1. Old, 'dangerous' playground equipment. Who doesn't remember playing on that jungle gym that was way too tall, the one you could fall off of and break a leg? Or that burning sensation when you slid down that metal slide with your shorts on and your skin catches? Doing cherry drops off of those metal bars that were 5-6 feet off the ground? Or riding the merry-go-round until you either threw up or couldn't see straight? Begging your brother/friend/cousin to stop bouncing the see-saw and let you get off because your behind was starting to hurt? Admit it, it was awesome.
2. Popping bubble wrap. There's nothing like the satisfaction of popping those little bubbles of air encased in plastic. Whether it's one by one or a bunch of them at once so they make a really loud noise. And there's getting creative, like tap dancing on the plastic or seeing if you can pop is while you jump up and then sit on your bed. Neil says that the inventors of bubble wrap were actually trying to invent textured wallpaper. Pop, pop, pop! Awesome!
3. When you're awkwardly standing by yourself in the movie theater or with a cafeteria tray full of food and then suddenly spot your friend waving at you. You're convinced that everyone is staring at you while you look around, feeling like an idiot and wondering if your friends have decided to hide from you. As Neil wrote, "Maybe you quickly glance around the room while pretending to get ketchup... But just as you're beginning to lose hope you eventually see them. It's your friends in the distance. And they're waving." Awesome!
4. The other side of your pillow. It's time for bed and you just can't fall asleep. That thing that's distracting you, because it's too hard or too hot, is your pillow. Not using it is no better. Changing positions doesn't work either. But then, inspiration! and you turn your pillow over. That's better. And then it's tomorrow. Awesome!
5. Having a whole row to yourself on a plane. Especially when it's a long flight. As the bins are snapping shut and the stragglers are wandering down the aisles, you're muttering under your breath, "Please don't sit here, please don't sit here." Suddenly you see someone looking pointedly in your direction and you know the jig is up. But then... their seat is in the row *behind* you and you have your row all to yourself. You have control of the window shade, you don't have to ignore that annoying reading light that they decide to use when the rest of the plane is dark. You don't have to worry about figuring out where your arm should go so that you can *both* use the arm rest you share or feeling squished because your seatmate decides to spill into your space, and you don't have to worry about bothering someone when you have to get up and use the bathroom. You can even spread out and use those three seats as a bed instead of trying to figure out how to sleep upright. A row alone? Awesome!
6. Hitting a bunch of green lights in a row. You know this one. You're going somewhere, probably in a hurry, and then you hit them. Red light after red light. What feels like 15 minutes is really is taking only five. Fate (and random people) are intentionally conspiring against you to make you late. Your stress level goes up and it takes twice as long as your drive for your blood pressure to go down again. If you've ever driven on Broadway through downtown Columbia, or by the Independence Center, you know that even if you're not in a hurry, by the time you get through all of them, you'll be tempted to want to punch the civil engineer responsible for programming them in the ear for being such an incompetent. But then it happens... like magic. Light after light changes as you arrive, as if your car was equipped with that police signal that makes them switch, so that you don't have to stop and you get to where you're going five minutes early. Awesome!
7. High-fiving babies. Who doesn't like doing this? Especially when they laugh. Awesome!
8. Tripping and realizing no one saw you. We all know how potentially embarrassing tripping can be. The flailing arms, the contorted expression that your face wears as you try to prevent yourself from eating the dirt. What you're carrying, flying in the air and potentially landing on you, giving you a big bruise. The winding up on the ground in some weird position... But then you realize, no one saw you. So you can walk away and *it didn't happen.* Awesome!
9. The universal fry-sharing policy. It is a truth universally acknowledged that, when eating a meal with a friend who has ordered fries, you are entitled to partake of at least one of them, particularly if that fry is about to fall from the plate. This rule especially applies to fries purchased at McDonald's. They don't care if you dip in their ketchup? Awesome!
10. When there's still time left in the parking meter when you pull up. After a particularly difficult day, I arrived at Lee Hills Hall on the MU campus, pulled into a prime parking space that someone had *just* vacated, and discovered that there was 37 minutes left on the meter. I felt like it was a little present from God, just for me, to cheer me up. My day was instantly better. Not having to pay? Awesome!
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