Hint: there are probably many correct answers.
It’s only Tuesday, and already, this happened:
Pretty amazing collection from GBD, you must admit. Potentially worth burning for?
Which is not to suggest that donuts are a bad thing, or that I fell off my non-existent diet or something. No. These donuts? Demonstrated my office’s priorities. Let me explain.
Since I work in DC, most of the city – including our building – was shut-down for Columbus Day yesterday. But because my company is in the business of finding people work, we didn’t take the day off. (Maybe the government could take a page from our book and the economy wouldn’t be in the toilet?)
We showed up to a darkened building, And yet we turned our lights on.
All was cool, until around noon, when the fire alarm went off – at approximately 4,000,000 decibels and accompanied by an eerie robot voice telling us to “leave our belongings and exit the building.”
We all looked at each other, balancing the competing concern of, “Do I really need to put my shoes on and leave my desk right now?” with, “Well, we do work two blocks from the White House, so maybe there really is an emergency requiring evacuation?”
And yet… as we all shuffled out the door, one of my co-workers called back, “Don’t forget the donuts!”
And as if we were moving in slow motion (probably because we were), another co-worker (whose new nickname is, “Hero”), turned around and ran back for that box of delicious pastries.
Because in case you didn’t study that photo closely, two of those mofo’s were covered in bacon. And that is worth dying for.
PRIORITIES. TRUE STORY.
Also, even before that box of donuts was rescued from a false alarm, this happened:
Hint: You’re not doing it right.
That’s right. I went to the bathroom on a day when almost no one was at work and I found a stall out of commission. Because it was covered not by one toilet liner, but by four, folded in some crazy-ass way and lining each side of the toilet as if it were a pontoon boat. Seriously. It was so messed up I walked back to the office to get my camera to take this photo.
The good news is that later in the day, we FINALLY figured out who the seat pee-er is. I have to give credit to my friend Courtney, whose SpideySense was activated when a pink ballet flat poked into her stall in a way that indicated someone was squatting rather than sitting. Courtney emerged from the stall just as her stall-neighbor finished washing her hands and darted out of the bathroom.
With instincts to rival Sherlock, Courtney investigated the recently evacuated stall… only to find pee on the seat and an unflushed toilet.
CITIZEN’S ARREST.
It hasn’t happened yet, but here’s how that gentle conversation is going to go, now the we all know the culprit works one suite over and wears pink ballet flats:
US: Have you noticed someone keeps peeing on the seat and not cleaning it up?
HER, looking uncomfortable: Yeah – so disgusting!?
US: We’ve narrowed it down and are pretty sure we know who’s doing it.
HER, looking mildly panicked: Who? How do you know?
US: We have our ways. Signs track back to your office, so could you be our ambassador and talk with all the ladies there to let them know we’re close to a breakthrough so they can stop before we have to embarrass them?
HER: Gulp.
US: That’s right.
And – my Columbus Day wouldn’t be complete without a political tie-in of some sort, so then THIS happened as I was commuting:
Look! Blurry, but it’s Uncle Joe!
Yep. Hustling down Connecticut Ave on my way to get a massage, I noticed a crowd of people forming outside Brooks Brothers, and a security detail that was impressive yet not full-on presidential.
I stopped to ask an on-looker who they were waiting to see emerge from the store, and just at that moment, the police cleared the sidewalk, a few Secret Service guys came out of the store looking stern and self-important, and then out came Joe Biden, huge grin and no shopping bag.
He waved and smiled and – instead of making a beeline for his car (as I would do if my shopping spree had proven unsuccessful) he took a minute to shake hands and chat with the onlookers.
Whew. It was quite the day: Donuts, police… Toilets, politicians… Who would imagine seeing all these disparate things in just one day? It’s almost like they go together.
Tags: Columbus Day, DC, humor, politics, this happened, toilet
pithypants 