DEAR HARRIETTE: I live at home and bring my lunch to work. Clearly, my finances are not plentiful. For the past two weeks, someone's been stealing my lunch out of the company fridge.
I haven't been able to catch who it is, yet I don't know how easy this could be when around 50 people work on my floor. Not only does the theft cause me to lose my healthy lunch, I lose money having to go buy new food. I hate seeing passive-aggressive notes in the workplace, but I feel like I have no other option unless I want a warmed and spoiled lunch. Is it time to start posting notes? -- Lunchtime Bully, Seattle
DEAR LUNCHTIME BULLY: It is probably time to get an insulated lunch bag that you can keep at your desk, away from the people who share the refrigerator. Clearly, somebody thinks it's OK to steal your lunch. Putting a note on it is not likely to keep those sticky fingers off of it.
Your best bet is to protect your lunch by keeping it in a drawer at your desk so that it is out of sight. Use an ice pack inside an insulated bag to keep your food fresh. Utilize the community microwave if you need to heat something up. Or pack lunches that are safe at room temperature for a few hours.