The communal refrigerator, and the break room microwave oven. They are fairly ubiquitous in the modern office setting. If your workplace is like mine, there are some challenges to sharing the cold space and heating space with others. Some things, though, I just don’t get.

I get that there are a lot of people sharing the fridge near my office. Conservatively, there are a couple of hundred people in the general vicinity of the break area nearest my desk. So, when you open the fridge, even in the earliest times of the morning, there are going to be a lot of lunches in there.

The freezer is no different. Frequently it is pretty packed as well. And the 2 microwave ovens in that break area get quite a workout between 11:00am and 1:00pm.

I also get that with so many people using the microwave ovens there are going to be different smells, and even a few spills in them from time to time.

But, there are two things I really just don’t get.

First, if someone spills something in the microwave oven, WHY DON’T THEY CLEAN IT UP?!?!? They are basically disgusting because people won’t take 15 seconds at the end of their heat cycle to wipe up any spills. So, when I try to warm something up, I have to clean it first. And, because those smells have been in there a while, they tend to make whatever I am eating taste and smell like what has been warmed up by everyone else in the area.

Second, and this one REALLY grinds me, why do some people think that the fridge is their own personal five-finger-discount food store? I am not talking here about the occasional mistake. You know, someone grabs a frozen dinner they thought was theirs and eats it. That can happen. I am talking about these clowns that go in there and grab a frozen dinner that is CLEARLY MARKED with someone’s name, and just warm it up as theirs. I have no exact data on how often this happens, but it has happened to me many times, and to my co-workers as well.

I have even had brown bags ransacked, with fruit or sandwiches removed. Bags that had my name on them!

There is nothing more disheartening than working hard in the morning, and having your mouth all set for whatever goodies you brought to work, only to find that some ass clown has stolen your lunch. I truly believe there is a special place in hell for these people. Oh, and don’t even try to give me the “well, maybe they needed it more than you did,” bleeding heart excuse. Where I work people are all well-paid. There aren’t any paupers hanging in our break area. These are just lazy, sick, thoughtless, self-centered people who think their hunger is more important than my hard-earned money.

I doubt that any of my readers would be guilty of such grievous offenses. So, of course, I am preaching to the proverbial choir. I just needed to get that all off my chest.