One would think that everyone must be very serious and low-key in an office that works so diligently to provide many communities with the most accurate local news, world news, divrei Torah, Israel updates, school tidbits, recipes, advice columns, editorials, etc. But let me fill you in on the real deal.
When one hears pitter pattering in the ceiling moving around from different parts of the office, or perhaps notices that a closed box of chocolate has been chewed through, things do not stay very calm at The Link. There are those who choose to leave until the culprit or culprits are caught; there are those who are brave enough to wait it out, walking on their tip toes; and then there are those who have found that working from home puts their nerves at rest.
Our first “visitor,” obviously interested in writing a column on pet technology, could be described as a relation to Minnie or Mickey. Our second visitor, who tried to escape several times by moving into different positions, might have been sent by one of the local Escape Room advertisers who wanted to prove their point, or so we thought. This one in the ceiling had a very long, waggly gray tail; having been caught once and sent to Transylvania, he then texted his mishpacha several weeks later to see if the ad had been finished.
When push comes to shove, total concentration and seriousness arrive prior to a wine exposition. How many have seen offices where on each desk there is a goblet? Even more amazing is to check out the sink in our office kitchen where wine glasses are deposited and piled up awaiting a dish fairy to come and wash them. But do not fear! There are now only about 500 wine glasses boxed in our office until next year, if and when there is another exposition.
Be careful when you enter the Link office! Not only is it necessary to avoid any little furry things running around (we think they are gone) but please do not trip over a bottle of Rouge Journal de l’eau. Even worse would be to fall into a box of Teaneck Chardonnay. Yup, watch where you walk, as wine bottles are littering the floors. Never worry about quenching your thirst in our office. Ever watch a taster try some, spit some and then try some more? So aesthetically pleasing.
Now if you want to visit our office, definitely choose to come on a Wednesday! It is our busiest day as we go to print Wednesday night. Big bonus, for those who are present on Wednesday, is that Moshe treats all of the office to lunch! So first and foremost, those who had no intention of coming in are sure to send a text that they will be dropping by around 12:30—where are we getting lunch from today?
Now that is a difficult question considering where our office is located. No, we are not in Middle America, but right in the midst of kosher foodie paradise in Teaneck. But how many times can we get from one or the other of the same places? Who really wants to have fleishig in the middle of the day; we didn’t really like their soups/sandwiches/etc last time, and it is getting so boring to keep ordering the same and the same and the same. Should a suggestion be made to stop ordering lunch on Wednesday, that would be the day the paper would not go to print that week!
Oh and then there is the heat! The first person to arrive feels cold and automatically turns the heat up until person No. 2 arrives and says that he is boiling and turns it down a drop, and this goes on several times a day until everyone becomes too busy to think about it.
With all of the craziness, and the differences, and the milchig or fleishig lunch issues, we all agree on not having any furry visitors and do not agree that Malaga is still the best wine when served frozen!
