Work Ethics

The local news tipped me to the new craze developed by cubicle dwellers: Faceball. It's not any more complex than the name implies. The object is to throw a ball at your co-workers face, and you score points for hitting them. The rule I found interesting was that if you hit your buddy, then you get to go again. Created to relieve workplace stress and channel aggression, Faceball made me think of all the ways there are to waste time at work.
I am guilty of playing the occasional game of computer solitaire during my lunch break, but being a fourth grade teacher doesn't allow much downtime. I suppose that my occasional tangents on subjects beyond the comprehension of ten-year-old minds would count as time wasted on the job, but once the bell rings it's essentially a race against the clock to get everything in each day.
But that doesn't mean that in previous occupations I didn't find the empty spots and fill them in with time fillers. I've ridden pallet jacks and four-wheel dollies but I have not operated any machinery after consuming large amounts of cough syrup. I have created "stress tests" for Smurf and My Little Pony plush toys. I have engaged co-workers in lengthy discussions about their favorite Monkee, even though everyone knows the correct answer is Mike.
Mostly, however, I don't tend to waste a lot of time at work, preferring instead to focus all my energy on the task at hand. This has routinely given me a reputation as a brown-noser, but the work ethic I derived from watching "Cool Hand Luke" was this: Why goof off for minutes at a time when you can finish up your job and go home where you can play Calvinball for hours at a stretch.