Most girls just roll their eyes when the men get all googly-eyed at Autobarn or Bunnings. “Boys and their toys,” we say, poking fun at them.

Well, it’s time for me to reveal a secret. Men — many girls get excited about Officeworks. I’m one of them. Something about stationery and folders and storage solutions…it’s like a magnet. Everything’s so neat! So coordinated! So functional!

I thought it was just me, you know, Joan the Freak. But talking to other girls, it seems like a common affliction. My sample size of about twenty females reveals the vast majority of them can blissfully wander around Officeworks for an hour or two. Even those for whom Officeworks is not a bee in their bonnet admit to an unhealthy preoccupation with Morning Glory stationery or similar.

However, starting work has ruined it all for me. At work, I have free and unlimited access to all the stationery I need. I don’t even bother stealing stationery any more. Work has well and truly killed the excitement.