The year I turned 21 I packed up all of my worldly possessions and my cats and hightailed it out of the Midwest for Boston Mass where I was sure all of my dreams would come true.
Some did.
When I arrived, I moved into an old New England house broken into three apartments. The third apartment was the top two floors and it was here that I lived with several other roommates, all boys.
They were great for the most part, but they were still boys of dubious maturity levels and every April Fool’s Day I lived in abject terror of what might happen to my stuff at the hands of their nefarious imaginations.
For three years I either took April 1st off work or called in sick in order to protect my bedroom from pranks.
My anxiety level was so powerful during those years that it is a miracle I wasn’t medicated. And we’re not talking about plastic bugs hidden under pillows or fake vomit in the fridge. No way. Nothing so pedestrian.
The first year one of my three roommates left town for the weekend over April 1st. Poor fool. I watched as my other two roommates glued every item in his bedroom to the ceiling exactly above where it had been left in the room. Don’t think they didn’t try to figure out a way to put the bed and dresser up there too. And then they used packing tape and duct tape to seal the door.
It took him over an hour to cut his way inside and I promptly left the house when he walked into his brand new Alice in Wonderland bedroom theme.
One year the girl in the basement apartment discovered cherry jello powder loaded into her shower head.
One year a roommate discovered plastic wrap over the toilet bowl. After, of course.
I still wonder about the 8 foot long Burger King Pokemon banner I discovered decorating the stairwell one year.
I stood vigilant for the entire 24 hours each year, bribing my roommates out of the house or distracting them with food and pretty things. But I’m not kidding when I say I lived April 1st for three years as if psychopaths were stalking my every move.
I don’t get anxiety about writing anymore. You’d think that would be my main source, but generally I live anxiety free from day-to-day. I think back to to those three years and the guerrilla warfare and the rest of my worries pale in comparison.
How could I possibly stress about deadlines or bills when I no longer have to worry about climbing our neighbor’s tree to retrieve my bras decorating its branches like party streamers or prying my alarm clock off the ceiling with a letter opener?
Sometimes we just need a little perspective.
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- Ananda bliss Blog – Gorgeous photos from Europe and a wonderful travel tale to go along with. I was particularly taken by all the food photos and that of the Topkapi Palace. I loved the photos from Istanbul. (It also immediately prompted me to play some They Might Be Giants.)
- Everything Emerald- A photographers blog! I love photography and these are very nice.
- Rapturous Randomicity- A writer with great ideas! Also, my eye immediately found on her blog roll that she reads Nathan Bransford. For the win!
Sommer
My name is Sommer and I'm a writer from the Midwest. I am currently working on a YA novel about superheroes, reading as much as I can, blogging, and saving the world.
I love this post! This is exactly the kind of experience it’s probably much more fun to read about than to live. I don’t think I could have lived there past the first April 1st.
Thanks for the book recs–I can see I’m going to have to check back often. I read Looking for Alaska–I should try An Abundance of Katherines.
Wow! The image of the “Wonderland” bedroom actually made me gasp. I did envision their failed attempts at trying to attach the bed and dresser— had they managed either it would have truly been a feat to behold!
Thanks for sharing and good luck with the challenge!
Oooh, thanks for the story and the booksies!
Your post gave me a good giggle. Thanks!
Those are some pretty awful pranks! I don’t blame you for wanting to protect yourself and your things.
Your roommates sound a lot like my little brother–except we always caught him in the act of setting up his pranks. If he’d been better at it, I would’ve been a mess.
And I’m loving the book list. I have been meaning to read “An Abundance of Katherines” for a while now. Thanks for a great post!
I love the idea of a failed prankster
I loved An Abundance of Katherines!! I hope you enjoy reading it. Thanks for the great comment!!
That would make me very anxious too. I’ve never been a big fan of april fools day. I did find the stuff to the ceiling a big amusing. Would have been an interesting sight though I bet it sucked for the guy on the receiving end.
Oh how I loathe thee, April Fools. Give me a hundred Valentine’s Days if only I can be rid of your haunting presence.
Ditto. I’m not big fan of April’s fools day either. Miss Leigh, this is one of your most humorous post (though I especially like the one in your archive about Mary Sue’s weird cousin)
. Why worry about little things like deadlines when the fool’s of April are running wild.
I also like the books brought to you by feature.
Your old roommates kinda sound like my family…
My mom would tell me crazy stories from her childhood, but now that my brother and I are older, we’re wondering if she made half the stuff up. She had the strangest imagination, and now I know why I’m so weird.
I once asked her why they fenced in rocks (you know those fences along the sides of roads that are basically rock encased in wire fencing…) and she told me that they were attack rocks and that if I let them loose they would attack me. Thanks mom.
Glad you like it!!! I’m a little worried I won’t be able to find books for every letter, so some letters might turn into a scavenger hunt for me. Can I get an X title? Anyone? Echo?
Your mom sounds awesome
She was.
And as far as X’s…there is the Xanth series…
I’m gonna write a book with an X title just for the occasion!
Oooh, I love the idea of including some books beginning with the letter of the day!
And I would think I married one of your old roomies if I hadn’t imported my (ex)husband. Their best pranks: a recipe involving corn flakes that really really really does a great job of sealing a door; disassembling a small European car and reassembling it in the owners living room; using some kind of blower to deposit grass seed under a (wisely) locked door and onto the carpet, then watering the carpet with a hose; and (my favorite) selecting a number of stones of similar shape but increasing size and freaking out nasty nosey neighbors by building a stone circle in the backyard, watering it while they were spying, then sneaking at in the wee hours about once a month to replace the small stones with their larger lookalikes.
My old roommates were one part brilliant and two parts insane.
I kinda like the stone idea. It shows dedication, if not slight insanity.
LOL, that kind of sounds like fun, but probably got old very fast.
I managed to be spared most of the worst of it
ohmygoodness!!!! that must have been a WILD TIME!!!! yikes!
love the books brought to you by the letter A… that reminds me of sesame street! 
this a-z thing is UNREAL… i’m just astounded by how many people are taking part! jiminey!
and book=love!!!!
I am very excited about all my letters! Wish you were participating too! I would love to see the sort of art you’d think up
Wow! I would have lived in fear too! I had to laugh though at your roommates! How in the world did they think that stuff up?
Thanks for the books and blogs rec!
They were one part brilliant and two parts insane