Office Kung Foolishness

I was walking to the bathroom yesterday at work, when I saw something that made me bashfully look at the ground.

I'll give you one guess as to what made me bashfully look downwards:

a) a pretty girl
b) a very pretty girl
c) a co-worker doing kung fu
d) two of my co-workers making out in a cubicle
e) all of the above

Pick one.

Ready for the answer?

No, seriously, pick one first. It'll be more fun that way.

Here's the answer...

c

(If you didn't get the answer, come on! The glorious title of this entry gave it away, no? Unless you picked e...in which case, you're weird.)

That's right, it was the sight of a co-worker doing kung fu as he was walking about 20 feed ahead of me in the same direction, not initially realizing that he was being seen from behind by me.

First, I must describe the context of this scene.

I work in an office where all the employees have some kind of computer programming/science/engineering background. I won't say that each and every employee fits the stereotypical bill of a geeky looking Asian guy who has a terrible accent when he speaks and wears thick glasses, but this particular co-worker basically...fits that.

Now, imagine that kind of guy doing kung fu moves. Now, picture that same guy doing kung fu moves in an office setting, where professionalism is supposed to reign supreme. Are you starting to get it?

Without beating this into the ground, it goes without saying that this sight was one of the more unexpected, surprising, and ridiculous things I've ever seen, especially in an office. It's like he was totally oblivious for those three seconds before he turned his head ever so slightly to catch a peripheral glimpse of me. Needless to say, the kung fu action stopped immediately thereafter, arms quickly becoming limp at his sides once again.

Now, I don't know whether or not the guy was taking martial arts classes, or if the dude is a bona fide ninja. The bottom line is that no one should ever be caught flinging around their arms and fists, looking like a poor man's Steven Seagal in an office. No one, much less a computer engineer. (Unless that engineer's name is Chuck Norris.) It just doesn't fly.

My simple, straightforward point is that we all look foolish sometimes. The thing that matters is whether that foolishness stems from acting like someone you are, or acting like someone you aren't. Our current setting may tolerate one, but not always the other.