Karma du Jour - The Pull-up Bar

Once upon a time in a far off kingdom known as the place I work, one of the people we refer to as "those annoying people" decided that it would be a good idea to bring in a pull-up bar which he hadn't been using at home.

It was one of those pull-up bars that kind of self-mount in any door frame. The weight of the person using it forces it in place and makes it hold tight. Assuming your door is of a normal depth and width.

So it was that, for about three weeks, annoying person would nag and cajole and pressure other people in the office to use the pull-up bar. And, in the middle of the day the rest of us would occasionally - out of the blue - hear heavy breathing, loud grunting, and "unnnhhh... oooooohhh... haaaaaa..." sounds that made us all wonder what was going on in the annoying people's office. And whether they were using appropriate protection. Or, rather, it didn't make us wonder, but it did make the clients we were speaking to on the phone or, worse, in the conference room.

And it came to pass that, well, people kind of started getting used to it. Except for those of us who don't get to wear headphones, so we were forced to hear all of this when it was going on.

Then, one day - we'll call it yesterday - one of the annoying people was walking past my desk complaining to someone else that he had hit himself in the face. He was, in fact, bleeding in his mouth from the impact of cheek against teeth. I honestly figured it had something to do with a coffee cup or something, until one of my co-workers said to me "Guess what annoying person just did to hurt himself?"

I pondered with all of my pondering might, and came up with the funniest thing I could think of. "He hit himself in the face with the pull-up bar," I said, taking a drink of water.

"Yep."

I almost spit the water across the room. Annoying guy had, in fact, been hit in the face when the pull-up bar made for doors of normal depth and width came undone from the very non-normal door frame.

Annoying guy then spent the rest of the day complaining to everyone around (whether they would listen or not) that he had hurt himself on the pull-up bar. Saying that he was lightheaded and might need to go home. And vowing that he would NEVER use that blasted thing again unless it was bolted to the wall, so don't even think of asking him.

I know it's wrong to laugh at his pain. But, after hearing annoying guy badgering everyone in the office to try the pull-up bar - and having been one of those people simply unable to do pull-ups in high school - I do think that the Karmic circle is just too good to pass up.

I promise to stop laughing about it.

Soon.

Mayhap tomorrow.

Or possibly the next day...