Penny Arcade

So, another one of my claims to fame, in addition to sort-of-knowing Yoram Bauman, is that I work in the same building as Penny Arcade. Spoiler: this post is probably not going to be super interesting to you unless you are a Penny Arcade/PAX fan, but then again it also contains some fun inter-office drama.

Background information: Normally the Penny Arcade guys (and I do mean guys, I have yet to see a girl there) are elusive creatures. Sometimes I will see one in the hallway. I smile at them (at least I think I'm smiling..? Maybe I'm grimacing scarily?) and they scurry on their way. When one of them enters their office door, I will instinctively turn my head as I pass the door, just to follow the trajectory of the moving object I was watching. I never see anyone. It's like they get inside and either vanish into thin air, or duck into the nearest doorway as quickly as possible.

I hear them though. The sounds of ping pong waft through the air day and night. One night I was sitting in the lobby at about 9:30pm, waiting for dear husband to pick me up, and a gaggle of P.A. guys entered, ping pong equipment in hand. I may have mis-interpreted that scene, but what I believe I saw was a group of people returning to work late at night to play ping-pong.

Anyway, as far as I'm concerned the PA guys are good building-mates. They mind their own business and we mind our own business.

But two days ago, something changed. PA had left a bag of trash outside their office door. If they're anything like us, they probably have cleaners coming at least twice a week. But perhaps that trash was grossing them out, or perhaps they were meaning to take it out and then just forgot. I saw it on Monday morning and by Monday afternoon I was wondering if I should say something to them, because it's a little rude to leave trash out in a shared space like that. Here's how my thought process went.

First, I thought about what I know about Penny Arcade, which is essentially nothing, but I had the general sense that they are sort of nerdy-ish-gamer-comic-strip people.

So I thought they might appreciate a funny, passive-agressive-note more than a face-to-face chat.

I started mentally composing a note, trying to come up with a sincere (or as sincere as possible considering I have never been to PAX nor have I read their comic) compliment sandwich.

But then I thought you know, why rock the boat here? I'm sure they will take their trash out tonight.

That could have been the end of that (non)story. But the students started arriving for class and a couple people complained about the smell. So, like the dedicated employee that I am, I tried to deflect the responsibility onto our Chinese instructor. Here's the conversation I had with him.

"Hey I don't want to stereotype or anything, but you play ping-pong, right?"
"Yep."
"Great! How would you feel about challenging the Penny Arcade guys to a game of ping-pong, and then if you win they have to take their trash out?"
"Well, I'm not really that good."
"Oh come on, you're good. Pleeease?"
"Why don't you just go ask them to take their trash out?"

So, off I went. A guy who I have never seen before answered the door. I was thinking about the compliment sandwich but as soon as I saw this guy I decided it would be silly and threw that idea out the window. This is roughly how the conversation went.

"Hi... soo... is that your trash over there?"
Uncomfortable pause.
"Yep."
Uncomfortable pause.
"Ok. Could you guys maybe... take it out?"
Uncomfortable pause.
"Yep."
"Thanks." As he was shutting the door I said "I love PAX it's really cool".

So there you have it... a smoothly-executed open-faced compliment sandwich. I assume it worked since the trash was gone this morning.