it's over. move to somnia.

(prev) i kiss boys (next)

 
Hi, Gene!

My office is set up such that my personal area has three walls, one of which is three feet short of the ceiling (in order to allow more light in from a shared bay window). The fourth side is half closed with a waist-high counter. While it is fairly private, noise carries easily and anybody walking by has a full view of the interior area.

I was clipping my nails in my office, and a couple of my coworkers commented that they disliked the sound and urged me to go to the bathroom to do it in private. I didn't really understand their argument about it being a personal and private action, but I complied with their wishes.

What struck me as odd about it was that as I walked in this morning, one of the complainers (I'll call her Prudence) had been flossing in her office, fully visible to anyone in the hallway. I pointed out that I found that distasteful as well. "But you can't hear it," she countered. True, but it's unpleasant to watch and in my mind it conjures up the image of flecks of spittle being flung about. Yuck.

I seized this opportunity to discuss the fact that I had observed a certain handshake-happy senior officer (not in the vicinity) in the act of pointedly not washing his hands after using the restroom. What, I asked, would be the best, most tactful way to avoid his outstretched paw in the future? I received no concrete response, but another coworker (let's say Luna) opined that bringing such a topic up was an equally icky move. "Don't share that," called out Prudence, "ignorance is bliss!"

"No!" I responded. "Ignorance is dangerous! Silence equals death!" It's a matter of public health, right?


The upshot, for those of you who are concerned about such things, is that Prudence and I mutually apologized (sealed with a hug)...although I guess she's not writing about it on her blog. Oh, me.
peachy as always, Mike at 2:35 PM