Alex

Alex is a man's man. He loves tools and basketball and especially world cup soccer. He can keep his cool with 200 angry lawyers breathing down his neck and he's a cracker jack shot with a rifle. He'll even carry heavy girlie looking bags from time to time in public.

So this morning, while I was running around getting his gifts for his boss and coworker together, I had NO CHOICE but to bag his employer's gift in an Anthropologie bag. He wasn't super happy about it, even less so when I tied a frilly bow to the handles to keep them together, but he accepted it. There was no other option since I went paperless this year for Christmas in an attempt to reduce waster ( yes. I'm becoming something of a treehugger, but there are beautiful trees here and they make me want to save them). I went into the kitchen to quickly eat a bite, and when I came back, he had stuffed the entire anthropology bag into another plastic shopping bag. So we have this conversation:

Me: Well, I guess that's one way to keep a bag nice until you get to the office.
A: Yeah, well.... I dont want the lawyers to see one of the IT people wandering around with an Anthropologie bag. What if I have to chat with the senior partner this morning?
Me: I guess I can see how that would be strange and uncomfortable.

Alex doesn't have to chat with the senior partner everyday. Every once in a long mile, they'll see each other and chat a bit. It makes him nervous. But at the same time, Alex dreads appearing weird. A true, sensitive guy. He'll pass off the bag with some small joke about women and shopping and the desire for attractive, feminine shopping bags, everyone will laugh and then they'll tear into a computer.