It all started innocently enough. It was 2006 and my boss at work was out on her honeymoon, so my coworkers and I – including her boss – decided to do something to her cubicle for her return. But what? We considered covering it in Post-Its, but that would be costly; I half-considered bread but that would get moldy. We ultimately settled on good old aluminum foil.
The plan was simple. I’d buy a giant roll at Costco and we’d foil everything… and we did. We covered her desk, monitor, computer, nameplate, cabinets, pens, pencils, buttons, pictures, papers, push-pins, floor mat, chair, table, other chairs… everything. Truly a thing of beauty and she was definitely impressed/surprised when she returned. (In fact, she didn’t dismantle the foil for a solid week after her return!)
One question that wasn’t directly answered prior to the foil plan was, “What happens to the foil?” As it turned out I got to keep it. So I had this big roll of foil from Costco. And we used it.
This roll was so big it couldn’t fit in any conventional drawer. It was comical. It was hilarious. But it also became a part of our home – nay, our family. We had this long before our house, and long before our dog.
Since we’ve had it we’ve changed addresses twice and the foil came with us both times. You don’t just give that up. But in the past several months the roll had gotten noticeably smaller. It was shrinking, shrinking, shrinking. It fit in a drawer with ease. It started looking ordinary.
And I’m sorry to report that this past Tuesday, I used the last of it. The roll almost lasted two full years – just about a month shy – which is pretty darned impressive.
Our new dilemma: do we buy another giant roll or not?
Posted in Consumer Commentary