Now that my credibility has taken a dive..

This must be how Night Shyamalan feels about his once promising career. In the aftermath of his blockbuster success with the Sixth Sense, movie goers now walk into Night Shyamalan's films bracing for equally suspenseful and shocking endings. None of the movies he has directed since then have reached the level of success and hype enjoyed by the Sixth Sense.

Rest assured that I will not pull a prank like this again. Until your guard is down, that is.

It may shock you to learn that this was not the first time I pulled a similar prank. This is a true story. Trust me.

Back in 1999, when the dotcom boom was in full swing, I made a career switch to the software engineering field. You may remember the skyrocketing job market when lucrative 6 figure jobs with hefty stock options and bonuses were not uncommon. In my case, I took a modest pay cut and landed a mid-level job at age 33 because of my limited experience in the field. Getting my foot in the door at a growing technology company was my priority.

After a few months into my new job, I sent a group of my ex-coworkers an email with details of a lucrative job offer I had landed. Of course, the story had the exact same ending:  The alarm clock rang and I woke up.

Within minutes, this girl I used to work with called. "Congratulations, David. I am so happy for you!"

It was apparent that she had not gotten to the punch line. She was at least 3 paragraphs away from the fateful moment.

"The job is in Seattle? I have really good college friends who moved up there. It rains a lot, but I think you will love it up there."

"Wow, a signing bonus of $150,000? That is awesome!"

Her voice got more and more feverish.

"And stock options. Wow! David, this is great."

"A company car? You should get yourself a Ferrari, David."

Let me tell you what it was like. It was like watching a state of the art locomotive lurching in slow motion headed for a train wreck. I could only brace myself with my teeth clenched knowing what was in store for this poor girl.

Then a deathly silence ensued. You could cut the air with a knife.

After about a good two minutes,

"You [EXPLETIVE] [EXPLETIVE]"

Her reaction set off a fit of uncontrollable laughter. After a few minutes of gasping for air, I finally managed to muster a few words:

"Maryanne, I'm dying here. HAHAHA"

"What a great idea, David Cho. Please die."