Not me, but my boss...
In the 3 years I have been at my current job (Which I am due to leave next week) I have had plenty of opportunity to witness my boss in full freebie mode. Being the manager of the IT department, he has several opportunities per year to go to trade shows around London, and always comes away with plenty of swag. So far (to my knowledge) he has accumulated the following:

- 4 mugs
- enough free pens to fill all the aforementioned mugs
- His desk has 5 mousemats (including one so small you'd need to be Jeremy Beadle to make use of it and one with a calculator on)...
-...and a similar number of coasters, despite the fact he only has 1 cup, and no-one but him is ever at his desk with a drink
- a thermos
- several lanyards
- Assorted other 'gizzets' as he calls them, including USB pens, little lights and pointers and all sorts of other junk

2 other things of note; Some of his pens have resided in said mugs so long they no longer work, but he insists on keeping them, and he often says he's saving some of the pens, lanyards etc for his kids...Christmas must be fun at his house...

As I said, i'm leaving next week but i have to admit, this is one sight i'll miss; a 40-something man who really ought to be past this stage, going out with the biggest bag possible to collect freebies, and still having to come back with additional free bags with stuff in due to the sheer volume of freebies
(alpha2omega, Sat 10 Nov 2007, 23:45, 10 replies)

hahahahah
'gizzets' actually made me LOL
(The Spelling Police, Sun 11 Nov 2007, 0:34, closed)

Yeah, not sure of the origin...
..but the dictionary definition (if the word really existed) would be something like this:

Gi·zzet

noun (plural Gi·zzets)
Definition:

Any object that has value but is obtained for free at a convention, trade show or fair. Particularly related to office stationary.

EDIT: Someone will undoubtedly pull me up on it not being a noun or not being a plural or something or nothing, you wouldn't be the first, let me assure you
(alpha2omega, Sun 11 Nov 2007, 1:21, closed)

well, it isn't exactly a noun...
gizzet, properly spelt g'zet is I believe actually an Australian colloquialism for a "good zet"
What's a zet, I hear you ask? Well, if you really don't know: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZET

Glad to have cleared that one up!
(Roopy all is not what it seams, Sun 11 Nov 2007, 2:43, closed)

My first ever post...
and i can't even get the definition right! I think i'll go back to lurking. I was just impressed I even had something to post for once. I haven't been conned, been a voyeur or have any dirty secrets of my trade...not if you don't count 'Turn it off then turn it on again'...
(alpha2omega, Sun 11 Nov 2007, 10:42, closed)

oh noes
now I feel like the school bully!

come back, we love you!
(Roopy all is not what it seams, Sun 11 Nov 2007, 12:08, closed)

Oh go on then...
...but only because I wasn't really going anywhere ;-)
(alpha2omega, Sun 11 Nov 2007, 14:00, closed)

Wot?
No rape alarm?
( e.m.m.y. foxtrot uniform charlie kilo india tango, Mon 12 Nov 2007, 13:38, closed)

Gizzet?
I always thought that was British military slang. If we ever saw anything nice we'd always say "I like that, gizzit". Of course, most of the time, we'd only ask the question in our heads and said item was just nicked.

Nowadays, I just use the term to refer to anything pilfered; salt cellars, pint glasses, pub ashtrays, etc.

And to think, all that time and it was Australian
(lardyboy Next stop, Fissplap Central, Mon 12 Nov 2007, 15:22, closed)

Miss_Emmypenny:
I don't think they're too high on his list of priorities for the reason in the next reply
(alpha2omega, Mon 12 Nov 2007, 16:29, closed)

lardyboy:
He is ex Navy actually, so maybe that's where it comes from. Some funny stories from there too, should a military stories QOTW come up
(alpha2omega, Mon 12 Nov 2007, 16:32, closed)