Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Out of the frying pan, into the fire?

Have I mentioned that I am a neatness freak? I like things to be organized and neat, so I can find what I want when I need it. My brain is not functional in an environment of disorder. So, it is very important to me for my workspace to be clutter-free. I’m not exactly a “Monica” but I’m close in a few aspects.

At work, we have this row of desks, which is shared by some grad students and some staff. My earlier neighbor was a mess, literally. In spite of having more space for herself, she would always find my desk-space more convenient to dump her things on. Her papers, stationery, food and anything else would land right on my desk as it always happened that her desk was so full of clutter already.

My other neighbor liked to drink warm water. So, she regularly filled up her bottle to the brim with scalding hot water and left it open on the desk (next to my computer) for it to cool. Imagine my plight when I discovered this for the first time. She was very sorry but not as sorry as I was.

I was delighted when I discovered another desk, which had freed up. So, I requested to move there. Since my new neighbor didn’t have too much stuff around her, there would be less clutter. Or so I thought. My happiness was short-lived when I discovered her chopping up her split-ends with my scissors and dusting her fingers on the desk. The same thing happened when she ate biscuits. Off came the crumbs on my keyboard.

The person who sits on my other side now is another story. She has all these lotions and potions all over her desk. Starting from moisturizer to perfume to hand-cream to face-wash, it’s all there. Considering that she practically lives there, I don’t blame her for making it so comfy. Add to it her collection of soft-toys and a soft pillow for her afternoon naps; could it get any weirder?

And I always thought, I was the weird one.

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