No Fools Here – Almost

Image: Benjamin Chia

Of all the April Fool’s jokes I saw today, most of them were pretty sad and pathetic. One newspaper even displayed a banner proclaiming the gag before anyone had read it, removing the fun from the article they had gone to the trouble to produce.

There was one that got me, fair and square. When I was going through my email after work the weekly mailout from Pizza Hut arrived, displaying offers and their new product: the self-portrait pizza. The idea being if you sent them a photograph they will create a pizza of your taste with the image embedded in the centre of the pizza.

One can already buy cakes with photographs made from icing on top – we did it for my sister and Laura’s birthday this year – so I thought it was a good idea. I couldn’t figure out what the image would be made of, but it seemed to me to be a gimmick that could be done, therefore probably worth a lot.

During dinner I told Laura (our family’s biggest pizza fan) about the new pizza. She wants one and so did I. Gail, who thought I was taking the mick out of Laura, said: “have you forgotten what day it is today?”

It was only then that the penny dropped. And indeed, when I logged onto the Pizza Hut website and attempted to upload my photo, I was greeted with a pizza emblazoned with “April Fool!” in black olives.

Good one guys! That’s the first time I’ve been hooked by an April Fool’s gag for a long time. But I do still wonder – could portrait pizzas be done??

Now, let’s kick off April with a positive – it’s GDR Plan of Action Day!

Monthly GDR Plan

Fiction
* Complete 2nd draft of Greener is the Grass
* Write at least four(!) new flash/short stories
* Re-submit any rejected/recalled short stories
* Enter at least one writing/poetry competition
* Consider the future of Hunting Jack

Poetry
* Write at least one poem per week
* Consider re-publishing chapbooks with new front covers for Amazon
* Produce small chapbook for PSH Free-For-All on 1st May

Editing
* Stay on top of RR submissions
* Complete RR issue 7 for June

Web
* Complete amalgamation of web design and freelance writing sites
* Carry out updates for property client
* Carry out transfer and updates for B&B client
* Carry out updates for photography client

Marketing and Promotion
* Publish April newsletter
* Prepare May newsletter
* Publish April GDR Plan
* Prepare April GDR Review
* Prepare May GDR Plan
* Keep website(s) up to date
* Keep involved in EP’s company promotion scheme
* Work on Stella marketing plan: Blogs, reviews, PR, updated trailer, web banners, web ads, posters, and fliers
* Bring Podcast ideas to life
* Bring YouTube ideas to life
* Record MIS sound bites

Reading & Learning
* Day by AL Kennedy

Non-Writing
* Keep diet going (-4/14lbs as at 17/3/09) – next weigh-in 24th April

Here’s to a great month of satisfying, challenging, productive work.

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