4 posts tagged “weird”
In keeping with yesterday's "cool" theme, I want to tell you about two more cool things that happened today. Ready?
Number one. My boss was showing me some new duties I'm going to be taking over temporarily until he finds someone else who can do it -- maintaining one of our labs. Ooooh...fun. Okay, but that's not the cool part. I mean, as excited as I am about tracking down obscure-looking pieces of equipment that are due or soon-to-be-due for calibration..... No, the cool thing that happened is that my boss came across a nifty flashlight that has no batteries. Instead, it's got this magnetic thingamajig inside it that you "charge" by shaking it, so that the magnet activates these copper wire doohickies or something, which then enables the light to turn on. I'm sure there's a more official name for this contraption, and it's probably not that cool to SOME people, like super-high-tech engineery-type people, like Joe. But anyway, my boss came across it and said, "Here! Put it in your car in case you ever find yourself in the dark or in need of a light source." Yay! (Little did he know I would spend the rest of the time we walked through the lab shaking it and trying to stifle my silly giddy-girl giggles. Yes. I am dumb.)
Number two. The other day, when I bought some healthy-type snacks and munchies to stop myself from being a big fat vending machine pig, I got an eight-pack of those little 1.5 oz boxes of Sun-Maid raisins. And I don't know if you ever did this as a kid, but the minute I pulled out a box and finished all the raisins today, I remembered making music with those empty boxes! Did you ever do that? I'd tear off the flaps from the open end, stick that end in my mouth and blow as hard as I could, and then there would be this gloriously obnoxious kazoo-esque screeching that ensued. Entertainment for hours! ...Er, for a six-year-old, of course. No, I in my current 23-year-old state of total maturity and serious adulthood, did NOT practically skip out the door at the end of the work day, throw myself into my car, shut the door and gleefully start blowing into my raisin box kazoo. Nope, not even a little bit. And I also didn't take a video (or three) of myself trying to make different pitches and noises with it. And I'm definitely NOT going to upload them to YouTube later tonight for your viewing pleasure.
Okay...maybe I will. But only if you promise to still be my friend.
That's all for this moment. Stay tuned for (possibly) a spurt of attempted fictional creativity, at some point in the next week or decade, about the mysterious red truck that I drive by every day on my way to work. (The truck's real, but I'm just thinking about making up some brilliant story about why it's always there, in the same spot, every morning...WITH its headlights on. I know, right? It's weird!)
And without further ado...here are ALL THREE ridiculous videos I recorded of myself playing the raisin box kazoo. Don't hate. And also, please disregard my totally disheveled, gross appearance. I was getting ready to go running! And didn't bother to put on makeup this morning for work. And frankly, didn't even wash my hair this morning either. Seriously...don't hate. Love. Love me like I am. (Name that country song!)
Over the last week or so, I think both Joe and I have come to recognize a sort of trend that occurs when I get together with my family: I get weird. No, seriously...I just turn into a big goofball (when it's a relaxed, fun environment, that is...not so much when it's strained or tense, of course). Spending Christmas Eve with my family, Joe's patience with my silly, totally un-sophisticated side was definitely tested. Fortunately, he's pretty weird too, and I think he might've previously thought that he was a LOT weirder than me...until this last week in seeing me interact with family. I guess this particular week has been a real treat for me, getting a nice chunk of days off of work and being all proper and cool, and just being able to loosen up and use up some energy and weirdness I had apparently been hanging onto for awhile. I mean, nothing extreme really...I was just a bit kookier around my family that day. And then again, tonight, we got to hang out with my cousin Sarah and her husband, and the goof in me came out all over again. Sarah and I have always been that way. We have our ongoing, totally ridiculous anecdotes and inside jokes that don't make much sense or just don't seem that funny to anyone else, but we still crack up at the thought of them. Do you have any friends or family like that? I just love it. I love being around people who make it easy to be "me" around them, whether "me" in that moment is a goofball, a hopeless romantic, a person with a specific passion or hobby, or whatever. I mean, I'm generally pretty comfortable with myself, and have in recent years learned (slowly but surely) that I can be confident