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April 15, 2005
Practical Joke Friday
So...remember yesterday when I wrote about Jeff and I playing a practical joke on Steph? Well we went through with it last night. Jeff took her plant to Ben's cube down the hall and we left it there. We then made interoffice ransom notes. This morning I dropped off the first note when she wasn't at her desk. A little bit later I put the 2nd one down...but I started getting nervous. She was really quiet this morning, and wouldn't turn around and talk to me randomly. I started e-mailing Jeff telling him I wanted to put the plant back because I thought that Steph was mad:
To: Haas, Jeff
Subject: I think...
I think she's mad at us...I feel really guilty now :-((((
To: Brownstein, Beth
Subject: RE: I think...
Don't fall for it...suck it up! Don't crack on me now!!! She's bluffing!!!
To: Haas, Jeff
Subject: RE: I think...
....I don't know dude....the feeling of guilt is eating me up on the inside...
To: Brownstein, Beth
Subject: RE: I think...
I'm serious...you're so close to pulling off a prank...don't ruin it...you'll regret it and never forgive yourself!!!! This is a learning experience...eye of the tiger!!!
To: Haas, Jeff
Subject: RE: I think...
OKKK...if you say so...but then you have to promise to still be my friend when Stephanie erases me from her list of friends...
To: Brownstein, Beth
Subject: RE: I think...
I'm there for you, now get back into character! Remember, you're down on your luck and you really need the ransom from this plant-napping in order to pay for an operation that could save your dying puppy's life!!!! You've got no time for sympathy here!!!
To: Haas, Jeff
Subject: RE: I think...
Ok...Ok..I"m pumped...I have to save little golden retriever Sultie (that's my "imaginary puppy's" name)
To: Brownstein, Beth
Subject: RE: I think...
There ya go...that's the Beth I know!!!!
So anyway, I made it through lunch. I spent the entire lunch telling everyone how I knew Steph was mad at me, and I wanted to put the plant back. Jeff finally relented and told me to go ahead and put it back if I need to. When we returned lunch, Ben e-mailed us asking if we had already came and got Steph's plant. We ran over there and it was GONEEE!!! Ben said that facilities must have come during lunch and taken it away...
Well Jeff and I started freaking out. I felt so bad and so guilty. Ben said that we should go check on the 1st floor by HR, so I dragged Jeff down the hall trying to find the plant! He was dragging his feet and at one point, he stopped in the hallway and goes: "This is too much pressure..I have to pee" so we had to take a bathroom break. Anyway, we finally made it to facilities. We spoke to the woman there...she asked me to describe the plant...I was like: "Well it is about this high, and green...leaves this big, and it's in a black pot." Anyway, she took my number and promised to try to track it down.
We went upstairs, berating ourselves, feeling guilty. We decided that we needed to tell Steph. I was so worried that she'd hate me, and no longer be my friend. Then she came back from lunch, and I couldn't look at her...and Jeff was e-mailing me asking me how I was going to do this. (Yes, he was blaming it all on me)...so we finally agreed to take her outside and I'd do the talking, take all the responsibility and he just needed to apologize. So we all went outside. I told Steph what happened, and apologized, and started crying a little bit. But she was so nice. She said that it was Ok, it's just a plant, that she'd just tell her friend that gave it to her that she lost the plant. I felt so guilty, and offered to buy her a new one. But she promised that she wasn't mad and we were still friends.
So we went inside, me feeling so guilty and bad. I started writing a blog entry titled: Eating Crow. Why Beth is the most horrible person in the whole world. Oh here's the e-mail I sent to Seymen:
To Seymen
Subject: In Big Trouble
I'm in BIGGGGGGGGG trouble...You know that practical joke I told you that we played on Steph?
Yeah, well it back fired BIG TIMEEEEE!!! We put the plant in Ben's cube, and after lunch we went to go get it and bring it back to Steph...Well as it just so happens, ben wrote us an e-mail and told us that someone from Facilities came during lunch and took the plants. INCLUDING STEPH's plant!!! And now it's MISSING!!! And now I feel SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO bad. She's totally going to hate me. COMPLETELY!!! I feel so guiltyyyyyyyyyy! And Jeff is trying to blame it on me so he doesn't get in trouble...
So we went to Facilities to see if they could find it and bring it back to us.
I'm so horrible! And I think that Steph was not so happy with the joke in the first place. :-(((((((
So I'm sitting here, feeling horrible, on the verge of tears...and suddenly, Ben and Jeff come down the hall with the plant! I was so relieved! I was like PHEWWWWWW!!!! WHEERE DID YOU FIND IT!!!! And then I noticed that everyone was being suspicious...The whole team had gathered around my cube, and Steph was not overly relieved to have her plant back! At this point, the TRUTH started spilling out. Steph had found the plant earlier in the morning, and plotted with Jeff and Ben to turn the prank around. They hid the plant, and supposedly everyone was in on it. Jeff had to follow me to make sure I didn't get us into trouble, and after my conversation with facilities, he went to Ben's desk and called her to tell her that it was fine, we had found the plant. That's why he was dragging his feet when we were trying to find the plant.
Well I was just so relieved and surprised that the joke had been turned on me, that I just cried and laughed, which made everyone laugh even harder. Steph and Jeff were feeling so guilty because I felt so bad and started tearing up when telling Steph the truth. Anyway, it was an excellent joke. Even Kristina our boss was in on it. Now everyone is just laughing and snickering.
So...that's the big drama at Guaranty Bank Training Development Department. Words of wisdom: 1. Don't mess with Steph. She's the ultimate prankster 2. Don't EVER...I mean EVERRRRRRRR align yourself as an ally of Jeff. He jumps ship so fast!!!
Posted by beth at April 15, 2005 02:32 PM