When I came into work Tuesday morning, I had 93 emails, four voicemails, a couple of letters and one big cardboard box waiting for me.
As you might imagine, the box seemed to stand out.
Once I had returned the calls, opened the letters and sorted through the emails, I decided I'd see what was in the box.
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After I had sliced it open, I found a letter from a public relations representative and a package.
Probably half the emails and calls I get are from public relations professionals, who work to get their employers' messages on air, in print or online.
Most of the time, they're promoting items or businesses from out of our circulation area, so I junk their emails and delete their voicemails without considering their story pitches.
Since this person mailed me a giant box, I decided I owed them the courtesy of at least reading the entire letter.
I noticed the letter was from Quaker, the makers of oatmeal and those Chewy bars, which I used to live off of as a high school wrestler since they weigh about an ounce apiece.
My hopes for a free box of Chewy taste-testers were extinguished upon reading the first sentence, which said, "Quaker is excited to introduce Europe's most beloved yogurt brand to the U.S., and we would like to offer you an exclusive preview taste!"
I dropped the letter and pulled the package up next to my nose. I was happy to learn that somewhere within the package there must be some ice. When I opened it up, I found a soft-side cooler filled with confetti, an ice pack and three new types of yogurt from Muller Quaker Dairy LLC.
I don't consider myself to be a food critic by any stretch of the imagine, but the folks at Quaker went above and beyond. There's something to be said for trying to stand out.
If they had sent an email like their dozens of friends in the corporate world, I would've deleted it. Instead, I was readying myself for a yogurt taste test.
How could I let it go to waste with a good conscience?
I tried the parfait-style yogurt first, managing to slop a good portion of it on my shirt as I mixed the fluffy fruit mousse with the yogurt that stood below it in the container. I liked it, so I tried the Muller Corner variety the next day. It allowed me to mix chocolate chips in with yogurt, and it was tasty.
The third kind, the "Muller Greek Corner Greek" variety, is still in my fridge at home. Quaker can convince me to write a column on their new products by catching my attention, but it won't turn me into a daily yogurt eater just yet.