Even though summer goes until September 22nd, am I the only one who tends to forget that and assumes Fall just starts right when September starts?
To be fair, last year it was really hot at this time of year so it did have the “Summer” feel still, but right now it’s gloomy, wet and cool, so definitely a Fall atmosphere.
I, for one, have never been a fan of Fall (which is unfortunate, because I was born just a few days into it). I like Spring because it means you’re on your way into Summer and I love Summer, as long as it doesn’t get too hot.
Fall… to me, never tends to be as stereotypically wonderful as Starbucks would like you to believe with their Pumpkin Spiced this and Salted Caramel that (though… I do like me some Salted Caramel).
Anyhow, with 15 days left and nine posts to go, here are my continued thoughts on The Book of Awesome…
(150) When you’re driving late at night on an empty gas tank and a gas station appears on the horizon (pg 267)
As a highly anxious person, I never leave my gas until it’s “flirting with the Big E,” as Neil Pasricha says. The second my car gets down to a quarter tank I am ready to fill it up.
Just this past week, I left it at LESS than a quarter tank for once and felt very weird about that… But gas prices had suddenly hopped up to a LUDICROUS $1.33/Litre and I wasn’t about to go get it at that price! It was a long weekend, so I figured it was just a blip and would go down in time, anyway, so I’d just wait until it went down and fill up before I was stuck needing to go anywhere.
I knew I didn’t really have plans for the weekend, but had any come up last minute, then I’d just left myself an in awkward spot of not having gas for it! I didn’t end up going anywhere, but fast forward to a few days later when I had to go to work and…
Dun…dun…dun… I FORGOT TO GET GAS!
But, my friends, I had a saving grace, a secret angel – that wonderful and most amazing person known as my dad. 🙂 Had it not been for him, I’d have been late for work, scrounging to get gas. Hooray for dads!
(151) Remembering what movie that guy is from (pg 268)
OH, well, from my dad in one entry to my mom in the next!
My mom is a living IMDB. She may not know everyone by name, or sometimes refers to them as “he looks like he’s *insert other actor here*’s brother,” but she knows them. And, honestly, the actors she does know by name often sound fake… BUT THEY’RE NOT!
If you’re ever watching TCM my mom is very helpful because she knows all the old actors. Often I will come downstairs to a “Guess who this person is!” game, which I am never really good at unless it’s really obvious, and tend to get nervous about, especially if she says I know the person well.
In recent years, my mom has taken to watching a lot of shows (A LOT) that I don’t watch (she’s totally on it with Game of Thrones, I gave it a shot in the first season and didn’t care for it… She’s also on board with EVER comics-based show, so, yes, my mom is cooler than your mom, cooler than you AND cooler than me).
This has led to a lot of her saying “Who is this person? I know them! You know them, right? Who is it?”
To which my response always is, “I don’t know, ma, you watch 50 million shows I don’t watch!” So what happens when my mom, living IMDB, doesn’t know the people, herself> Well… tech-savvy as she now is, she’s learned to consult actual IMDB. 😛
(152) Using Rock-Paper-Scissors to settle anything (pg 269)
Am I the ONLY one who has an issue with this game?
Okay, no, I should clarify, I don’t have an issue with the game, itself. It’s wonderful to have something as simple as this to settle every issue under the sun, BUT:
IN WHAT CRAZY WORLD DOES A PAPER DEFEAT A ROCK?!
Let’s take a look at some ROCK-solid evidence… (see, see what I did there? 😛 )
A quick Google search shows you just how often rocks are used as paper weights. Do you understand what this means?
ROCKS are keeping PAPER DOWN!
What is this “paper covers rock” nonsense?!
Do they mean THIS Rock? Because that makes even LESS sense.
Then everyone should be only Rock and nothing else because there’s no defeating him…
Oh.
Wait.
Unless we’re talking of another incarnation of The Rock.
You know the one, I mean…
Now, to be fair, it’s not necessarily “paper” that young Dwayne – pre-The Rock – Johnson put down to protect his precious turtle neck, but a napkin… But still, napkins are tissue paper, and they all come from the same source – trees.
So… in a sense… Paper…Covered…(The) Rock here. Saving him from the embarrassment of a dusty smudge on his pristine turtle neck.
FYI, I’d seen this photo lots of times, but never noticed the napkin until Jimmy Fallon and Dwayne Johnson, himself, pointed out it out!
(153) Pushing those little buttons on the soft drink cup lid (pg 271)
I absolutely love the little story Neil Pasricha weaves here about how he and his sister thought they were participating in a “garbage survey” by pressing them. At least they were using their imaginations to come up with something interesting. I never knew what they were for, but like pressing them too.
Almost as much as this, I used to love that Burger King wrappers have little teeny, tiny pictures of the contents of the burger.
There was really no good reason for either of these things, in truth.
As fast food, they rarely had time to sit there circling what’s in your Whopper or Chicken Sandwich or even press a little button to say what kind of drink you ordered.
Still, I used to love looking at those tiny pictures and, on those occasional moments when I give in and have BK, still do!
(154) Your colon (pg 275)
WHAT?! No.
That was my genuine reaction to this entry. Clearly, Mr Pasricha either doesn’t have or doesn’t know anyone who has IBS or IBD because in that case, there’s only one thing to say in regards to your colon and all those bits connected to it:
I don’t know the “user” who made this SomeEcard, but, person, you are my hero.
This is legitimately one of the best ecards I’ve ever seen because of how dead on it is when you’re feeling off. They may mean it in reference to their decision making skills, but all of us who suffer with stomach, intestine and colon issues have taken to it because it’s all sorts of truth!
(155) The day you first realize you can drive (pg 278)
As I’ve mentioned before, I’ve had my license for a while (got my learner’s about twelve years ago), but it took me a really long time to actually get comfortable with driving.
I can’t remember the exact day I hit the “Step 3: You know you know” stage that he mentions, but I do remember the general period of time. I was twenty-three and going to school about 20 minutes away from home, which meant that it was easier to drive there than anything else…
Necessity forced me to get used to driving, BUT, what actually made me comfortable with driving…?
When I realized that driving myself meant I get to be in charge of what I listen to, that changed EVERYTHING.
My eclectic mix of metal, pop, rock, crooners and Bollywood made it way easier to drive. You don’t really have time to be scared when you’re singing “Enter Sandman” at the top of your lungs, now do you?
Even to this day, I am not totally comfortable with driving, but music helps. I don’t tend to drive highways, but the one summer when I had to do so a few times I got through it thanks to Rock and Metal accompanying me along the way. I specifically remember on one trip, to my friend’s bridal shower about a half hour away, mostly on the highway, it was Bon Jovi that helped me through it – and they got a tweet in thanks.
Nowadays, I listen to the radio more often than anything, but I rarely find things I really love. (Everything just sounds the same these days! Am I crazy old coot? There’s a good chance that I am.)
I am shocked to report that the #1 person I always stop for when I come across his songs on the radio is…
Justin Bieber.
A long way off from when I first heard him almost 10 years ago and thought he was a girl… :O 😛
Wow, my battery held on and only just died as I was finishing this post! So this is where I’ll leave you. Until next time!
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