Despite all the complaining I do, I enjoy my job. I really do. After years of struggling as an assistant, followed by a temporary move to Los Angeles to get ahead, and then the long commute from San Diego to Orange County every day, I think I’ve arrived in where I want to be. I even get a view from my desk when I’m not staring at my computer all day long.
The view from my messy-yet-spartan desk.
Unfortunately, the busy season is coming up for me.
There’s a year-end project that has started to gain momentum. I have to work on this in addition to the weekly stuff. It’s a lot of work and when I started first started this job last year, it was a baptism of fire. I found myself coming in for a few hours during the weekend and hardly left my desk to eat. And then the white hairs started to pop up.
This year, I’m prepared. I have an emergency food stash in my desk.
It’s not the most healthy food and I make every attempt to remember to bring lunch.
To be honest, I don’t even know why I have a Spam single in there. I don’t expect to tear open that thing and just eat it with some crackers. And believe me I would rather go out and get something than to open up a smelly can of tuna salad with crackers for lunch. But this is all extreme emergency food. I wouldn’t touch that stuff with a ten foot pole if possible. Except maybe for the aspirin. I need that almost every day.
Am I the only person who has a secret food stash at work? If not, what do you keep in your desk when you can’t take some time off to eat?
My Burning Kitchen 
No way! I didn't know they made SPAM Single LITE!!! My mom gave us a pile of SPAM Singles. We're sticking some in our emergency bags.I totally have a shelf of food to eat when I have no time to even run downstairs to the deli. I have oatmeal, single-serving popcorn, soup, applesauce, and a Snickers bar. It's better than starving or spending 75 cents on vending machine chips.
What the f*do is Spam Single Lite? Looks like I will be mailing you lunch every week.
Seeing the Special K bars reminds me of eating the Carnation breakfast bars when we were kids. I wonder if they still make them. They were so good. . .
They make SPAM singles?…like cheese?That is beautiful..
I barely have a desk (there is not drawer). If I don't have time to eat…I don't eat. Or I eat some M&Ms from the community M&M jar in the department!P.S. *waves* Hi, Penny!!!
I only keep drink mixes in my drawer. My usual is Crystal Light iced tea, but the new front runner is Hawaiian Punch Lemon Berry Squeeze. Fruity!
I have instant oatmeal, granola and snacks, like candy and nuts. The work fridge usually has a couple of Trader Joe's frozen entrees. I usually make the time to have "real" food for lunch.I once spent three weeks on a business trip, working at a remote job site. There was no place where you could buy lunch, so people kept drawers full of foodstuff. Because I was travelling, I had to purchase something each evening for the next day's lunch. Thank goodness they had a well-equipped kitchen.
That brings back some nice memories of the workplace for me. I just hope nobody goes and helps themselves to something from your food stash becuase they are bogged down at their desk.I'm buying Spam Lite these days as well as Turkey Spam; there's also Hickory smoked, Tabasco…but those would be for cooking at home, of course.
I have to admit, I have never tried spam… I do eat corned beef hash from a can, also made by Hormel…what does it taste like?That stash might actually be useful to me, as it's stuff I'm not that interested in. I bring stuff to work for "emergencies" and then eat it when I'm bored. One of the people at my last job had an entire stand up cabinet in her cube (we had big cubes) that looked like a pantry. She locked it whenever she left her desk.
Oh no! At least you have little fruit salads. They always cheer one up, and they're kind of healthy… 🙂
Candy stash: SweetTarts, Starburst, Sweedish Fish. And for choco cravings peanut butter M+Ms
I try to keep at least a can of soup in my food stash. And I just finished off my package of Easy Mac. I have some Pop Tarts, but I've had those forever. I have some Lara Bars and some saltines, too.
Neat! I just started a job in OC and am commuting from SD (for now). My office is practically bare, but I started my food stash already! I have single packs of Brother's Crisps (freeze dried fruit), packs of instant miso soup, M&Ms, and bottled water. I love the idea of instant oatmeal, and I would like to buy a box of Amy's canned soup from Costco, too, but I think I'll need a can opener.But I think I'll skip the SPAM singles…
Reading the comments i'm glad to know i'm not the only one who has never tried spam. I know…I have my own trail mix of almonds, dried cherries and cranberries. Some gnu fiber bars. We have a fridge and keep breakfast foods in there. BTW – what's that tape ruler for?
The spam made me laugh. I can't imagine you eating Spam!My desk drawer has earl gray tea bags, a French press and a baggy of ground Italian Roast, instant oatmeal, a bag of nuts (usually almonds) and these cute little Pad Thai and Satay Noodle single serving lunch in a box thingys from Trader Joes. They come in little Chinese To Go containers and are pretty tasty as far as "packaged just add water" food goes. Also, I almost always have Activia in the work fridge as well as a package or two of Eating Right frozen meals. 🙂
Leanne–That reminds me that I need to get some oatmeal to keep at my desk.JustJenn–Where's my lunch? Does it come with a cupcake?Warren–I am so going to see if they sell those Carnation bars. I still dream of them.Caveman–They do but the key word is single so you can't share with a date.Jodi–HA! You spotted Penni. Good eyes.ThatGirlCanEat–I should maybe downgrade to drink mixes. I can't resist snacking when my drawer is filled with food.Sandy–Wow… again with the oatmeal. This must be a sign I need to stock up on some.Mrs. Wong–Yeah, but at the UT we had the MOW bar.CaraMia–Well Spam is pink and best eaten when it's fried with rice. It's really popular in Hawaii and most Asians.Tom Aarons–Yeah, I savor those little fruit cups. Nom nom nom.Super Edco–Good to see there's chocolate in that stash.Nanette–I like the thought of keeping soup around but what bothers me the slurping sounds. My office is so quite.Caroline–Ugh. I used to make that commute from SD to Orange County. Keep your chin up!Geefunk–LOL! Tape measures to get to swat people with!Photogirl–Actually, I bought that Spam single just for this photo and immediately mailed it off to someone else.