Simple Joys, Big Belly Laughs: How to Find Fun in Everyday Life

Hopefully, this one will bring you laughter and/or joy.

Working in IT is not for the faint of heart. By the time some people contact you, they are so irate that they are cussing or screaming. So, we learn to de-escalate the moment to get to the user’s issue. You see, our job doesn’t just consist of fixing IT issues. Sometimes we are counselors, teachers, mentors, chaplains, and babysitters to some. So, when we have time to unwind or find the joy in what we do, we find humor in things that others may not understand. We sometimes fit the stereotypical narrative of us being IT geeks with an odd sense of humor.

The humor of this story started with a greeting several years ago. I have a coworker who has greeted me by saying, “Morning, Sir” every day I’ve seen him during my career. We had a conversation about the way he said it. Before we knew it, it became a competition to who determine who could say “Mornin, Sir” first every day. IT is not competitive at all. For months now, we have had this friendly competition that gives us great joy and laughter every morning we see each other. It got so competitive that another coworker has become our referee and score keeper. Because we are IT professionals, we think of creative ways to present this “Mornin Sir” to the other. We have done things like creating notepad documents on the other’s computer, strategically placing notes that say it in each other’s cube, sending text messages, sending voice recordings, hiding in different places to surprise each other, and even sending inner office mail. It has gone on for so long, some of our other coworkers look forward to it and even participate by helping us to get the other. It has been such a phenomenon that management inquiries about who won for the day.

After the initial, “Mornin, Sir” we recap the event and tell each other who the winner reminded us of during his approach to that morning’s competition. This recap will send us into even more laughter.

Well… The “Morning, Sir “ for Wednesday September 4th, 2024 really “topped the cake.” I walked in like normal trying to be the first to greet but my colleague was not at his desk. I sat my bag down and proceeded to look for him. Our referee coworker kept trying to get me to sit down. I didn’t understand at first. But I finally looked at my desk and that is when I saw it, the Birthday Cake that said, “Mornin, Sir”. He even told me the backstory of how he took the time to personally make sure the letters were strategically placed on the cake while he was in the Kroger parking lot. The humor that I found in that made my day. I told my colleague that this cake was the “Ether of all Mornin, Sirs.” I told him that he was the “Nas of Mornin, Sirs.” I told him that he needed to get “God’s Son” tattooed across his belly. Just like on the song Ether, there was no coming back from this style of creativity. Even though I am in the lead, I said that the game was over and the referee awarded him with (5) points for creativity.

The best part (and probably the funniest) of this whole day was seeing the epiphany of the cultural introduction of Nas and the Ether to this middle aged Caucasian man from West Virginia. It was priceless to see the great lyricist be introduced to someone who had never heard of him.

Life is short, and it’s up to you to make it sweet.
Sadie Delany