*Happy Dances*

I know I haven't done Sock Monkey Monday for a couple weeks now, but I have a good reason! I have a job now! I am no longer a bum, hanging around the house, I am once again a productive member of society! *Snoopy dances* This also means that I don't have a lot of free time anymore, so it's going to be a bit tough getting the sock monkey entries (and the sock monkeys themselves) done.

I started the new job last Monday, so clearly Wee Ninja Muse is a good luck little ninja, because the job that I brought her along on the interview for is the job that I got. I made a Lucky Ninja for a friend, and I have to make another Lucky Ninja for another friend so that we can ALL have jobs.

To those of you who know me as a monkey maker, what I do is probably NOT what you'd expect. My last job, I made hematology controls-- that basically means I did a lot of things with a lot of blood. I think my primary job was to scare the temps though. With this job, I'm once again in the lab, but doing a MUCH less gory job-- I'm an Analytical Chemistry Technician. Mostly that means I test stuff. Which means that for the past week and two days, I've spent most of my time moving REALLY tiny pieces of product around with a pair of tweezers.

The main requirement for this job was the successful removal of the "Writer's Cramp" in the game Operation. Once I proved that I rocked at Operation (I have two different versions), I was a shoe in. Okay, so it wasn't QUITE like that, but I do really like where I work. I came up with a few things that sort of show what kind of company I work for now:

• I have a toy moose on my desk. Pretty much everyone does. They're standard issue. 
• My first day, my new boss brought me and the rest of the team (there are four of us total) out to lunch at a local pub. 
• There's a HUGE couch in the middle of the office area. This couch is comfy and no one gets mad if you sit on it. No one times you when you're sitting on it either!
• There are SNACKS, lots and lots of snacks! Gummy rats, pretzels, yogurt, bagels, and drinks to go with them. And not just coffee, but juice and seltzer too!
• Last Friday, we had a JUGGLER who juggled and made balloon animals!

 The only downside is that the commute is long, but now that I'm used to it, I don't mind the commute at all. I can sleep on the train, and I haven't used almost any gas for the car. I also haven't really spent any money on breakfast or lunch stuff beyond some stuff to make a sandwich because we have it all there.

I have to admit, I didn't think jobs like this existed. Sure, I've had jobs where they were okay with you taking an hour for lunch as long as everything got done, but that was about the only "perk" I've ever had, and I lost that when I went to the last company I worked for. This new job is a bit of a culture shock for me. I think I've said about 20 times my first day "we're allowed to do that?"

I'm used to being watched constantly, I'm used to being punished for punching in just ONE MINUTE late. I feel guilty when I go in and eat breakfast while sitting on the couch... even though that's what the couch is for. I'm used to scarfing down my lunch as quick as possible because 30 minutes isn't a lot of time if you have something that needs to be microwaved for 5 minutes, and having to count that time it will take me to walk to the time clock, etc.

None of those things apply at my new job. People don't grunt when you say good morning. People don't look at you like you have three heads when you say good morning. People are HAPPY there, and I know for sure that this company is far more productive than the other company I worked for. It's the little things, like free bagels that actually matter a lot. My last place didn't understand this. They were... all "stick" and no "carrot". For whatever reason, they never realized that it's easier to do something small, and make people HAPPY to work for you, than it is to FORCE people to work for you*. People will volunteer to take on extra work without extra pay, and things like that if you give them those little incentives. I know that for sure, I tend to recruit family and friends as monkey making assistants, and they do good work in exchange for pizza!

Speaking of which, Haunted Monkeyville will be debuting this week! Starting September 1st, there will be Halloween themed monkeys in the Etsy shop. Due to Irene, this will have to be a rolling debut, as the sewing machine doesn't work without electricity and we lost it here for most of Sunday. Also, I am COLLABORATING on a very, very exciting project that was set to debut at the same time, but while I have power, the wonderful and talented Melanie does not. Without her, the project will be *slightly* postponed.

We were lucky here in Monkeyville, all of the towns around us lost power from Sunday until sometime today. Other towns, not too far away STILL don't have power yet! I hope that everyone else has made it through the storm without any major tragedies.


*That job even had enforced merriment! The Christmas "party" was in the MIDDLE of the day, attendance was mandatory or you didn't get paid for that time, and it was just a really bland buffet lunch where we were only allowed soda or water to drink. It was also NOT friendly to anyone who doesn't celebrate Christmas (or vegetarians), as the only foods there were salad, pork with some kind of fruit, and cold pasta with shellfish. I ended up having salad and rice for lunch two years in a row because the first year I was a vegetarian and for the second the party fell right in the middle of Hanukkah! I don't eat Kosher most of the time, but around Hanukkah I do my best to.

Ninja Thursday: The Adventures of Wee Ninja Muse

Subtitled: I go to Cambridge looking for a job

 
 Yesterday was a BIG day here in Monkeyville! First, I had a very exciting interview at a company in Cambridge. The application on Monster had the question: "What are your current goals in haiku form". How can you NOT want to work for a company like that?!

