With all the technology around us nowadays, there is the possibility that some might feel a little more than human, but as G.H. explains, sometimes the bigger the toys the bigger the baby…
About a year ago, I was enjoying a relatively quiet afternoon in my IT department when one of my least favorite coworkers strutted through the door. He spotted me trying in vain to hide behind my monitor and with a sly swagger came around the desk.
"Watcha doing there, huh? Looking at something you're not supposed to?" He pushed his heavy black-rimmed glasses further up his greasy nose and snorted at his own joke.
I didn't give him the pleasure of a response and bowed my head to finish assembling a repaired laptop.
Not to be dissuaded, he shoved his hand in front of my face holding a small black object. "Alpha 2X pager, high grade, part of the Alpha paging system. Normally big bucks, but I know a guy," he said smugly, "Take a good look, because you'll never have one of these babies. Oh, and here's the number – I already had new business cards printed. Page me if you need some help with the hard stuff!"
I stared at his back as he walked to the other side of the room. I decided it was time that my coworker learned a lesson in humility. As he sat down, I sent a simple page of two words: BATTERY LOW!
A moment later, his new device buzzed urgently and I heard him curse as he picked it up. "What the…? I just put new ones in!"
Peeking around my monitor I saw him angrily rooting around in his bag for a second back up battery. I waited five minutes after he switched them out and called his pager again.
Buzz. Buzz. "What the…!!! AAARRRGGGHH." With an inhuman screech of anger, my coworker exploded out of his chair and, reaching back, he hurled his brand new Alpha 2X pager at the wall by the door. It erupted in a spray of broken plastic and wire that made a tinkling sound as it hit the floor.
Leaving the office, I don't know what I remember more vividly, the crunch of the shattered pager under my feet, or the hysterical voice of my coworker as he screamed at his "guy" on the phone.
I guess this goes to show that even though something like a pager keeps you in touch with others, it doesn't necessarily keep you in touch with reality.
Do you have your own blooper? Send it in and claim your fame.
