Here at the government office where I work (as a contractor) they are always having fundraisers where they sell baked goods, hot dogs, turkey dinners, etc. in order to get more funds for the program (Army medical stuff). I never buy from them and always bring my lunch instead, and every time I go into the break room to get it out of the frig I feel the dirty looks like I should be paying them my $2 for hot dogs and chips. I have a fund raiser for them: lay off the employees who apparently can take time out of their jobs to serve up hot dogs and baked goods. One person’s salary alone would probably make more than these “fund raisers”.

About office parties: my company has one BIG Christmas party every year. Think prom and you’re pretty close. I’m not big on parties, but I have to say this one is a good thing. It gives my wife a chance to by a pretty dress, get her hair done, and basically relive the romantic idea of going to a high school dance. Before I worked at this company there were many words along the lines of: “I wish I had something nice to dress up for. This is such a pretty dress, but what could I wear it to,” and finally, “Why don’t we every do anything nice?” No longer. This only works because my company goes the extra effort to make this a truly 5 star affair (for those in Austin, we had it at the Driscol (sp?) this year) and my wife really looks forward to it every year. So to sum, I don't have to hear her complaints anymore and I get to look her all dressed up. Plus the food is awesome.