Penguin Halloween party 2009

Some companies throw a big holiday party at the end of the year. Not Penguin. We like to mix it up with a company-wide Halloween party, and my department is on the host floor so we're kind of in the thick of it. It's kind of funny to wander down to other floors where people are quietly working, while upstairs the lights are out and people are getting wasted while wearing silly costumes.

Many of the departments decorate around a theme, and it's always fun to wander around to see what people have come up with using the color printer, foam core, and other DIY materials. This year we did "under the sea," and after talking up the idea of a shipwreck so much, I was tasked with seeing it through to reality. In the end I don't think I did such a bad job, though I can't take credit for the best parts, as they weren't my ideas: the fish in the porthole, and naming it after a competitor (sorry Bantam, the name just screams old oceanliner, if you think about it).

My boss made this giant sea turtle, and I really hated to take it down. One of our publicists rescued it and hung it in her office before we could throw it in a dumpster.

Promo art's theme was The Book of Bunny Suicides, and I have to say, this giant bunny blender was a bit of genius. All the photos were taken this morning, as I forgot my camera on Friday, but last week there were bits of fake fur and red and white pieces of foam core strewn all over the floor behind it. Gross, sure, but in such an awesome way.