Sir, it's a taxicab air freshener.*

Can I vent?

Well - you can't stop me so I'm just going to vent.

I think it's a little obvious to everyone my sentiment for my job. Some days it's great, most days I wonder what I am doing. Then there are days where I not only wonder what I am doing...but I wonder what everyone else is doing as well.

Last weekend air fresheners were installed into all the restrooms in our building. Monday I got an e-mail stating that someone had removed the canister from the air freshener in one of our bathrooms and put it on the floor. Then I was asked to send out a communication to my company that they please keep their grubby paws off of the air freshener...

Okay...I added the 'grubby paws' bit, but you get the idea. I had to send this e-mail....as part of my job! And I can't figure why I can't take my job seriously! I mean, yeah, I see how this is a capital offense and all, I totally support stopping such unlawful behavior, but do I have to be the one who tells everyone? So I did the easy thing, the thing that kept my personality (and obvious abhorrence at the fact that I had to send such an e-mail) out of it...I hit "forward". I added a little "F.Y.I." and sent it along.

My inbox was suddenly inundated. People expressing condolences that I had to send such an e-mail; people asking what is wrong - where is the human decency in our company; people stating that they hate those stupid air fresheners, and they didn't take it out, but they wish they had; and the list goes on and on.

I hated my e-mail inbox that day because it had bretrayed me.

But, as with most things in my life, I forgot and moved on...until exactly a week later. I got another e-mail about these blasted air fresheners! This time someone not only removed the canister and left it in the bathroom...they completely removed it! How dare they? What kind of miscreants do I work with? They are obviously sending a message to the other air fresheners out there. They won't stand for their scented squirt of air every 45 minutes, they won't put up with being sprayed as they walk into the bathroom. They're taking a stand and the stand starts with hiding the canister of air freshener.

So I was asked to send another e-mail. Aw, heck no. "I'm not having another Monday like that, we're so close to 5" I thought to myself. So the lady who e-mailed me offered to write one up. Except that it says the same thing the other one did:

"Put a halt to your clandestinely vandalistic behavior or suffer the wrath of the powers at be! If your olfactories are repulsed by the repugnant smell that we have chosen then deal with it! You don't smell so great yourself! Why do you think we placed the air fresheners in there in the first place?!"

Okay, so that's just how I read it...it's much more interesting this way...and thus another reason that I should just forward messages rather than write up my own.