Headphones Don't Show Up, But God Does

Like I said in my last post about the headphones shytuation, I promise this is true. Actually, I couldn't make this stuff up if I wanted to.

If you have yet to read the original blogpost about my headphones at work you should probably do that now or this post might not mean much to you. Now that I think about it, it may not mean much to you either way but you're reading this far so obviously something's got your attention and it's not my profile picture (WOMP)!

I walked into work this morning (early, I might add) and I go to put my bag down and I notice this on my desk...


I figured this was probably a "gift" from whomever took/borrowed the headphones and a note apologizing. In my mind I thought "about time". But little did I know that not only was I wrong but that it would be something that would resonate with me much more deeply than a simple apology. The pink sheet of paper read:

Michael,

I saw your note about your MIA heaphones (how'd this person know it'd soften me up to mention Miami) and hope these will be an ok replacement. No, I am not the one who took yours I'm just trying to do a good deed (suuuuuuure). You see I'm recovering from very bad breast cancer God blessed me by giving me my life back (now I gotta take this seriously, she just hit a soft spot - my father passed from cancer in 2003). So I promised to do some good things when I can in return. This was one thing I could handle (replacing your headphones). I knew for some reason the office cleaner is always the first person most likely to have taken something or when something gets broken. But trust me when I say that this 50 year old lady is not one to do anything bad against God. So please enjoy this gift and know it's a good deed done, for a really good reason.

Be Blessed,
Mrs. Green

After reading this how else could I have interpreted the message and deed other than God stepping in? Maybe that's far-fetched or maybe I'm one of those people that just need a reason to find God in a situation. To the former, I say maybe it is far-fetched to some to think that God is stepping in. To the latter I say, what better person to find in ANY situation than God? Most of you that know me either in the real world or just via this blog know that I am not a one to be talking about religion or spirituality all the time or getting evangelical. I don't get very spiritual in my blogposts for the most part and most of you probably say "this fool is going to Hell with a one-way ticket". But considering some of the things that have happened in my life lately that have really been tough and helped me grow as a person, I had nowhere else to go but to God for strength and peace-of-mind. I never preach and I barely go to church but I know when He is at work in my life. And it's notes like the one that Mrs. Green (here-to referred to as Sister Green) left that let me know that God and all the angels I knew on earth that are now in Heaven with Him, are looking down on me.

I'm going to leave Sister Green a thank you note and post her letter beside mine. I want others in my office to see this since it's become a bit of a sensation around the office. That is, "Michael and the note on his cubicle".

One last thing. I had a co-worker come to me and mention that the night staff sometimes will bring their children into the office with them (which is against company policy) because they don't have anyone to watch the kids in the evenings. So one of my other (and obviously more uptight) co-workers set-up a webcam in his office because stuff started "moving around" and has video of a child sitting at his desk (but not stealing, HA!). Based on that knowledge I assumed that someone's child was sitting at my desk at night and took my headphones once. The parent probably noticed the "new" headphones the child had "procured" and ask where they were from and returned them to my desk a couple days later. The second time the headphones pulled a David Copperfield the kid may have gotten sneaky and hid them from the parent.

With those thoughts in my mind I'd brushed the headphones off as a lost cause and an experience from which I learned to not leave stuff laying around. And then this morning the headphones and letter show up. The irony in this is that Sister Green mentioned that she knew the night staff would be the first people that popped into mind which is unfortunately true. What's also unfortunate is that some people who work on the night staff have to bring their kids into their job (and risk losing their job) because they don't have anyone at home to watch the children. That's sad.

I'm now glad that I didn't blow the whistle and tell the building manager because it may have gotten someone that really needs their job, fired. I'm even more glad that I went through the entire situation with the headphones (and I'm keeping the joints she gave me too) because it served as another example of how God finds ways to let me know He's present in my life. And that makes me feel like I'm here for a reason and I'm headed in the direction He has set for me. And that my friends, is what's really good!

Workplace Shenanigans

I promise this is true...

Over the past month I had two instances at work where someone has taken the headphones that I leave on my desk and not asked, left a note, or otherwise notified me that they would be "using" them. Then, miraculously they reappear in the exact same spot where I left them but only after about 2 days have passed. Well make that ONE instance where they've been returned. I'm still waiting for them to be returned after the second shytuation.

