Step Away From Your Food

Trust me on this one; you'll be glad you're not eating when you read this.

I've mentioned before that my work has a ban on food except in the cafeteria and in the break rooms on each floor. The thought behind this (to my unknowing mind) was to avoid having the smell and crunch of food when the workspace is so open and every sound and smell is hugely magnified.

I was wrong.

I noticed a few weeks ago at work that there were fruit flies or some little pesty guys flying around. While I don't eat at my desk, I do hold food that doesn't get refrigerated there. I'm not putting my apples or tomatoes or grapes or whatever into the fridge, as I don't like the feel or taste of cold fruit like that. And those little pesty guys zoomed right on in.

I mentioned this to some friends who explained further. One of them explained that he had a banana in a drawer that ended up covered in them. They all put things in Ziplocs now if they keep them at their desks.

So where did the pesky things come from?

Well. My workplace wants to be green. They really do. We'll pretend the eight kajillion plasma tvs everywhere that are on 24/7 don't count.

All of our food gets composted. The food waste is put into great refrigerated units in the basement somewhere. Every week, trucks come and haul it away to be composted. In theory, that sounds like a great idea, doesn't it?

Unfortunately, the refrigeration units broke at some point (or so the story goes ... I'm sure this is twenty-fifth hand). They were broken for almost two weeks before the right parts could be procured and put in place. Think about what that much food looks like after two weeks. And how many fruit flies are hanging around.

Have you ever had fruit flies in your house? The little buggers are impossible to get rid of.

And now, a couple months later, we still have them flying around. I'm on the top floor of the building, as far from the pre-compost matter as you can get, and they are still hanging around. I go eat lunch in the break room, as prescribed, and they fly around and try to land on my food.

I'm almost to the point of bringing in dry crackers and nothing else, but that just won't do. This is where I get really thankful that I am only in the office one day a week. And hey, if anyone's having a bad day, just think about the fruit flies we have. It could be worse.