So that’s what daddy does at work

Date:October 31, 2006 / year-entry #370
Tags:non-computer
Orig Link:https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/oldnewthing/20061031-09/?p=29163
Comments:    16
Summary:As many people have pointed out, Hallowe'en at Microsoft is a very family-oriented affair. The parents love it because the kids are in a safe environment; the kids love it because instead of having to go from house to house, you just have to walk to the next office, and then there's a big party...

As many people have pointed out, Hallowe'en at Microsoft is a very family-oriented affair. The parents love it because the kids are in a safe environment; the kids love it because instead of having to go from house to house, you just have to walk to the next office, and then there's a big party in the cafeteria afterwards.

Though it does lead to some misconceptions on the part of the younger children, the result of extrapolation from too few data points. I remember a colleague of mine who brought his young daughter to work for Hallowe'en. A conversation with "Cathy" some days later went like this:

"Hi, Cathy."

"Hi."

"Do you know where your daddy works?"

"He works at Microsoft."

"Do you know what your daddy does at work?"

"He walks around and gets candy."


Comments (16)
  1. richard says:

    Awwww, that is so sweet.

    If only the real world were like that.

  2. Cooney says:

    My uncle is a retired AF pilot – after retraining some other pilots, he got a cushy assignment in .de. His daughter had a career day thing around that time, and when she introduced him it went like this: "This is my daddy, he drives a jeep".

  3. Hiro says:

    Why the apostrophe in the word “Halloween”?

    [That’s how I was taught to spell it. -Raymond]
  4. Spire says:

    That’s also how Pauly Shore spells it.

  5. Jolyon Smith says:

    There is an apostrophe in Halloween for the same reason there is an apostrophe in "didn’t" and "wasn’t" – it marks where a letter or letters have been dropped.

    didn’t = did n’o’t

    wasn’t = was n’o’t

    Hallowe’en = All Hallows Eve = (All) Hallow(s) E’v’en(ing)

    I think – English is my first language but that doesn’t mean I understand it’s technicalities or history perfectly (and the language is perhaps over-endowed with both!)

  6. Bec says:

    Haha, probably better that we keep kids from realising what life at work is really like as long as possible. :)

  7. Igor says:

    Haha, probably better that we keep kids from

    realising what life at work is really like as

    long as possible. :)

    Sure and then dump them right into the machine so they snap immediately and go postal. Stupid.

  8. Leavin' Early says:

    You left off the most important fact about halloween at Microsoft…traffic is sooo bad that it can make a 30 minute comute turn into a 2 hour commute (unless you are riding a bike).  Its the best day of the year to take off early…

  9. AC says:

    "Sure and then dump them right into the machine so they snap immediately and go postal. Stupid."

    Yes. Expose them to the harsh realities of the world sooner so they can feel their responsibilites pressing on them early on, getting heavier and heavier as we burden them with even more information earlier than even we learned it. Then they can snap even sooner! Stupid.

  10. Igor says:

    Yes. Expose them to the harsh realities of the world sooner…

    What a load of crap. Of course it is better to teach your kids to be responsible and that won’t make them snap sooner. You are wrong and I sincerely hope you are not and will never become a parent. If you do, you will obviously be only capable of bringing up spoiled brats, not normal responsible persons.

  11. Cody says:

    How about:  Everything in moderation.  Your five-year-old’s gonna learn what death is because either his grandmother or his goldfish is going to die.  Don’t lie and say they didn’t die and don’t force it on him by killing one of them.

  12. dawn says:

    man, I wondered why my space got a zillion hits from yours today… okay, not a zillion but more than one, which is a big day for me.  and yes, the kids had fun again this year trick or treating at Microsoft, especially since daddy wore his gorilla costume all day at work…

  13. zardoz says:

    My daughter answered "What does Daddy do at work?" with "He drives his car". She also describes me as "He has big hands, a big face and big feet".

  14. Igor says:

    How about:  Everything in moderation

    Cody, I agree with you.

    However, parents which don’t realize that their kids nowadays have to learn more and faster than we did are not helping them at all.

    Kids should be encouraged to learn. Their future depends on it.

Comments are closed.


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