I love pumpkin carving in the autumn. Ever since I realized that using a (very dangerous) kitchen knife was not what everyone else was using to carve their pumpkins, and that pumpkin carving tools that were made kid-safe (e.g. easy for any dummy to use) were readily available (and for cheap!), I embraced the art of pumpkin carving. The last time I remember actually doing it was at my last company, and so when I heard we would be doing it today as a culture-building activity, I immediately cleared my calendar and jumped on it. In recent years, my favorite pumpkins have always been the happy ones. There are enough scary things in the world (particularly when it comes to politics in this country for the last couple of years), so I would prefer that my jack-o-lanterns be cheerful and bring delight. It was my first time picking a design that required shading (really, “shaving” the pumpkin skin for some different color tones), and it took almost an hour, but it really turned out looking quite attractive and spot on based on the image I copied and free-handed from a quick internet search. My jack-o-lantern has huge eyes, eyebrows, a massive smile, some pointed buck teeth, plus two little dimples! Needless to say, I was pretty proud of my carving work.

Today was likely my favorite day in the office in a long, long time. It was definitely the best work day this calendar year for sure — productivity at its all-time peak!