10:24 p.m. | 2004-01-21 Ah, The Unsuspecting. They�re So Refreshing. I was sitting in my cube-within-an-office, talking on the phone with Colleague when the lights suddenly went dim. At the time, my OfficeMateColleague (OMC), was also in attendance. Here�s that. (CI:) The lights just went out Colleague. Heh. Talk to ya later. (OMC:) Does this happen everyday? Do the lights just go out in the middle of the afternoon? Do they just shut down this office at some point in the day? (CI:) Uh, no. Did your lights go down too? (OMC:) Yeah. (Locating the light switch near our office door which we had propped open, and playing with it causing the lights to go up and down.) Wow. That�s strange. (CI:) It�s a dimmer switch so you can adjust the level of lighting. (OMC:) But why did it suddenly get dim? (CI:) Did you see anyone walking down the hall at about that time? (OMC:) No, but I wasn�t looking. Why would that matter? (CI:) Uh� have you met BFB yet? (OMC:) Maybe. I don�t really know because I�ve met many people in the last few days. (CI:) Well, you probably weren�t introduced to BFB. See, he works for AnotherWorkPlace, but he happens to be in an office just down the hall. I�m sure you�ve seen him. (OMC:) Okay. What does that have to do with our lights? (CI:) This incident has his fingerprints all over it actually. I�ve known BFB for many years and I believe that you�re merely an innocent victim of a random practical-joke payback. It could�ve been based on something I said or did several years ago. Sorry. I forgot to tell you that he�s a �joker� and, due to your proximity to me, you may end up being a victim-by-association. Sorry. Consider this incident as a warning. (OMC:) Cool. I love practical jokes. (CI:) I have to tell you that BFB treats practical jokes as if it�s a fulltime thing. Just to let you know. Once you�re in the mix, you�re never gonna be out of it. Again, sorry. I didn�t think to warn you about that. (OMC:) I�m cool with it. It�s kinda fun, actually. (CI:) Well, I hope you still feel that way ten years from now. And, really, I hadn�t thought about the consequences of OMC sharing an office with me � down the hall from BFB. Not that I would. Another strange thing happened today. At work. Imagine that. Anyway, one of BFB�s colleagues asked me if I wanted to join him and another one of BFB�s colleagues on an outing for coffee. I declined because, as I explained to him, I was in the middle of a meeting. Just for the record, that sort of declaration doesn�t seem real convincing when I�m in the hallway. By myself. And, if you knew who I said that to, it�d be even funnier. But, you don�t. So, just trust me that there�s an extra laugh lurking in that �declining� moment. In other, well, work-related news � because that�s all I do at the moment � InternOne has been replacing all our old file folders with new ones. That was at my direction even. It�s not glamorous at all, but it needs to be done. And, he doesn�t seem to mind it. But, he did have this to say. (InternOne:) Hey Cruel-Irony, how come your name is on most of the files? (CI:) (Making the most of a moment.) Because I work really, really hard. Have you noticed that Colleague�s name is mostly absent? Yeah, see, I have to carry the burden. I followed that comment with a heavy sigh. Only because my mother taught me well. your thoughts? seed flower