Silly Rabbit, Tricks Are For Kids!

Yesterday was April 1st; a day we always seem to forget is going to bite us in the ass until it actually happens. There are two scenarios here:
Scenario A - you wake up and don't realize that it's April Fools Day until something silly stumbles upon your life, and you tell your self "Ah ha! I won't be fooled today, but instead I will come up with a practical joke that all of my gullible friends will fall for! Muah Ha Ha!"
Scenario B - you wake up and don't realize that it's April Fools Day... all day.

I'm always a Scenario A person. I don't tend to plan tricks ahead of time on April Fools Day. They usually come to me mid-morning, like an epiphany, and I let it last through the rest of the afternoon until the guilt sinks in and I start to pity my friends for their unbelievable faith in my honesty. I too am pretty gullible, but this is the one day of the year where I don't let anything slip by me. But be warned, I will trick you, and you will like it.

Two years ago, I changed my relationship status to "engaged" on Facebook and fooled many people into thinking I was going to marry my then boyfriend. Last year I couldn't think of anything to top that (see last year's post, Everybody Plays the Fool), so I took a little holiday from my favorite holiday. But this year I wasn't going to let that happen again. No, sirree.

After perusing the far-fetched farces that people were posting on their Facebook wall, I decided mine would have to be utterly believable; something that people who really knew me could see the truth in. At 10am, it came to me:

"AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! Just got a job offer in Melbourn!!!!!!!!! I start May 1st!!!!! Look out Australia, here I come :)"

Within minutes, my friend's mother commented asking what the job was. I replied that I would be working for a company that does marketing and distribution for Australian wines. Brilliant. Anyone who knows me knows that's my dream job, and that I would probably drop anything to do it. After that, the comments started flooding my wall with "CONGRATS!" and "I'LL MISS YOU" and "WHEN DO YOU LEAVE?" There was the occasional, "haha, very funny, April Fools" which I deleted immediately so I could keep up my scam. Friends of my parents were falling for it too! Before I knew it, there were 20 responses, and by the end of the day, there were 40!

People were contacting me in messages and in Gmail, telling me that they would be in Australia this summer and we should meet up, or that they have a cousin who just moved there who could help me get acquainted. In Gchat conversations with close friends, I made up even more lies: I have 24 hours to accept the job, and if I take it then I leave in two weeks. After a few minutes, the date would sink in and people would realize I was pulling their leg and they would kick themselves for falling for yet another one of my April Fools Day gems.

I could tell that this might get out of hand soon. So I sent a text to my boyfriend and said, "don't be alarmed by my Facebook status," but he was too smart for me. He knew immediately that it was a prank, and I was sort of glad. I told him to watch out and not to get fooled, but it was too late. Hours later someone (not me) would post his car for sale for $1200 on Craigslist, complete with a photo and a phone number (his cell) where he could be reached. A half hour after it was posted, calls/texts/voicemails were coming in by the dozens. Every minute someone else was contacting him, some offering cash, some asking if they could pick the car up that night, some even offering more than the listing price! It was insanity - and hilarity. I still don't know who this brilliant prankster was, but I have to hand it to them. Craigslist is an equally, if not better, venue for April Fools Day. But I digress...

Only one person noticed that I spelled Melbourne wrong in my status update - and he never believed me to begin with. You'd think if I can't even spell the name of the city I'm moving to, then I must be fooling you, right? Wrong. People will believe anything you tell them, especially if it's something that brings joy to your life. They want to be happy for you, they want to congratulate you.

Truth be told, if someone offered me my dream job right now with only a month to say goodbye to San Francisco, I would probably turn them down. Because timing is everything. I know someday it will be my time to take the leap and do something BIG, but for now I am happy in my cozy yet exciting city of San Francisco. And if you REALLY knew me, you would know that too.