ever feel like.....

Ever feel like things are going on around you that you're just not quite in sync with? Like maybe things happen around you and they just don't quite make sense?

I've been known to pull pranks or surprises on people, and that's alot of fun. (A good friend reminded me of one I did to him about 10 years ago. That's a very good story for another day.) But it's almost a little unsettling (can be good, can be bad) when someone does it to me. I've been accused of being able to dish it out but unable to take it. Fair statement. But it sure is alot better to be on the dishing out side.

For example, I have a friend who lost his job a few months ago. Looking back, he said he should have seen it coming. His boss went from being congenial towards him to almost ignoring him. He said one day his boss just quit coming by his office and joking around with him, and a week later he was told his job had been done away with. He sometimes wishes that he'd struck up some sort of alliance or accord with him, thinking that would have possibly saved his job. Accords can sometimes be nice and helpful.

Another example, a complete opposite, would be when my parents surpised me with a television on Christmas morning when I was 10. The night before they had me open a present, a pair of house shoes, and explained to me that things had been tight that particular year and this was the best surprise gift they could muster that year. The next morning there was a small television sitting under the tree with my name on it. Looking back that Christmas morning to the night before, I realized the house shoes were a set-up. A set-up, but a good one.

Here's hoping surprises that happen to you produce the good kind of shock rather than the bad kind.....