Mild Amusement

Do you remember how I switched to a new dentist and ended up liking the place? Well, I still like the place, but after my last visit, I may have to watch myself just a tad. They've got jokes there. It all started with a routine check up. Luckily, my teeth are fine and I don't have any cavities. In fact, I have "nothing on the watch list." I happen to know that that's a good thing, because I specifically asked what that meant (I got curious). Both the dental hygienist and the dentist both reassured me that this was a good thing, so I figure I'm good. They did, however, laugh at my curiosity just a tad. A little while later, the dental hygienist told me that I had to change the way that I brushed my teeth. My usual way looked like it might cause damage to my gums, so she started quizzing me about my technique. I've pretty much been brushing my teeth the same way since I was kid: making circles around my teeth and gums. Her response was the beginning of ...

You know how people in other parts of the world eat far different things? For example, I dare you to find beef anywhere on McDonald's menu in India . The same holds true for different regions or parts of the same country for a large enough country. A coastal region is going to have far more seafood in its repertoire than a land-locked one, and different cultural influences are going to affect the seasoning that the people use. I don't think any of this is particularly surprising for any of you, but just keep all of that in mind for what comes next. I was in Hawaii fairly recently, and my friend and I were looking for a place to eat dinner. We knew exactly where we wanted to go (said travel buddy had been wise enough to look it up ahead of time), but we had a few hours to kill so we had decided to walk around. We didn't really have anywhere to be, so it made sense to take a leisurely stroll. Heck, we found a night-time open-air market, so I'd like to think it was a wi...

Darn near everyone who knows me calls me "Sam." It's how I sign emails, it's how I introduce myself to people, and when I hear that name, I look up. That's not actually my first name, though. I was born as a Samuel, and that's the name that shows up on all of my official documents. So why do I go by a different name, you ask? Well, there's a story behind that, folks. I wasn't born in the United States, and Spanish is my native language. However, I moved here in the middle of what became my kindergarten year, so I had to quickly learn a new language. Still, it took a little bit of time before I picked up the new language. So, for a little while, I was introducing myself as "Samuel," spoken with the accent of a brown person. I don't actually remember doing so, but I'm certain that I must have. That's because my teacher and classmates, bless their hearts, wanted to help me fit in, so they did their level best to try to pronounce my...

A while back, I was traveling through Canada on a vacation. Specifically, I was driving through the Canadian Rockies with a friend. As it turns out, though, driving was going to cause a few laughs. Specifically, it was going to cause a few laughs at my expense. You see, shortly after renting the car, we drove to the hotel. I always get a little wary when I have to drive through unknown territory, but we had a GPS unit, so it was fine. All in all, it was just a matter of following the directions and staying the appropriate lane at the appropriate time. However, we quickly came upon a sign that said something like, "Right Lane: Taxi and Transit." I distinctly remember asking my travel companion if he knew what "Transit" meant. I wasn't sure, and I could've taken it a couple of different ways. Did my rented sedan count as a "transit" vehicle? If so, why call it out in particular? That didn't make any sense. So it must've meant something else...