I am half entertained, half weirded out by this guy at work who so fully embraces the stereotypical male image. He’s a tallish, very confident-seeming middle-aged dude in the editorial department who’s always walking around all proper and serious and never seems to have a light moment. And stuff he says sounds so scripted. For instance, today he said loudly, while reeking of insincerity: “It goes really good” when someone asked him how it was going.

But what I’m referring to in specific is the guy’s cubicle. Arrayed inside of it, he’s got a collection of objects that denote cliché masculinity, like little waving flags that say to everyone in the company, “Look, I’m a guy! I’m a guy!”

The objects include:

• A medium-sized globe with an antique finish.
• A Dallas Cowboys coffee mug.
• A Dallas Cowboys football, perched erect atop its own football stand.
• A large steering wheel with a clock embedded in its center.
• A brass reproduction of an old locomotive.
• A model of a red sports car; I think it’s a Porsche.
• The remote control for one of the newsroom TVs.

I mean, am I right? I wonder, is this identity insecurity or total brainwashing? Dunno. All I’m saying is usually only young boys surround themselves with such a high number of gender-themed objects, and that’s usually because it’s forced on them. This guy’s middle-aged and he’s doing it voluntarily.

I do admit that I have a small amount of traditionally girly stuff on my desk, and I really like it. It’s for my own personal pleasure. Atop my Mac cabinet, I have a small pot of faux flowers, as well as a small pink heart that I got from a cupcake that I ate. And then I have this sole white faux flower inside a makeshift vase. That’s it. Nothing too elaborate. But the guy’s collection seems over the top. It’s just something that struck me as curious. I’ve never seen anyone his age with that sort of a display. Just sayin’. It just seems like his cubicle — and the guy himself — came straight out of a catalog.

I wonder what’s on his wish list for Father’s Day. Perhaps a tie decorated with little golf clubs and golf balls?