Foolio

Normally I'm so very fond of practical jokes I don't know what it is about April Fool's Day that winds me up so bad every year. I always wake up and tell myself "remember, it's April 1. Shenanigans are going to happen, DON'T FALL FOR IT. And is it really so bad when I do fall for it? No. I just feel incredibly exposed and embarrassed, like when the birds at the coffee shop fly down and peg me in the back of the head.

It's merely 9:30 a.m. and I've already fallen for a joke. A co-worker said "oh, that's weird. Did you see the e-mail where they are sending us home at 3?" It's so typical for me to miss any kind of news before it is weeks or years old, so I said "No, why? What's going on?" "APRIL FOOL" she said. My response was my left middle finger and another gulp of my coffee.

And in the time I was writing this? Found out I fell for a second april fool e-mail by Mr. Zoom's father. I won't go into detail on it, but there was enough specific detail in it to completely suck me in. AND, he had sent the e-mail last night so I'm thinking that's an April Fool Foul, and it can't be claimed as a success.

My fool points are already at 2. When I got off the elevator this morning, the regular maintenance guy was in the lobby with his tools. Our lobby is surrounded by closed doors with keypads to enter. And I thought to myself "I wonder if he's waiting for someone to let him in." The important thing here is that I thought that to myself, I did not say anything out loud. He actually approached me and said "Do you know someone named XXXX?" "No, I'm sorry. I don't. Nobody by that name works on my floor." I was all guarded, I had just reminded myself that it's April Fool's Day. And honestly, I don't know anyone named XXXX on my floor. I offered to him "It could be someone new, but I just don't know." He pulled out his pager, and showed me where it actually said "Company Name, contact: XXXX". "Sorry" I said, "I don't know who that is."

Turns out that I DO know who it is. And if I'd thought about it for a second longer I would have realized that person was on another floor. Instead, I left someone in the lobby thinking there was a slight chance I was being April Fooled. For no reason. When you play april fool on yourself, I'm thinking there should be an extra point for retardation. My fool points are now at 4. At this rate I might want to consider just running down the street with a sandwich board that says "UNMANAGEABLE".