April Foolish

April Fools just didn't work out for me as planned this year. It's a beloved holiday around our house. But this year, it backfired.

Background info #1:
Last night, being the evil mastermind that I am, I made a trip to the computer shop to do some meddling.

I made a copy of Chris' desktop, saved it as his background wallpaper, and then hid all of his folders. This meant that any attempt to click on a folder would actually be an attempt to click on part of a picture of folders, not actual folders. Brilliant! It took a couple tries though because my first run through left a picture of my cursor arrow embedded in the middle of the page. I had to start over, careful to keep my cursor out of view.

While I knew what I wanted to do, I wasn't sure how to carry it out in Linux....that required help.

Finally we come to my number two man. His name....Number 2.

Number 2 patiently walked me through the steps. Twice. And then I left, locking up carefully behind me.

Background info #2:
This morning, early, I visited a friend who lent me her cat. I thought it would be funny for Chris to walk into the kitchen and jump out of his skin when an animal made an appearance. He's not a fan of cats anyway, so it seemed like a lighthearted prank. I let the cat roam and I crawled back into bed.

Let the story begin:
I felt giggly as I started the day, waiting for the cat to make its appearance. The kids chuckled as they opened cereal bags to discover that the contents didn't match the bags. Chris walked in late and didn't notice. He blindly poured his Raisin Bran only to have Rice Krispies plink into his bowl. No giggles. He slumped and groaned with the realization that it was indeed April 1st and the games were just beginning.

I waited for the cat to meander through, but it never happened. Chris got ready for work and I began hunting for the cat. I finally found it hiding by the trash can and went to scoop it up. It made a mad dash for the refrigerator and dove underneath.

We are talking about a REALLY big cat. I have no idea how it fit under there, but it was NOT coming out once it was in. The poor thing was terrified and it continued trying to press itself deeper into the refrigerator though there was no way out through the back. I left it alone, thinking if I stopped scaring it, it would possibly crawl out backwards. Can cats crawl backwards? I have no idea.

The kids tried to tell Daddy that there was something behind the fridge, but he laughed wryly and said "April Fools. Whatever." I had hoped that, if nothing else, I could have him wonder if there was a skunk when he saw the black and white furball sticking out the back of the fridge. But I ended up having to confess so that I could get his help before he left for work. He evaluated the situation and it was worse than I realized. The cat was STUCK. It wasn't just afraid....it truly couldn't move. It had its paws stuck inside of things. We had to turn the fridge over on its side and unbolt the bottom of the fridge to get the cat out. It took forever and the fridge never did go back together correctly. We finally went with "good enough" and Chris left for work. I spent the next hour cleaning, brushing, and cuddling the cat. It had been a glossy black and white beauty but had become a grey, dusty mess that never would clean up. Poor Leroy also has a notch missing from his ear. Please, sweet Jesus, let that notch have been there all along. I sure don't remember a notch, but surely....surely?....surely it was already there.


Chris called from the shop.....he wanted to know why I had left the shop unlocked and taken 4 computers home. HaHa, very funny. I checked that lock twice. Next he wanted to know why Number 2's phone number was written on a note on his desk? What had Number 2 helped me do to his computer? He hadn't discovered the prank yet. I had ruined the surprise with a slip of paper. Drats!

He eventually discovered it and found it clever and funny.

C: "Jenn....why can't I open my Quickbooks folder?"
J: "You can"
C: "No....I'm clicking on the folder right now."
J: "No you're not."
C: "YES, I am! I'm.....wait (grin in his voice)...I'm clicking on a picture of my folder, aren't I?

That sure didn't last as long as I was hoping.


I felt like a failure of an evil mastermind. I moped around with my cat allergies until Chris called to say he'd had the best April Fool's Day ever.

Huh? How? I messed up EVERYTHING.

"Yes, but it was so fun to watch it all backlash on you. I didn't even have to come up with my own pranks. It was fun."

Making him laugh is always the point, so I was happy. It made the hives, swollen eyes, and sneezing totally worth it.



Now, I'm off to visit the Leroy's owner (whom I pray doesn't hurt me) to make sure the cat came pre-notched and offer to pay for any cleaning....and to apologize profusely.


I'd share pictures of the event instead of these self portraits, but my camera is dead. First Picasa, now my camera. God doesn't want you to see my pictures.

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