Striking that perfect balance

I totally 'Digg' investigative reporting! Give me a topic and I will present you with facts, factoids, arguments for / against the motion and levels of details enough to kill anyone's enthusiasm on the subject.

I can spend hours at doing this without losing interest in the subject. While I am at it. At least.
I think my interest is compounded by the fact that this type of work give me the perfect balance in the equation :

Real Work + Appearance of Work = Total Work

Isn't it amazing how 'the appearance of work' is such a valuable component of corporate life. I learned this only recently. Every time I would ask a co-worker ' so how's work?' I usually got a reply on the lines of 'I have no time to breathe!'. I'd wonder (and panic) 'Huhh?!! I am on the same project as that person, pretty much doing the same thing and how come I am not THAT busy? Is my email working?? Did I miss an email?? Was there a meeting alarm that didn't go off as scheduled? What happened?!!!'

So after panicking for a good few months I've welcomed some handy cliches used in corporate America. Now I am always busy, my weekends always end too soon, dramatic Monday Morning groans are in place, Happy Friday is a greeting and my calendar is always booked!