Something very strange happened on Friday morning as I was getting ready for work. I heard my upstairs neighbor creeping down her stairs to the front door carrying a recycling bin. She then proceeded to replace the recycling bin on the curb (that had recently been emptied by the trash people) with the one in her hand, and creep back up to the second floor. Seriously. I watched the entire thing from my dining room. This is strange for several reasons, and not just the ones you may be thinking of:

1. My upstairs neighbors don't recycle. They have never recycled. They've been here almost a year and not once have they put any plastic or glass bottles on the curb, no food containers, no paper goods. Nothing.
2. The bin marked "apartment 2" is sitting outside with all of the trashcans. They are in apartment 2, therefor I just assumed (wrongly) that if the mood ever struck them, their bin was sitting there waiting for them.
   
3. Apparently we have had three recycling bins all this time and I didn't know it: one I've been using that stays in my apartment (unless it's out being emptied like it was on Friday), one that sits outside, and apparently the one they've been storing upstairs for god-knows-what purpose. Three bins for three people! But only one of us actually recycles.
   
4. It begs the question, what are they using the bin for? And why did they feel the need to switch? Is there something wrong with the one they left out there for me? Is the plastic laced with mouse poop? Were they using it for some sort of science experiment? Is it safe to bring into my home?