in who I am, in most any situation, and not try to alter or change myself into something not quite genuinely "me." But as I'm becoming a part of a new family with much different personalities, tastes, upbringings, etc., I do find myself, on occasion, feeling a little out of place, or unlearned, or simply nervous and a tad uncomfortable in a new and less familiar environment. Don't get me wrong, I am absolutely loving spending time with Joe's family, getting to know them, and I do feel very welcomed and at home around them. But there is also something to be said about spending time around my own family, my blood, that is soothing...freeing...invigorating. I am just all-around blessed with great people in my life, both related and maybe-someday-soon-to-be related. :-) I think the greatest discovery I've made recently is that with Joe, I feel very nearly just as comfortable and at ease as I do with my flesh-and-blood family. I can be that weird, goofy girl that my family knows so well, around Joe, and he still loves me. He gets me. It's awesome. And somewhat terrifying. Terrifying, because I know that being completely comfortable with people, to the extent that I am with my family, means I am also capable of being quite insensitive and thoughtless toward them as well. It's a sad confession, but an honest one. I can go from being at my very best to my absolute worst, in a matter of an hour or even a minute when I'm around my loved ones. I guess it's because "home" is the place where you get to unwind, to destress from the busy, hustle-and-bustle, people-pleasing daily life that goes on outside, and it's also where you're able to (if you're lucky) be 100% yourself -- for better or for worse -- because you know you will always be loved and accepted by these people. So, I have never really feared losing my family's love if I should ever be in a snappy mood some day, or make a rude comment in passing, or anything like that. They know me, and they understand my many moods...but it's all too easy to take that unconditional love for granted and just get downright mean sometimes. I can't tell you how awful I still feel when I think back on times when I told my mom that I hated her, or yelled at my little sister or brother just because I was upset about something that had nothing to do with them at all. Anyway, all this to say, I worry from time to time that my being so comfortable with Joe will lead to one of these insensitive comments, or displaced anger, or just a foul mood turning into an unnecessary fight. So yes...a little terrifying. But hey, how great is God's timing? We're about to start a class all about learning to deal with this kind of stuff together, and I'm really looking forward to it. I'm scared as heck, just because of my semi-former (meaning, I'm still working on it) tendency to run at the first sign of significant conflict or the first roadblock that seems, at first glance, insurmountable. And I honestly don't doubt that we will encounter at least one issue like this during these classes, because I think that's kind of the whole point. They want to open up discussion about things that we might never have thought about without the guidance of older married couples who have been through it all, and they want to help us address it now, so that we can potentially start a marriage together with a much stronger foundation and a better understanding of each other. Yay! And also...eek! If you feel like it, pray for us these next 12 weeks! (Thanks!) It's going to be interesting. And wonderful. And painful, stressful, emotional, exciting, exhausting...you get the idea. It'll be intense.
Ahhhhh...that felt good. And there you have it. A REAL stinkin' update of sorts. And it's 30 down, ONE TO GO for this December post-a-day challenge. I knew I could do it. (Not really...I actually honestly thought I'd fail within the first two weeks. So, go me!)
I just realized I totally forgot about the NaBloPoMo "theme" challenge this month, and my promise to include the word "thanks" in each post. So I missed it the last three days. Whoops. I mean, I've also kinda slacked on posting anything of much substance, but at least I'm managing to stick to the post-a-day commitment! So gimme a break...sheesh.
Haha...I love it when I start talking to the nebulous, nonexistent person who constantly hounds me about my blogging tactics. I should probably give him a name. How about Wilbur? Yes, his name shall be Wilbur.
Now listen, Wilbur. I know you expect a lot from me. Brilliant posts. Hilarious posts. Heartfelt posts. Daily posts which are at least a few paragraphs and include the word "thanks" in some remotely coherent sentence. But you know what? I'm doing the best I can, you ungrateful little punk. You should just enjoy whatever DOES manage to come out of my brain and into this little posting box. And if you can't appreciate me for ME, then I say poo on you!
