One of the frustrating things about working in a corporate environment is … that my thumbtacks won’t work on my cubicle walls. Argh. While I appreciate the privacy and sound-deadening properties afforded by the generously towering fabric covered walls my employer provides, how am I supposed to hang a calendar from a wall that does not allow for thumbtack penetration? Where do I hang my successories, witty sayings, comics, databases, flowcharts, GANTT charts, UML diagrams, and my children’s artwork?
In other situations, the thumbtack’s utility is more than apparent. Its ability to penetrate plasterboard make it the obvious choice for affixing reminders next to the refrigerator, putting up a calendar above a child’s desk, or slapping a shopping list next to the the door to the garage so that maybe, just maybe, your oblivious spouse (I confess … I have been guilty of this on more than one occasion) will notice and take the hint that they need to stop at Costco for some pizza, wine and diapers before coming home from work.
At home, the thumbtack’s raison d’être is clear: stick stuff to the wall.
But at work? With walls bent on thwarting me at every turn, the pointed purpose of the lowly thumbtack is … pointless. Thumbtacks enter my cube, see the bare wasteland of its walls and the graveyard of bent tacks that came before, and their overwhelming ennui causes them to want to call the nearest Suicide Hotline.
If only there were a hotline that catered to the special needs of office accessories …
Still, I try. Currently I have affixed my calendar, witty sayings, comics, databases, flowcharts, GANTT charts, UMLs, and my children’s artwork onto my cubicle walls with sticky tack. It doesn’t really work well on fabric, it makes for difficult cleanup, but what would you rather have, a blank gray wall …
Or this:
