Personal Space, Personal Items

Part of living in the city is losing your personal space. Whether it's because of the tiny apartment you live in, or having to take public transportation, it's hard to find a place of one's own.

For example, this morning on the train, two girls (and let me reiterate GIRLS--one still had braces!) got on, each pushing a stroller of 2 year olds. One of the kids immediately started screaming and throwing his bottle around. The other kid, all she did was spit and throw her baby blanket on the subway floor. They only went one express stop on the train, but because there was an "incident" on the tracks, it took literally 20 minutes to go from one stop to another. And the kids were just howling, kicking each other, and throwing their respective personal effects on the floor and at each other.

One would think that their "moms" would intervene, but they just laughed and played along, much to the annoyance of the other passengers. The kid's nasty blanket kept touching me, and at one point, I think I got nasty kid saliva on me. I wanted to say something, but I didn't want to come across as callous or mean. So I just glowered. But inside, I really wanted to kick the kids and bitch-slap their moms for not doing anything. I cannot stand it when people have unruly kids who disturb other people, and then don't do anything about it. Especially when the kids are LOUD, or if they touch me. Yuck!

Grrrrr...

Another tale about personal items... I'm sure some of you have heard about this already...

I'm very anal-retentive about my makeup and and beauty products. I keep them all very, very clean and I have a specific order and placement for where I put things. I also have a mental inventory of everything I own (names, brands, and colors), and I also know exactly how much there is remaining of everything. I am just that OCD about that kind of stuff. I figure if I'm spending so much money on it, I need to take care of it!

Well, those of you that know me personally also know that I like to shop. I can't pass up a good deal... even if I don't necessarily need anything, I'll still get it just because it's on sale or cheap.

A month ago, I was at The Body Shop, and they were having a huge clearance sale. I got some items of makeup and a hair brush, all for $9! One of my purchases was a cranberry shimmer lipbalm that was $1.

Unfortunately, after I tested the lipbalm once, I decided I didn't like it (too waxy, and the "cranberry" taste and smell irked me). Plus, it came in a little plastic pot, and I didn't feel like dipping my finger in there or using a lip brush. So, I left it at work, on my desk, next to my phone.

Three weeks ago, I opened it because I couldn't find my chapstick, and it looked like the surface had been swiped several times, and a small dip was starting to form. The edges of the pot were also sort of covered in the balm (which would never happen if I were using it.) I was a bit perturbed, so I closed up the cap and put it back.

Then two weeks ago, I opened it again just to see, and there was only like 35% remaining! There was now a dip ALL the way down to the bottom of the pot! Disgusted, I threw it back on my desk. I felt SO violated!! Obviously, I wasn't imagining things when I thought someone was using my stuff!

I didn't know what to do. I didn't even know who it was. The only person that I could think of was the janitor... who else would be in my office when I wasn't around? I'd met the janitor on several occasions when I'd stayed late at work, but I didn't even know her name.

I consulted a few people who gave me several different opinions, but I decided to write her a friendly note. My note said:

Hi there,

I noticed that you seem to like this lipbalm. So please -- take it; it's yours.

Also, here is a piece of chocolate for you. Enjoy!

Have a good night,

Jean

I had purchased some Easter chocolates earlier in the day, so I put a few out on my desk with the note, and taped the lipbalm to it.

Well, lo and behold, she didn't take it! When I came in the next morning, everything was still intact. I didn't know what the meaning of that was. Obviously, she wasn't shy about using it before, so why be shy about taking it, especially if I was offering it to her??

The only reasons I can think of were that: (1) She was afraid it was a trap, and that I would report her; (2) She was pissed that I had the nerve to write her a note.

I don't know, but I sure was disgusted!!

I ended up throwing away the lipbalm and then eating the chocolate myself. But, I still felt totally and completely violated. It just goes to show that nothing "personal" that you have is ever really personal, even the things on your desk in your office.

As Napoleon would say, "GROSS!"