Okay, crazy Tabitha has taken a potty break. Awesome, normal Tabitha is back. Thanks for your patience.
I'm definitely in a bizarre mood today, if you couldn't tell. Anyway, I am slightly disappointed in myself. It has been SO hard to stick to going to the gym three times a week like I'm supposed to! I've missed an entire WEEK more than once, and lately I'm lucky if I make it in there once or twice in a week. Talk about sllllllacker status. I mean, I know it's the holidays and so much is going on, but I still feel like a lame-o, especially because I'm still PAYING for the gym, whether or not I GO enough times a week. So it's like I'm just throwing my money away every time I skip out on it.
All that said, I'm DEFINITELY going tonight. And then running with Joe. And going again to the gym tomorrow, and again on Thursday. That'll make my three-times-a-week quota before I leave for Dickens! I just have to also make sure I have enough time to do laundry and pack appropriately for freeeeezing my patootie off up there.
And in other news, next Monday is our department's year-end potluck, which I'm coordinating. Eek! And I realized that a lot of people are eager to bring salads and desserts, and not a lot of people are so hot on sides, entrées or drinks. So it looks like I'm gonna bring bottled water (and hope someone'll bring something else, too), AND make artichoke dip with crackers. I already have the crackers and most of the ingredients...I just have to figure out how to make it before work at 7:30 that morning and keep it hot until the luncheon starts at 11:30. Eek again! I have a crockpot that I bought at Kmart (aka Laaaaaame-art) awhile back, but I haven't actually used it yet, and I'm not even sure what size it is offhand. Let's just say I hope the recipe I have will a) work in the crockpot since I usually make it in the oven, AND b) not be too much to fit into it. Oh, and c) be delicious and amazing, like it usually is.
That's all we have time for today, Wilbur. I hope this post is satisfactorily to your liking, and if it's not, well, better luck tomorrow, eh?
So...I get made fun of all the time for comparing flavors of things to what other things MIGHT taste like (things you never would want to actually taste)...but I guess I have a really strong connection between my nose and my taste buds. Here's the story of my latest weird hypothetical-taste-comparison discovery.
The vending machines at my work have a plethora of candy, chocolate, chips, and other uber-healthy snacks to choose from. Usually when I find myself distracted by hunger and needing a little snack, I grab some Chex mix or something not TOO calorically devastating or packed with sugar and fat. Sometimes I go for limited edition Wild Cherry m&m's. And EVERY time, I forget that I NEVER want to eat them again, because there are always four or five (if I'm lucky -- sometimes more like eight or nine) single m&m's in the package that just taste wrong.
How wrong, you ask? I'm talking A&D diaper rash ointment wrong. For those of you who have ever changed a baby's diaper and had to use this dreaded cream, you know this is NOT a pretty taste to imagine, especially when we're talking chocolate. It's a VERY specific smell, and not a very pleasant one. And the fact that I seem to taste EXACTLY that same SMELL when I eat these m&m's...it just creeps me out.
The weird thing is, it's not EVERY m&m. It's as if the factory that produces these has some problem with its mixing machines or something, because sometimes an m&m will taste more cherry than chocolate. Other times more chocolate than cherry. And then there are those four or five (or eight or nine) in each package that taste like cherry-chocolate-rash-ointment. Blech.
The worst part about today's experience...is that I went to buy one of these bags of m&m's, and since it got stuck and didn't fall down and I didn't want to make a spectacle by shaking the machine...I had to BUY ANOTHER BAG so that they would BOTH fall down so I wouldn't waste any money. And thus...I have consumed TWICE the A&D-flavored Wild Cherry m&m's than usual. Not to mention twice the calories and sugar...and I'm feeling twice grossed-out, twice-motivated to go to the gym today, and TWICE-bummed out that I didn't bring my gym clothes to work (because the gym is near WORK, not my house). Bah!
Anyway...just wanted to share that with y'all. You can think I'm crazy for knowing what hypothetical diaper cream tastes like, but go smell some, then eat these m&m's, and I'm pretty sure you will be just as disturbed as I am.
