124: Happy Hour

Admission time: this post was originally entitled “crazy students.” And I could have written about them. I was going to.

But then I remembered what I need to use in order to recover from some of my crazy students. And I decided to write about that instead. Besides, I already gave those insane children their own blog. So…HAPPY HOUR.

Happy hour is fabulous because it’s a good way to kick back and relax at the end of the day with good friends…for cheap! I tend to substitute happy hour for dinner because of the price benefits. I have a long list of the right place to go for any day of the week with any drink/food requirement anyone might need. It’s useful, trust me.

Of course, you have to be careful when you’re indulging in happy hour drinking. Otherwise, you might end up wondering why the hell you paid $80 for a silk shirt in a raccoon print that you’ll never wear.

Plus, it wouldn’t be happy hour if I wasn’t smiling, now would it? 🙂

125: Writing

Today, I’m writing a fairly obvious blog about how the mere act of writing makes me smile.

If I were writing this blog, knowing that in order to complete it I would have to write 365 minimum…and writing DIDN’T make me smile…I would be a fool. Possibly a little sadomasichistic. I may still be a fool for another reason, but trust me – writing makes me smile.

And with that, I’ll end it. Because sometimes the best way to get the message right is to not over-state it. (I’m not good at that, mainly because I like writing too much.) 🙂

126: Quotations

I. LOVE. QUOTATIONS.

You should know this. I use them all the time.

And to be honest, I probably use them far, far more often than you realize. For you see, I have a large portion of my brain that is dedicated to remembering both quotations and useless trivia. I feel that it’s an adequate use of my brain space, but I realize that many people may not agree. Some feel that your brain should be used for thinking, figuring out the age-old riddles – you know, the meaning of life….how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop…but instead, I choose to spend a large quantity of my available mental resources on my own selfish pleasures.

I remember quotes from pop culture – from television and movies and music. And I also remember quotes from books – classic, modern, and children’s. No mental quote collection would be complete without a fair serving of political statements, as well, and I have those floating around in my head, too. So you see, while you – as a normal person – may have only movie quotes floating around in your head, and therefore only notice when I use those, you don’t realize that I’m also using other quotes nonstop. I swear, some days half of what I say has already been said by someone much more famous than I.

I digress. Let’s focus on why quotations make me smile.

I feel that there is a reason that these quotations have become quotations. It may be because they are incredibly entertaining or incredibly deep and meaningful. Possibly even symbolic. And in my opinion, any time that someone makes that much of an impact, they deserve recognition.

I have found that many people who scoff at quotations are very prideful people. The type of people who do not like to admit when they are wrong, or that others know more than them. I’m often one of those types of people. Yet I find my redemption in the fact that I value others’ wisdom, even if it’s in catchy snippets. For years, I’ve had a screen name inspired by nonsensical quotations.

“We are all worms, but I do believe that I am a gloworm.” -Winston Churchill
“His socks compelled one’s attention without losing one’s respect.” – H. H. Munro

I read into these quotations too much, I realize. But I find that they are quite humorous while also hiding a deeper meaning. I do love the duality of this position. And no, I’m not going to tell you what I read in these, you’ll just have to form your own opinion. I’ll also drop a random assortment down here below for your enjoyment. I hope you’ll find one to light your face, and if not, search for one. It is quite a relief to have a quotation to turn to on the dark days.

“There will always be people telling you what to do and how to think.” – Thank You For Smoking

“You can’t depend on your judgment when your imagination is out of focus.” – Mark Twain

“On a scale of one to awesome, I’m the shit.” -Gym Class Heroes (‘New Friend Request’)

“It doesn’t make sense. It isn’t even good grammar. What the hell does it mean to disappear somebody?” – Catch-22

“Isn’t it pretty to think so.” –The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway

“My good opinion, once lost, is lost forever.” –Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen

“Whenever we’re about to do something truly horrible, we always say that the French have been doing it for years.” –Stage Beauty

“The only way to do great work is to love what you do.” – Steve Jobs

“It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.” –Harry Potter

“Old women love grammar, that’s why they’re called grammas.” -Kyle Cease

“Some of us have great stories, pretty stories that take place at lakes with boats and friends and noodle salad. Just no one in this car. But, a lot of people, that’s their story. Good times, noodle salad. What makes it so hard is not that you had it bad, but that you’re that pissed that so many others had it good.” –As Good As It Gets

“We may not be the best people, but we’re not the worst. Graduate students are the worst.” -30 Rock

