Happy Birthday !!! Not Mine....

"System Software Engineer". This is my new designation at a new office, at a new place. A lot has changed in the last 1 month. And I have adapted to these changes well. The first change, and the most important, at-least for me was the drastic change in temperature and humidity. 1 month back, I was near to the western seas, and right now, I am about 10 kms away from the eastern seas.

About my office, well, its not a very big one. Though the campus has a pretty big parking space, it is rarely crowded by vehicles. The whole campus houses only about 200 employees. So, on an average, we get a mail every week or so, inviting us for some one's birthday. They even put up a printout near the entrance whenever someone's birthday comes, with his photo and name, and wishing him "A Very Happy Birthday". Well, that's not unusual, I guess. I am expecting pretty much the same thing, in a few days. But, they only have a passport size photo of me with them. I am wondering if the photo in the printout will be visible from a distance. Or may be, just before my birthday, they will click some photographs of me, for the printout. It is a black and white printout they paste near the entrance.

Today, there was yet another printout near the entrance, a black and white one. I wasn't wearing my glasses when I reached office. I was sweating and so, in a rush to reach my air-conditioned cubicle, I ignored it. Normally, I would have read the name and have had a look at the photograph.

I was engrossed with work after that and had completely forgotten about that printout. During lunch time, I heard some people talk about someone's birthday. Since it was in Tamil, I only picked up the word birthday. They were probably discussing about the person. When I next checked my inbox, there was an invitation for someone's birthday. I was feeling hungry, and so I was happy with the thought that I would get to eat something sweet. I also thought that I would jump on the cake, the moment it was cut, pick up 2-3 pieces of it, and run back to work. The mail didn't have the name of the person, which I thought would have been a mistake on the sender's (HR) part. They always mess up with things, I thought.

I again got busy with my work. I had to go down to the reception after some time to submit some documents for the tax thing. So, I thought I would have a look at the printout now. After submitting the documents, I walked toward the place where the prinout was pasted. I still wasn't able to read the name from a distance. I wasn't wearing my glasses yet. When, I was within my reading distance, the printout seemed to be different. The picture was unclear, and so was the name. At-last, when everything was clearly visible, I understood everything. The message was,

A Very Happy Birthday To
"Server 1"

And alongside, was it's picture, which defintely wasn't that of a human being. My hunger was gone. I was wondering, who would be blowing the candles!!!!