The Illuminated Donkey

My Day Job. I made it home alive again, this time from the not-nearly-as-much-fun-as-it-sounds Toy Fair, where nearly all the cool stuff is kept behind closed doors, and most of the big excitement comes from watching red-faced, middle-aged reps haggle over shipping terms for Groovy Girls or Funky Monkey plush dolls. The general industry blahs (besides the overall economic woes, the parent company of FAO Schwarz and Zany Brainy has filed for bankruptcy, and the ongoing Kmart collapse continues to wreak havoc), not to mention the fact that the whole area is still practically a disaster area, has led to another fairly subdued experience. This is my second time in attendance, and while I enjoy the field-trip atmosphere of the day I've been told by co-workers that the show used to be far more exciting and interesting before I arrived on the scene (and how many times have I heard that before?).

The swag quotient was fairly decent though, as I filled my bag with the usual assortment of pens, keychains, and magazines, plus a few boxes of Simpsons Cookie D'ohs, some packs of baseball cards (I got an Ichiro!), a cute little doll for Jahna's niece Amber, and some fun little Lego-like blocks. Not to mention the company-expensed lunch (though if a dish is gonna be filled with mushrooms and in a mushroom broth, don't you think the menu description should at some point contain the word "mushrooms"?), and taxi ride. It made me feel all ... corporatey good.