I-SABS

****** WARNING! THERE IS NOT READER'S DIGEST VERSION OF THIS STORY*****

So, I have a friend.

Yes, just one.

He is 75% Awesome, and 25% nerd; it makes for the perfect combination of awesome nerdiness. The first time I saw him, we had a stare down. I was sitting on a garden bench, and he was walking directly towards me, (with stellar confidence I might add). I thought for sure that he was coming to talk to me. But he did not, and we exchanged a polite smile as he passed.

Now, mind you, I was freaking out on the inside: “Oh my gosh, he’s kind of cute. Crap, is he coming over here? No, no, no, no, no… Seriously?!..... Phew, he passed me!”

   

Then, the sprinklers went off.

Please note: I’m not really the kind of person to sit around in a garden… I was there for a photo shoot, and the last thing I needed to be was wet from the sprinklers. So, squealing like a little girl as I popped up from my bench and jogged to where I would be meeting up with my photographer was perfectly in character, and not in the least bit embarrassing... Well, okay, maybe a little. Anyways, Ms. Pic gets a phone call while I’m chatting with her, she tells the pseron where we're at, and around the corner comes model number two, the one and only Mr. Confidence.

With a simultaneous and scrambled “that was... I was…uh hi!” we quickly burst into laughter and introduced ourselves, began our never ending conversation about burritos, and got to business.

We took some pictures together. Like this one.

And this one.

(Pictures courtesy of Ms. Pic)

We exchanged funny pick up lines, and eventually digits.

Next came our date. (A few days later of course). We went to a standup comedy show, out for Chinese food, then back to his apartment to play Rock Band, and this, is where we found out that if we were any nerdier, more nerdy?, the Chess club would call us. In his apartment was only the coolest thing ever: a dry erase board. Mr. Confidence and I proceeded to spend the rest of our date talking about action potentials, afferent and efferent nerves, and muscle reflexes.

Anyways, the whole point of this is a text message I received a day or two ago that said:

"So, I can understand the whole get to know you thing on campus. But doing it online just seems like stalker paradise to me."

After confessing that that statement had made my day I got this:

"I like it when I can. They're like: tell them your name, age, major, home address, phone number, color of underwear you're wearing, if you like grilled cheese or not, and especially if you're married or not."

Something you must know about this friendship is that "are you hitting on me?" is an everyday question. Well, not really a question, just a pointing out of the obvious in an innocent way. That is where the title I-SABS comes in...

I am a stress magnet. I also seem to attract drama really well. At any rate, one particularly stressful, dramatic, and don't forget emotional night, I received a text from Mr. Confidence. I don't remember what the text message was about, but I know it made me laugh. It was the first time I felt an honest laugh come out in a few days... It felt amazing!

Whatever it was about, it turned into obvious flirtation, and then came the magic question followed by a "yeah, I'm not very subtle". Of course, I couldn't have him feeling embarrassed so I introduced I-SABS.. An imaginary club that values our membership even more than the Chess Club. I-SABS stands for "I Suck at Being Subtle".

Moral of the story. Who cares if you're bad at being subtle? Confidence can make your day!!

Two Dumbs Make a Smart

“Ugh! My parents are SO DUMB!”

We’ve all heard it and most of us have said it. So, if your parents are really as dumb as you say they are, why are you standing right in front of me? Personally, I think my parents are pretty dang smart! After all, they made me J

Not too long ago I had a conversation with my best friend that went something like this:

Me: It would suck if I didn’t have you to mentally articulate the ridiculous mess that comes out of my mouth in the form of words.

Best-ee: Seriously. What would you do without me?

Me: I’d feel really, really, dumb.

Best-ee: Well, you shouldn’t. Because if you’re really, really, dumb, then I’m REALLY, REALLY, REAAAAAALLLY dumb.

Me: Hahah that is why we are only semi-dumb together… or maybe we’re extra dumb, I’m not sure

Best-ee: No. Two dumbs make a smart. It’s like multiplication… Or maybe it’s like addition?

Me: Haha!! I totally have to write a blog about this.

(For reference as to why this conversation even happened… Here’s a picture)

Now, this little “two dumbs makes a smart” talk had absolutely nothing to do with parenting and everything to do with our future vacations together, but that’s beside the point. In reality, she’s right! Maybe not about multiplication, but riddle me this:

If my parents are two dumbs, that made a smart (me), would it not stand to reason that their parents were two dumbs that made a smart? And my grandparent’s parents were two dumbs that made a few smarts? Et cetera, et cetera…Making me a dumb who will eventually find another dumb, and make a smart! And if all of that is the case, I sure am glad that my parents are dumb!!

Basically, two dumbs make a smart, which just makes more dumbs.

It all makes sense now!

Busy and Beauty

Fact: Life is busy.

Fact: Busy does not have to detract from beauty.

I really enjoy driving. Usually, when I am in the car it is one of the few times I am actually alone during the day, and I can do whatever I want… well, kind of. I can listen to music, or silence, I can talk to myself, or just think. Sometimes, I really like to just think. Lately in the car I've been in a Michael Jackson sort of mood. Fortunately, since I always seem to forget my Ipod, I stole… well, borrowed… the Michael Jackson Greatest Hits C.D. from my parent’s C.D. collection (thanks mom and dad!). SO, I’m sitting there jammin’ to MJ. I'm of course singing at the top of my lungs, but really only catching every other word making it sounded a something like, "blah blah blah OF, blah blah blah blah blah LOVE"... and BAM! I had a moment.

(Cue music!....Or just sing along)

I’m starting with the man in the mirror/ I’m asking him to change his ways/ No message could have been any clearer/ If you want to make the world a better place/ Take a look at yourself and make the/ Change/ Got to get it right/ While you've got the time/ ‘Cause when you close your heart/ You close your mind – Michael Jackson.

(Fact: I get really annoyed by the sound of the fan attempting to cool off my laptop… especially when it’s already cool).

Have you ever really noticed that when you get really stressed out, and everything seems to be going crazy in your life, it feels like you're spinning out of control, and you are pretty much dysfunctional? Yeah, I have... A lot. I realized, that when those times happen I've closed my heart, which closes my mind, and if upstairs is shut down... Houston, we have a problem!

Moral of the story: open up your heart because when you do, you can appreciate the good which comes from the bad. Everyone hits the wall, how you let that wall affect you, whether you go around, climb over, or push through it, that is determined by your heart.