Can You Take a Joke?

I worked on a large trading floor for over thirty years.  It could be loud, chaotic and energizing all at the same time.  Other times it could be slow and dull.  This was when the creative juices started to flow, and the pranks began.  The environment was mostly men so it could be very much like a locker room at times.  For this reason, I will not share some of the antics I witnessed over the years but one comes to mind that taught me a lesson.

Takeout

I love playing pranks but rarely have one played on me.  I pride myself in usually seeing them coming from a mile away.  But not this time.  I worked on a trading desk which meant that we ate lunch at our desks to keep an eye on the markets.  For this reason, we rotated going to pick up lunch for a group of us.  It was a regular rotation of sandwiches, Italian, German, burgers and Asian food.  There was a Thai restaurant that was part of our rotation every couple of weeks.  I always ordered the spicey chicken and rice with an egg roll.

“Fortune” Cookie

One day I was handed my lunch along with the customary fortune cookie.  The tradition on the desk was after the meal everyone would share what their fortune said.  Several people started reading theirs with typical fortunes like, “You will meet someone very interesting this week” and “Your efforts will pay off with a great opportunity soon.”  I opened my cookie and read aloud, “Someone in line ahead of you today will pay with a check.”  Everyone just looked at each other.  I thought that was interesting and definitely not a fortune but got back to work.

A couple of weeks later we ordered from the same place again.  We went through the same routine with everyone reading their typical fortunes.  Then my turn came, and I read, “You need a mint…like bad.”  As everyone was laughing, I was thinking this was strange.  The cookie looked like everyone else’s and tasted like the normal bland sugary wafer.  But none of the other fortunes were off.  I shrugged and went back to work.

The “Butt” of the Joke

A few weeks later it was time for Thai again.  Same routine but now I am curious.  Before eating my lunch, I opened my cookie and read aloud, “You smell like butt.”  Everyone roared and I knew that I was being had.  After a few minutes of questioning all parties involved the guy next to me confessed to having ordered some Unfortunate Fortune Cookies online and had been secretly putting one on my desk the last 3 times we had Thai food.  Everyone was in on it but me.  I had a choice to make.  I could get mad, or I could get really embarrassed by being the butt of the joke.  Or I could relax and appreciate the planning and patient way the joke progressed.  I chose the latter and started laughing.  I congratulated my coworker on his slow playing it over several weeks.  I was actually impressed.

Can you take a joke?  Life can be pretty serious business, especially when money is on the line.  If we are not careful, we can begin to take ourselves a little too seriously as well.  I am not saying you shouldn’t have boundaries to make sure lines of respect are not being crossed.  I am trying to encourage you to lighten up.  We spend the majority of our waking hours working so be sure to have some fun along the way.