Object: The Stapler: Amy Doran

I was given this stapler when I started my first day of work at Microsoft.

When I started I took over the workspace of another person who had left. This person had not only left, but had left behind a vast array of things in the file cabinets, bookshelves and drawers of this workspace, which my boss informed me was "mine now." It included a cup filled with change for the vending machine. It took me a good three months before I felt okay about using that change for snacks.

This stapler isn't inherently meaningful, but what I find meaningful about it is that it exists, and it's in my office every day, and I have absolutely no idea how long it's been in use at Microsoft. When we moved buildings I took it with me. It has the old logo on the top, which means it's at the very least from the era of the previous CEO. And judging from the length of time the person I replaced worked there, it might even be from the CEO before that.

I can't remember using this stapler a single time. I could probably count the moments when I've had to print something out on one hand. I tried very hard to remember using this stapler, but I came up blank. I think it's entirely possible that this stapler and all the staples inside it have been waiting patiently for use for years.

Sometimes when I'm on a conference call in my office I'll pick it up idly while I'm trying to listen. I'll expand and contract the thing but not cause any staples to come out. I remember being scolded in elementary school for wasting staples, and I think I've carried that with me into adulthood. Staples are, in my mind, a precious commodity.

I'm not sure why I picked this stapler for my object (the movie Office Space might have something to do with it) but I suppose I do have a degree of feeling for it. I feel sort of sorry that it never really gets to do its job, and I feel interested to know how many eras of company history its been sitting on someone's desk through.

It's protocol that you have a stapler, a pair of scissors, and a tape dispenser supplied to your office. And in some strange way, probably in another carried-over sense from elementary school, having all those things of my own makes me feel taken care of and a little bit more ready for anything.