The headphones are really crappy (no ear padding left) and I have iPod earbuds and another pair of headphones for my BlackBerry so I don't really care that much. But sometimes, it's the principle, right?

When it first happened I was pissed but I said to myself and to my co-workers: "I'm not going to blow the whistle and call for an all-out investigation [by reporting it to the building manager], I'm just gonna see if they show up sometime in the next couple days." And two days later, they did.

I assumed it might have been a practical joke and my co-workers were in on it and kept that sentiment to myself and left it alone. But curiosity led me to jovially ask all of my closest co-workers a couple times each, and they all denied having any involvement. Knowing them and their personalities, I believed them. They'd have chuckled a bit if they knew something and they didn't do that.

Two days ago, it happened again. I again complained out loud to anyone in ear-shot that they'd been taken again. This time everyone seemed a bit more shocked and wondered who it might have been. I tried to take this one in stride like I did the first time and not trip but then I got a little pissed. One time, ok. You took em for a few days, didn't say nothing, but returned them. I can deal with that. But don't do it again like it's all good. Now we've reached the point where off general principle, I want to smack the machiatto/mop out of your hands when I see you.

But since I can't go around questioning people about some cheap-azz $2 headphones as if it's as important and vital to my worklife as the stash of Ciroc I have in my desk, I decided I would just leave this person a message.


Yes, I signed it!

The headphones have yet to re-appear this time and I'm not holding my breath. But if I catch whoever it is, it's going to be some words exchanged and potentially some "furniture moving" in this office. I'm gonna hate having to Terry Tate somebody up in here.

Nighttime view from the new office

You've seen it during the day, now see it at night.



Me likey.

My new office

Recently my job relocated about 100 feet south of our old building (no lie). The move went over fairly well and now I'm located on the 6th floor of an office building sharing an office with two of my co-workers. The best part of this new location is the view I have from my window. It looks southward toward downtown Baltimore.

Check out the new digs.

Bonjour Tout Le Monde

Last week I dropped a post about my trip to Montreal. Well, now I'm back and I had a fantastic time in Montreal. I didn't hit any strip joints and I didn't even hit a club/lounge for that matter, but I had a great time!

A few things you might want to know if you ever plan on visiting:

1. Everything is in French and English. Makes for some interesting navigation around the city.
2. Everybody starts speaking French to you until they realize you're an American or you don't speak French, whichever comes first.
3. Downtown Montreal is a lot like most popular U.S. cities (NYC, San Fran, D.C., etc.). There are always lots of people walking around, shops and restaurants everywhere, Starbucks and McDonalds are frequent sites, and the occasional homeless person begs you for money. But it also has a very European feel (as if I really know) to it as well.
4. Shyt is expensive! I paid $1.39 (Canadian currency) for a TWIX bar. WTF? I assume it's even worse over in Europe, but I couldn't help but notice how everything seemed a bit pricier.
5. They sell Cuban cigars in Montreal. That's all Imma say about that (hehe).
6. The women of Montreal (at least the ones in downtown) are very pERTY.
7. The stereotype that Canadians are nice does not apply to the women referenced in #6 above, though they're not mean either. But pretty much everyone else is cool.
8. Be sure to get a little Canadian cash at the airport when you arrive. Even though you can use your credit card pretty much everywhere, it comes in handy to have cash.
9. Downtown Montreal is a very walkable area. Not once did I feel like I could be in danger (then again, I live in Bmore so my barometer is probably really low).
10. Did I mention that they sell Cuban cigars and that the women are beautiful?
11. Most black people that you see there are from Africa. I found this interesting but I guess this is a result of my not having traveled abroad a lot. I'm used to seeing Black people and actually seek out Black folks when I go out of town. Don't waste your time with that in Montreal because I'd put money on it that most of the people there were either first or second generation Africans that moved to Montreal. And to belabor the point a little bit more, it's almost sad how the role that race plays in the U.S. has me someone conditioned to actually pay attention to this shyt in other places. Other countries don't appear to have the same racial biases that we do.
12. Visit the Olympic Park if you go to Montreal.
13. Visit Old Montreal.
14. The Best Western Europa in Downtown Montreal is worth every penny!

Check out some of the flicks after the jump...