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Business card box for displaying…BUSINESS CARDS!!

The other day I was getting pretty frustrated at work.  It was just a constant stream if interruptions with people asking for help or clarification or a sympathetic ear or whatever.  They were just interruptive.  All I wanted to do was complete a few tasks and I couldn’t go five minutes without an interruption.  On top if that, there were business cards everywhere.  EVERYWHERE.  Because sometimes vendors would stop by and interrupt me too, which meant I would get their business card(s) and I would have to have mine out in order to complete the exchange.  So, what to do with the mess and the lack of fulfillment because you can’t complete a single task?  MAKE A QUICK CRAFT TO GET BACK INTO THE SWING OF THINGS!

So, in the five minutes between interruptions, I made a small open-topped box out of my over-generous supply of business cards (nigh two full boxes for the two hats I wear at work, although one is unofficial now despite the official business cards).  I got the idea from Jessica Jones who in turn got the idea from Ned Batchelder.

Materials:

  • five (5) business cards
  • five (5) minutes
  • tape or glue

Procedure:

  1. Fold five (5) business cards as shown on Ned’s site.
  2. My predecessor (of sorts) left me her glue stick, so I put glue on the flaps as necessary.

    A very important picture.

  3. Assemble the box as shown on Ned’s site, but make sure the outside faces of the flaps of bottom and two horizontal side walls are on the inside so you aren’t making a mess somewhere with all that glue.  For the two vertical side walls, the outside face of the bottom flap will be glued onto the bottom of the box and the upper flap will have glue on the inside face and folded over the flaps from the two horizontal side walls.  I realize now that I didn’t take pictures when I was assembling and I don’t have enough business cards on my person to make another box to show you what I did.  Sorry.  But I’m sure you can figure it out.  If you mess up, it’s ok, because you have an over-generous supply of business cards, right?

    Yes, I know how ridiculous it is for me to pixelate everything. But I like pixelating, okay?

  4. Fill your freshly assembled business card box with business cards.

    If you look carefully, you can get an idea of what kind of hats I get to wear at work.

Completing this craft unfortunately did not make everyone else less interruptive.  Sugh.

Regifting

Today, my old boss, whom I shall refer to as FSB, gave me a pineapple cake (not homemade, but that’s a wonderful idea and I will probably try it).  But let’s start from the beginning.

I ran into FSB in the hallway while he was looking for the file on one of our current projects.  He wanted to know if I had it.  I did not, as that project is so far down the line in my queue, it’s ridiculous, especially when you consider that it’s one of the first projects due this year.  ANYWAY, I told him I did not have the project file and I figured that would be the end of today’s pleasantries (I am not good at social interaction).  I started to move away but he tells me to wait.  He then tells me to wait several more times.  This is…atypical behavior for him.  He disappears into his office while still telling me to wait.  While he is in the office, I can hear him still telling me to wait.  Erm…I’m waiting quite patiently where you left me after telling me to wait.  He reappears out of his office and presents me with one pineapple cake.

This is a source of confusion for me.  You see, pineapple cakes are a Chinese/Taiwanese pastry.  FSB is German.  He’s very German.  I have no idea why he would have one pineapple cake.  I especially have no idea why he would want to present me with one pineapple cake.  I think the confusion showed on my face because he told me he was giving it to me “because of [his] high appreciation for me” and then he told me not to “think about it too much.”  Well, it was a little late by the time he told me not to think about it.  Because I remembered that Level Boss just returned from a trip to China and Taiwan and he often brings back pineapple cakes for us.  FSB must have gotten a pineapple cake from Level Boss and didn’t want it and THEN GAVE IT TO ME INSTEAD!  He’s REGIFTING food!  That’s gross.  (Never mind that it’s wrapped and unopened and he obviously didn’t adulterate it in any way.)  Snort.  High appreciation indeed.

That being said, I ate it during lunch.  I like pineapple cakes a lot and this one was from one of the better bakeries in Taiwan.  Thanks FSB!  (=