(I know this is Jim from The Office, but that's who popped in my mind with this story....just please go with it for now...)It's one of those days... Mike's stomach is a bit on the rumbly side and its not from being hungry. He keeps wondering if he should stay at work and trudge through this noisy stomach kind of day. He may work in a cubicle very close to a coworker, or he could be lucky enough to have his own office in which case trudging through the day might be a lot easier. In either case, sick days are very limited and he doesn't want to waste one if he doesn't have to. Plus, who wants to look bad by leaving work early, right?
The pile of work is daunting, so leaving isn't really an option unless its an emergency. Mike decides he is going to hang in there. Thankfully the bathroom isn't too far off so if he needs to make a run for it he should be safe, barring any hallway stops caused by other coworkers or obstacles. He dives back into his work and temporarily forgets about the rumblies.
A few hours pass and Mike thinks he's out of the woods. He takes a break from the pile of work on his desk to chat with some coworkers who've gathered in the hall nearby. Someone is telling a pretty funny joke about a dingy blonde and he doesn't want to miss out. He's glad he took the break, the joke is really funny. Lots of laughter follows from everyone who's joined in, but pretty soon the crowd is breaking up and heading back to whatever projects are going on. Just as Mike turns to go back to his desk the unavoidable happens. A small eruption with a slightly audible sound comes from Mike's pants.
There was no rumble from his abdomen. There was no warning that Mike was about to be in a very embarrassing situation in front of several fellow employees. At work. With no change of clothes.
What should Mike do in this horrificly humiliating moment?
Should he:
a. pretend to cough or sneeze, acting as if nothing embarrassing has occurred and walk as easily as possible to the men's room to see what he can salvage of his boxer's, hoping nothing has intruded on his slacks
b. say excuse me to all within earshot and rush to the men's room to see what it looks like down below
or
c. run like crazy for his desk, grab his keys and head straight for the parking garage
b. say excuse me to all within earshot and rush to the men's room to see what it looks like down below
or
c. run like crazy for his desk, grab his keys and head straight for the parking garage
Better yet, what would you do if you found yourself in this situation? This is one of those weird and wacky scenarios that I play out in my head from time to time.... "What would I do if...?" Of course, I don't typically follow up with a plan of action like I should. I'm usually just trusting that I can mosey through my days uneventfully. Do you ever think about scenarios like this?
