What's in a mug .....

When I got to work this morning the cleaner hadn't quite got around to washing the office mugs (actually some people use cups). So then it hit me ... would it be ok to use another mug that was already clean, for some reason a strange guilt came over me, similar to that of eating someone's last bar of chocolate. Over the years I have realised that people become quite possessive about their own mugs.

This isn't restricted to people who buy their own mug, then there is an ownership issue, but even with the communal office cups, there is that group that have their own particular cup. I finally decided that I needed coffee way before the cleaner would return with my mug (if she hadn't taken it away I would have cleaned it myself). So with some trepidation I selected office cup, as I wasn't sure who would not be in the office today, otherwise I might have selected theirs.

There is something strangely satisfying about drinking out of a familiar cup, even at home where I have a few cups I always, but always drink out of the same cup. If I have to use another one then the feeling I bizarre, I never quite enjoy the drink as much. When I go home to the UK, back to stay with family, I find myself quickly using the same cup over and over, it becomes almost immediately comfortable and feels part of me.

I guess there is some sort of physical bond generated during the process of waking up in the morning than my own specific cup is part of. The colour of the tea in the cup (tea changes colour depending on the colour of the inside, I prefer a white interior), the feel of the handle and weight, and also the serving size. I change of cup often means you don't get enough or you get much ... we get used to just the right amount.

I have heard cries around many offices "Where is my bloody cup?" as somebody realizes than there cup has gone and they maybe forced to use another unfamiliar one. I don't think it is a hygiene issue, the thought of another persons lips around the rim, and more often that not they are washed in a dishwasher or piping hot water. It is something more than that ... I am not sure what it is ... there may well be a PhD waiting for somebody who has the courage to explore the issue ... I guess it won't be me ... I am not prepared to experiment with other peoples mugs.

(oh and that is my home mug pictured above, I now have a smaller version for the office)