Who is in the Cube Next to You?

You think you know your co-workers, but do you really? Of course not. Most of us aren't in jobs that require psych evaluations (although I could make a case that employee relations people really should go through such a thing--dealing with problems all day long can be quite strenuous). Is someone like this sitting next to you?

The astronaut:

[Lisa Nowak]is charged with the attempted murder of a woman she believed to be her rival for the affections of a fellow astronaut. Police officials say she drove 900 miles to Florida from Texas, wearing a diaper so she would not have to stop for rest breaks. In Orlando, they say, she confronted her rival in a parking lot, attacking her with pepper spray.

Captain Nowak was in disguise at the time, wearing a wig, the police said. She had with her a compressed air pistol, a steel mallet, a knife, pepper spray, four feet of rubber tubing, latex gloves and garbage bags.

Those who know her say they are mystified. “I was in shock,” said Dennis Alloy, 43, of Tysons Corner, Va., a friend and high school classmate. “When I knew her, I couldn’t imagine an evil bone in her body.”

Or, the Cubicle annointer:

Evelyne Micky Shatkin worked at University of Texas at Arlington, where she had had a series of disputes with a co-worker, which after mediation, resulted an ultimatum from Human Resources: further problems could get you fired. Not satisfied, Shatkin held an after-work "prayer session", where, with another employee, Linda Shifflett, "anointed" the absent co-worker's cubicle with olive oil, purportedly because of fears that the co-worker was demonically oppressed, chanting "You vicious evil dogs. Get the hell out of here in the name of Jesus. ... I command you to leave." A third male co-worker, who had agreed to participate in the prayer, became uncomfortable with the use of monounsaturated fats, and reported the matter. The other two, acknowledging that the third was not an active participant, were fired, and are now suing, claiming religious discrimination (as well as age and sex discrimination because the third worker was not fired). (Eva-Marie Ayala"Women said peer was 'demonically oppressed'", Fort Worth Star-Telegam, Dec. 23; AP, Dec. 23). Shame on the Liberty Legal Institute for bringing the suit.

Or the Head of the Cartoon Network (although we admit, he probably wasn't in a cube):

The head of the Cartoon Network resigned Friday following a marketing stunt that caused a security scare in Boston.

The announcement about Jim Samples resigning was made in an internal memo sent to Cartoon Network staffers.

In a statement to employees, Samples said he regrets the stir that the stunt caused.

"It's my hope that my decision allows us to put this chapter behind us and get back to our mission of delivering unrivaled original animated entertainment for consumers of all ages," Samples said.

Or the illegal immigrants who asked immigration officers for a job:

A group of day laborers mistook the ICE agents as employers seeking help. The day laborers approached the agents in a parking lot, which the agents were using to regroup after an unrelated investigation. The agents say that after some questioning of the day laborers, they arrested 24 individuals on immigration charges.

"Fugitive aliens and other immigration status violators flaunt our laws and threaten the integrity of our immigration system," says John Alderman, ICE acting field office director in Baltimore. "Although ICE conducts targeted enforcement actions, we will not ignore immigration violations we encounter during the course of doing business."

Of those arrested, 10 were from Honduras, eight were from Mexico, five were from El Salvador, and one was from Peru. ICE says six had criminal records in the United States, eight had been previously removed and two had final orders of removal from an immigration judge. One individual from El Salvador had been caught attempting to cross the border illegally six previous times, according to ICE.