There are some things that just seem comical at the time but need amping up in the retelling. Yesterday, I stepped out of my office to use the bathroom. When I returned, I was locked out. My face showed the surprise that occurs when you almost faceplant into a surface that you expect to yield only to be met with an impenetrable wall. (On a side note, this reminds me of one of my favorite SG1 episodes – “Upgrades” where the characters run into a forcefield that was created with saran wrap. The smooshed facial expressions were hilarious.) I didn’t have my keys on me and coworker!A was on the telephone in reception. Being a kind soul, coworker!A stood up, pulled the phone cord around the side of the desk, over the paper stand, walked down the path between her desk and the boardroom before reaching the middle of the entryway. She was still a few feet shy of the door and at the end of the cord while still conducting her conversation. I was standing sheepishly on the other side of the door and smiled at coworker!A as she reached out a leg and an arm to reach the lock.
It was the kind of scenario that I could imagine played out in a sitcom to the point of hyperbole. The scene: a coworker on one side of the door in duress, carrying a large lunch order or awkward parcel, and the receptionist winding a long phone cord around plant stands and computer monitors. Ultimately the scene culminates in the coworker getting in and the receptionist wound up in the phone cord. Laughs ensue. Situations like this are why the tv show “Seinfeld” existed – every day scenarios expressed to the point of caricature. In real life, phone cords get tangled.
