Unfriended

Kelly:  I think I might have upset some people on Facebook.

Mom:  What?  Why?

Kelly:  Well, I just couldn't take it anymore.  I said some things ... I got tired of tip-toeing around.  Of not saying what I thought.  I played nice for so long.  It got ridiculous.  I'm finally saying what I think, how I feel.  I just got tired of worrying about what other people thought of me.
::laughs::  Maybe I'm getting too old to worry about what other people think.

Mom:  You shouldn't feel that way until you're 50!

Homerun

The line at the commissary went all the way to the back of the store!  It took forever!

Yeah, right before Thanksgiving I had to stand in one that long, too.
...Wait, why was it that long today?  What holiday is coming up?

Uh, the Superbowl?

Hyperbole

In a huff, I throw down the newspaper and tell Joe, "Sometimes I don't know if I'm happy I got out of politics or not."

He replies cautiously with, "Well, you do tend to get riled up."

Unaware

Since when did 4-20 become, like, a national holiday?

What's four twenty?

April 20th.  The day.  For stoners.  It's been all over the radio, and on tv.

Oh.  I thought that was something for Canada.

Seriously?

Black thumb

While watching tv, a commercial for Home Depot comes on.  Of course filled with tons of beautiful flowers and people looking happy in the middle of all that Spring-ness.

Me:  [heavy sigh]  I wish I had a garden like that.  I can't even keep potted plants alive.

Joe:  But there's that one on the patio...

Me:  Yeah, but it's growing sideways!

Joe:  True.  I guess it's trying to get away from you.  [laugh]  Like when you go to water it, do you hear a faint "uurrrgggg" and see exposed roots on one side?

No culture for you

Joe and I were walking around the Japanese Cultural Center downtown the other day. 

We were headed back to the car, when an Asian lady stopped us in the parking lot.  She looked at me, and asked, "Are you lost?"

"No, we're not.  Thanks all the same," I tell her as we walk away.

I turned to Joe, "What.. are we not allowed to partake of Japanese culture if we're not Japanese?"

Joe laughs, "Apparently not."

ART

So Joe and I are at the Honolulu Academy of Arts, in Gallery 9, looking at the "Face to Face" exhibit.  It's a small collection of black and white photographs.

There's one photo of three children:  two girls, one boy, each around 10 years old.  They're all shirtless, each with a defiant look on their faces, the one in the middle has his arms crossed.  

Joe:  That's just wrong.

Me:  What?

Joe:  Those naked kids.  You couldn't look at that on a computer...you'd get arrested.  But you can hang it on a wall and make people pay to see it, and it's fine.  I don't get it.

Me:  Oh.

I know the object for a lot of artists is to buck convention and make work that causes strong reactions.  But what about pieces that walk that thin line between acceptable and indefensible?  Is there a line?  Is all art ok?  

Or is a lot filtered through our genders?  I see pictures of children all time, and it doesn't bother me.  Joe gets uncomfortable looking at baby photos.  Does a natural mothering instinct affect how people view art?

How much is cultural?  How ingrained are we all with social norms?  So much so that it dictates what we personally find visually appealing?  

Can you make something, and say it's art, and have it be Art?  Can you put limits on artistic expression, or hold all artwork up to a certain standard?

It's almost like when a cruise ship harbored in Kodiak

Joe and I did some shopping and grabbed lunch at the Ward Center, close to downtown.  We pass two Japanese girls laughing and snapping pictures in front of Ben & Jerry's.

Joe:  You know, this is just an everyday Friday afternoon for us.  But for them it's part of a once in a lifetime vacation.

Jelly fights over Jam

So during these very hard and difficult times, Joe and I argue.  About whether or not Jim and Pam from "The Office" will stay together.

Joe says Pam will end up cheating, and they break up.

I say that's pure blasphemy...then cover my ears and run out of the room, screaming lalalalala.

Things I Never Thought I'd Hear My Husband Say

After watching an episode of It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia:

"I wish they focused more on the 'Sex and the City' part of it."

It's true

Me:  rifling through Joe's wallet.  Hey, look - you still have your Alaskan voter registration card.

Joe:  Yeeeaaah, look at that.

Me:  I think that's an automatic vote for Sarah Palin.

Joe:  Alaska's not even gonna send out ballets.  Just thank you cards, with a moose saying 'Thank You'

False Advertisement

A travel ad for the Dominican Republic plays across the t.v. The end catch phrase is Endless.

Joe: "Endless? Really? That's pretty ballsy for an island. But I guess 'Dead-ends into Haiti' doesn't have the same appeal."

This doesn't bode well for us

On noticing the temperature read-out downtown Saturday afternoon:
"50 degrees, huh? Is it really that warm?"


Heading out on Monday, Joe says "It feels like summer today." It was 56*

This is the only real reason women go to hair salons

So the other week I ask Joe to trim my hair. He gets a completely unabashed look of horror on his face. I anticipated this and quickly reassured him I just wanted a simple trim, nothing fancy, and I believed in him.

Joe: Ok, if you're sure.
Me: Totally. You can do it!

Joe cuts away. Doing a good job. Then I ask if he could angle the front part.

Me: You know, where it's lower in the front than the back.

His eyes light up after a second.

Joe: Yeah! Awesome! Just like Ghost in the Shell!
Me: Umm. No. Not that extreme. Not at all.

We're really not as far apart in age as this makes us seem:

Joe and I saw Bobby last night, and as we're watching the credits go by, Joe says, "That was Harry Belafonte!"

Me: "Uh, who?"

Joe: "Harry Belafonte?! The old guy? He was a singer..."

Me: "Ohh-kaay."

A few more names roll by.

Joe: "Who's Joshua Jackson?"

Me, with a big smile: "Pacey from Dawson's Creek!"

Touche!

So there's this horrible Office Depot commerical on tv now...the one with the Thing-like hand popping up out of a box that people carry around with them. It's uber creepy. But it did give Joe and me a fun conversation:

Joe: What exactly does the Office Depot hand do?

Me: It's the hand that pushes the Staples' easy button.

Difference of Opinion

Joe and I are getting ready to go out.

Joe: Look at you in your cute shoes.

Me: What? These? These are supposed to be edgy...funky. Cool.

Joe: Listen, hot pink Converses that small aren't anything but cute.

I narrow my eyes at him while he laughs.

Wedded Bliss

The other day, our dogs decide to run through the house with muddy paws. I break out the scrub brush and bucket to clean the floors.

Me, scrubscrubscrub scrub scrub scrubscrub

Joe, calling down from his writing corner upstairs: That sure does sound like a lot of sexy scrubbin goin on down there.

Me: Uhh. I don't know exactly how sexy it is. (pushing stray hairs out of my face with the back of my hand)

Joe: Well, you're on your knees, aren't you?

I could hear the smile in his voice.

Me: Uh-huh. But you know what would be even sexier? If you came down here and helped me.

Joe: Really? Because I was thinking it'd be sexier with you in a french maid outfit.

Me, heavy sigh. scrubscrubscrub