Okay. So it took me awhile to figure out that putting yourself down is possibly the worst thing you can do if you are trying to make friends. Modesty = good, self-deprecation = not so good. So we all know that, right? Great. So, if we all know that, why do I still freak out when I do something the tiniest bit embarrassing?
Well, the thing is, I pretty much set myself up for it. Embarrassment, I mean. Such as tonight, when I agreed to participate in a comedic "Spelling Bee" and realized the minute I signed up that I was basically agreeing to embarrass the hell out of myself in front of an audience. As I jokingly said to another red-faced participant, "God forbid I retain any amount of dignity for over 24 hours."
That's just it, though...who the hell needs dignity? This is art school for Pete's sake. We LIVE off lack of dignity. Dignity just slows us down. (Theater Majors, you especially should know what I'm talking about. How could anyone worried about dignity participate in a show so amazingly funny as Hotel Paradiso?) And you know what, I'll take fun over dignity any day.
That said, a little judgement couldn't hurt.
But onto more important things, such as THE RAIN!!!! Anyone who lives in DeRoy, McWhorter, MB, or Picasso should know what I'm talking about. A.k.a., the freaking AWESOME mudslide/rain dance/puddle jumping session held in front of the DeRoy building last night! Seriously. I don't know how this happened. All I know is that one minute I'm taking out the trash, and then the next thing I know, I'm running around in the rain like a crazy person, along with a few dozen other crazy people who all have the same idea of fun as I do: Puddle-stomping and mud-sliding in pajamas, hearing people whoop, scream, and yell some rather inappropriate things while doing so. Seriously, whoever started that is my new hero.
Let me just ask you - how often do YOU do things like that?
How often do YOU run around in the rain with your friends, screaming nonsense and jumping in ankle-deep puddles?
How often do YOU tear off your coat and jump into a pile of fresh, fluffy snow on your way from the Writing House to your dorm?
How often do YOU roll around on the beach/in the grass by the waterfront while it's raining, hearing the rain hit the water and looking up into the clouds?
How often do YOU randomly agree to participate in silly things like a schoolwide mock spelling bee?
How often do YOU march up to the guy/girl that you like and flat-out TELL them, "Hey, idiot, I like you!"
How often do YOU say, "To hell with homework and academics and perfection, I'm going to spend three hours editing this piece because it's what I love to do, it's what I came here to do and damn it, no one can stop me?" (Other majors, feel free to substitute "editing" with "writing," "dancing," "playing," ect.)
Do you see what I mean?
I dare anyone who reads this blog to do things like that, if you don't already. If you've never jumped into a pile of snow, danced in the rain, or participated in a Coffeehouse or other open-mic style/comedic show, TRY IT. Is it terrifying? Somewhat. Is it embarrassing? Usually. But it's worth it. I'm telling you, it is SO worth it.
Embarrassment lasts a few minutes. Thrilling memories last a lifetime.
(Wow, I'm so full of philosophical cliches tonight...)
No stolen dialogue tonight. Instead, I shall present to you a short anthology of my most embarrassing/hilarious moments that I can recall at this moment in time:
1. Breakfast in Bed
A few weeks ago, I had to get up for church on Sunday, so on Saturday night I did the sensible thing and set my alarm clock. Only problem is, I also got hungry on Saturday night, so I ate some cereal. Now, I don't actually have cereal bowls in my dorm room, so I used a tupperware bowl and left it beside my alarm clock...see where I'm going with this? So, when the alarm went off, I reached for my alarm clock so I could pick it up and shut the damn thing off. Instead, I picked up the Rice Krispies bowl...and, because I am useless without my glasses and I was still half-asleep, I did not realize just what I had picked up until I blinked and realized that I was covered in Rice Krispies.
FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE WONDERING...
No, there was not milk in the bowl, thank God. I don't eat cereal with milk. However, there WAS sugar in the bowl, and this provided a rather uncomfortable situation.
Yes, I SHOULD have taken care of the bowl the previous night. However, I was tired, so I did not.
No, my roommate somehow did NOT wake up during all this. She did, however, pose a confused question as to how cereal got all over our floor when I got back from church.
Yes, this WAS the highlight of my day.
2. A la Cart
Every Tuesday and Thursday I work in the cafeteria at my school, as part of mandatory community service. There are these huge gray plastic carts that are used to transfer food and dishes to and from the salad bar, cereal station, ect. So one night I was in the back area, by the kitchen, as opposed to the dining room, and out of nowhere this cart comes careening out of the dishroom and pins me to the wall. To add insult to injury, ANOTHER cart flew out moments later, hit the first cart, and fell over. A kitchen personnel came out of the dishroom and gasped, "Oh my God, what happened?" Unable to keep myself from being a smartass, I said innocently, "A cart fell over."
3. But I'm A Filmmaker!
(Bonus points to anyone who understands the reference in the title of this one...)
While dressing the set for my first-ever thesis shoot, which just happened to be two friends' dorm room, I noticed a whiteboard on one side of the room. In my film, one of the characters inhabiting the dorm was gay, and the other was straight. The whiteboard was on the "gay" side of the room, but I still thought it'd be fun to have the straight character write a note to his best friend/roommate. After a brief, nowhere conversation with my (male) assistant director concerning what should be written on the whiteboard, I turned to my audio recordist and said, "Okay, then. You're my 'straight ambassador.' What should we write on this...?" and then promptly remembered that my AD was straight as well. This, as you can imagine, resulted in a hell of a lot of laughing...and, on my part, blushing.
4. Lamb-a-dam-a-ding-dong
So I was hanging out with one of my friends a couple of days ago, and said friend dared me to make sheep noises (don't ask me how we got to this point). So, being the dork that I am, I did it. And because we both read Twilight, and Twilight for those of you who don't know occasionally depics Edward calling Bella his "lamb," we began making some rather stupid Twilight references as well as the sheep noises. We were in an open field (I think this MIGHT be what inspired the lamb noises, but I'm not sure) and eventually, while we were bleating and quoting Twilight, a few boys came into the field to play soccer. Well, of course they noticed us, and of course being the hams we are, we couldn't resist putting on even more of a show for them and really exaggerating our lamb noises and dramatizing scenes from the books. We kept this up until we realized that one of the Soccer Boys was one that I had a bit of a crush on. Oops.
5. Yes, Another 'Gay' One...
At the beginning of the school year I confided in two friends that my first boyfriend turned out to be gay. One of my friends (male) immediately said, "Oh, that sucks. Yeah, I kind of had the same experience, only in reverse." In my defense, it was late, I'd been up all day, and I had no idea at the time that this particular friend was gay. And so my reply made perfect sense, in my mind: "Oh my God, you dated a lesbian?"
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