food

Lobster

By on October 18, 2010 in Quick Wisdom

I sit at the table, waiting for my meal.  I have a bib on, a bucket near by, and instructions printed on the paper placemat in front of me.  To me it’s a weird setup, but to the Bostonians around me it’s perfectly normal.  Finally, my meal arrives.

It’s a boiled lobster, still in tact from how it was taken from the sea, the only addition being rubber bands on its claws and having been boiled for 13 minutes.  This is my first experience eating a full lobster, and likely my last.

It’s not that I had a bad experience but that I’m just not that big a fan of seafood.  To have to follow instructions on how to eat something (8 steps!), to have to pinch this, snap that, tear this, drain that, just seemed like additional work.  But to people who love lobster, all the work I’m complaining about is part of what they enjoy about the experience.  The 8 steps are worth the pay-off of eating fresh lobster–the bib and bucket are essential pieces of equipment for a delicious meal and the process just makes the end result even better.  To me, it’s all extra work.

And that’s the difference between people who are overworked and passionate about what they do.  If you don’t like the end result of what you’re doing, any extra hours are stressful and added responsibility is a burden.  But if you love what you do, the extra work only makes the results better and more responsibility is exactly what you want.  So discover your lobster, put on your bib, and start enjoying what you do.

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Team Building with a Grossest Foods Party

By on February 5, 2009 in How-To Humor

I remember back in the fifth grade my math teacher would celebrate every quarter with a “Grossest Foods” party.  The idea was simple–people would bring in various desserts or snacks, as well as lesser enjoyed foods such as anchovies, and you would then eat dessert by mixing and matching the foods.  The person to eat the weirdest combination of foods was the winner.

This same idea can help you build a team at work.  It gets people together, gives them food, but also gives them an experience that they are sure to remember and talk about–”remember that time Tommy ate an Oreo sprinkled with Hot Sauce and dipped in sour cream?”

Ready to celebrate your team and punish your taste buds?  Here’s how:

Step 1: Let Everyone Know What’s Happening

Send out an email or inform them during a team meeting that you’ll be having a “Grossest Foods” contest.  Let them know what the idea is, and encourage each person to bring a dessert or snack of some kind, as well as something they normally wouldn’t eat.  Note that not everything has to be sweet–people can bring in fruits or vegetables too.

Step 2: Get Everything Together

At the get together, put all of the food on a counter or table.  Draw numbers out of a hat and have each person go down the line, picking various combinations of foods to eat together.

Step 3: Eat the Grossest Foods

Have each person eat their concoction of food.  The person that eats the weirdest combination of food without spitting any of it out is the winner.

Step 4: Enjoy the Rest of the Food

Once you have a winner, use the remaining time to socialize and snack on the food as you normally would.  Reminisce on the crazy foods that people just ate.

Final Thoughts

Yes this is a little weird, and in a way childish, but that’s what makes it such a great event.  Not only will each member have something to share with each other, it will be a great story they can tell their friends and family of how their workplace is helping them have fun.

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