Do you hear what I hear

Please stop by and welcome Pia home, and read about her adventures south of the border. Apparently, while she was in Mexico being mistaken for a puta, I unwittingly missed Thank Your Mentor Day. And actually, the entire National Mentoring Month. Oops. Who knew?

Oh, and Happy Groundhog Day. My Groundhog Day post last year got some very interesting responses.

For Christmas this year, Dad put a key finder in my stocking. My sister got one too. The key finder attaches to your keychain and when you whistle, it is supposed to emit a series of beeps, allowing you to locate your keys.

After testing it out a few times, I found it was erratic, at best. It wouldn't work half the time when I whistled directly into it. Other times, it would go off at random. So I tossed it into a bag with a few other stocking stuffers, which I'm not overly proud to say is still sitting in my living room floor. And the key finder was forgotten. Until last Thursday night.

My sister and brother-in-law were over for supper and we began to hear a beeping noise. I'd heard it a few times before, but was never able to figure out what it was. My brother-in-law knew right off. It was the key finder! I immediately ran to the Christmas bag and found it.

Friday morning as I was getting ready for work, I placed the key finder in my pocket. Having just watched The Office the day before, I had an idea.

Now the object of my office pranks is most often the secretary. She's in her forties, and looks like someone who would wear lots of sweatshirts with bears and stuff painted on them, even though she doesn't. And she's always a good sport.

When I got to work, I scouted her office for a suitable place for the key finder. Some place she'd be sure to hear it, but unlikely to find it. First I tried pushing up one of the ceiling tiles and leaving it in the ceiling. I whistled, but could barely hear it. No good. Then, I saw it--the tissue box! Perfect. I dropped the key finder in the tissue box and got ready for the fun to ensue.

As soon as she arrived, I walked thru and began whistling to the radio. Then listened. I heard the key finder. It was working. Although she didn't seem to notice it.

Oh, but she would.

The fun began shortly after 10 AM. She walked in with furrowed brow and asked, "Am I going crazy, or do you hear beeping noises?" She seemed to be alluding to the radio.

"Beeping noises? In the radio?" I replied, as if she may very well have lost her mind.

"Yes! It seems like almost everytime a new song starts, I hear a beeping."

"I haven't noticed. But I'll start listening closer."

About forty-five minutes later, I walked out to her office. Before I could say a word, she spoke.

"I figured it out!" she said, as if she's Bell and I'm Watson, and she'd just discovered the missing piece to make her invention work. "It's not in the radio. It's coming from my phone!"

I had her. Hook, line, and sinker. I began to smile, but she continued.

"Everytime my phone rings, it beeps. Here!" she said as she pulled out her cell phone. This was going even better than I had hoped. She dialed the work number. The phone rang. The key finder beeped.

"There! You hear it?"

I'd regained my poker face by this time. I squinted and leaned in as if trying to listen closely.

"Ummm, no," I lied.

"You don't hear that?!" she exclaimed, before letting out a sound that sounds a bit like a puppy whimpering. "You probably think I'm losing my mind."

At that time, I decided that I'd gotten my money's worth out of this joke. And while she'd been talking, I'd been reaching into the tissue box. As she had no idea what's going on, she simply thought I was getting a tissue. I finally retrieved the key finder and tossed it on her desk.

She looked at it, realized what is going on, and jumped out of her chair, all within about a second and a half. I took off running and she chased after me. She later told me the beeping noises made her think her phone might be tapped.

I guess the key finder worked after all.

There's nothing like seeing a carefully planned prank coming together perfectly. Although now I must await her revenge. I've been half-expecting a live snake to drop from the ceiling at any time. I must be vigilant!

Oh, and lest you think she doesn't deserve it, don't forget this.

Have a great weekend and Super Bowl Sunday! And remember, if your name was Punxsutawney, you'd stay in a hole most of the time, too.

"If you ever get annoyed, look at me I'm self-employed. I love to work at nothing all day..."