That's My Box of Cookies!

Imagine you're in an airport. While you're waiting for
your flight, you notice a kiosk selling shortbread cookies.

You buy a box, put them in your traveling bag and then
you patiently search for an available seat so you can
sit down and enjoy your cookies.

Finally you find a seat next to a gentleman. You reach
down into your traveling bag and pull out your box of
shortbread cookies.

As you do so, you notice that the gentleman starts
watching you intensely. He stares as you open the box
and his eyes follow your hand as you pick up the
cookie and bring it to your mouth. Just then he reaches
over and takes one of your cookies from the box and eats it!

You're more than a little surprised at this. Actually,
you're at a loss for words. Not only does he take one
cookie, but he alternates with you.

For every one cookie you take, he takes one.
!
Now, what's your immediate impression of this guy?
Crazy? Greedy? He's got some nerve! Can you imagine
the words you might use to describe this man to your
associates back at the office? Meanwhile, you both
continue eating the cookies until there's just one left.

To your surprise, the man reaches over and takes it.
But then he does something unexpected. He breaks it in
half, and gives half to you.

After he's finished with his half he gets up, and
without a word, he leaves.

You think to yourself, "Did this really happen?"
You're left sitting there dumbfounded and still
hungry. So you go back to the kiosk and buy another
box of cookies. You then return to your seat and begin
opening your new box of cookies when you glance down
into your traveling bag.

Sitting there in your bag is your original box of
cookies -- still unopened.

Only then did you realize that when you reached down
earlier, you had reached into the other man's bag and
grabbed his box of cookies by mistake.

Now what do you think of the man? Generous? Tolerant?
You've just experienced a profound paradigm shift.
You're seeing things from a new point of view.

Is it time to change your point of view?

Now, think of this story as it relates to your life.
Seeing things from a new point of view can be very
enlightening.

Think outside the box. Don't settle for the status quo.
Be open to suggestions. Things may not be what
they seem.

Parking Skill Game

Try this!
(this was previously posted, but i liked this simple game, so I am posting it again.)

Test your parking skill using your keyboard.
Go to this link to launch a simple game to test your parking skill:
http://www.107.peugeot.co.uk/peugeot.swf

Me, I only got until level 3 then I crashed into another car. Well, this reflects my actual parking skill. Actually getting to level 2 is a compliment, in my case:)

Can You Sleep When the Wind Blows?

A story shared by a co-worker
========================================
Years ago, a farmer owned land along the Atlantic seacoast.
He constantly advertised for hired hands. Most people were
reluctant to work on farms along the Atlantic. They dreaded the
awful storms that raged across the Atlantic, wreaking havoc on
the buildings and crops. As the farmer interviewed applicants
for the job, he received a steady stream of refusals.

Finally, a short, thin man, well past middle age, approached
the farmer. "Are you a good farm hand?" the farmer asked him.
"Well, I can sleep when the wind blows," answered the little man.

Although puzzled by this answer, the farmer, desperate for help,
Hired him. The little man worked well around the farm, busy from
dawn to dusk, and the farmer felt satisfied with the man's work.
Then one night the wind howled loudly in from offshore.
Jumping out of bed, the farmer grabbed a lantern and rushed
next door to the hired hand's sleeping quarters. He shook the
little man and yelled, "Get up! A storm is coming!
Tie things down before they blow away!"
The little man rolled over in bed and said firmly,
"No sir. I told you, I can sleep when the wind blows."

Enraged by the response, the farmer was tempted to fire him on
the spot. Instead, he hurried outside to prepare for the storm.
To his amazement, he discovered that all of the haystacks had
been covered with tarpaulins. The cows were in the barn, the
chickens were in the coops, and the doors were barred.
The shutters were tightly secured. Everything was tied down.

Nothing could blow away. The farmer then understood what his
hired hand meant, so he returned to his bed to also sleep while
the wind blew.

MORAL OF THIS STORY:

When you're prepared, spiritually, mentally, and physically,
you have nothing to fear. Can you sleep when the
wind blows through your life?
The hired hand in the story was able to sleep because he
had secured the farm against the storm.
We secure ourselves against the storms of life by
grounding ourselves in the Word of God.
We don't need to understand, we just need to hold
His hand to have peace in the middle of storms.

