Mild Amusement

The last time that I used this particular title, I told the tale of a pair of ripped jeans . I'd actually forgotten about the episode until I did a search for posts (I don't like reusing the post titles), but it seemed incredibly apropos given the story I want to tell this time. I don't want to give away the punchline, but you'll see what I mean. So, during that last story, I had to buy a new pair of jeans at the last minute, and I ended up having to change in a public bathroom. It all just felt very odd. Fortunately for me, I was at home when the shenanigans happened this time around. Specifically, this happened: Yes, that is a belt in two pieces The real kicker of it all was that I wasn't even wearing the belt when it decided to end its waist-cinching days. It was, as you can see in the photo, hanging on the hook. I forget what I did, but there was no violent motion involved. I think I tried to move the hanger, but I don't really remember. However, the ...

A long time ago, I remarked that my sister thinks I read very quickly . It's one of those things that I've apparently done for a very long time, but I've never really spent much time thinking about it. It's not like it's ever made much of a difference one way or the other. Until recently, that is. A shorter time ago, my brother and sister got me some comic books for my birthday. Well, to be precise, they got me the comic books a few days before my birthday, so I was pleasantly surprised. What's more, they'd actually gone back to a Secret Santa wish list from years past to figure out which ones I thought would be interesting (clever of them, I must say), so I was even more pleasantly surprised. In fact, I was so pleased by the gift, that I was reading them within the hour. Now, just to give you an idea of how much there was to read, one of these was an inches-thick anthology. It was easily several hundred pages long. Even if you account for the fact that th...

One of the funniest things I have ever heard come out of a kid's mouth is that lunch was her favorite part of the day . That wasn't the only kid to say something to that effect, either. I've heard other kids say some variation of, "this food is awesome" enough times to realize that my mom is a legitimately good cook. It's actually gotten to the point where my mom has a reputation among the parents; they're always excited when she cooks for a function, since they know it will be quality food. As it turns out, this seems to run in the family. It's just not the same type of reputation. I've always treated cooking as a bit of a chore. Don't get me wrong, I can appreciate a good meal, but my criteria for what to prepare have always involved speed of preparation and simplicity. As I like to say, I can cook well enough to stave off starvation. I know this isn't going to impress anyone any time soon, but it's yet to cause me any grief. And ...

Whenever the family and I go out, things are bound to get interesting. Most of the time, that's because my siblings and I will get creative with the banter . And when there are three people goofing off, parents tend to get in on the fun, too. All in all, it works out to a very interesting time. However, every now and again, someone else will manage to surprise us and inject some fun in to the evening. This is a story of one of those times. The family and I decided to go out to dinner, so we drove out to one of the nearby shopping areas to try out a new restaurant. There were jokes a-plenty, and a good time was had by all. It was more or less what I expected: a good time, but hardly worthy of a blog post. However, the night didn't end with dinner. For whatever reason, my brother remembered that he had to pick up a new pair of slacks. We happened to be within walking distance of a store that sold some, so we all moseyed on over to said store. My brother knew more or less what...

In a post from a while back , I mentioned that people around me end up with nicknames fairly frequently. It's not always my doing, but I am more than happy to play along. Of course, the best part isn't the actual nickname, it's always the back story that leads to the nickname. And since it's been a while since that previous post, I've picked up a few more stories about nicknames that are worth a chuckle. So, without further ado, I present to you: "ADT" You know how people pay for security systems for their houses? One of the most well-known companies is called ADT . My brother likes to say that he has no need for said security systems because one of his neighbors is constantly on the lookout for what's going on in the neighborhood. She's like a one-person neighborhood watch, complete with a side of the neighborhood gossip. He has actually come home and had her tell him about the comings and goings of his wife. My brother's smart aleck str...

A little while back, my sister and her husband came to visit. It was nice to see the two of them, and I was glad to have them around. However, this meant that there were two more people sleeping in the house than usual. Normally, this isn't a huge problem: you let the guests use any kind of a guest room or extra couches you have, and you make sure that they've got whatever supplies they need. In my case, that's not really an option, but ultimately, it led to me laughing at myself for several days in a row. First of all, let's start with the guest room option. In my house, that room has several cribs in it; it gets used for the day care. Most adults I know won't fit there, so it's not a very good option. Sure, we could throw an air mattress or some sleeping bags in there, but it's not entirely comfortable to be cramped by several pieces of furniture like that. Also, if any of the babies actually need to take a morning nap, said guests are going to get kicke...