That time of the Year

It's that time of the year - the period filled with eager anticipation - one which ends with smiles or frowns, but mostly the frowns [and a sudden spurt of good-bye mails]. Yes, it is the time of yearly raises/increments/hikes. The newspapers carried reports of healthy rises, so much so, that it prompted [or rather, forced] the HR of my company to take "proactive" action - all the managers duly called a meeting, in which they informed their worker-ants [ the term subordinates sound way too dignified for what we really are - the worker-ants ;-) ] that the newspaper reports were over-hyped, the HR conducted surveys and found that the average increments across the industry were not all that lucrative. This is what is termed as "setting the expectations right" in the management jargon - though what it almost always translates to is "your hopes are going to be short-lived". Thus armed with the "right expectations" [from the perspective of the management, that is], people entered the dragons' dungeons [their respective managers' offices], and returned with crushed dreams, disappointment written large on their faces.
It is also the time of the annual promotion cycles, and the people who are promoted are encouraged [read nagged ;-)] to treat their team to pizza, lunch outing etc [some miserly souls have had their name written in black letters in the history for getting away with a lesser treatment, but that is another story ;-)]. This also has the similar results as above - smiles or frowns, but mostly the frowns [and a sudden spurt of good-bye mails].
These two factors combined have given me a great inspiration - a brainwave, an innovative idea like I never had before -
Mail to : All team
Subject : You are invited for a treat
Venue : My cubicle

And then, welcome them with a bowl of PEANUTS.