October 31, 2007
They say you cannot put a price on freedom, but that is hooey. Freedom, the best kind too, freedom from work, costs a mere $US19.95 via the Excused Absence Network. The network has isolated a distinct need – that of goldbrickers and hungover partiers to shirk a day’s office duties while not losing pay or stepping into pink-slip lane – and has filled it admirably. For this meager fee you can purchase fake doctor’s notes, as well as funeral programs, which will come in handy if you’ve already tested the limits of your boss’ credulity by both the sheer number of aunts you have (if you’re not in a predominantly Catholic country) and how they seem to drop dead close to a long weekend.
Halloween this year falls inconveniently right in the middle of the week, making a service such as this one quite handy for those who don’t want to worry about a next-day hangover when they don their Eyes Wide Shut masks and hit the nightclubs to grope random strangers and enjoy the only day of the year when it is socially acceptable to go outside the way you secretly dress up in front of your bedroom mirror.
In The Shark Book, we covered more than one tale of the Halloween hammered, including a particular favorite of an Aussie who borrowed a friend’s policeman uniform, possibly thinking that the genuine article would up his odds of winning the giant canned ham or whatever the prize was for best costume. When he later was so drunk that he passed out on a suburban street and passersby who spotted him thought that a policeman had been taken out in the line of duty, things got a bit uncomfortable for both the cop and the partier.
And more recently in Hamburg, we came across another story of Halloween gone wrong, when Die Polizei were called to a train by frightened passengers who believed they had come across the victim of a serious assault. According to officials, “The passengers were alarmed as the man appeared to be bleeding from the face and hands [and] could also not talk”. The passengers tried to revive him and failed (not surprising for anyone who has ever tried to wake up a seriously heavy drinker once he’s settled into a serious snooze) and judging by the gore concluded that he had been the victim of a terrible assault.
By the time emergency officials arrived, the clamor surrounding the man caused him to wake up and explain to everyone with a drunken slur that he had just come from a Halloween party. First responders removed the man’s make-up to prevent any further misunderstanding. [Full story here]
The Shark Guys
October 31st, 2007 at 5:34 pm
I wonder, if you worked at that excused absence place, would your boss be a total hardass about you calling in sick?
November 1st, 2007 at 2:42 pm
I wonder that too…
Or on the other side of things… if you worked for one of those organizational consultants, like Warren Sheppell…
http://www.warrenshepell.com/WCMS/EN-US/EN-US
You’d probably get away with murder there…
November 1st, 2007 at 7:11 pm
I know that my vomit has never look as pretty as that pumpkins vomit does.
November 2nd, 2007 at 2:26 am
Diesel: I’m guessing that this company forces all employees to work from home. Otherwise the atmosphere of paranoia at the workplace would be just too intense.
Waitress: Indeed, it’s like the old saying goes “Pumpkin vomit is pretty vomit.”