Taking the high road

I am taking the high road today. I am not going on my first instinct. I am going to stand back and not let it bother me. Much. For now. Hopefully. After all it is not something to be all pissed off about. There is a principle involved but I am going to let it go.

Ok, not totally. I think it is time to fuck with them.

The battleground is the refrigerator. Community property to be shared by all in the work place. It is like you typical dorm fridge except a bit bigger. It has a self contained ice maker just big enough to hold the “bucket” for the ice. There is no freezer but a crisper at the bottom.

The first salvo was fired yesterday. I came in to work to see the ice bucket out on the counter top. I didn’t think much of it as it did need to be de-thawed. I dumped the water from it and was about to place it back in the ice maker when I noticed it was full. There is a box of ice cream sandwiches and 3 individual half pint size cups in the ice maker compartment. Normally my first instinct would be to write up a note informing the ice cream eater that it is an ice maker, not a freezer and they need to move this stuff out. But not today. Today I take the high road.

I decided to try and not let it bother me. I am not the refrigerator police. I don’t go around bitching at people to clean things up. I do however not like it when people put things in the ice itself or will toss it out.

But the principle here is making me think. Why does this person or persons think they can decide to put their personal items in this ice maker and prevent those from getting ice? It seems rather selfish. It is not for them to decide. It would be like someone moving soda out of the fridge so they can put food. Really, who are these people that put themselves above the others who want access to ice?

The other thing that gets me is that it is not a freezer, it is an ice maker. It is not meant for people to store frozen items. It is to make ice, plain and simple.

So I thought of sending an email to some managers to start a dialog and help identify the owners of the ice cream. I thought about what to say and kicked it around. Find a solution in the middle so as to cause no major problems down the line. Then I thought of something better. I have some devious friends who may have some better ideas. Time to fuck with them.

One suggestion is to go with the thought that the ice cream is for everyone. Seeing how there is no name on it, it should be just like the ice. For everyone. Take the high road and enjoy an ice cream sandwich. Works for me.

Another suggestion is to go ahead and help myself but leave a note asking for something different. I could see it. “Thanks for the ice cream sandwich, but next time could you buy some Drumsticks or maybe Dilly Bars? Thanks in advance. P.S. here are some coupons. Pick n Save is having a sale! :)”

Before I get these gears of war into motion, I figured I would solicit some other ideas. So what say you? How would you handle this situation?