😀
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As someone who works in a banquet hall, lemme tell you… the exceptions and special requests makes us completely nuts!!
Bring back the days of no allergies and special needs 😉
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I didn’t know that was your vocation. It makes sense, and explains your time schedule.
It all started when elementary schools began giving ‘Attendance’ ribbons to everyone who competed. I can understand a certain amount of accommodation, but too many folks are just arrogant and demanding.
You obviously have more patience with fools than me. It’s why I turned down the idea of Wal-Mart greeter as a retirement job. Day 2 headline would read, “Archon charged with beating shopper to death with stale baguette.”
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Do NOT get me started on the everyone is a winner. You might make me cuss right here on your page!
Patience? Who says I have patience? 😉
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Ha ha – enjoyable read. I love your new word: volun-told. 🙂
Susan A Eames at
Travel, Fiction and Photos
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I blame that one on the son. He says that it goes on where he works. I need three volunteers! You, you, and you. 😳
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I refused to organise the Christmas do this year for all these reasons. And as a non-drinker, a pay-bar sounds great!
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I attended one Christmas party with 25 people, including my wife, who doesn’t drink, and 27 empty wine bottles. The office sot showed up only half-drunk, and ordered a bottle of Mateus Rose from one server, and then either forgot that he had, or thought that she had forgotten, so he ordered another from a different server.
I don’t know how he ever accomplished anything. He thought that no-one knew that he brought a 6-pack of beer in each morning, and sank it in a toilet tank to hide it and keep it cool. He poured out the empties and took them home at lunch, and brought another 6-pack in for the afternoon. 😯 Did I mention that he walked back and forth because of too many DUIs??…. 👿
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This is partly why I gave up drinking 😳
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I hope the employee you are describing worked nowhere near heavy machinery, the public, or food.
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That’s why potlucks work best. Everyone brings what they want. None of our work potlucks involved alcohol. The drinkers would have a separate party out at a bar later.
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Yes, potlucks have an almost ‘family’ feel to them, where ‘organized’ parties quickly seem distant, forced, and commercial. 😳
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Great fun organising large parties. No one appreciates your efforts. I did one for 200 people and thought I had catered for every food fad going. However a few people at the end of the line for the buffet complained there was not enough food left! I looked around at the plates and dishes that people had left. There was at least 25% left and wasted on many plates uneaten. They got annoyed when i refused them a rebate since there was some food left – what’s wrong with salad dishes?
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I used to try to get a seat near the buffet, hoping for a small second helping…. until a party where the DJ said, “I think we’ll start way over in the corner tonight.” I was the last one to hit the line. I’d have liked some turkey, but settled for salad. 😦
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I bet you watched the waste with envy.
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Indeed! Indeed! 😳
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What has happened to the human race? Can’t eat this, can’t drink that, won’t this, don’t that! Now when I was a lad……
Here’s my tale!
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Much of the increased food and drink sensitivities may be caused by exposure to chemicals and compounds. (Google ‘removal of lead from gasoline’) Some of the entitlement and poor social interaction may also be influenced by it…. Then again, maybe more and more people are just being dicks. 😯
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You make some very good points, especially the last one!
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Well, not even Dilbert can make everyone happy! Great title btw.
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I thought you might like it. Great minds, and all that. Thanx for stopping by to take a look. 🙂
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Always a pleasure!
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I love “volun-told.”
You nailed it. At the office where my friend works, they have potlucks or take-out lunches all the time. She tells me every time about the arguments because they can’t agree on this and that… “Why do they do it again?” “Morale.”
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Another vote for volun-told. I must tell the son that he’s famous. 😀
Dilbert’s author worried that he would run out of material, but people send him examples of these contradictions all the time. 😳
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This is too funny! Actually, I’m surprised that some disgruntled CEO hasn’t objected to the “Dilbert” strip because it makes him feel unsafe.
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I’m sure that there must be workplaces where “The posting of anything, without authorization, is prohibited. – a nice catch-all phrase that keeps Dilbert out, and CEOs safe. 🙂
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He is in real trouble. To cater to every group’s whims and fancies, it is simply a herculean task.
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It is indeed! Is this why more and more office workers are tele-commuting, and working from home? You don’t get an argument from your own refrigerator. 😆
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