Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood

Mr. Rogers was not allowed viewing when I was growing up, and I can't say that was a bad thing. But it has been a beautiful week here in Philly. We've had two weeks of gorgeous weather this month already.

Besides eating at the park and leisurely strolls with the dogs, it means less air conditioner use, which I absolutely hate as it gives me cold symptoms the following morning. Oh, besides being unnatural, wasted to make the temperature far cooler than is necessary in the spring and summer and very expensive on the electric bill.

But I digress. I was hoping for a bit of a bitch session today. The nicer weather has made the dress code at my job all the more manageable: Button-down shirt, tie and dress pants are required at all times. I'll bitch it about that when the July and August heat and humidity descend on my city.

But because of the nice weather, my gripe is with the lunchroom policy. It is as follows: The refrigerator is cleared out every day at 5. You only ate part of your lunch? Well, unless you're going to keep it sitting out and warming on your desk for 5 hours until you go home, it'll be tossed in the trash. Mmm, warm, wilting salad. Bathwater temperature water and soda. These are the delicacies my new job affords me.

On deadline? You'd better stop what you're doing to rescue your food. In a meeting, better take a break to rescue your food.

The policy fits the 2nd Floor of the business only, as those employees start fleeing between 5 and 6 p.m. But the 1st and 3rd Floor are there until 7, 7:30, 8 p.m. or later. I've been there as late as 9 p.m., 2 hours after my scheduled time during the week.

On Fridays, the 3rd Floor doesn't even arrive until 3:30, 4 or 5 p.m. and I've had my lunch thrown out only to find out at 8 p.m. that the $7.50 I spent was trashed and I have to spend another $7.50 for another meal.

So this happened again this week and I wrote a letter to the executive assistant for the 2nd Floor, and I now know why the idiotic policy exists for the benefit of non-3rd Floor people.

Besides the fact that she didn't get the point of my letter, her conversation made the point that she would be one of the problem people.

I just want a place to keep my food cold before I eat it and a place to keep leftover cold before I head home, but she made it clear that she'd love to keep dressing, among many other things in there for days, weeks on end.

Thank you executive assistant for making it known that you are among those who are the problem and the reason so many people have had their food tossed.

I wish I had the money to just throw food away far more often.

She's also the one to make the condescending pages and announcements over the phone.

But I guess when your boss has mahoghany wood to frame his office and central air conditioning that goes up only as far as his job, condescending co-workers and a disrespectful lunchroom policy are to be expected.