1 post tagged “out loud”
What are 10 things you want to say out loud but you can't?
Submitted by alix.
Hm...there may or may not actually be any things that I want to say out loud that I haven't already, either in public or private, so I'm not sure if this post will a) meet the requirements set forth by the Question of the Day Committee, or b) remain serious or devolve into sarcasm. I suppose we might as well start off and find out.
1) "Am I wearing pants today?" This comes from a somewhat odd constant fear/concern that, despite my best intentions, I accidentally left the house without pants on. It's never happened, but for some reason, I feel like it will one day...but until that day, I will guard against it with every fiber of my being.
2) "When girls put the strap of their bag between their breasts, it's kind of unappealing." I think this is something I actually would say out loud, but since it was pointed out to me by someone in college, I haven't been able to think anything else when girls use their breasts as moorings for their bags. It just...separates them in a weird, unflattering way....
3) "I don't like sushi." Normally, I wouldn't mind saying this to people, as I have many times before, but here at work, when one goes to lunch with executives and whatnot, one doesn't get picky about where one eats...but unfortunately, sushi is a popular upper management/California-type meal, and I just don't like fish. But I would never say that I don't like it...I don't know why, really, as they wouldn't mind going elsewhere, but...now it's just gone on too long....
4) "I miss those plastic-like omelets that they used to serve as breakfast on planes in the 80s." Again, it's not something about which I'm necessarily ashamed, but they were a guilty pleasure. Do you remember the days when airlines used to actually serve meals on flights? As I flew back and forth between Syracuse and Orlando (between my parents), I would usually ask for seconds of these chemical-filled, made-four-months-ago, no-actual-eggs-used omelets. The day they stopped serving these was the day my childhood truly ended.
5) "I'm slowly becoming more nostalgic for the 90s than for the 80s." I will clarify, though, that I'm talking about "my" 90s: Smashing Pumpkins, the public birth of and initial wonder surrounding the internet (and chat rooms), a time when a $200 million movie was mostly "unthinkable," Kevin Smith movies were an event, Bush (the band, not the President), Live, President Clinton, the rise of Starbucks, Seinfeld, a good economy, Austin Powers (before it got really old), certain aspects of grunge and/or Gen-X culture, Friends, Scream movies (the first two), etc. I'm NOT referring to my sister's 90s (she was born in 1994), which involved Barney, Teletubbies, the rise in cellphone use, emoticons, Rugrats, Pokemon/Magic: The Gathering/Pogs/hackey-sack (I know those were more "my" 90s, but I'm lumping them in with her generation), etc. But this is actually somewhat of a change for me, as I've always rattled on about the glorious 80s...which were still glorious, but aside from the movies, music and TV of that era, it wasn't so spectacular...and besides, the 90s are when I was really cognizant of the world around me...for better or worse, that's "my" decade.
6) "I don't like cellphones." I just don't...I understand how they're useful in so many ways, but there's still a part of me that just hates using them. In addition to the whole "unreliable service" issue, there's the tumor/cancer quandary, the battery issues, the over-dependence quagmire, and never really being able to "just get away from it all."
7) "I just don't really care that much about politics." I mean, I care enough to vote and put a Democrat in the White House, but outside of the broad issues (no more war, pro-choice, gay rights, a general platform of "no evil and/or corruption"), I just don't get into politics like some people do. My cousin, for instance, works in Washington DC and is highly politicized (as are her parents)...they can sit around and debate policy and bills and all of that for hours. And it's not that I wouldn't have an opinion if I thought about it, but...eh. Don't take this as an "I don't care about our country or what happens to it" stance...rather, I just don't usually find the detailed inner workings to be an interesting topic for discussion. I'll listen to others, sure, but I'll rarely put in my two cents. And I do appreciate a good Aaron Sorkin speech about politics....
8) "I don't think I'd want to marry a heavy girl." Okay, this sounds really bad, but it's actually not...and when I say "heavy," I mean obese or really unhealthy (and I don't mean in terms of eating habits...she can eat like shit, but not if it results in 50 extra pounds). I certainly don't mean girls that are at a normal weight and/or some pounds over...I also wouldn't be interested in marrying an anorexic stick. But due to my past and current battle against over-eating and being fat, I feel like my kid(s) would probably get some unhealthy genes from me already...I might as well counter-balance that with someone who's at least not heavy themselves.
9) "Showers are boring." Let me also clarify that, despite this boredom, I still take showers every day...but while most people seem to find them relaxing, I just find them dull. I mean, it's one thing when you've been exercising and are sweaty and dirty and all of that...then it can be nice to wash away that stink and grime and feel clean. But the day-to-day showers that don't wash away much of anything...boring. This may be a result of taking showers in the mornings, as I'm usually tired and not excited about starting my day, but still.
10) "I don't remember your name." I'm so bad with names. Literally, someone will introduce themselves to me, and I'll be concentrating so hard on shaking their hand with just the right amount of pressure and registering their face that their name will just blow right by me. It's only later that I realize, "Hey...what was that person's name? I really don't remember. Oops." I used to go into work with my mom when I'd visit her and all of her co-workers would say, "Good morning, Jeremy!" And I wouldn't remember any of their names, so I'd just say, "Good morning!" And my mom said that was rude, that because they used my name, I should greet them with theirs. Since then, I still haven't been able to remember names, but now I feel bad about it. And here at work, it's really bad, because I meet lots of people, and most times...nothing. But the thing is, it's not just a bad name-memory...I also have a fear of getting someone's name wrong when I do try to remember it. So even if I think I know someone's name, or really, even if I know I do, I might still refrain from using it, just because I'm afraid to be wrong. But slowly, over time, once I get more comfortable with someone, I'll start using their name.
Well, there we go...I didn't devolve into sarcasm. Then again, my answers weren't exactly scintillating...there were only four or five that I would actually refrain from saying out loud, and with some of those, it just depends on the company. All right, I have to go do some work...once again, it's No E-Mail Friday, but I may not even be at my desk that much today. First, I have to go and select some clips from various movies (it's part of my job...the reasoning behind it is a long story), some good, some bad. Then later today, I have a four-hour meeting to discuss our release schedule for FY 2009. I actually still want to write a big post about that aspect of my job...though obviously, it's difficult to discuss it with much specificity, given that I'm not supposed to talk about it. Still, I will say that my goal for this meeting today is to get a few titles for which I've been yearning on the schedule. If I can ever get a certain 1982 film about a red-headed orphan on our Blu-ray release schedule, then my work here will be done.
