Tupperware: Keeping food fresh and cubicles bonded

So one day this week my fairly new cubicle mate approached me with a curious question.

"Hey Tiff. Do you like split pea soup?"

"Um ... yeah... I guess," I stammered, caught slightly off guard by the inquiry. "I eat, well, pretty much anything."

I was still kind of processing the split pea soup question when this fellow foodie announced that he had made some and was going to bring it for me to try the next day. It seemed like the only appropriate thing to do in this situation was to offer some sort of foodstuff of my own as compensation.

"I have some lamb stew I just made and am trying to get rid of. I'll bring it in and we'll have some barter action tomorrow."

And so commenced what I expect to be an underground trading of Tupperware containers in our little cubicle row by the window in the H-T office.

Every year before the first day of school (and yes this still happens) my dad reads us this story "Grover Goes to School" in which Sesame Street's furry blue monster learns the ins and outs of the kindergarten social structure by sharing or bartering lunch items and school supplies with the other kids in the classroom. The story has all sorts of lessons about not giving away stuff you want just to make friends, but also conveys the satisfaction that comes with sharing something of your own and connecting with a classmate.

I guess there is some childlike satisfaction and camaraderie in sharing your things, especially with those people you spend so many of your waking hours stuck in a cubicle next to. This new found bartering of food is not so much about what's in the Tupperware, but about sharing some sort of common ground with your fellows in the trenches.

I've always been a big proponent of dining with the people you work with. It's been a running joke for years that when there is a meal to be expensed, I will find a seat at the table. And for years, my co-workers in another office and I used to enjoy covering the conference room table with newspapers and devouring spreads of boiled garlic shrimp or ribs prepared just for us by one of the editors.

What better way to relieve workplace tensions?

The split pea soup was awesome. It was creamy and thick with chunks of ham and a nice spicy flavor.

My desk mate was also a big fan of my lamb stew. And Lord knows I have plenty of food around my house these days. I don't mind sharing it : )