User calls support pilot fish with PC problems, and he goes to work sorting out her issues. But after a minute or so, she says, “Can you hold on for a second?” and puts down the phone.

Fish waits. After a few seconds, he hears people in the background begin singing “Happy Birthday” and then cheering — after which he’s pretty sure he can make out the sounds of people eating cake.

Fish keeps waiting. A few minutes later, he finally hears the user picking up the handset again.

But before he can say, “Hello, welcome back,” the user hangs up.

“I guess I wasn’t invited to that party. No cake for me,” sighs fish.

“For the record, I have no plans to burn down the building, which will undoubtedly make my boss very happy.

“But a word to the wise: We don’t forget things like this, so it is best to feed us — or suffer the consequences.”

And don’t forget that Sharky wants your true tale of IT life. Send it to me at sharky@computerworld.com. You can also subscribe to the Daily Shark Newsletter and read some great old tales in the Sharkives.