March 9, 2008
TEMPE, AZ -- Shannon Brown, 27, checked her workplace e-mail address on Saturday night for no particular reason.
Despite the fact that there was no imminent business to attend to, Brown, a secretary at an orthodontist's office, decided to look in her inbox "just in case."
The inbox was empty, save a copy of the previous week's business transactions from the accounting department, which did not pertain to her duties and was sent to all employees because of the ease of selecting "all addresses" in the sender's address book.
Brown checked her e-mail after killing her night emptying a cat litterbox and watching Girl, Interrupted for the seventh time on the Starz! channel while scarfing half a Chipotle burrito. She pondered having existential thoughts, but was distracted when she discovered a salsa stain on her sweatpants.
Resigned to not doing much again, she started thinking about what to wear to work that coming Monday.