Office Pen Chor!!!!

Has it ever happened to you( I am sure it has), when some Tom Cruise on his Mission Impossible or some Damsel in Distress next to you picks up the phone to call a person , then realises half way through their conversation (with obviously an important client) that they need to take down some information!!!! So there they are standing next to you, with the index finger joint to their thumb vigorously shaking their hand (indicating they want something to write with) and you are suppose to interpret this Dumb & Deaf sign language. Whats more you even have to provide them with your pen.

Yes this is what happened to me yesterday, Damsel Distress asked for a pen. As sharing and caring I am I gave it. Then got engrossed in my work. When I picked my head up Damsel in Distress had vanished. WITH MY PEN!!!! I got up looked around, scanned the office but DD wasn't anywhere in sight. By now I was paranoid ( I know this sounds petty but it is MY PEN). I mean if one takes an account a pen every working day = 5 pens a week= 20 pens/month=240 pens/year that is a loss of Rs 7200/- a year (assuming Rs 30/pen which is by the way the actual cost of my pens some even more than that). OK so I would be spending 7,200 bucks a year on ordinary pens can you imagine I mean I'd rather go to Mango or any of the other hoity-Toity brands and shop(i.e. if they have anything above size 0). Haan so getting back to my pen dilemma, more than the money its is that the fact that it belongs to ME, I take that extra effort to visit the stationary store, get my stationary, take care of it(hide it from my younger sibling) and then some random people come and take it away.

Now I was panicking, cause DD wasn't to be seen, I mean I didn't know her name, all I could remember of her was her pink kurta because that's my favorite colour). I thought I should just scan through the office and search my pen. The moment I looked around I knew that it was a bad idea cause even if I hired CBI OR FBI for that matter considering the state of my office they would give up. On the outside it seems like a nice Corporate office. But once you Venture you will feel you are on the sets of Jumanji or Jurassic Park with papers and plastic bottles strewn all over, dustbins overflowing. But that's not why I would call it Jumanji or Jurassic Park the real reason would be people gathered talking, uh sorry! screeching, barking, crowing, grunting(like the rhino's in Jumanji) and calling each other's names ( I mean guys there is a phone there is list of extension numbers, use it sometimes) also " DON'T SHOOT PRINTS , is heard quite often here in this African Safari. So getting back to the point, it was a bad idea to search but nevertheless I am going to be the next Lara Croft and I am going to raid this tomb and excavate my precious pen.

Haaaeeeyyyaaa( thats the Bruce Lee kind of sound means lets fight). So I looked around, scanned, peered, was trying to find DD. But no pink kurta was anywhere in sight. Nevertheless my quest continued I was going to excavate it in the ruins of this Harrappa & Mohenjodaro. I went through each and every desk in my office checked below, checked above but it was nowhere in sight. Oh no, I thought it was lost, my heart was in pain.

I had lost hope, lost hope in humanity, in responsibility. Because responsibility doesn't exist anymore. My Mom once said, 'Take care of others things, more than you would take care of yours". I followed this right to the 's' of the last word 'yours'. I wanted to scream"Bhagwan mujhe kin karmon ki saaza mil rahi' (I fall in the Meena Kumari kind of genre). But I could not, because here I have to be like the Bipasha Basu of Corporate.

Just I was about to drag my feet back to my computer, I saw it. Atleast I thought I did. There next to the scanner. Was it a mirage!!!! It was silver, with black head. I saw it.I finally saw it!! It was there. Kushi ke aansu were rolling down my eyes. I ran upto it. Touched it first to make sure it were real. You bet, It was!!! I wanted to hug it, Just feel it in my arms. "Oh where were you for so long poochie, come to mama" But I quickly realised people were staring at my "Kuch Kuch Hota Hai - Shahrukh meets Kajol after so many years and runs ro hug her" stunt. So I (sumdi mein) picked my pen and walked back to my desk.

I felt I could breath once again. I came back put my pen back in my drawer, locked it, put the key in my bag, gathered my things, closed my computer. Was ready to head home, after a tiring "Crystal Maze" episode kind off day.

While I headed for the door, I made a resolution in my mind. No one, and yes I mean it no one is getting my pen from next time. Not even if your as cute as Tom Cruise on his Mission Impossible.