I was in the office today. It was one of those days. I kept finding errors and it was slowing down my production. I correct people for a living. We've been taught not to judge, but that goes right out the door with my job. Granted I don't judge their character or physical attributes. In fact, I hardly know what any of the people that I judge look like. I judge what they have entered in our system and if the output is correct. Sounds technically boring doesn't it. It can be fun at times though, almost like detective work when I am trying to figure out if the output is accurate based on may different factors. It can save people a lot of money whether it is my own company, or one of our customers.
While I was working on a particularly difficult problem, and right in the heat of an instant message with another department, I decided to make a quick dash to claim my peanut butter sandwich and my little blue Tupperware container with pineapple bits from the community fridge. I was hungry and didn't see the problem resolving itself anytime soon. I knew food could only aid my brain power. I opened the fridge, grabbed my blue lunch bag, and suddenly there was a loud splat on the floor. The unthinkable had happened. Someone else's lunch had jumped off the shelf (it jumped I promise), hit the floor, and spewed half of it's content all over the floor and even onto my newly cleaned pants and my black boot. The lunch smelled good. Some sort of bean, chicken and salsa concoction, probably made in a slow cooker. I grabbed paper towel after paper towel and scooped some poor soul's lunch off the floor into the garbage. I tried desperately to clean my pant leg while in the back of my head imagining what was happening to my instant message conversation, or lack there off, back at my desk. I didn't say I was stepping away.
An employee walked into the lunch room. I tense up wondering if this is the poor suspecting person who's lunch is now mercilessly strewn in front of the fridge. Instead the person walked past the fridge, looked at me and made a noise like "Ohhhhh". You know that noise when someone looks at you and thinks..'How sad! Glad it wasn't me'.
"Yeah, It isn't even my lunch" I desperately say. "I just pulled out my bag and it fell. I feel terrible!".
"You could leave a note".
My brain starts running. What is the proper etiquette in this situation? Is it similar when you bump a car in the parking lot? Do you leave a note with your insurance information? Do you leave the amount of money that you think their lunch is worth? An IOU to replace their lunch with some of your leftovers. Do they want my peanut butter sandwich?
I probably was the lesser person here. It wasn't my fault their lunch fell out of the fridge right? I did write a note.
"Sorry, your lunch fell out of the fridge and some of it spilled on the floor :( -Alice"
Nothing more...and yes I signed my name and put a frowny face. Somehow that seemed nicer instead of leaving it unsigned. The more I think about it I wonder if it was the right thing to do. Should I have left money? What if they have no other way to eat today? They probably hate me. It is a pretty big company. The probably don't know who I am. I still have their chicken, slow cooker concoction on my leg. They could find me...sniff me out. It's good I only am in the office on Friday. I work at home most of the time. Ack, now I feel terrible. Guilt! Guilt! Guilt!!
I have now made another mad dash to the lunch room. I ignored the people sitting in the corner, opened the fridge, and place 6 quarters on the top of the half empty Tupperware container. It is still there with my little yellow post it note of apology. Okay...I think I'm feeling better now. That should be enough right? They can get a few things from the vending machine or something small from the kiosk downstairs to supplement their meal. It wasn't a lot of food to start with so they have something else in the fridge right? A side of some sort? I give up!!
Wouldn't it be funny if is a leftover lunch that has been there forever, abandoned? That would be my luck today.
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