Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Office Supplies I Can't Live Without

I am one of those crazy people who spends more time looking around an Office Depot than an entire mall.  There is just something about rows and rows of pens and pencils, organizers of all shapes and sizes and ream after ream of paper waiting to be filled with words.  I adore all kinds of office supplies, but there are some that I would be lost without more than others.

HIGHLIGHTERS

When you spend a good chunk of your day looking at black ink on a white background you
 occasionally need a way to make something jump off the page.  In my case, I need 5 somethings. Orange, pink, blue, purple and yellow.  Now if I could just find a green one somewhere my armada of neon ink would be complete...

PAPER HOLDER
Part of my job requires me to read things and type at the same time.  It saves my neck muscles if I don't have to look down at my desk.  So when a co-worker of mine left and we raided her desk for whatever was left, I claimed this as my own.  It is complicated and I don't quite know what that plastic strip in the middle does, but apparently it was really expensive which like most things in life means that it must be awesome.  (And yes, this is the exact model I have. Jealous?)

RULER


Because sometimes you need a ruler to show a co-worker how deep 30 inches is... (Oh, and I love how the image I found was a rule that told you to call 911 in case of an emergency.  Do we really need to keep reminding people of this fact?)

T-PINS

Normal push pins don't work in our cubicle walls.  So these handy little things are the only way I can post pictures of Jim Thome on my cubicle wall.  Oh, or you know, work stuff.

BLACK SHARPIE
As far as I know, I am the only person in the company who has one of these and I guard it like that old knight gaurded the Holy Grail in the third Indiana Jones movie.  If I could build boobie-traps around it to protect it, I would.  I found it on my desk like a gift from god when we moved into the new building.  Sure you could say it was left behind by the people who occupied our suite before us, but I prefer to think there was a more heavenly aspect to it.

~ The Office Scribe

And a note to my co-workers who read this:  If anything is missing off my desk - not cool.





13 comments:

Holly said...

I have always prefered looking at the Office supply catalogue over any clothing or shoes catalogue.

The plastic guide on the paper holder has two purposes. 1) holds the paper(s) upright (so they don't slide off) and 2) if you have to stop typing, you can use it to mark your place (that's why it slides up and down).

JLI said...

I have the same black Sharpie - thankfully no one has the same love for them as I do. I am currently stockpiling 3 ON TOP OF MY DESK. Now, my choice of pen? That's a different story...it's a brand called "Foray" which apparently is an Office Depot brand, which is now discontinued {{sniffle}}. I've had people try to trade me and even give me something from their desk as collateral just to use mine for 5 minutes. (That worked once for me; then I decided the stress of the situation was too much to handle.)

I appreciate the Jim Thome references. When he still played for Cleveland & I lived there, I had the chance to meet him at a local mall. He was doing a toy drive for charity. I was 4th in line to meet him. Best I can remember of the meeting is that once my eyes made contact with his ham-hocks (thighs), I was done for. The drooling and smiling commenced. I might have had to be escorted away from the table. :-) Oh, I'm kidding. Over the years, my fascination has gone from stalker-obsessed to straight up appreciation for his mad bat skills.

Genesis said...

i love office supplies too! i totally hoard them when people have cool ones.

dadadadio said...

As the invasion of technology creeps deeper into the office, these supplies will be relics of the past, only to be found in the Office Max Museum.

My personal favorite, the index card.

The idea of scavenging at the desk of a fallen comrade conjours the image of the battlefield, where jewelry and valuables are pulled from corpses. It's really not far from the truth.

Anonymous said...

That paper holder is called a "copy stand." That plastic bar might have a weak magnifier in it. If not, it probably has an indentation in the center of the bar. You use it when you're typing from lines of text or statistical data in rows. It helps you see the entire row in one straight line. Move the bar down the page as you type.

It also keeps the paper on the stand.

...been an admin toooooo long!

HF

Anonymous said...

my current office supply tease is a 6" x 9" Mead note paper pad in 4 colors called "palette letters"

Pugmom said...

That's a bold move, JLI...keeping them on top of your desk. My favorite supplies are binder clips...they hold everything just where I want and I don't have the stress of worrying when that paperclip might slide off.

Chris said...

Oh, I am so with you on this. And you didn't even get into the array of briefcases, calendars, organizers, and all THAT fun stuff. Office Max rocks, as does Staples.

Holly said...

I forgot to mention my favorite section: Desk organizers.

CeciliaRose said...

All's I want is some fun colored pens but noooo only blue, black, and red allowed. It's saadddd...sigh...

The Office Scribe said...

I don't think my office personally has a rule against colored pens... I would throw a fit if that happened.

Anonymous said...

Sharpie makes a pretty good green highlighter....

Office desk said...

That's pretty interesting. I am completely opposite to you. I used to keep my things quite in well mannered so never lost it and also get it when I need it. I don't use color pens much.