It's really hard to look cool while walking down a hill. Words like 'goober' or 'dufus' that aren't typically in my vocabulary come to mind in this especially ungraceful gait. I've felt this way for years, but was doubly affirmed while going from a parking lot to a tourist destination. I think it's similar to a really white dude listening to some version of rap for the first time, diggin' it, but struggling to find the beat.
There are few things I like less than self-serve coffee at a coffee shop. A gas station - fine. But if I'm going to go out of my way to go to a coffee shop, pay a couple dollars for a coffee only to be handed a cup: no thanks. I especially hate this when it happens at Bigby, which is how they serve every cup. Half the time, you get the last of the carafe, a fourth of the time it's cold. It feels like a waste, like I'm paying to do their job.
Which is also how I feel at the self checkout in grocery stores.
I think the food you eat as a kid has a significant play into what you gorge on as an adult. For me, that's pizza. When my family would get pizza, or have pizza parties, one of the first things we were told was how many slices we could have. It didn't matter what that number was, I always wanted to double it. Now, as and adult, I always eat twice the pizza I need to.
It was affirmed to me, in the wee hours of August 30, that parents are the same all over the globe. I was taking a Lyft to the Seattle airport. The driver was from Kenya. He is 35 and single, and he told me that every time he goes home, all he gets asked - in addition to 'what did you bring me?' is, 'have you found a wife?'. I told him that it was the same for me, and everyone I know, before I/we/they did find a wife/(wives).
When I told him I got married at 35, he said, 'I'm 35. Thank you for boosting my morale.' Which made me realize how awesome it is when people learn English and use the words in a much cooler way than we native speakers do.
'Boost my morale' is a great synonym of 'compliment'.
Which was a much better experience than I had with my first of Uber Pool. If you don't know what this is, it's an option in some cities to expand the passenger capacity to more than your group; the rates are lower, but you ride with strangers. The first time I used this option, I rode with a guy that went on a bigoted rant that I couldn't ethically stand for. I said something, he continued. He refused to move to allow me out of the car, and I had to climb over him. I don't know if he was trying to start an altercation, or get me to start one, but I was thinking how terrible of an ending to an otherwise great evening it can be to ride home with a stranger.
By not hitting this man, I wonder if I made a mistake.
And as the month ends, I feel better than I have for as many August's as I can remember. For the past four years, I went to terrible professional developments and sat in awful meetings. This month, I'm looking forward to fall and football.