Some people put pictures of their families, or have one of those tear the day off calendars with funny jokes, some keep potted real/fake plants, all are acceptable in my book. Then you have the boring people who stock nothing but piles of paper, and work related crap all over their desks and cubicles, stapler and tape dispensers sitting on top of them to keep it from flying all awry.

Me? I mix it up, keeping GI Joe Mighty Muggs to protect my pictures of my son that rests on the desk from those who may try to do evil to my workspace. I’ve cleared the other side of my desk for a different Might Mugg set, I’m thinking of going with the new Marvel stuff. I like the Mighty Muggs as a desk decoration, because they are clean looking, have great details, and just bring back memories of my childhood with their sets.  Though, nothing else clutters up my desk, I like it clean, AS IT SHOULD BE.  Get some file folders you lazy bums!

Now, I used to have the collectable Mr. Potato Heads on my desk, Optimash Prime, Darth Tater, Spud Trooper, Indiana Jones (with theme song making hat!), and rounding it out with R2 Bud2. All of these brought co-workers, cleaning lady, and the UPS guy to stop by my desk and have a chat with me, some even to play with them.  Displaying a part of yourself that you would normally hide, should be a requirement for all office workers, letting people know a little bit, even a tiny fraction of something that you would never otherwise know is an exceptional tool.  It gives you a chance to open up to people that you work with, you may get to meet someone you never would have associated with, and if you do it tastefully enough, get noticed by the higher ups.

My little story may be out of the ordinary, but, you never know how it might apply to you.  I knew who the President of Marketing was already for my company, he was somewhere on the chain that I would never have looked up as it didn’t apply to my job.  One day, a frustrated woman came into the office, a wild-eyed probably 4 year old boy in tow, looking not happy to be in his situation that he found himself in.  The child smiled as he went past my desk, staring at my Potato Heads.  Five minutes later, the woman walked briskly out of the office, childless.  Another five minutes passes and I’m greeted at my desk by the child, his dad, the President of Marketing, walking behind him to catch up.  I exchange names with the kid, we shake hands, and he asks about my toys on my desk.  By now, his dad had reached him, and was preparing to scold him for disrupting me.  I didn’t care, I told the kid to pull up a chair and he could play with the toys, his dad obliged, and the kid spent 30 minutes at my desk, playing with the things I mostly just admired when my eyes needed some rest.

What was I rewarded with? I can’t be positive, but, I swear, two weeks later, I was sitting in our company suite at a Jazz game, drinking the free beer, eating the free chicken fajitas and bowl of ice cream with a huge board of toppings to add to it.  Are they related somehow? I tend to think so.  As, just last week, I saw him again, he was visiting our new location, checking out the new offices that are almost done, and passed by my desk.  He frowned when he noticed the Potato heads are gone, but, I showed him my new collection (minus the only missing from the set, Daestro).

What did I do Tuesday night? I sat courtside, yes, front row courtside in the VIP section behind one of the baskets at the Jazz game.  Courtesy of my company’s tickets handed down from the CEO himself.  I drank 4 beers and 1 rum and coke in the exclusive 100 club, ate 7 ribs, and a whole lot of appetizers, without paying a penny.  My father in law, the lucky guest, nearly matched me in my indulgence.

Decorating your desk may not bring you some of the luck I’ve been given, nor, do I know if they were related in my case, though, I like to think they might have been.  Everyone should be decorating their space with something that shows your fellow workers, that yes, you are human, and yes, do other thinks than work.  I do caution though, keep it tidy, nobody likes a mess, ORGANIZE your stuff.  I don’t know if you should be making your Superman action figure be suspended in air from fishing wire organized, or keeping your Aqua Man in a clear glass full of water, but you’ll score bonus points with the geeks.

Who knows, you might score some tickets to something for your efforts.