So much of what I experience every day is an opportunity to observe character in myself and other people.

Today is "Donut Day" at the toy job. Every Wednesday, boxes of donuts for the sugar-deprived are available in the break rooms. They're meant as a perk for full-time employees; kind of a soft marketing, "Hey, look how much we love you!" (unless you're diabetic, then the message might be, "Hey, we want you to die!").

Anyway, it's interesting to watch how people treat the "perk".

There are people who "can't possibly eat a whole donut", so they cut or break one in half (please don't do that; if you're going to touch food offered in a public way, take the whole thing).

Today, I noticed there were donuts that had a third of their circumference removed, which seems odd. Are people sampling large bites and leaving the rest (ew)? Are they building some sort of hybrid, calico donut for their morning snack? Do they suffer from multiple personality disorder?

And then there are some contingent staff (contractors, consultants, etc.), for whom the donuts aren't actually meant (they're an "employee perk"), who take a stack of 3 or 4 donuts back to their cubicle. Is this indicative of extreme selfishness? Social ineptness? Cultural differences? Borderline poverty and the need to eat whatever is available? An addiction to Dunkin Donuts (which, I'm sorry, is just a phenomenal disappointment in Austin)?

Me? I generally don't eat the donuts -- they mess with my resume weight.

Except for today. Today I was weak.

But I only took one (completely whole) donut.