Flee screaming into the street!

A red sign on the staff entrance greeted me this morning. There would be fire alarm testing from 6:00 AM until 4:00 PM. Ahh! The spine-jarring tone of the alarm, followed by the sonorous "May I have your attention, please. A fire emergency has been reported in the building. While this is being verified, please leave the building by the nearest exit. Do not use the elevators." How much did that guy get paid to record that message? And it's going to last for only ten hours! How many times does the alarm need to be tested to verify that it is working order? Or not? I may work extra today so I don't miss even a single test. I just can't get too much of a good thing. A character flaw or simple sarcasm? Maybe both. You decide, dear reader. I am one of the lucky cubicle denizens who have an alarm and speaker in my cubicle. The neighbors are jealous, I just know it. Maybe I'll be denounced for some fabricated transgression and shipped off to a camp, while my imaginary anonymous accuser moves into my space. "You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor." I think this covers another's cubicle, whether equipped with an alarm or not. It's just poor karma. The alarm testing pierces my earphones as I vainly attempt to block it out. Why I am trying to block it out is another question, dear reader, for which I offer no explanation. It has a beat, like everything, so it must be possible to dance to it. Groove to it, man! Now I have digressed into utter goofiness. I apologize. Now, where was I? Oh yeah! Trying to block out the testing. I've tried Metallica. I've tried ABBA. I've tried Green Day. I've even tried Marilyn Manson. Nothing seems to work. No matter how loud I play my music, the alarm penetrates. It pierces. (I'll save the subject of piercing for another day.) But, I guess that's what alarms are supposed to do, aren't they? Furthermore, the louder I play my music, the greater the risk of permanent hearing loss. Maybe just temporary. Now I'm minimizing the danger. I know I need help. For now I think I'll just take the earphones off (out?) and try to imagine what it will be like to leave the building by the nearest available exit when the day is done. The voice isn't specific about how to leave. I have options. I will look both ways.