to think having to 'pay back' 2 paracetamol is very weird?

[bamboostalks]

Had shocking period pains at work last week so asked if anyone had any tablets. Colleague (who has always seemed normal) gave me 2 parcetamol (generic now, nothing fancy). Thought no more of it. Today she says, " Sorry Bamboo but wonder whether you have those 2 paracetamol you owe me?" I was goggling at her trying to work out what she meant and she promptly reminded me of the situation. How bizarre is that? I was so miffed that I nipped out and bought her a packet and left them on her desk.

I'd have to say I find this a bit odd, too. Just 2 painkillers? Maybe if you'd taken a whole box off her, and did so as a regular matter of course, she'd be justified in expecting you to replace them, but I would never expect someone to 'repay' me 2 paracetamol. I mean, generic ones cost about 16p a packet at Superdrug, don't they?

I broke M's ruler about 2 weeks ago.. I dropped it & it broke in half, I was passing it to her at the time.

Anyway, offered to replace it, she slapped my hand away from my purse saying it cost her 50p in the saver shop downtown & she had another one 'round here somewhere'.

Today we had a rep from a different officer with us..she kept passing comments about his ruler, how it looked like a 'good job' and hoe 'sturdy' it looked...... she said she must buy herself one.

He ended up telling her to keep his & that he would buy a new one!

I was mortified.. I even bought her a coffee at 90p the same day, just to say sorry!!

Do you think maybe if the tablets she had lent you were her last two, she may have had a headache & thought seeing as you were the last person to 'borrow' tabs she could ask you to return them??

Well no because she had a post it on her pc reminding her to ask me!

'but I do get fed up with the assumption that because people know I do always have painkillers with me, I am always going to hand them out like sweets. it is always the same few people who keep asking and yes over time, it does get a bit much. '

Um, sayit, did it ever occur to you to say, 'No, I don't have any'?

God I'm cringing at this thread. I had a migraine at work a few weeks ago and someone gave me some branded painkillers so much pricier than generic. It didn't even occur to me to pay them back.

Perhaps I'm the talk of the office now

I just can't understand this sort of mindset. If someone is annoyed that workmates are taking their pharmocopeia for granted, then can't they just say 'Sorry, I've run out' a few times to break the habit?

When I worked as a sort of PA for a small company, I was the only woman there, and kept a stock of paracetomol in my drawer. Occasionally one of the guys in the machine shop would come in with a hangover splitting headache and ask me, very politely, if I had anything. I liked helping out, if I could. They would do the same for me (and often brought me back doughnuts from the shop when I was pregnant! ).

Given the post-it, I think the OP's woman is a bit unhinged rather than simply mean, though.

I had a neighbour who was a sort of friend . She used to nick borrow calpol. I dont mean emergency spoonfuls, I mean the whole bottle. When she first asked me of course I gladly gave her the bottle, who wouldnt. But she would never, ever replace it and I was on my own at the time so i would find myself with a feverish child and no way of getting out to get some more.

I still couldnt bring myself to ask her to replace what she had 'borrowed'. She must have saved a fricken fortune. She had about 4 bottles off me before i got wise. But I used to feel guilty when I lied and said I didnt have any! Mind you, her OH could have easily got in one of their cars and driven to the chemist and bought some more.

Definitely weird to expect paracetamol paid back. Did she also expect a little quarter of a tablet carefully snapped off as interest on the loan?

Money should always be paid, even small sums amongst colleagues, and other loans shouldnt always be one way - but thats it in my book.

Agreed, it's all a question of degree. I once worked with someone who regularly asked colleagues for loans of £10. She managed somehow to make people feel petty and small if they didn't immediately hand it over, and then they felt manipulated having done so. She only ever asked me once, I gave her the money (feeling a bit uncomfortable about it) and then waited....and waited...and waited for her to repay it. In the end I think I made some light-hearted reference to it and she looked astonished and said 'but I paid you back!' Actually, she hadn't. Very poor manners, in my view. OK, £10 may not be a fortune but it's enough to merit repayment. Not in the same league as a modest 2 paracetamol

I was at school with someone like that, heuchera. She got me once for a small loan, and when she promptly "forgot" about it, I reminded her, because I felt disgusted by her blatant dishonesty. She reacted as though I was being unreasonable and petty to actually request the money back.

I've had that happen to me, too, Nigh and heuchera.

And they try to make you feel bad that is part of their strategy of thieving.

So I felt like, 'Why should I feel bad for calling out a thief,' and stood my ground and got my money back.

In my case I'd loaned a flatmate $50 (USD) which was a lot of money to me at the time as a student in the early 90s.