Shakespeare Game - Easy Peasy

Shakespeare Game 

Complete the Quote and Name the Play

• “Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your _____”
• “To sleep, perchance to dream; ay, there’s the  _____”
• “Out, damn’d _____”
• “Good night, good night. Parting is such sweet  _____”
• “Lord, what fools these mortals  _____”
• “O, beware, my lord, of jealousy; it is the green-ey’d  _____”
• “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely  _____”
• “Why then the world’s mine  _____”
• “Some Cupid kills with arrows, some with  _____” 

© 2013 North Atlantic Syndicate, Inc

Answers will be posted AFTER his birthday on April 23.

Whan in Aprille - You Should Have Some Fun!

April is almost here and while many of us are concerned primarily, or mostly, or somewhat about Income Tax Day, here are some fun ideas to explore to take your mind off such nonsense.

April 1-30: Celebrate National Poetry Month. Write a poem for your work team or organization; answer the phone in verse (remember Ms DiPesto from the TV series Moonlighting - she is the extremely loyal and quirky receptionist for the Blue Moon Detective Agency who always answers the phone in rhyme); name someone your organization's Poet Laureate; put white butcher paper all over your work place and encourage people to come in and write their own poems. For more ideas, see: http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/94

April 1: Do something foolish for yourself or someone else.

April 9 and 12: Celebrate the beginning (April 12) and end (April 9) of the Civil War. You know, be civil to all around you!

April 23: Celebrate Shakeapeare's birthday. Sing Brush Up Your Shakespeare; declaim passages from your favorite plays or sonnets; dress up in the style of the times; play the game described in the next post. You get the idea.

Consider songs that have the word April in them and add to this list: April Come She Will (http://www.lyricsfreak.com/s/simon+and+garfunkel/april+come+she+will_20124678.html); April Showers (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsfXi5BKkNo); and so forth and so on.

So,  is "April is the cruelest month, breeding lilacs out of the dead land, mixing memory and desire, stirring dull roots with spring rain." Not if you don't let it be!

PS - Anyone interested can name the source of "Whan in Aprille" and "April is the cruelest month". Lunch with Fred is the potential prize.

Tenure vs Friar's Club: Fun article from Chronicle of Higher Education

I came across this article in a recent edition of The Chronicle of Higher Education.

http://chronicle.com/article/Comedy-Club/137591/

It gave me a laugh - which happens often - and made me think, which doesn't. Consider for a moment that you, me, any of us is judged by how successfully and consistently we make make people laugh. That's a pretty tough nut to crack especially given the wide disparity on what is considered to be funny; the same is true for success at teaching and learning; and many other places where we are tried. So, whether you are writing up your tenure documentation; performance review portfolio; or resume to get into the Friar's Club it might be worth a good, hearty chortle to help keep things in perspective.

(Plus I love the Groucho glasses, the wearing of which will loosen up any situation.)

March Mashup: St Patrick's Day and the Ides

There's an opportunity here; not an irresistible one, but a tempting one.

Friday, March 15, is the infamous Ides of March; Sunday, March 17, is St. Patrick's Day.

How about a mashup of these two events? Perhaps coming to the office in Green (or Shamrock festooned)  Togas? Having a potlock that features corned beef and caesar salad? You get the idea. At the least, give yourselves a few minutes to brainstorm the possibilities. This could be as much fun (or more) than any event that results :)

And in any event, Beware yound fred ... he has a lean and hungry look (always). He thinks too much (rarely). Such men are dangerous (well, not Fred)

Remember Your Donors

I am a donor and of very modest means and amounts. And yet, with at least a couple of organizations, my contribution is sufficient that they [continue to] to court me by inviting me to special concerts, lectures, etc and generally making feel more important to them than I probably am. I love it.

So, what have you done for your donors recently?

I think one of the easiest things to do is invite them over and let them see what their money has been spent on and how it has made a difference since the project was celebrated as completed The donors could be reintroduced to people who were there at the time of the donation/opening, meet new people in the organization, talk to people who benefit from the donation, etc., etc., and so forth. 

The most important part of this is that there be NO ASK. That can come at a later date. For this one morning, afternoon, evening, etc., the donors are just regular folks savoring the good thing they helped to bring about. And that's not a bad way to spend time with generous friends.

Fun at the Estate Planner's Office

I was at my estate planner/will attorney today. She and I have known one another since I met Ilene so we are talking 18 years. Consequently, after we finished the business portion of the meeting we schmoozed a bit. Eventually she asked what I was up to. I replied by pulling out a SMF business card and handing it her. She broke out in a great big smile and continued to grin as I related the history of my fascination (obsession?) with having fun at work.

And when I finished I looked her right in the eye and said "You have just had a fun in the workplace moment. Enjoy!"

My point is that fun in the workplace can be that easy. My best friend accomplishes this same great deed by wearing Hawaiian shirts to his office on Friday, hereafter known to his team as Hula Hula Fridays. He is a senior Vice President and as serious about work as anyone I know, but he knows that it relaxes him and his co-workers and colleagues (and bosses) when he arrives in one of splendiferous shirts.

Fun in the workplace - it doesn't have to be - and shouldn't be - work!

Happy Monkey Dance

Thanks to Jim Davis and Garfield for this.

http://www.gocomics.com/garfield/2013/02/19

Sometimes all you can do to get by is the Happy Monkey Dance (or your equivalent!).