Of course, the first thing I did when I found out I had an interview for this job was to tell THE Ninja Muse, who was quite excited for me, though rather jealous that I would be going to such a pretty place without her. We tried the teleporter, but our prototype still isn't up to snuff. I teleported Ninja Muse's socks back to her (the only items that made it through-- coincidence? I think not!) and we sat and thought. Ninja Muse then mused "I wish I could shrink myself down and tag along in your bag".

Ah-ha! I set about to work instantly, and in under an hour, Wee Ninja Muse was born! Wee Ninja Muse was just the right size to fit in my bag or coat pocket without it looking like I was trying to smuggle puppies into Cambridge. This by the way, is why it's so good to have a Ninja Muse. Without Ninja Muse, there would be no Wee Ninja Muse, and my photos of my trip up to Cambridge would be much, much more boring.

Wee Ninja Muse with her ticket. Only pirates get smuggled aboard trains. 

"Is it here yet?" Nope, sorry Wee Ninja Muse.

"Yay! It's here!" Wee Ninja Muse traveled via coat pocket for safety.

"This... is not very comfortable...."

 "Ah, that's better. Wake me up when we get there." Even though I had only 10 minutes sleep the night before, the train was too loud for me to sleep. So while Wee Ninja Muse snoozed in my bag, I went over the notes I had made for my  interview. I was excited, but NERVOUS.

Finally in Boston, it was time to hop on another train. 

Wee Ninja Muse tried to be patient. 

"Is that it?" Nope, right color, but wrong side of the tracks.

First stop in Cambridge? Breakfast! 

Wee Ninja Muse was starving, she ate half my lemon square! That's okay though because I was hiding a brownie in my bag for later.

After that was the job interview (sorry, no photos of that) and Wee Ninja Muse was very good about sitting quietly in my bag for most of the interview. Little did I know this was because she was nomming my brownie!

However, she's adorable, so I forgave her... but not before threatening to feed her to the weird graffiti monster. 

Wee Ninja Muse in front of a well known Cambridge landmark.

This was right up the street from the company I interviewed at. Any guesses?

Eli Monkey goes to Harvard, but Wee Ninja Muse and I agree that MIT is WAY cooler.
Of course, Wee Ninja Muse wanted to see Harvard too, since she prefers the old brick buildings. We were in Cambridge already, so we hopped on the train again and went two more stops to Harvard Square. 

Sadly, we couldn't go to a few places that Wee Ninja Muse wanted to go, because I had stupidly worn boots expecting it to rain. It didn't rain, so I was stuck in big heavy boots with thick socks in 80-something degree weather. This resulted in a blister right on the heel of my left foot.

We stopped at Cambridge Commons for a while so I could sit and get my bearings (I was also kicking myself for not getting directions from Eli) and so that I could take my boots off and let my socks dry out. Yeah, yeah, gross I know. However it was hot out so they dried fast and we were once again headed for adventures.

With the help of the Mildy Intelligent cellphone, we found a quick way to get to where we were going. 

Sorry, you can't read the text on the banner. The camera chose what it focused on based on cuteness. 

Same problem. 

We went to the Harvard Museum of Natural History. 

Wee Ninja Muse studies the Harry Potter Scavenger Hunt list in preparation for our tour around the Museum, while I drop off my coat and bag. 

The first thing Wee Ninja Muse saw made her sad. 

It's a display of birds hunted to extinction: the Great Auk, Dodo, and Giant Moa. I could only fit the moa's foot in the photo.

Then, we saw some funky looking pigeons (everything is stuffed and in a display case here).
 

And then it was on to what was probably Wee Ninja Muse's least favorite part of the trip:

Wee Ninja Muse posed very unhappily on a photo of a spider.
"These are all dead right?"

Um... sure... don't move Mr. Cockroach!
There were a few living animals in the insect area, including these guys-- Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches. Wee Ninja Muse was starting to get nervous, so we moved on to the next area quickly. 

For now, it's a display of all the cool things that grow out of animals noggings. There were lots of displays of various antlers and other animals horns. It was a museum/hunting lodge hybrid area.

*touch*

After that, it was off to see some older horned (and some not horned) animals. 

Triceratops.

Big... thing... I can't remember what it's called. It was so huge I could only get it's head in the photo, no matter how far away I stood. 

Moving forward in time:

This is a giant ground sloth, with a Wee Ninja Muse in front of it.
"The isolation of South America for about 75 million years led to the evolution of bizarre animals"

Yes, yes it did. 

Wee Ninja Muse and I agreed this guy was VERY bizarre!

And look! in the next display, we found one of the scavenger hunt items!

I'll admit, our finding these was largely by accident, as there was so much cool stuff to see we forgot to specifically look for them. Well, I forgot. Wee Ninja Muse kept pointing them out to me. 

Birds! Right to left: kiwi, puffin, ostrich chick. I always thought puffins were bigger. 

