Bad Kharma

I have inherited my father's sense of humour. I get a great kick out of giving people grief, though in a good-natured way.

A long-standing favourite of mine is to phone or text people just as they drifting off into the warm embrace of a good-night's sleep. My nasty side finds this hilarious.

A few nights back, I gave full and untempered rein to the darker side of my humour.

Foolishly telling me she was going to sleep, a friend concluded a text message conversation concerning a misbehaving iPod.

I waited perhaps thirty minutes or so, and at 0030, sent the following text:

Oh I'm sorry? Did I wake you?

Almost immediately, a response to the negative came back. Balmy and humid, a lot of people slept fitfully at best that night.

Undeterred, I allowed perhaps two hours to pass. At about 0240, I sent the following

How about now?

The initial response was satisfyingly brief: "Asshole," followed about twenty minutes later, with a more verbose response:

"You utter wanker. Now I am completely awake!"

I think I can safely call that a success.