Juice Falls Prey to Shenanigans!

Imagine my surprise when I received a little postcard from my mail carrier alerting me to a package that was waiting for me at the station. What could it be? I head on down there, and Jim hands me a box that, from the looks of it, has just been sent from the Caribou Coffee headquarters (to wit: the Caribou logo is stamped on each side of the box). I am, obviously, confounded.*

I open the box and find the following:

(1) Caribou coffee mug;
(1) Package of "Reindeer Blend" coffee;
(1) Caribou-brand granola bar; and
(1) Hand-written note, on Caribou Coffee stationery, that says:

Dear Anna,

Happy birthday!

(Sorry it's a little bit late.)

Sincerely,

Caribou Coffee

Huh? I'm flummoxed. And tickled.

I arrived at the office, rinsed the mug out, and filled it with coffee (Starbucks, actually, which is what they brew at the office). But as I stare out my office window, sipping this sugar-laden beverage, I feel more and more befuddled: Why was it ten days late? Do they actually send this whole gift to everyone on the mailing list? Did they sense a disturbance in the force? And, hey, I don't remember giving them my home address when I signed up.

I had complained about the No Special Message On My Birthday Situation to a few of my co-workers and when I told them about the package, they were equally befuddled. Half (2) suspected shenanigans. Half (2) told me I needed to stop complaining about the No Special Message On My Birthday Situation (a gripe that, apparently, had grown old after the first day).

That night, still puzzled, I relay the story to Shad: "The strangest thing..." His joker grin gets bigger and bigger. Finally he cracks up and confesses that he has some information about the whole thing.

It was shenanigans, of course. Gene Ha, the prankster, was behind it. (Bravo, my friend, bravo!)

*I'm sorry to interrupt the story but for the sake of keeping things chronological, I must add this piece: Before I left the counter (with my brows furrowed in puzzlement), I have to ask Jim about the crazy lady I saw him talking to when I was at the post office two days earlier. She demanded a new roll of stamps because the roll she had recently purchased was defective. I saw her force him to try to remove a stamp which was clearly unremovable because she had torn it to shreds in the process of her failed attempts to unpeel it. He patiently attempted to show her the proper way to remove the stamp, but she would have none of it. He gave her a new roll of stamps and sent her on her way. When I asked him about the incident, he laughed and handed me the "defective" roll, which he still had in his drawer. I pulled a stamp off. He shrugged and winked; I giggled and hustled out the door with the Caribou Coffee box tucked under my arm.