MegDesk Fashion

Ball and Chain: Surprise New Look For Spring

A new fashion statement is causing a lot of startled reactions for 23-year-old Meg Gotshall. A relative newcomer to the fashion scene, Gotshall has caused quite a stir with a rather unexpected accessory as the showpiece of her new spring line – a ball and chain.

“I actually consider it to be more of a comfort than a fashion,” Gotshall remarked. “Yes, it’s smart, and it looks good, but the gist of it is that I feel happy having around!” Despite the heavy, burdensome image commonly associated with a ball and chain, Gotshall claims that her model is nothing of the sort. “No, I wouldn’t say it drags me down. In fact, it has quite the opposite effect. It even helps around the house!”

Many of Gotshall’s peers were quite startled by the news, considering it to be a move out of character for the independent young woman. “It’s time to call up Satan and tell him to get out the [ice] skates,” exclaimed Kevin Hein, a close friend of Gotshall’s, upon hearing the news. Others, including Gotshall’s family, were not so astonished. “Well, you did bring [it] home with you for Christmas,” Gotshall’s mother Karen explained, when Gotshall asked if she was surprised.

In general, the overall reaction has been quite positive. “Whether they’re shocked or not, everyone’s been tremendously supportive,” Gotshall says. However, a few still have reservations. Rick Dunkle, a good friend of Gotshall’s, was disappointed to here the news, feeling that it would jeopardize a marriage between the two. “But you were supposed to marry me!” he joked. Others fear that Gotshall may be rushing into things and that it might be too early to make such a daring decision. Gotshall shrugs off such ideas, claiming that “when something fits your style so well, it’s not something you can pass up or put off.”

In addition to the ball and chain, Gotshall’s spring accessories also include a sparkling diamond ring. Since Gotshall doesn’t plan to start wearing her new ball-and-chain until early December, the ring is a piece she can begin wearing now. “It’s a beautiful reminder of things to come!”

Company to Make Center Disappear

Austin, TX – Oilfield services giant Schlumberger has announced plans to dabble in the art of illusion by making its entire Austin campus vanish. The plans, announced early last month, involve the disappearance of the entire site by the end of 2004.

Despite the anticipation, illusions of this sort are nothing new. Las Vegas magicians Siegfried and Roy make their tigers disappear, and David Copperfield caused an airplane and even the Statue of Liberty to seemingly vanish. However, it appears that to date no one has ever created the disappearance of an entire research center.

The Austin Technology Center is home to over 500 Schlumberger employees and a dozen various projects. Throughout the year, the company will be transferring and dispersing a majority of the projects to be sure that no one is harmed during the spectacle. Most of the projects are being transferred to other Schlumberger centers located in Houston and throughout Europe and Asia.

Employees remain uncertain about their futures as the 2004 deadline slowly creeps closer. While most of the projects will be moved from the site by the end of this year, the data acquisitions project Horizon will remain until well into 2004. According to senior officials within the corporation, the project is at a critical stage, and they fear that moving it will result in costly delays. However, to avoid setbacks in setting up the center’s disappearance, the Horizon team may eventually move to rented space elsewhere in Austin.

Prospects for the displaced employees are uncertain at best. Many fear layoffs while others have begun planning for unexpected moves to other centers. “Looks like we’re all going to end up in Houston,” sighed a member of one team. As they wait to hear details of their futures, the most any can do is just to hope for the best. “I’d really like to move to Europe,” said a worried software developer. “I don’t really like Houston, but at least it’s better than being unemployed in Austin right now.”

The slump in Austin’s once-booming technical community makes finding employment difficult for local high-tech professionals. The industry crash has meant dozens of empty office buildings and thousands of layoffs. The abundance of inexpensive office space causes many to question whether Schlumberger will be able to make the center vanish as hoped. “They picked the wrong time to do this,” an employee said. “Two years ago it would have been easy, but not anymore.”