Why You Should Carpe Your Diem

A very wise woman came into the bakery today. "The only time you'll get nothing in return for your efforts is if you don't even try." We had been discussing the lack of eligible and worthy bachelors in Maine, and how crushes seem to always crash and burn, so why bother trying? This was her response. "I tell it to my graduate students," she explained. Her point is well taken; her example is a job interview. You may not get the job, but you're no worse off than you were before and you've learned something, gained a valuable lesson from the experience. You'll interview better, or perhaps you have a better idea of what you want or don't want in a job. Or in anything, for that matter: boys, friends, hobbies, jobs, adventures of all sorts. Of course it will come to nothing if you do nothing. But if you do something and fail, at least you gave it the old college try, right?

karmic bennies?

The karmic benefit of biking home from work: you find a Visa card along the side of the road, look up its owner in the phone book, and return the card, with hopes of good karma to come.

Instead, three bizarre (although not terribly - just slightly out of the ordinary) incidents occur.

1.
Lady at bakery: Oh man, did you gain so much weight when you started working here?
Me: ...No?

(Mostly I just found this to be a bizarre question to ask someone, although we get this kind of question a lot, never quite phrased this way. I mean, do I LOOK like I gained that much weight? Let's hope not.)

2.
Well-dressed, Amish-beard-sporting French Canadian: Are your parents originally French Canadian?
Me: No, not at all.
W-D, A-B-S FC: Well your face, it looks very French Canadian.

That's one I've never heard before. I've gotten Lebanese or Syrian, Brazilian, and Greek statue, but never French Canadian. Third parties however have since confirmed that I may look somewhat French Canadian. Huh, who knew.

3.
About the same time as the French Canadian incident, a couple from somewhere in the deep south came in a ordered a few goodies. Like any good tourist, Wife was pulling out her camera and pointing it around the bakery. All well and good, until I noticed it pointed at me; "am I in this picture?" Appalled. I don't want to be emailed around to all their friends, the laughing stock of "Bob and Mary's trip up Nawth." "Smile!" I grimaced, handing the bag over as Husband smiled dutifully. I hope I ruined their silly picture.

crazier things may have happened.

[phone rings, 5:40 pm]

me: hello?
lady: oh hi, may i please speak to an adult in the house?
me: what do you mean by adult?
lady: oh, i thought you sounded...
me: i'm 21.
lady: well may i speak to whoever is in charge of buying lightbulbs?
me: they're not in right now.
lady: okay, i'll call back in the evening.

can't wait to talk to her again.