I have to ease into Monday. After a weekend of waking up when I wanted to, not because the alarm told me to, I always need to take baby steps the beginning of the week.
I have a routine. Get to work, check work email, check personal email, check blog email, sign into WordPress, see whose posted, write post, fill out time sheet that I should have filled out all week long but never remember to do and then try to figure out what exactly I did on Wednesday at 2:45 p.m. because for the life of me I can’t remember.
It’s my routine. And it works for me.
This morning I was the first to arrive at the office. I leisurely made my way around the building, unlocking doors and turning on lights. I then walked to my desk prepared to begin my Monday morning business.
Except something was not right.
My trash can and recycling bin were on my desk instead of under it. And they were full. Did the cleaning service forget me? I put them on the floor with a shrug and went to hang up my coat, when I noticed the sweater I keep at my desk was not in its usual spot. Hm…did it fall?
I hung it up, switched on my computer and flopped into my chair.
OK- what is going on? This is NOT my chair! You grow accustomed to a chair. Mine is just the right combination of squish and firm. There’s a few crumbs in the crevices of the leather (faux-leather? I never really thought about it.) and the arms are just where I want them to be.
This was not my chair.
Confused, I jumped up as though the chair had bit me. Why would someone take my chair? What was going on at my desk? In a panic I left my desk to explore those of my coworkers. I sat down at one desk. Is this my chair?
No, this is not my chair.
I peeked around the corner of another cube. Is that my chair?
No, that doesn’t look like my chair.
Losing hope, I wandered over to the last desk and flopped down.
My chair!
Then quickly, I wheeled it over to my desk as fast as I could to avoid running into a coworker while I stole chairs like a crazy person.
After giving my chair a once over and convincing myself that yes, this in indeed my chair, I started to wonder about this whole office caper. Who would rearrange my stuff and move my chair? Who was the office bandit and was I the only one to be hit?
During this thought process I happened to glance down and noticed the floors seemed especially shiny.
And then I vaguely remembered hearing someone mention that the floors were being redone this weekend.
It slowly dawned on me that it was entirely possible that the people working on the floor had to, you know, MOVE stuff that is on the floor to make them shiny.
Huh.
Guess there really was no office caper after all.
I suppose I should go fill out my time sheet.
24 comments
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May 12, 2008 at 9:40 am
DevilsHeaven
HA! The things that happen to us when we have weekend brain!!!
May 12, 2008 at 9:41 am
Ashley
it still remains unclear why our trashes weren’t emptied….
May 12, 2008 at 9:51 am
Courtney
I thought you were going to say that you were at someone else’s desk the whole time!
May 12, 2008 at 9:51 am
Peter
Sitting in a different chair would have thrown my entire day off.
I’m not big on change.
Though maybe you could clean the crumbs out of the crevices. I’m just sayin’.
Slob.
May 12, 2008 at 9:54 am
kristin
that sounds eerily like my thought process.
May 12, 2008 at 10:05 am
notsojenny
i came in one day and sat down and immediately up the same way you did. someone had switched chairs with me. i started asking everyone within earshot “who took my chair? where is it? i don’t care why, just bring it back!” no one ever copped to it and i tried my butt in every chair that was empty to no avail. i’ve had a different chair ever since but that mystery has never been solved. and if anyone takes the chair i’m now accustomed too i’m gonna lose it. i guess that’s what i get for working from home 3 days a week. my desk becomes a free for all when i’m not there : (
i’m glad yours was resolved.
May 12, 2008 at 10:06 am
bebecrys
You know, there is not an office caper, but perhaps there should be 😉 Office tricks are the bestest.
We switched two letters on my boss’s keyboard because he looks when he types, I think the “s” and “r”, poor guy was so frustrated he threw the thing.
May 12, 2008 at 10:17 am
dreamgrrl
hahahah I totally thought you were in the wrong office!
Happy Monday! blah!
May 12, 2008 at 10:27 am
Elle
I have my Monday routine as well. On Friday I set up my classroom so that when I come in on Monday I don’t have to do anything except check my email and respond to parents/students who emailed me over the weekend (I generally will not respond until Monday unless it is some sort of emergency question). Anyway, one day I came in and apparently a church group had used the building/my classroom over the weekend, everything was rearranged, I was missing books, childrens toys were on the floor, and bible passages were written on the board…I was so angry! Do you know how long it takes to rearrange germy desks?!
May 12, 2008 at 11:26 am
heatherdc
haha well at least you found your chair!!
May 12, 2008 at 11:38 am
Rachel
Haha! That is too funny and sounds like something that would happen to me. I have a routine too and when something is out of place or just isn’t right, it drives me CRAZY!
May 12, 2008 at 12:18 pm
Wickedly Scarlett
Well, how disappointingly non-mysterious!! I totally would have forgotten about the floor cleaning over the weekend as well. Actually, I’m pretty impressed that you remembered so quickly–good for you!
May 12, 2008 at 12:42 pm
Sassafras
Ha ha, I love this! Too funny, I would have done the thing!
May 12, 2008 at 12:42 pm
Sassafras
Um, *SAME* thing.
May 12, 2008 at 1:14 pm
JenBun
I moved offices (relatively) recently, and I had to take EVERYTHING from the old office with me. I mean, my stapler (gotta have my Swingline!), my tape dispenser… and certainly MY chair! I even took my old phone with me.
My boss ran into me in the halls while I was switching stuff around and he said, “You know, there’s a phone in there.” Umm, yeah, but I’ve already programmed all the buttons on this one!
Change? Nahhh.
(Also? I HATE thinking about people moving stuff around in MY office while I’m gone. Hate. Fortunately, we have carpet, so no one can re-do the floors.)
May 12, 2008 at 1:48 pm
alexa
haha. well at least you got your chair back!
May 12, 2008 at 3:19 pm
gibsondog
Ha! I get wacked out when I see a pen missing from my desk.
Its the idea of mystery hands in my things that geeks me out. I think?
I’m glad you got your chair back though! Phewwww
May 12, 2008 at 4:24 pm
poodlegoose
Ha. . . that’s what happened at my last job, but they were never resolved quite so. . . well, at all. They were never resolved. Glad yours was 🙂
May 12, 2008 at 5:05 pm
bloggingbarbie
you crack me up, woman. and yes, i, too, would have done the same thing. just saying.
May 12, 2008 at 5:23 pm
Kateastrophe
I totally thought it was going to turn out that you were tired and you sat at the wrong desk! Hahaha. I think the way it ended up is funnier actually. I’d totally do the same thing!
May 12, 2008 at 10:53 pm
Mike
Too bad, in a way. As far as capers go, an office caper is the best kind. I think.
May 13, 2008 at 1:50 am
libby
i’m paranoid when little things at my desk have moved – the height of my monitor…the resistance and height of my chair…the position of the phone.
it sorta bugs me that people touch ‘my space’!
May 13, 2008 at 9:47 am
DanceintheRain
When I moved desks at my old office, I was sure to wheel my chair all the way down the extremely long hallway because it was perfectly broken in and I didn’t want to have to get used to a new one.
When you sit behind that desk all day, your butt comfort is very important. 🙂
May 13, 2008 at 9:47 pm
onebigholiday
haha thats funny…