What should I do???? (Trader Vic's Trolley)

For work, I have been going to this Large University (name kept a secret) every other week to do research. The first time I was there, in one of the break rooms, there was a Traver Vic's Trolley Car mug sitting on top of the microwave. Everytime that I go I move it a litte and remember how it was positioned to see if anyone uses it (for what I don't know) or moves it. Every time it is in the exact same location that I left it.

I am going back next week and have a moral delema and want the TC input. Should I "rescue" it before it gets broken or even worse thrown away??? Please let me know what you guys think...

Take the mug, leave a ransom note.....

take the mug, leave a leilani in it's place

Bad Boy, Bad Boy, what you going to do when they come for you :{

Take the darn thing already!

Take it, but promise the Tiki Gods that you'll return it if someone asks for it back.

You can't just take it.

Ask the reference librarian for help. And have some kind of replacement mug in hand to leave in the break room after the librarian replies "That doesn't belong to anybody. Just take it."

I would leave an "accoutrements" mug in it's place, keep your Leilani, they'll be 35.00 in a couple of months :)

I would stick a note on it with your contact information, asking for anyone who knows the identity of the mug owner to contact you. With the frequent turnover in University settings, it's entirely possible that the owner is long gone, and it's fair game for you to snag, but it's best to try to do it the right way by tracking down the owner.

Go to your point of contact, or some 'authority figure' that you feel comfortable with. Say to them "I really enjoy this mug - I kind of collect them. What would I have to do to leave this building with it in hand?"

They may say 'That old thing, go ahead and take it.' Or they may say, 'That is Charlie's mug - let's go find him and ask him if he still wants it.' Or the person who owns it might be attending/teaching at some other university for a semester, in which case you would have to leave it there.

I sometimes bring cool things into the work environment, to brighten up the environment there, and I would be annoyed to discover that someone had lifted one of those items without asking me first.

Vern

heres a more AGGRESSIVE version of the prior reply...TAKE the damn thing; leave a note saying you have taken it as you collect them & would like to MEET the person who owns it because they are a KINDRED SPIRIT (aka mug collector) and will return it ONLY if they contact you....this way you take POSESSION IF no one owns it BUT you have provided the FRIENDLY OUT if SOMEONE DOES own it--AND you MAY make a friend but at the very LEAST you get the MUG without guilty feelings--you sort of DIDTHE RIGHT THING

I think that if you leave a note on it, someone else will take it, if they know its valuable. The note will draw unwanted attention. If you leave a note in its place after you take it, anyone could call you just to call that number cause its a number. The last time that I got a reply from Humuhumu she said that the only reason mugs are around for collectors is because people take them.

I wouldn't steal a mug from a bar, but I say take this mug. Who leaves something like that laying around. I say rescue the mug from a person like that. If its still there.

First it's stealing Mugs. Then your on to stealing tiki's --- when is it going to stop !!!

Reality Check time....

Anyone to leave a Trader Vic Trolly is:

1. Naive (Make friends and start trading with them fast!)Refer to previous post and execute first!

2. Owner Is gone...Refer to previous post and execute!

3. Offer the custodian of said premises, a reasonable amount and provide a replacement vessel to boot! Guilt solved!

All the above is offered as a parody and is not to be affiliated with the moral standings or positions of Tiki Central or any association therein.

Many mahaloz

McTiki

[ Edited by: McTiki 2006-09-28 16:12 ]

[ Edited by: McTiki 2006-09-28 16:13 ]

I say you should leave it exactly where it is. Now, what was the name of that university? :wink:

I have one of these- is it rectangular, and modeled after a cable car? Rectangular opening? If so, I'm pretty sure it's a napkin holder and not a mug. They might prefer something more practical to drink out of.

I'd "borrow" it.

I'd leave it there. I'm surprised so many people say to take it. Kinda sad.

-Randy

Shame on the "previous" owner on that mug to litter like that.

Can someone post a pic?

Here it is in Ooga-Mooga:

http://www.ooga-mooga.com/cgi-bin/all/mug.cgi?mode=view&mug_id=973

man, you people make my decision even more difficult. I know a few people that have been there for a while, so I think my plan is to ask one of the people (that I know pretty well) if they know anything about it. Depending on how he responds (hopefully "that old thinkg, take it..."), will depend if I save it or not. The kind people of TC have made me realize that I should at least ask before I try to rescue it.

Thanks for everyone's input. I'm not going until the end of next week, so I'll keep everyone posted.

The person who left it there, or the person who left it there?

I have somebody you can talk to about this... His name is Father Alphonso please don't mind the Daily Racing Form and the Lotto tickets he's basically a good guy.
Tell him I sent you, and ask him who likes in the 5th at Hollywood Park.

Could be they left it there for someone else to have.
Around our apt. building we all share our 'garbage' - meaning if it's still a useful item in any way, we leave it outside the dumpster (bottles stay out for the street-people as well), and we've found some incredible stuff out there that other tenants no longer needed or just got tired of.
Everyone has diff. moral standards - me, I'd get the guilts if I didn't ask around first. I'd at least leave a trade & go back to see if a note saying "Who the !@#$ took my mug!?" was there...

So how did this turn out? Are you the owner of that mug yet? :wink:

If it ain't obvious that it's been left behind I think it's just plain stealin' to take it... But sometimes you can tell when something's up for grabs.

I work in an office building where there is a break room on every floor. It's obvious when a coffee mug has been abandoned. Like when there is a stack of old mugs under the sink that no one has used for years or in the back of one of the cabinets; left behind and never picked up again... Sometimes people here clean out their offices or just move on and actually leave a couple of coffee mugs in the middle of the table or along the sink in case somebody wants them.

take the mug, then publicly offer a reward to anyone who can help find the thief

I was soo busy when I was there, I didn't have a chance to ask around about it (but it was still there). Next time.....

On 2006-10-11 12:50, TikiTrevor wrote:
I was soo busy when I was there, I didn't have a chance to ask around about it (but it was still there). Next time.....

Trolley Tease

Trevor, Did you ever get the trolley?

In a nut shell, No. The last time I went there (the time I mention in this thread), I scoped it out and moved it to a certain position and location so that next time I could tell if it was moved. The next month, the project I was working on that made me go there, got canned by the CEA. Sooooo I never had a chance to go back. Looking back on it, I am kinda glad I didn't take it just from a karma standpoint. I hope that because I didn't take it, I'll find something good in the wild, like a Elvis Tiki Bob (or any other Bob), Frankoma mug, severed head....

Only time will tell.

it will be good for you Karma.