punked

Okay, I was the unfortunate victim of a prank. I'll admit it was pretty good.

We have a cold room that I store my reagents in. It's also where I have to start my synthase assays. I got a heavy coat and fingerless gloves to wear for that. The other times, I duck in, grab reagent, and bolt out of there before the door closes.

My biggest issue with that room is that there's a pull handle on the door. Yet, to get out, you PUSH the door to open it.

I'm in possession of the key that locks and unlocks the door. Yet if it gets locked while I'm in there by some "helpful" security guard, there's a "oh sh*t" emergency handle that will get out out of there.

One morning last week, I unlocked the cold room to get my reagents to preserve my plates for a future assay. I had to keep them cold, so I had an ice tray to secure my reagents and keep them cold. So I enter the cold room wearing my lab coat, knowing that it won't take too long.

I grab the reagents, put them in ice, and the door closes. No problem, because I grab the ice tray, and a bucket, and prepare to leave the cold room. I push out on the door, and nothing happens.

Uhh, crap. I put down all the stuff in my hands on the bench, and try again. Still the door won't open out.

I reach for the "oh sh*t" handle and pull. Now the door opens out. I grab my stuff and run out of the room into the hallway. There's the IT guy with a big old grin on his face.

"Having problems with the door?"

I finally got to pay him back today. He usually locks his computer when he's not in, so I was just waiting for a day like today. He was in, but away from the desk for a while. It didn't take him long to figure that I had set his wallpaper as the desktop image and trashed the icons.