More Office Stuff

Many in the company I work for believe in "management by seating chart." Hence a lot of people get moved desk to desk based on what project they are working on. A friend of mine was moved from the 3rd floor to the 21st floor about 9 months ago. Last month he was moved back to the 3rd floor. He told a story yesterday I hadn't heard before.

When they moved him back to the 3rd floor they assigned him to a desk that was recently vacated by a retiring employee. When my friend showed up with his box of stuff there was some personal items and files still at the desk. One of the drawers is locked and he doesn't even have a key. (We don't want to know what's in that drawer. The retiree took a year leave to get his "mind right." We suspect severed heads. ;))

So my friend cleared off the rest of the desk and started moving his stuff on. One of the older employees that has sat in that area for many years came over and asked him if a specific coffee mug was on the desk. The mug wasn't special, just a couple of different colors.

My friend: "It was here."
Older employee: [worried] "Did it get thrown out?"
My Friend: "No, it's over on a side counter."
Older employee: [relieved] "Good. I've always liked that mug. I think I'll keep it."

The desk had been empty for a couple of months. Why worry about it now? What's so special about a white and black coffee mug?