Off to the next room.
Look out Wee Ninja Muse!

 "Don't worry Ninja Writer,  it's not like it can swim through glass!"

Um...

Tiger: *nom*

Me: *saves Wee Ninja Muse*

Wee Ninja Muse: "It's stuffed silly".

We then walked through the ocean mammals room (skeletons mostly). And then took a turn into...

"Can you see me?"

Okay, it looked like a forest, complete with trees growing mushrooms, but we were still in the building. 

"You're SURE this isn't alive RIGHT?"

This was the North American Forest display, and the arrangement of everything was very cool.

We found lots of things on the scavenger hunt list here, including Snape's Patronus:

Aw, Snape had a cute patronus!

Wee Ninja Muse and I giggled over how dirty that sounded. 

When we left the forest, I happen to take a break on a bench to rest my hot, sore feet, and Wee Ninja Muse found another item on the list!

*Snarl*

Up and moving again, this time it was my turn to find an item:

Wee Ninja Muse was starting to get tired too, so we skipped the glass flowers and the rocks and minerals (meaning that we did not complete our scavenger hunt mission) and headed back to the train.

We used the Mildly Intelligent phone to find the nearest T stop, which resulted in us walking through Harvard Yard. We took the red line to South Station, and got there just in time for the 3:45 train home.

News from the World by THE Ninja Muse

Greetings, Monkeyville blog readers! This is your roving guest Monkeyville reporter, THE Ninja Muse, coming to you from my dining room where Boris Monkey and Voltaire Monkey are currently recounting their vacation to the wonderful state of Vermont, where they experienced things in two weeks that most monkeys wouldn’t experience in an entire lifetime.

Boris, the newest addition to my Monkeyville flock of monkeys showed up at my door three days before leaving for vacation and he was promptly packed in the suitcase for traveling. It was then decided that he needed a travel companion, someone who had been around for a while and could show Boris that traveling with me wasn’t scary and that he wouldn’t get left behind. Plus, it’s scary to be on your own in a new place, isn’t it? So Voltaire bravely volunteered to come along to be Boris’s travel buddy. Into the suitcase he went. Secretly, he was glad to go along, because it’s been so hot here that Ninja Muse Monkey has been a little whiny and Voltaire was a bit tired of hearing it.

Boris and Voltaire weren’t too thrilled about being packed up in a suitcase, but unfortunately, it was just the safest way to travel for them. When your limbs are sewn on, you don’t really want to take the chance of getting an arm or a tail caught on something and yanked off. Luckily, the Monkeys understood, which was a Very Good thing, because they were trapped in the suitcase for three days before they were allowed out!

Finally, after three long days, Boris and Voltaire came out to play! They were so thrilled to be out that they hopped all over Ninja Dad and wanted him to pose for a picture with them. Ninja Dad laughed at them, and at the photographer, but was a good sport about it. 

 

After posing and grinning for the camera, Boris and Voltaire scampered off to see what kind of trouble they could get into.

The boys found a frame and decided that they wanted pictures of themselves to commemorate the trip, complete with nature-like surroundings.

And after taking the boys’ photos, I tripped over a hole and rolled a little, managing to capture the occasion with a picture.

  

Then Boris and Voltaire decided they wanted a silly picture of themselves, so they chose the outhouse as a background.

 
There’s something to be said for the power of suggestion, in Voltaire’s opinion.

While Voltaire was a bit indisposed, Boris clowned around, waiting for his pal.

Then, Boris found a bug! He was so proud of finding his first ‘wild animal’ of the trip! It’s a leaf bug!

Voltaire met up with Boris again just moments later and the two of them shared a giggly moment. I wasn’t allowed to peek until they were ready. When in farm country, do as the hayseeds do!

After that, the boys wanted some quiet time to reflect on their first day out of the suitcase, away from the socks they rode with.  Doesn’t Boris have the cutest tush?

After some rest and relaxation, it was time to chop some wood! Oh no! Monkeyville monkeys don’t have fingers! How can they hold an axe? Boris was insistent that he could do it, but luckily, Voltaire knew better, so being the sweet Monkey he is, he offered to hold the wood.

 Just like Voltaire thought, Boris was just a tad too short to reach, so chopping wood was out of the question for these guys.  They did cheese it up for the camera a little, though!

  

Whew, even just preparing to chop wood is hard work! It’s time to make some iced tea and cool off in front of the fan for a little while!

By then it was starting to get dark, so it was time to light the gas lamps. Boris offered to do that, since he wasn’t able to chop the wood. Even though Monkeys shouldn't be playing with matches, he wanted to help and he was careful. 

Now that there was light, Boris and Voltaire could see to start writing out postcards.  “Dear Ninja Family…”

Then they had some time to play a few hands of cards. Voltaire taught Boris how to play Gin Rummy, and then Boris taught Voltaire the subtle art of losing.

Finally, it was time to wash up and go to bed. The boys poured the water into the basin.

And then it was time to end the day! Good night, lovely blog readers!