Around lunch time today, I went into the kitchen to get my lunch from the fridge. Because there is a problem with the bread tasting stale after the roll is thawed, refrigerated, carried to work, and then refrigerated again, I have been putting my sandwich in the communal toaster oven.
Today, however, that toaster oven was blocked by 3 "box-of-joe"-like containers. In addition, on the remaining counter space in the kitchen were two circular trays. The one tray was filled with donuts and danishes. The other was filled with a variety of bagels and cream cheeses. This was a problem on two levels. First, I was in there to toast my sandwich and there was no way to get to the toaster. Only after strategically balancing the three coffee containers on top of a variety of places could I eventually get to the toaster. Second, and more importantly, I was just going for lunch. On top of my snack and sandwich I did not have the appetite for a bagel or donut, even though several people in the kitchen were commenting on how fresh everything was.
I had a plan. I would eat quickly and come back around 3 for a snack. You know what is more popular than new office supplies in a 9-5 atmosphere? Treats, platters, or any other tray/catered food brought back to the floor after a meeting. The picture below shows what remained after only 3 hours. Need I remind you that I work on a small floor. This is not some large corporation with hundreds of cubicles per floor. There are maybe 30 people on the floor total. Because the food came back to the floor, it means some of these people were in that meeting and had already eaten this food.
None of that mattered. After only a little over two hours, somewhere around 12 bagels, 10 donuts, and several danishes were consumed as well as 2, at the time - 3/4 still full, coffee boxes. Never again will I underestimate the appetite for free food in a 9-5 business setting. IT was like they all knew how quickly it would go anyway and decided, regardless of hunger, they should just grab it right then.
Next time, I might just take a whole tray back to my lab. From what I learned today - you snooze, you lose.

(don't let the flowery paper fool you. there was nothing cheerful about this site.)