I have often been told that I have a…um…unique way of looking at life. I blame my parents. My mother has accidentally brushed her teeth with squeeze-tubed deodorant. She has also failed to notice that instead of applying lip gloss to her lips, she had actually smeared them with a generous helping of creamy blue eyeshadow. Yes, my mother has experienced a huge number of cosmetic catastrophes over the years. And, she is also a distracted walker. If there is a groundhog hole within a five mile radius, she will find it, and her five-foot-zero frame will fall into it up to her chin. She’s pissed off a lot of rodents. Don’t even get me started on the time she cross-country skied into a parked car.
“Always with the legs in my hole. Next time I shoot.”
My father is equally entertaining, particularly when he is attempting to be a Mr. Fix-it–something that does not come naturally to him. Or to any other member of my family. He has drilled through the front of his t-shirt–while still wearing it, come within seconds of knocking a large sledgehammer onto his skull, and regularly displays his latest wounds with pride. He never knows where or when he got them. It would appear that I got my lack of sense–shut up–gene from him. He has driven into my car, the side of his garage doorway–and probably other things that he hasn’t told us about. Did I tell you that we’re not the most observant bunch? And that we seem to lack spatial reasoning.
I have no siblings to pick apart, but I’m sure they would have been equally strange. Our pets were always neurotic. Especially the French poodle. He wasn’t actually French. In fact, he came with a Mexican name. I think I acquired my neurotic tendencies from him. After all, what self-respecting dog demands that his ears get tied in a knot on top of his head every time he eats? Neurotic. Good thing I don’t have long floppy ears. My husband would never take me out for supper–with all the ear-tying and stuff.
Is it me or does this water taste thick and creamy?
1) In the year 2013, our deodorant is unlikely to come in a squeeze tube–perhaps due to a large number of tooth-brushing accidents in the late ’60s. I don’t imagine that ingesting antiperspirant is good for one’s health. Namely because our guts don’t sweat. I wonder if swallowing a large amount of deodorant would dry up your innards. Maybe science should examine this as a possible way to do away with excess water weight.
My point is–and I do have one–that some products lend themselves to a certain type of packaging. Deodorant belongs in those hard plastic containers that look like stubby people with no arms.
Milk belongs in cartons or jugs. I would never think of drinking it from a fountain or a garden hose. Water, however, should never come from a carton. It seems unnatural–no matter what the folks at Boxed Water is Better tell me. I need to see my water before I drink it. Only yellow, lumpy water would hide itself in a carton. And this girl doesn’t drink water with solids in it. Ack.
Can you get me an extra large Q-tip please?
2) My dog had fairly ordinary ears, but he had one of those side-by-side water/food dish combos and he hated getting his ears wet. This is understandable. It must be annoying to have to drink ear water.
Now, the dog with the world’s longest ears has real problems. This is Harbor, the Coonhound, from Boulder, Colorado. He is a tad bit asymmetrical–sort of like a woman’s natural boobs–as he has one ear that measures 13.5 inches long, while the other is a demure 12.25 inches. Ladies, very few of us have two breasts that are the exact same size. And yes, I have just given men a new reason to grope their nearest and dearest. But like Harbor the Dog’s ear, our disproportional mammaries give us character. Even if we do list to one side.
I’m a little accident prone. This makes me sad.
3) Due to my lack of spatial reasoning, my poorly honed observational skills, and my innate klutziness, I decided to conduct some research to find out what car I should never ever own. It turns out that the internet is ripe with lists of the most accident-prone vehicles. Here are few that I found. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety states that the top 3 wounded vehicles in 2012 were:
2) Suzuki 4X4
1) Toyota Yaris
If you live in the UK, the Telegraph provides this top 3:
3) Lexus RX
2) Volvo XC90
1) Honda FR-V
Thankfully, my car is none of these. I can, therefore, keep it. And my ears can blow in the breeze.
Photo credits: renegade groundhog (http://www.personal.psu.edu/jac5682/fun.htm), boxed milk (http://www.eatdrinkdo.com/index.php/2010/11/bottled-water-fights-back/), Harbor the Dog (http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/news/video-meet-harbor-the-new-dog-with-the-longest-ears-in-the-world/), Sad Car (http://toomuchfree-time.blogspot.ca/2011/02/sad-car-is-sad.html).
The Embiggens Project 