“I’m a paranoid schizophrenic. I am my own entourage.” –America’s Sweethearts

“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.” -Albert Einstein

“This is public school. If I can keep the girls off the pole and the boys off the pipe, I get a bonus.” – Easy A

“I like your verbs that are things. I think I’m gonna sandwich before I sofa.” –My Boys

“Everyone I know is getting married or pregnant. I just keep getting more awesome.” – How I Met Your Mother

“Don’t tease me about my hobbies. I don’t tease you about being an asshole.” –Garden State

Yeah, some of these are deep and others are so shallow that I could put a baby in them without water wings. But all in all, they’re fabulous and they brighten my day. Never underestimate the power of words. The greatest of these powers is to cause a smile. 🙂

127: Disney movies

Yes, I’ve drunk the Kool Aid. I drank it a long, long time ago.

As I mentioned in my previous post, Disney and I do share a few things in common.

• We’re romantics at heart.
• We dream in color.
• We occasionally have lisps.
• We think life is always better with a decent soundtrack.
• We think it’s funny to hide inappropriate situations inside innocent situations.

You know what I’m talking about. We’ve all seen it. Or, at least, we’ve all heard the rumors. “Sex” written in the stars in The Lion King, the phallic palace in The Little Mermaid, and let’s not even talk about Aladdin’s message to teenagers.

Of course, with the advent of DVD and BluRay, and with a little push from the Evangelicals, most of this has gone away.

But seriously, folks, I normally love the sweet stories themselves. But when my childhood innocence isn’t working for me, Disney always sticks in just a few more things for the adult me so that it’s not a total loss.

Take the movie Recess, for example. It’s one of my favorite kids’ movies, but it didn’t come out until I was in high school. But instead of having some fluffy film, in reality, the jokes are quality and it’s an enjoyable film for all.

Plus, when Disney isn’t trying to undermine moral values or promote gender-inequality (don’t get me started), they slip in some good life lessons for their adolescent viewers.

Disney movies really are the full package, even if I won’t go to their rip-off vacation spots. I just don’t need to make the trip to reap the rewards. 🙂

128: Fairytales

Fairytales are amazing.

I don’t know about you, but Disney and I just can’t get enough of them. In fact, one of us has built an entire career around the retellings of the classics and is now struggling to create new ones. Plus, Disney isn’t doing too shabby with them either.

But seriously.

I use fairytales to teach the kids all the time. Do they hate the story of the three little pigs by now? Yes. And I’m sure that many of them would rather Cinderella have stayed a maid because her fairy godmother got lost thanks to Google Maps. But in all honesty, it’s the best way to teach a hard concept. You start with something familiar and use it as the base to learn the new skill. Then, you help them apply their new skill at a harder and harder level.

It’s….well….not fun, but a proven method at least.

But my teaching career isn’t the real reason that I love fairytales. It’s their timeless moral compass. I personally feel (and yeah, go ahead and smite me for this one, I deserve it) that I’ve learned about how to act in the real world from fairy tales than I ever did from reading the Bible as a kid. They give me rules and guidelines…but more than that, they’ve given me the chance to dream.

And really, that’s all a girl can hope for at the end of the day. A dream and a smile. 🙂

129: Books About Books

In my personal library, I have sections for a lot of random things. Things normal people wouldn’t even dream of having in their possession.

For example, I have an entire section devoted to the history of sexual health and protection in the US. And of course, we’re aware that I have lots of dog books, according to blog #251. Side note – I have an adorable new book that I got for Christmas that reads “Do You Know How Much I Smell You?”

Today, I’m here to talk about my large collection of books that are actually about, well, books.

I have several of these lovely things. They fall into two categories:

Category One – Fan Fiction

Shush. Yes, I own fan fiction. But let me put out there that I include books that are retellings or revisions of classic tales. Like the many spin offs from Pride and Prejudice, for example. So, yeah, I own a lot of these books. My personal favorite? Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Tacky and trendy, yes. But also true.

Category 2 – Non-fiction analysis of literature

I love the books comparing philosophy to pop culture, including Alice in Wonderland and Philosophy. I also enjoy books that are simply about the act of reading or writing themselves. My personal favorite is a book called A Great Idea at the Time, about the rise and fall of the greatest books of all time. But there are so many more, including a photography book entitled On Reading, full of photos of people reading.

I know, nerdy to the max, right? And apparently I’ve re-entered the eighties. But we already know that I’m pretty nerdy and obviously passionate about the objects of my nerdy affection.

In any case, stay tuned for the next few days. This is going to happen, folks. 🙂