DR. WALLACE: I'm not one who usually enjoys surprises, but an old flame of mine from high school recently tracked me down at my college.

He surprised me in a quad area as I was leaving one of my classes. Apparently, a mutual friend of ours gave him my schedule, and he promised her not to tell me anything. When I first saw him, some of my old feelings came back, but then, within a minute, I started realizing that he was talking really fast, talking over me and giving me a very heavy pitch on why we should get back together immediately! He looked fine, but I don't recall his personality being as weirdly pushy before as he apparently is now.

I told him I already had plans for that afternoon, but I did give him my current phone number so that he could text me and keep in touch. An additional part of my hesitation goes beyond the way he acted at our meeting, as I've been dating someone I just met three weeks ago. I've had some time to think about the situation, and on the one hand, it does seem like I have a few feelings for my ex, but I've been more than happy dating my new guy, who has been steadily and increasingly comfortable these past three weeks. What do you think I should do? — Received a Surprise Out of the Blue, via email

RECEIVED A SURPRISE OUT OF THE BLUE: The thing that jumps out to me from your letter is the fact that your ex didn't contact you in advance; he intentionally came up and surprised you and then immediately started pressuring you to go out with him again. None of that sounds copacetic to me.

In addition, you are likely hesitating because your subconscious may be warning you. Don't rush into anything, and at the very least, you should consider the good momentum you presently have with your new relationship and strongly consider letting that play out organically before you make any rash decisions. To me, receiving pressure to "resume" a past relationship at a moment's notice is a red flag and just does not sound logical or right.

MY LATEST PRANK WAS NOT WELL RECEIVED

DR. WALLACE: I have a penchant for pulling pranks on my friends and those around me. This trait goes back to my days in high school and even as far back as grade school. Most of the time, I get a laugh or two, and some of my victims even similarly pull pranks on me days or weeks later. The way I look at it, it's all in good fun.

But lately, I've pulled a few pranks that I felt were silly, or maybe even mildly goofy and basically harmless, but I've received some severe reactions that I believe are overreactions. One case in particular has resulted in us not speaking to each other for the past two weeks.

What is your take on practical jokes? As human beings, we all have a good sense of humor, right? I've often heard that one of the most admirable traits for people looking to date others is finding someone with a good sense of humor, so I don't understand why I'm running into such resistance when I know for sure I'm a guy with a good sense of humor. — Getting Pushback On My Humor, via email

GETTING PUSHBACK ON MY HUMOR: In my opinion, there's a huge difference between a person who has a good sense of humor and someone who springs practical jokes on a person who is unaware of what's going on.

The tone of your letter indicates that you've gotten away with your practical jokes for many years now, but perhaps your luck has run out. At some point, we all need to grow out of "juvenile style" pranks and not take the risk of putting others in what they may perceive to be very uncomfortable or perhaps truly distasteful situations.

Go to this person who hasn't been speaking to you and make an apology, that's my advice. Explain that you meant no harm, but you now understand that what you did was inappropriate and out of line. Ask the person if you can make it up to them in some other way. At least acknowledging your remorse and volunteering to step forward and do something positive may break the impasse that exists at this point.

Going forward, resolve to give up your string of practical jokes, and instead perhaps focus on limiting your humor to conversational anecdotes and quips. Try to find humor in everyday events or make mild comments that are slightly humorous in various conversations. Take care not to venture into any taboo subjects or anything distasteful or immoral.

If you can do this, you'll be perceived as a person with a good sense of humor, not someone who may pull a prank on an unsuspecting person who truly doesn't want to be put through such a situation.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at [email protected]. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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