Boo Day 2005

I worked on this post for 20 minutes...and it didn't post. Ahhhh!!!! Anyhow, with everything else going on in my life, there is a glimmer of sunshine and sparkle. Tomorrow is Boo Day here at VAL. And Boo Day = Fun Day. It is over the top and super fab. My first year with the company, our team was too busy to decorate. I deeply regretted it. I vowed then to always participate in this hallowed time.

Here is a recap of Boo Days in my life:
2002
No area decorating.
Pumpkin: Oscar the Grouch. We won first place.

2003
Decorating: We had an 80s Prom theme with a murder mystery tie in. Each person on the team was a suspect and dressed the role (I was a nerd). We sent out clues to the other teams so they could try to guess who had killed Marlene. The clues were very creative and well written (that was a shot out to you, Matt!)
Pumpkin: Michigan State vs. Michigan pumpkins (remember trying to paint those, Sonny??). Then, a friend of mine spent all night painting the logos of each Big Ten team on miniature pumpkins. We set them up on one of those rugs that looks like a football field. We also had a CD of all the fight songs playing in the background. We didn't place but it was really cool.

2004
Decorating: Haunted Carnival. We had so much fun with this one. We hung up large trash bags for the big top. There were also games for the kids to play and cotton candy. We took second place but really, we were the real winners.
Pumpkin: The Apprentice. Andy carved the pumpkin to look like Donald Trump. We set it up in the conference room and gave the pumpkin a body and a suit. The "Money" song played in the background. We took first place.

2005
Decorating: Well....this year there was controversy. The idea for this year was conceived while working on the line in Toronto during project "Save." Everyone loved the idea and brainstormed big time. But then....then the memo came out from HR.

See, VAL got a new building and they don't want their new building trashed. HR decided they would pass out one box per team and you have to use the decorations in the box. This did not go over well and everyone's heart was broken. Except mine. I was fired up. I rallied the team and said I was going to HR. Coincidently, I had an HR meeting that Friday. I explained all of our valid points (we look forward to this every year, we have a fun idea, we are still in the crappy building). HR said they would discuss it with our division leader but IF they granted us permission, we would have to remove ourselves from the competition.

Division leader said yes. Everyone shouted with glee. They hoisted me up on their shoulders and shouted "Holly's our hero! Holly's our hero." Well...everyone was really happy. So, here we are, diligently working on the idea we fought for. Ready for the idea? It is....Candyland.

Each row is a different area of Candyland. My row is the Chocolate Swamp. This is all I can discuss right now because I'm needed at Snow Flake Lake. Yay! Boo Day!