Mild Amusement

I think I've mentioned before that people in my family tend to have a sense of humor, so you'd darn well better have one if you want to run with us. Most people have no problem playing along, and over time, good family friends and significant others get in on the act, too. Sometimes a little too well. Let's start this story chronologically, with my brother. A long time back, he was spending some time with his in-laws, and he joked to his mother-in-law that she was his favorite mother-in-law. Technically, this was a true fact. However, she didn't exactly have much competition. His mother-in-law momentarily forgot this fact, so she was flattered. My brother's wife, however, knew that it was a joke, so she politely pointed out how many mother-in-laws my brother had (one). Everyone had a good laugh, and it turned in to a fun story. Fast forward a few months, and somehow this story came up at dinner one night with my sister and her husband. Everyone chuckled. Me being...

Once, a long time ago, when I was a poor college kid, I decided to shave my head instead of getting a haircut. I don't entirely remember the whole thought process involved, but I do definitely remember thinking that it'd be cheaper. I mean, a cheap set of clippers was way cheaper than paying 15ish bucks every few weeks. It didn't look crappy or anything, so I stuck to this plan. Fast forward a few years, and I'd been shaving my head for a while. I'd very much gotten used to the whole process, and I didn't think anything of it. However, I'd just started working for a new supervisor at the time, and HE wasn't used to the process. My hair was a little shaggy when I first started working for him, so a couple of weeks after, I shaved my head. Upon walking in to his office, he looked up, and immediately asked, "what'd you do? Lose a bet?" Yeah, it went like that. Anyhow, the point is that I've shaved my head for a while, and it has always c...

I was just talking to someone the other day about how I'm usually very willing to play with my diet. This is how I ended up eating vegetarian meals (and occasionally regretting it ) and how I ended up getting a dirty look over tofu . As I quickly discovered, though, I am decidedly in the minority when it comes to food. And as it turns out, this has often led to quite a few laughs over food. The one item where this is the most noticeable is pizza. Sure, everyone has their preferences about certain food; I know people who don't eat seafood, people who don't eat meat, people who only eat Chinese food, people who don't eat dairy ... you get the idea. But because pizza has so many options, people's preferences very quickly come out. My Chinese grandmother was one a perfect example of this. She was one of those people that pretty much only ever wanted to eat Chinese food (my friends can confirm that this is not an isolated occurrence among other Chinese elders). I wou...

Like a bunch of people that I know, I use GPS navigation on my phone to help me get around. I don't always know where stores or houses are located, so I let technology figure it out for me. In fact, this was one of the main reasons why I ended up getting a smart phone, since I wanted to have the safety net when I was going anywhere. And for the most part, this whole system works well. Of course, it can fail in hilarious ways. I was heading to a friend's party one Monday night a while back, and I'd never been to this particular location before. I had a rough general idea of where in the city it was, but I figured I'd play it safe by having my GPS direct me there. To make matters worse, I was running late because I'd gotten off of work a little later than usual that night. I really didn't want to have to figure it out on the fly under those circumstances, so I asked my phone to tell me where to go and I started driving. By the time I got on the Bay Bridge, I ...

You know how if people tell you something often enough, you start to believe it? This post is all about that. Apparently, I am somebody who is exceptionally daring about trying new experiences. It's not how I usually describe myself, but I've had enough people tell me so that I have no choice but to believe there's some truth there. Now, I'll readily admit that I'm usually flexible about the food I eat. I have no objections to sampling new food items or in imposing dietary restrictions on myself. I've written plenty about it before, but I basically order anything on a menu that I've never eaten before. It's kind of fun, I sometimes end up liking new foods, and this also means that I can usually have some of other people's food . It works out pretty well. However, this willingness to try has bled over in to plenty of other aspects of my life. I've mostly been a homebody  by nature, but I haven't objected to being sent on business tr...