Well guys, it’s that time of year again! As usual, I was waffling: did I or I didn’t want to decorate for Halloween at work? It takes a lot of mental energy out of me, but I had a few ideas that I came up with several months ago, so I did a quick inventory of the things I’d have to actually spend money on because that’s a huge factor: the more I already have on hand, the more inclined I am to put the effort in.
I did a quick Goodwill and craft store run Tuesday night and $5 later, I had everything I needed to get the four offices decorated. Some of the offices required $0!
OK, first up is Terry’s office. This was the first one that I came up with a few months ago and if only you could have been there when I excitedly spun around in my chair to tell Glenn…
“Pet SemaTERRY, get it Glenn? SemaTERRY? Because his name is TERRY?!” I squealed.
“Yeah, I get it,” he mumbled. Just jealous that he didn’t think of it first, that’s all.
Anyway, this one required $0. I inherited those tombstones from Barb years ago and they’re actually mainstays on my desk. The stuffed cat is Chooch’s (“Please don’t rip it up or put blood on it!” he begged) and that sign was made be me demonstrating my awesome cardboard box-ripping skills.
I can’t tell if Terry likes it or not. He hasn’t said anything. Glenn disappeared from his desk at one point the day I decorated this and when he came back I yelled, “WHAT, WERE YOU TALKING TO TERRY!? DOES HE LIKE HIS OFFICE” and he was like, “NO I WASN’T TALKING TO TERRY.”
Honestly though, I was so giddy about this one all day. It was so stupid in its simplicity, yet so PERFECTLY PUNNY.
OMG this next one was one that I wanted to do last year but I ran out of time:
My hands felt arthritic by the time I was done cutting those branches out. When I was taping them up the next morning, my coworker Amanda was like, “Let me guess—Children of the Corn!” and I was like “NO AMANDA I DID THAT ONE LAST YEAR, DO I LOOK LIKE SOMEONE WHO WOULD REUSE AN IDEA?!” Ugh, god.
The worst part about this is that I came in 30 minutes early on Wednesday to decorate and I was SO PROUD OF MYSELF and couldn’t wait for Aaron’s reaction, but when I went back to my desk, Glenn said, “LOL, Aaron is working from home today.”
Ugh.
Henry helped me make the chainsaw.
“I thought you said you weren’t decorating this year so why am I sitting here cutting out a chainsaw?” he sighed when I stopped him en route to Slumber Town and handed him a pair of scissors.
The only thing purchased for this one was poster board for the trees.
In case you have no idea what this is from:
I didn’t even have to bring a book from home because Gayle turned one of the cabinets into a library, so I grabbed the first chunky hardback in there (thanks, Nora Roberts). I was going to make my own Necronomicon cover out of a latex mask but I wanted to get this set up the next day so…..a quick print-out it is!
Also, the chainsaw is green because my piece of red foam-stuff wasn’t large enough.
Cathy is visiting us from the Harrisburg office! Today was her first day in the office so Amber suggested yesterday that I decorate her desk too. Luckily, I had some extra stuff on hand, like this bloody sheet that I used for last year’s “Carrie” desk, a creepy clown doll, spiderwebs, severed fingers, a vintage picture of an actual dead guy in a coffin that I used for my funeral parlor theme desk a few years back, and probably what scared Cathy the most: an Asian snack on her keyboard. I think she felt welcome!
OK, this next one is my favorite! No, they’re all my favorites. I love all my babies equally. But seriously, when I made the connection that Patrick shares a surname with the Stranger Things family…it just all fell into place.
So I turned his office into a shrine for older brother Jonathan Byers.
The pictures he took of Barb on the diving board and Nancy in the window. There’s an actual scene in Stranger Things were the photos are hanging on a string like this. I didn’t have any string, rope, or twine, but I DID have some old party hats in my desk! So I ripped off the elastic.
In the show, Jonathan actually uses a Pentax and I’m so mad because I do have an old Pentax from the 80s somewhere in my house, but I couldn’t find it. So this Konica will have to do. Also, if you watched the show, you know that he liked The Clash’s “Should I Stay Or I Should I Go.”
The nail-studded baseball bat Demogorgon weapon that he carried. Thank god for cardboard boxes.
I had to carry this on the trolley with me this morning. No one even noticed.
I had a strand of white lights on hand, so I quickly painted them yesterday after work.
Total amount spent on this: $0.
I don’t know if this is good or just admitting that I’m basically a hoarder.
OK, the last one I decorated today is, in Glenn’s words, a bit of a stretch, but I had to do it.
Chris’s office is right next to me and I was disappointed last year that I couldn’t think of anything for his name, and then it hit me.
“Think about it, Glenn. ‘Chris Kenrick,” I said the other day after I came up with it.
Glenn just shrugged.
“Chris Kenrick. Chris KenRICK. Chris KenRICK GRIMES,” I blurted out giddily.
“Wow,” Glenn said, totally not impressed but probably a little.
In case you don’t watch The Walking Dead, Rick Grimes is the main character.
Today, Catherine said, “You are totally wasting your talent here!” and then started preaching about how I need to find a job that utilizes my skills, but I literally never see any job openings for “half-assed horror movie-themed office decorator” so it looks like the law firm is stuck with me for a little bit longer.
I have two other offices on my radar, but I’m off all next week so I don’t know if I will do it when I get back — is it worth it? UGH MAYBE PROBABLY WE’LL SEE. I can never tell if I’m going to get in trouble for this, but I guess that’s half the fun of being the office black sheep?
If you’re interested in last year’s decorations, please turn your attention here and here.