My third inappropriate mistake in 7 years. The boss sprung a surprise on us today at work. Pizza for lunch, their treat!
There was two pizzas for 8 people. I wasn’t thrilled with a surprise so when the boss said it was cool to eat in the quiet, empty auditorium next door I grabbed two pieces of pizza and went in there. Nobody else did.
I went back to get a coke and my co-worker laughed and started joking about that old 70’s or 80’s hit
song “All By Myself”. Hugely popular song. I laughed politely and grabbed a coke and went back to the auditorium. But I started thinking. Which got me in trouble. I thought, “Wait a minute, what did he mean by that? Was that a dig? Did he just make me look foolish in front of all my co-workers?”
I should have let it go but I am going through a lot right now and it’s building up and I started getting angry. I walked back in and said, yeah, did you hear that song about idiots? And walked back out. The whole crew was looking at me. I finished my drink and punched back in and went back to mopping.
But then the big boss called me over to talk with her. She told me that was not appropriate. I told my side and it turns out the guy was talking about someone’s ringtone. So she told me if she wanted to she could write me up for that. But she just lectured me and let it go. She said that stuff is not allowed.
She was laying it on thick so I just said, “C’mon, how many times does everybody insult each other and even threaten each other?”
She had to concede the point but she said that name calling is not allowed and I knew how serious it was and kept my mouth shut.
Now, it’s an hour later. I am lucky I have a reputation as being friendly 80% of the time so that’s why I was excused. And I hate to admit it but I don’t feel bad about my co-worker. I know he thinks he’s superior to me sometimes and even laughs at my expense. But we’re cool most of the time. All I can do is wait and see if he holds a grudge. Time will tell. I also think it was an easy mistake to make.