Fiesta Rice Bomb

I had a great idea for a post ready to go. And then I watched the Caps lose. To the Flyers. In double overtime. If it was my TV I was watching on, I might have actually thrown something at it. Down 3-1, let’s hope for a repeat of the 1988 series, where the Caps found themselves in a similar situation against the Flyers. I might actually cry.

Tuesday is usually Mexican day at the dining center in my office. I decided to eschew the sandwich bar and went for the fajitas with a side of rice instead. For whatever reason, the lady decided to give me the rice in a separate plastic container. To get into the actual office area from the elevators, you have to swipe your ID card. Pretty standard for large office buildings. I had to balance the smaller container on top of the one with the fajitas in one hand in order to grab my ID and swipe. I almost dropped the rice, but caught myself at the last second. Crisis averted. For now. As I walked into my office, my co-worker said something to me and I turned suddenly. Next thing I knew, fiesta rice all over the floor. To make matters worse, the rice was right smack dab in the middle of my office. I couldn’t even get to my chair without tiptoeing around the rice. Absolute debacle.

I picked up the container, still half full of rice and walked around the corner to ask my secretary to call housekeeping. I went back to my office, sat in the other chair and started to eat my lunch at the other end of the office. Five minutes later, one of the housekeepers came by to clean up my mess. The size of my office didn’t allow me to continue eating while she cleaned up my mess. For whatever reason, I felt so uncomfortable standing there watching her clean up my mess. I tried walking into my co-worker’s office to make a little small talk. But, he was on his phone, which left me to fidget around awkwardly in my doorway for two minutes. I generally love awkward situations. I love making/watching people squirm a little. But those were easily the two most uncomfortable minutes of my life.

It isn’t that I dislike people waiting on me. In fact, I love it. Just ask my mom. It just feels a little bit wrong to watch someone on their hands and knees cleaning up after you. For some reason, walking 5 feet away into another office so that you don’t actually see the person on their hands and knees is okay. But standing over someone while they do it, just plain uncomfortable. I don’t think I could ever have a butler or a nanny for my kids.

Oh well. The rice was pretty bland. I didn’t even eat all of what was leftover.

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Appreciate the Prose:

Up and Then Down, New Yorker piece about the history of elevators and the complexity that goes into planning an elevator system. Also an anecdote about a man who got stuck in an elevator for almost 2 days. Yeah, I know, elevators don’t seem like the most interesting topic, but I thought this piece was great. There’s so much more that goes into elevators than you could ever imagine. It’s also a bit long, but read the whole thing.  There’s a strange, subtle beauty to elevators.