inventions
the greatest invention in the world is the game of basketball. but this post isn't really about that. within the span of the past 3 days, i have compiled a relatively short list of the top 10 inventions found in the office. well, at the moment, i can only think of 2 off the top of my head, but i'm sure i can come up with the rest of the list soon enough, so let's continue, shall we?

10. magnetic nameplates
these things just make you feel all official. and did i mention they're magnetic? now who doesn't like magnets?


9. laptops
i pretty much sit in front of my work laptop all day. thanks to weili, i recently discovered the beauty of meebo.com. i can't even imagine what work would be like without this thing.


8. highlighters
highlighters brighten my day and make me feel artistic. sad, huh?


7. red pencils
so at kpmg, the hierarchy system is determined by what color pencil you use to write on all the official documents and whatnot. and i am an intern, so i use the lowly red pencil. don't tell anyone, but i think the red pencil's the best anyways.


6. electric pencil sharpeners
i've loved these things ever since elementary school. they're loud, exciting, and they eat pencils -- what's not to love?


5. big calculators
every so often, i get to use a humongo old-school-looking calculator to do my work. i'm not sure why i like it except for the fact that it makes me feel like a real accountant.


4. paper shredder
i know it sounds shady having a paper shredder be my #4 greatest invention after the whole enron/arthuranderson thing, but have you guys ever tried one of these things? they're amazing! multi-purpose too. like if you needed, say, uh.. streamers.. or really long confetti.. thin slices of paper.. you know the list goes on and on.


3. those little colored flag things
ya'll know what i'm talking about here? they're the little flag things you put in binders and whatnot to mark your place? you know? except mine has like 25 colors on it. it's amazing. i wish i could find a picture of these things, but this is what popped up in google when i typed in "colored flag" =

2. stamps
no, not the snail-mail stamps, these are the cool ink stamps that were so popular back in the day. yes, granted the stamp i use isn't that glamorous or spectacular (all it says is "PREPARED BY CLIENT"), any stamp is an upgrade over zero stamps.


1. electric 3-hole punch
this is literally the machine that motivates me to go to work. all day long i sit here just wondering when my next chance to use it will be. basically you stick some papers into it (it says max 20 sheets, but i like to push it to the limit) and press a button. then it makes this sound that kinda sounds like a paper shredder, and 1 second later, wala! the papers have all been hole-punched. it's amazing, just take my word for it.



so there it is. and just a quick plug, you should watch "the office." it's eerie how realistic that show can be.