August 6, 2021

The weirdest and/or most random thing...

 Back in June, I clocked in 20 years with this (and the previous incarnation) of this company.  As one does when someone has been anywhere for any length of time, you begin to accumulate many random things.

And you quickly become known as a "Go To" person for random requests.  At one point, several years ago, there were three of us "Go To" people on our floor - we had you covered in the event of ANY request.  Sadly, (for me - they retired and are as happy as clams) it's all down to me now.

Need a safety pin?  Tweezers?  Nail clippers?  Eye glasses repair kit?  Small screwdriver?  Whatever it might be that you find yourself in need of at the office, I'm your person.

Earlier this week, my cube had to be re-configured.  My boss told me all about it and said that I would have to put things back in place as they had to move my printer, files, plants, etc.

Sure enough, when I went in late this afternoon (since we are on summer hours the building is empty on Friday afternoons; which gives me my Saturday mornings back for a bit) I had to put everything to rights.

As I was doing so, I noticed that my African Violet was a bit "wobbly."  Between you and me, science be damned, I'm fairly convinced that potting soil evaporates over time and needs to be replaced.*

And guess what I had, squirreled away in one of my drawers?

Potting soil.

No, I am not kidding.  

A long time ago, I had this same issue with another plant and I recalled thinking it would be easier to bring the soil in than to take the plant home, add the soil and bring it back.

So I added soil to the plant, of which I still have plenty for next time, and went about my business.

But on the drive home it occurred to me that if I were to be hit by a bus and someone had to clean out my work area, that would be the ONE item that would have them scratching their heads...and I had to laugh.

And that brings us to this - what is the weirdest and/or most random thing that you have squirreled away at work?  Or if you don't work in an office, what is the weirdest and/or most random thing you have squirreled away in the most unlikely place?


* I'm sure it just compacts over time; but I prefer to think of it as evaporating.


14 comments:

  1. If you have potting soil, then I think you truly have everything in your desk!

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    1. Lots of bits and bobs in there - the potting soil is probably the oddest.

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  2. My junk drawer in the kitchen. Probably 25% of the back contents were contributed by aliens. There are no earthly reasons as to how they got there, much less what they are! My late husband (much like a squirrel) would stash shiny pieces of 'stuff' that he took off broken items with the assumption that some day we would find a use for it (them). What's weird is that even though I know there's no use for them, I can't quite bring myself to throw them out because, well, you never know.....

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  3. I used to keep pull-up cords in my desk drawer for closing my parachute gear, just in case I never had a need to pack my parachute while at work. :-)

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    1. Always pays to be prepared - particularly when parachuting is involved!

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  4. I just emptied my desk at work and I had a swiffer, bottle of water for emergencies, and lotion that had to be hidden because of the office cleaners used it. In my old life, I would absolutely be you with the potting soil, etc. :)

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  5. You are PREPARED. My strangest 'work related' item . . . a small sandwich bag of chia seeds. I babysat for a woman whose kid had some bathroom issues. He had trouble getting to the bathroom on time. She was eccentric and strange. Rather than take him to a doc, she listened to a podcast and asked me to start sprinkling chia seeds on his food. Something she learned in this podcast. I no longer watch her kids, but I take out the seeds now and then and shake them as a reminder that I no longer have to deal with her.

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  6. There is a condom in the shared office desk drawer when I moved in myself back in 2005 or so. It remains there. It is over 10 years past the expiration date.

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  7. I've looked through my home office desk and can say with complete certainty the weirdest thing I have in these office drawers is a baggie filled with corn cob holders. They're made of sterling silver and look like little ears of corn. I don't know why I put them in the drawer with pads of paper, but that's the drawer they're in. 🤔

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  8. I agree with you on the soil evaporating, or disappearing, whatever it is.
    Weirdest thing I had in my desk? When I was running an office for a photographer a few years ago, I kept a toothbrush and toothpaste in my drawer. Probably not that weird though.
    In my home office? Ughh...there is not telling, but I'm cleaning those out this week.

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  9. Wow! Potting soil. You are one prepared individual.

    When I was teaching, I had a ton of oddments and doodads in my desk drawers, including a small set of screwdrivers to "break into" the thermostat in my classroom so that I could regulate my own heat. My cabinet contained lots of tubs of granola bars and cookies and cracker packs to feed my students. And lots of little Happy Meal toys for my creative writers to fidget with while they conferenced with me or were searching for inspiration.

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  10. Yep, as a teacher there's always bandaids, lots of coins, crinkled up dollar bills that have been found and held onto waiting for their owners...but my personal, perhaps odd thing is: I keep a gallon size ziploc with nail polish remover, a file, cotton balls, and clear gloss. As I told my student once when she saw it and looked puzzled: "You never know when you're going to have a nail polish emergency!"

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  11. This was published on August 6, 2021 - and not that I'm complaining - but why is it showing up today - July 18,2022?

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