Important People Skills

by Ann Landers

1.Keep skid chains on your tongue; always say less
than you think. Cultivate a low, persuasive voice.
How you say it counts more than what you say.

2.Make promises sparingly, and keep them faithfully,
no matter what it costs.

3.Never let an opportunity pass to say a kind and
encouraging word to or about somebody.
Praise good work, regardless of who did it.
If criticism is needed, criticize helpfully, never spitefully.

4.Be interested in others, their pursuits, their work,
their homes and families. Make merry with those who
rejoice; with those who weep, mourn. Let everyone
you meet, however humble, feel that you regard him
as a person of importance.

5.Be cheerful.
Don't burden or depress those around you by
dwelling on your minor aches and pains and small
disappointments. Remember, everyone is carrying
some kind of a load.

6.Keep an open mind.
Discuss but don't argue.
It is a mark of a superior mind to be able to
disagree without being disagreeable.

7.Let your virtues, if you have any, speak for themselves.
Refuse to talk of another's vices. Discourage gossip.
It is a waste of valuable time and can be extremely destructive.

8.Be careful of another's feelings.
Wit and humor at the other person's expense
are rarely worth it and may hurt when least expected.

9.Pay no attention to ill-natured remarks about you.
Remember, the person who carried the message may
not be the most accurate reporter in the world.
Simply live so that nobody will believe them.
Disordered nerves and bad digestion are a common
cause of backbiting.

10.Don't be too anxious about the credit due you.
Do your best, and be patient.
Forget about yourself, and let others "remember."
Success is much sweeter that way.

The A-Z of Getting the Best of out of your Staff

A- Appraise them

B- Believe in them

C- Communicate Freely

D- Disagree without being disagreeable

E- Encourage staff development

F- Feedback helps improve performance

G- Show genuine feelings

H- Humor helps harmony

I- Ideas are good

J- Join in and participate

K- Kill rumors

L- Like and respect them

M- Motivate them

N- Nurture them

O- Openly and honestly interact

P- Praise, praise, praise!

Q- Quiet words help in good relationships

R- Reward enthusiasm

S- Socialize occasionally

T- Trust them

U- Understand their points of view

V- Value them

W- Win-win is what to aim for

X- Extra effort brings dividends

Y- Youth is good, experience great

Z- Zeal brings its own rewards.

Laugh Time - Guts got out!!!

This is a story about a couple who had been happily married for years. The only friction in their marriage was the husband's habit of farting loudly every morning when he awoke.

The noise would wake his wife and the smell would make her eyes water and make her gasp for air.

Every morning she would plead with him to stop ripping them off because it was making her sick. He told her he couldn't stop it and that it was perfectly natural. She told him to see a doctor; she was concerned that one day he would blow his guts out.

The years went by and he continued to blast them out!

Then one Thanksgiving morning as she was preparing the turkey for dinner and he was upstairs sound asleep, she looked at the bowl where she had put the turkey innards and neck, gizzard, liver and all the spare parts and malicious thought came to her.

She took the bowl and went upstairs where her husband was sound asleep and, gently pulling back the bed covers, she pulled back the elastic waistband of his underpants and emptied the bowl of turkey guts into his shorts.

Some time later she heard her husband awoke with his usual trumpeting which was followed by a blood curdling scream and the sound of frantic footsteps as he ran into the bathroom.

The wife could hardly control herself as she rolled on the floor laughing, tears in her eyes!

After years of torture she reckoned she had got him back pretty good. About twenty minutes later, her husband came downstairs in his bloodstained underpants with a look of horror on his face. She bit her lip as she asked him what was the matter.

He said, "Honey, you were right." "All these years you have warned me and I didn't listen to you."
"What do you mean?" asked his wife.
"Well, you always told me that one day I would end up farting my guts out,
and today it finally happened.

But by some Vaseline, and two fingers, I think I got most of them back in."

Math Whiz