To the Coworker Who Brings in the Smelly Leftovers

Working from home may be the new norm, but anyone who has ever worked in an office setting has at least one story about a coworker’s lunch that stunk up the entire place.

There’s always that one coworker who thinks everyone will enjoy the smell of reheated salmon or tuna sandwiches, but in reality, everyone is dry heaving in their cubicles.

Now that we are back in the studio, life has reached some normalcy, and the smell of a disgusting meal in the microwave reminded me I wasn’t in my living room anymore.

While Gazelle and I were getting prepared for the next topic of the day, Michael stepped out of the studio to heat up some food. Moments later, Gazelle and I looked at each other. We shared a look of disgust and simultaneously plugged our nose as the smell of Michael’s leftovers reached the studio.

It was like someone opened the top of their hamper that was full of dirty clothes. A mixture of onions and body odor is the best way to explain the smell of Michael’s meal.

Michael came back to the studio, eager to eat whatever was in his Tupperware, completely oblivious to the terrible smell that he brought with him.

“Whatever you’re eating smells like B.O.”, I said to him.

He looked mortified. All he could smell was the meat and cheese that made up his burrito from the night before, but Gazelle and I were dealing with something entirely different. Michael is a gentleman and offered to finish his meal in a different room, to which Gazelle and I politely took him upon.

Michael became that co-worker today, and I’ll never let him live it down.