#workplace pranks

[idontmatter2you]

Ngl if this happened to me, you'd have cleanup on slab 4

[livinginloganland]

Today at work, I got 25 people to sign a petition to convince my male co-worker he should get a perm.

I think I’m going places in life.

[counterfeit-toast]

A fun prank

When I first signed on at the newspaper in the early days of modern DSLRs (OG Nikon D1, with Canon film body/Kodak digital back hybrids in the trash/emergency pile), there was a bit of good-natured hazing which doubled as a repetitive prank on one person. The newbies only fell for it once or twice.

The one person had been there forever (a photo by her was on the front page the day I was born), and was, as you’d expect, not all that tech-savvy. Also, at the time I came in, she was working half the week for editorial and half the week for our mortal enemy, the advertising department. And paid more than any of us because she’d been there since the days when newspapers were prestigious.

The prank:

Whenever a newbie or the traitor left their camera on the desk and went to lunch or smoke break or whatever, another photographer would pick it up, change the menu language to Japanese or Russian or whatever other option that ain’t even use the Latin alphabet, and put it back exactly as it was.

To get it fixed, they’d have to take it to the guy who was vastly more experienced but lower-paid than the recurring victim, who could navigate the menus blindfolded (or so he said; p sure he’d just memorized the sequence of button presses to change it back to English, as he was the originator of the prank.)

The interns circuitously learned the important lesson of “keep the camera on your person at all times” -- the actual lesson being who knows what news may unfold in front of you while you’re at lunch, you’d better be ready -- and the old-timer just didn’t fuckin’ learn, and it was hilarious.

So anybody who owns a DSLR should learn how to change the language back to your native one if you’re ever to let it out of your sight.

[dreamsofwhatlifemighthavebeen]

Jackass Coworkers...

So we had some new hires start this week, all of them part-time stable hands. And other stable hands and instructors alike decided they'd have a little fun fucking with their heads at my expense. I like loud and heavy music.. mind you, I have all sorts of Pop and acoustic stuff in my collection, but there's no feeling like driving down the road and rocking out to a bit of Judas Priest or Iron Maiden. Let's face it. Seeing as country music is the norm for the remaining employees, that kinda leaves me as the odd one out. Whatever. Listen to what you want, and I'll listen to what I want.

So my coworkers told them that I worship the devil, which they don't really believe that, but they wanted to be asses. Then they told the new hires how I tipped the port-a-potty over with one of the instructors in it, plus a couple of the instructors told them I'd killed a bunch of people when I was in Afghanistan... none of it was true, of course, save for the part about tipping the port-a-potty over - although I did it with a skid loader and not by running and jumping into it like they told the new hires I did.

So I'm working with these new stable hands, and we're doing some digging on a remote part of the property, and none of them will go anywhere near me while I'm operating the backhoe. Which is a safe practice while the bucket is in motion, but I needed them to measure the depth to see if I needed to dig any further, and they flat out refused to. So I asked them, "What the fuck is with you?", and the one starts screaming at me, "We already heard how you killed the one girl with the backhoe bucket and made it look like an accident!"

Oh, for fuck's sake! I had to tell the rest of my coworkers to cut that shit out. I don't even want to know what else they told these new hires. They did the same thing to me when I started working here. What a bunch of jackasses. 

I tried explaining to these new hires that it was all bullshit, but they weren't hearing it from me. Didn't help my case any when I admitted the story about the port-a-potty tipping was true, or when I arrived at work with Twisted Tower Dire blasting through the speakers. 

[dreamsofwhatlifemighthavebeen]

Oopsy Daisy..

At the stables where I work (full time effective Monday, but pretty much since my suspension began at my regular job), we have two front end loaders.... one's an old Caterpillar 950, and one's a newer Caterpillar IT (Integrated Toolcarrier) 38G. With the Integrated Toolcarrier, there's a quick detach feature, so you can drop the bucket and put on forks, or whatever other attachment you need (although hydraulically powered attachments still require you to get out of the cab and connect the hydraulic lines). One of the Western instructors was trash talking... English in general... in a somewhat friendly way, but still. Our tack room isn't actually a part of either of the barns... it's a standalone building, located between the barns, and with only one entrance. So, after I saw her go in there, I ran the IT38 up to the tack shed, dropped the bucket in front of the door so that she couldn't get out, and refused to pick it back up until she apologized to us English riders. And by apologize, I mean totally kiss our asses (proverbially, of course). 

I think I inadvertently fanned the flames of a rivalry, though. 

[exoography]

Ramblings

today the other co ops pranked me so hard at work! they get in like 30 min to an hour earlier than I do. they completely messed up my chair and keyboard desk settings/height, taped my mouse and keyboard to the desk, taped my body lotion to the shelf, taped my chair wheels, and put a piece of paper (the ones you get when you hole punch) into where my mouse's laser is so it wouldn't work.

people looked at me funny as they walked by cos I had to flip my chair on it's side to peel off the tape :P

one of the secretaries suggested I get them back by switching the n and m keys on their keyboards >:-) i leave later than them, so I shall give it a try Monday