Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Simply by stating as such, I may be jinxing myself for next year, but I can’t remember the last time I was accosted by a prank on April Fools’ Day, either in-person or otherwise. Sure, you’ve got the obligatory stunt on Google.com, now a lavishly produced tradition, and some of your favorite websites may follow suit, but even the online harvest has been light this year. Have we collectively moved past this day, like, as a species, perhaps? Unlikely. The more probable explanation is we’re still firmly in the wake of the recession, and we’ve neither the mental nor financial capacity for antics.

It’s fortunate, too, because I don’t think I would’ve reacted too well to fun yesterday. This sociability I’ve been cultivating for a while now hit rock-bottom around late morning, for reasons I’m still trying to decipher, and I had to draw upon deep, unknown reservoirs just to maintain a basic level of professionalism for the remainder of the afternoon. Everybody has off-days, I suppose, but I took it to heart because it’s been a great streak, and I despaired at the apparent return of my former self.

I was out of social points, plain and simple, but what I didn’t count on was that they’d replenish after a good night’s sleep. This was refreshing, because the old me would’ve been laid low for a week or two. We’ll see whether this carries over to tomorrow. It does make me wonder, though: how much can we truly change ourselves, especially the older we get? A lot, I hope. Heaven knows I need it.