Thursday, July 28, 2005

"Puffy"

I've always wondered why people in the workplace are rewarded for having a bad habit like smoking. Rewarded in the sense that they get to go outside about 20 times a day to smoke. I am a person who has never even tried a cigarette so I don’t understand the whole nicotine addiction, however, I do understand work and work ethic. There are people at my job and at jobs past that spend a good couple of hours a day if you add up the time for each cigarette, outside smoking. That’s insane. So, say I am addicted to caffeine, do I get to stand outside gulping down 7-11 Big Gulps of Coke all day? Maybe I have a food addiction, to I get to head outside a bunch of times daily to eat brownies and candy? What about our friendly crack addicts and alcoholics, perhaps we should give them a few breaks as well to get their fix?

I worked with this woman Kim a few years ago, Kim would take “work breaks.” See she would smoke all day and then take breaks from smoking to go to her desk and work. We dubbed her “Puffy” and the name caught on until she was finally fired for never doing any work. This woman smoked like 40 cigarettes a day. You know how Marlboro gives out prizes with those UPC codes from the carton? Well this woman surely owned every Marlboro prize known to man which most likely included the Marlboro NASCAR, the Marlboro Jet, and I am sure she had a Marlboro couch, coffee table, and every other piece of furniture that had the logo on it. We would all take bets at the start of each day as to how many cigarette breaks she would take. We’d all toss in a buck and tally them up…..it made it fun. This woman STUNK of smoke all day, she had that cloud of smoke following her, sort of like that Pig Pen dude on the Peanuts cartoon.

Ok, off to take a vodka break. hahaha Do you have these people at your job too, that are ALWAYS outside smoking?

16 comments:

Steph said...

Yanno, that is so freaking true. I think I had mentioned this before in one of my posts that I'm going to take up bubble gum smoking. You remember, those bubblegum cigarettes you could get at the candy store that blew chalky stuff? I can get additcted to those I think.

Gigglezngrinz said...

In defense of smokers I can say that I am NOT like that at all. I grab a cigarette when I head to the mailbox outside to check company mail and puff the hell out of it before I get back inside. I dont take breaks during the day (nope, not even the 15 minutes twice a day I am entitled to) .....minus the obvious internet surfing that most office people are guilty of. I get my work done....and try not to stink the place up too much by bathing in purfume like most other office hags you can smell three block away.

Anonymous said...

Thankfully, my boss is just as disgusted by cigarrettes as I am so I don't have to deal with the office reaking. But I see the same four women outside this building every day puffing away. I don't get it either.

Hu Flung Pu said...

I used to know someone like that, but not anymore

Kristi said...

my fav is having to walk THRU all the smoke just to get inside!
nice.
So even if you don't purposley pollute your lungs you still have to hold your breath jsut to get in!

Seems to be the norm on the outside of most buildings these days

Debi said...

I am fortunate to have my office to myself so ya kmnow I don't have to worry about that...but um I take "blog breaks" every day to read this, and vote for you, and then maybe post something totally random on my blog...I think I should get a raise don't you? *grin*

Oh a VODKA Break would rock right about now...yes please!

ambs77 said...

That used to be me. I would go out for breaks at 10am, once during lunch, at 3-ish, and then once more before the end of the day.
I knew it was bad but kept doing it. It wasn't that I was trying to get out of working, just that yeah, I had to "feed" my stupid addiction.
Smokers aren't trying to just see how they can steal company time to go lounge. They have an addiction. Not that it's an excuse for them, just how it is.
I understand how it can be frustrating to those who don't smoke, too.
Thank god I don't smoke anymore and don't have to worry about what people think of me as they walk by the "butt hut" and I'm on a smoke break!!

Anonymous said...

Oh yeah.....when i worked in the corporate b.s. world...we had everything from puff breaks to nap breaks to kid breaks to chit-chat breaks....it was ridiculous.....I had one employee who would come in every morning...eat breakfast at her desk then make all her hair, nail, etc appts for the week, then call all her friends to set up dates, etc by then it was lunch......she may have worked two hours a day..............it's a wonder anything was accomplished....it is very discouraging to the employees who had a good work ethic and saw this b*&ch get away with it......very difficult situation......did i mention she was a director's daughter....oh...yeah.......b*&ch! Anyway she is someone else's nightmare now!

Assorted Babble by Suzie said...

Proud of you Charlie for never having a cigarette or nicotine. It is truly a bad habit, but it is an addiction....a terrible one too.

Can't comment on working w/these people since I have mainly always worked for myself...w/own business. Have a few times, but then it was not like nowaday times.

It is an issue with non-smokers though..and you have a right to speak out.

So glad you are back, but I bet you wish your vacation days would have been longer! (smiling)

supplymadam said...

I don't care if you burn!

Bridget Unnel said...

Darn - and here I was thinking you were gonna reveal Sean P. Diddy Puff Daddy Combs' new moniker.

I'm voting for "Puffy, the Magic Dragon" or "Coo Coo for Cocoa Puffy"

True Jersey Girl said...

I used to work at a newspaper (picture the old-time newsrooms full of stress and smoke...)so once they outlawed smoking in businesses, everyone started taking cig breaks. It was ridiculous. People spent more time out there than they did at work.

Fred said...

Like you , I've never even tried a cigarette. Mom used to light up at the dinner table and ruin what was left of my meal.

What pisses me off is when people take their smoke breaks at the entrance of a business, forcing me to walk through their cancer.

Why do intelligent people continue such a disgusting, filthy habit?

Serenity said...

Where I work they lock the back door. I dislike cigarettes!

Southern Sweetheart said...

YES YES YES YES YES YES YES!!!!! And I hate it just like you!!! There was this one guy at the office that not only smoked about 2 packs of cigs a day during the working hours but he also drank about 5 cups of coffee BEFORE lunch -- this doesn't include the 3 cups he had BEFORE he got TO THE OFFICE! Talking about smell?!?!?!?!? I couldn't be around him because he stunk like the worst )#*(&$*#@^$# you've ever smelled! Thankfully, he no longer works with us --- why? because he never did any work b/c of all the damn smoke breaks...AND he was just an idiot anyway!

Also, it pisses me off that they all stand at the back door and anyone coming or going thru that door has to walk thru the cloud of smoke back there. Disgusting. I hate smelling like that!

CiaFai said...

I remember from my old old job, not the one that should rot,a coworker and I would take rum breaks, but it really wasn't a break we would drink it at our desk. I would go to the kitchen and grab two cups fill them with ice and grab a can of gingerale and went straight to her office and fill that son of a bitch up. It was great. We used to say "Gingerale?" and then run off and hook it up. I miss those days. It was the real good rum too. Mmmm mmm good!