Careful of the Pointy Bits

Because my desk at work is in the middle of a decent amount of traffic flow -- as well as being the closest desk to the kitchen/ copier room -- I learned early on that the office supplies on my desk were not mine, but simply on my desk.

When I started in the office, I had a different desk, and the person who had my current desk always seemed to have things strewn all over the place. Not a really great look for the desk which is the closest thing to a reception desk that the office has.

I moved into that desk after she left -- in large part due to the fact that I am tall. And the height of the desk makes it a really good thing to have a tall person behind it. On the plus side, it's also a larger-than-average desk in the office, so I have plenty of space -- a good thing for the various pieces of information I have to keep organized. And I thought it would be good to keep it organized, so that it looks good to outsiders.

About a week after I took over the desk, I realized that there may have been a reason the last occupant kept things messy. Within just a few days, I realized there was no real way to guarantee that I would have the same pen on my desk two days in a row. Nor could I hope to keep the tape dispenser or stapler in the same place for more than about an hour.

I think one of the biggest surprises was the day that someone walked up, took my scissors, clipped a cigarette filter in half, set the scissors down, and walked away. I had no idea whether the filter was used or not. I don't know why it bothered me so much. I just found it to be a bit odd.

So I've gotten used to the stapler moving all over the place. I've gotten good at simply reaching over and handing pens to people when they start hovering near my desk. And I've gotten over having people walk around behind me to get things out of my files. Through all of it, the one thing on my desk which almost never moves is the letter opener.

You see, I am the one who goes downstairs and gets the mail and sorts it. And, sometimes, that means opening pieces so that they can be sorted. So I have a letter opener on my desk.

I realized, today, that the letter opener, on the desk right in the middle of all of the other constantly-fluctuating office supplies, is always pointing outward.

On the one hand, I think that I probably have it pointed that way so that the handle is pointing toward me, and it's easier to pick up from my chair. But, since I usually pick it up while I'm coming back from getting the mail, that seems like it might be pointing the wrong way.

On the other hand, it dawned on me today that it might be pointing -- not away from me -- but toward the office. Possibly it's a subtle subconscious warning to the other people in my office to stay away from the rest of the things on my desk.

Or, possibly, depending on my mood, maybe it's a just-slightly-dangerous combination of the two.