Reminiscing on the purr-fect office prank.
My previous office colleagues and I often pulled pranks on one another in the workplace. We were respectful of one another belongings, didn't do something that impeded a colleague's ability to perform their job, and kept it transparent to customers.
Because of these rules we followed, our Directors and Assistant Directors were alright with us pulling pranks periodically because it boosted employee morale and built a strong workplace relationship.
We worked well together, until the cat-tastrophic prank everyone pulled against me. Although I admit it was a claw-ver prank I'll never fur-get. Continue reading to learn more about this tail.
Cats Everywhere!
This prank happened years ago. Unfortunately, I can't remember every detail. I vaguely remember several colleagues teasing me about being an anti-cat person because I bragged about Shadow often.
I also remember another colleague teased me about becoming an infamous cat lady because I was too shy and introverted to hang out with others after work or meet new people. The teasing was in good fun, and we'd laugh about how I'd become the infamous dog lady instead.
I don't recall if I returned from a conference, training, or vacation, but I believe I was away for days because that's usually when pranks of this scale happened to me or another colleague. The first thing I noticed were the cat pictures taped to my office window.
Apparently, most of my colleagues chipped in by donating money or items to this prank. Few items, such as the blanket and pillow, returned to its rightful owner.
Most items were purchased from a thrift store or dollar store. Other items were purchased from a dollar, clearance, or discount section of major retail stores in the area. I don't know if any of the items came from a colleague's personal collection though.
No matter the original source, there were litter-ally a lot of items! Below is a list of the cat-themed items I remembered (I'm probably fur-getting some items):
calendars
posters
printed memes
framed paintings
stickers (packaged)
stuffed animals
figurines
keychains
magnets
bags
activity books
empty perfume bottles
cup holders
drink containers (sippy cup, coffee mug, tumbler)
baskets
pillow
blanket
trashcan
painted rock
plastic necklace
jump rope
wooden sign
tape dispenser
breakable plate
My Thoughts
Fur years, cats would re-spawn in my office. Before a newly hired employee started their first day on the job, I'd relocate the cats to their office. Yet the cats always made their way back into mine. Few faculty members, our customers, assumed I loved cats and would give me a cat-themed gift, adding to my collection.
I recall one faculty member learned about the prank and always had a different cat background on his laptop when we'd meet to work on his online course. He'd say "oh, how did that get there?" before changing the background to something else.
This ongoing prank did eventually end, but I don't recall when or how. Purr-haps it didn't end, and I was simply too overwhelmed with so many cats to notice overtime. It was a paw-some prank that reminded me how much I loved our office culture at the time and how fur-tunate I was that everyone contributed something to this prank.
What's Next?
If this prank story interested you, let me know. There are more I can share.
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Thanks, and have a great day!
Simply Jelly Jam
P.S. I enjoyed including cat puns in this blog post!
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