Getting up at 5 AM in the winter is really grating on my last nerve at the moment. Don't get me wrong...I'm happy with my job, I'm grateful that I have it, and I'm grateful that I am able to work. I'm at ebb tide on the energy level right now, though, and I'm craving some extra snooze time in the morning. I just have to get through two more days, and we have the weekend off together and can sleep in. It's also supposed to get really cold this weekend--apparently below zero Saturday night-- with lots of snow, so it's a good weekend for staying in. Two more days! Two more days! Is everybody cheering with me? Two more days! Aw, ya spoilsports. <grin>
A funny thing happened on the way to the lab. (Zero Mostel just sprang to mind. My brain is crammed with obscure trivia.) I was driving downtown, and I heard a honk. I looked to my left, and there was a yellow Mustang GT. The guy driving it waved, I gave him a thumbs-up, and he sped off and turned right at the next light. That was kind of fun. We all love our Mustangs, and this guy just seemed so happy and pleased to be driving his, and to see me driving mine...it was just kind of a fun moment, and it started my day off in a nice way! The yellow ones are pretty sharp, but I don't know if I could drive it for years and years. The orange ones are even sharper, but same deal. I plan on keeping Slick for many years (I had my previous Mustang, a '95 named Rod, for 10 years.), so my dark grey--with a black stripe, thank you very much--will do nicely.
I'm not feeling very introspective today, so I chose a fun topic. (Apologies to those who are creeped out by clowns--no offense, Bucko!)
Great googly moogly!...as Kim would say. When doesn't it? It's one of the reasons that Ken and I get along so well--he's a clown at heart (the aforementioned Bucko), and he can always make me laugh. I'm also blessed with a family that values and promotes a good sense of humor--if you don't have a sense of humor, you won't get along with my family.
When I was a teenager, I wasn't a bad kid, but I went through my surly phase like most teenagers go through. We'd visit relatives in Georgia and Florida, including my Uncle Lin and Aunt Marie. Aunt Marie is still with us and still a sweetie, but unfortunately, Uncle Lin passed away twenty-some years ago. (My Aunt Bert is also no longer with us, but I'll write about her another day. She deserves an entry all her own.) Uncle Lin was quite a character, and I can still hear his laugh. He used to tease me mercilessly, and being the surly teen girl that I was, I did my best to NOT be amused. It never worked. We were staying with them once, and I was sleeping on the couch. When I woke up in the morning, I went to pull on my jeans that I had folded up nicely at the end of the couch. For some reason, I couldn't get them on...I kept trying to force my leg in, and it wasn't going. I looked at the hem, and Uncle Lin had stapled the hem of my jeans together. When I figured out what he'd done, I said, "Aww, man!" and I could hear Uncle Lin cracking up from the next room. I ask you...how can you not laugh at that?! It still makes me laugh when I think about it, and I still miss him, but I'm sitting here with a big grin on my face, so that tells me that Uncle Lin is still watching out for me!
That's the kind of family I come from, so finding the humor in things is part of my genes. (Get it? Genes? Jeans? HA!) Something we often say at work, on our really busy days or at frustrating times, is "It's either laugh or cry." I have great coworkers, too, because we all choose to laugh, and we can get going pretty good sometimes! We all have our grim moments, but for the most part, we like to have fun.
The same holds true at home. Ken and I also have our own personal grim moments, but 95% of the time at home, we're pretty cheery people. It would be against our nature to be otherwise. Even when people do their best to piss us off, we see how ludicrous it is and end up laughing about it. (It's usually a pretty poor attempt, so it's easy to find the humor!)
My advice is to never lose your sense of humor. I've seen people deal with adversity in both ways--they completely lose their sense of humor and are unable to see all the funny things around them (or in them, for that matter), or they say "to hell with it" and continue to laugh in the face of hard times. We all deal with rough times--we just need to try to remember the absurdity of it all, and enjoy the ride. I like this quote:
"A person without a sense of humor is like a wagon without springs. It's jolted by every pebble on the road."
Henry Ward Beecher
Or perhaps some of you can relate better to--or be motivated more by--this one:
"If you can make a woman laugh you can do anything with her."
Nicol Williamson
On a final humor note, check out Dan's entry about a video--the video will amaze and transform you! You'll laugh, you'll cry, it'll become a part of you. Or not...but it's astounding.
6 comments:
In the words of Yoda, HHHHHHMMMMMMMMMMMMHHHHHMMMMMMM. If this makes you laugh, I have a few ideas :D.
Yep, made me laugh! :)
Beth
I LOL about your uncle and the stapled jeans. Brilliant! I once worked with a bunch of ladies with a wonderfully warped sense of humor. A rubber cockroach made the rounds- in the cash drawer, in my box of crackers (several of which flew into the air with the cockroach), in the bathroom, etc. It even went to New York in someone’s suitcase. We had months of fun with that thing.
The Rocket Man video on Dan's site was bizarrely funny! I think there may have been pharmaceuticals involved.
Thanks for the comment, Relatv! Isn't it fun how a joke makes the rounds, and lingers for a while? I remember on my first job, I once drew a little tiny face on a specimen swab (a clean one, of course!). I put it at my friend Deanne's bench. She laughed, and I thought it was over and done with. A few days later, I got an envelope in the mail...when I opened it, there was Swabbie smiling up at me. I think we mailed him back and forth a few times. :)
Hugs, Beth
I've found humor was a missing element for the longest time in my life. Which in itself is funny, seeing as I'm a doof ball in full regale at times. Doc and I tend to end up making those around us laugh, humor is infectious. How can you not laugh at a guy dancing in his booth while listening to Greek music over the speakers. I'm beginning to think we are both in what they call your 2nd childhoods. We use to get the classic eye roll from my daughter all the time. The thing is we rarely sat down to eat a meal without either her or Doc saying or doing something one of us would end up snorting our drink or food. Even with all the hard times I've had with her in her teenage years, I think she still remembers those moments. She stopped by the house a few days ago and just hung out for a few hours. (Hugs) Indigo
That's wonderful, Indigo. I'm so happy you regained your sense of humor, although I suspect it wasn't lost...just misplaced. I can tell by your entries and comments that you're a nut, and it's one of my favorite qualities in people!
:) Beth
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