Sometimes it’s nice to stop being cynical…

…and just revel in the shmoopiness of the day.

Personally, I like to revel with this video:

As I’ve said before, I just like liking things.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

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“I guess I just like liking things.”

I’m still in finals crunch mode, but this semester, this is the video that’s been an ever-so-welcome study break. I don’t know if it’s as funny if you don’t watch Community, but really, why wouldn’t you be watching?

So, if you either need a study break, are tired of the traditional Christmas songs, or, in fact, want to “take down the holidays from within,” then this one’s for you.

And, yes, I’m still listening to it on repeat.

If only there were a full-length version.

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I’m leaving, on a jet plane…

Okay. So this video has nothing to do with where I’m going or why, but I love a good cheesy, impromptu-singing scene. And Bear. And I can’t write “leaving on a jet plane” without this reference.

But still. I’m not going to space. I’m going to Chicago, where I’ll be attempting to check a few things off my 26 list. Most notably, part of #3 and all of #16.

I haven’t decided, yet, if #16 is optimistic or naive, but we’ll find out on Sunday as my body cries for it all to be over.

Joke’s on you, body. This is just the beginning.

If you have any last minute Chicago tips that I just simply shouldn’t miss, please do share. I plan on being a total tourist all day tomorrow.

If only I could find my fanny pack…

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The word of the day is: DONE!

I have officially completed my first year of grad school.

Okay, so maybe it’s not official until the grades are in, but everything on my end is finished as of 9am this morning.

And it feels fantastic.

There were points when I thought I was going to go crazy, holed up in the library or the computer lab on these gorgeous, sunny spring days. But this one particular video always kept me smiling – and sometimes dancing in my seat:

Trust me, it’s a lot more fun to write about political risk and conflict resolution when you’re watching a Marine shake it to Britney.

Don’t knock it ’til you’ve tried it.

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Comedy gold

Back in June I was struggling a bit with what to get the boyfriend for his birthday, when I had a sudden flash of inspiration.

Comedy show.

A little Googling of comedians led me to a show in New York (just a car ride away) by one of his favorites: Jim Gaffigan.

Now, maybe you’re like me, pre-boyfriend, and you don’t recognize the name. But you’d probably recognize the face and the voice. Take a little peek at one of my favorite skits:

And, if that’s not enough – another one of his more well-known ones.

In any case, the show was this past weekend (yes, I made the boyfriend wait almost 6 months for his main birthday present – though, I gave him the tickets back in June) and it did not disappoint. I could repeat the lines to you – I’d be lying if I said we hadn’t been quoting them back and forth to each other – but that wouldn’t do it justice.

It was most definitely worth the wait.

And, even though this was a birthday present for the boyfriend, the show, and the weekend, overall, was an oasis of calm for me in my stressful finals desert. Here’s hoping that it’ll be enough to get me through the week, with thoughts of Puerto Rico pushing me along as well.

While we’re at it, do you have any tried and true mechanisms for coping with stress? The laughter was great, but these breathing exercises can only do so much.

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If you want a dog that doesn’t bark, then get a cat

The first time I saw the commercial, I thought it had to be a gag gift. (But then again, I thought the same thing about the Snuggie, and look how that turned out.) Seriously, though, a product that stops your dog from barking?

Am I the only one who finds something wrong with this? You chose to get a dog, didn’t you realize that barking is his way of expressing himself? Of telling you he’s hungry, has to pee, or alerting you to danger?

As much as you may want to, you wouldn’t buy a product that would render your children mute. The quiet game only works for so long. Presumably, you got a pet to be a member of the family. I’m not suggesting that he eat at the table, or get dibs on shotgun, but allowing him to speak? I think that’s okay.

And then there’s the one woman in the commercial who says, “I would take her for a walk and it was absolutely a trial of patience because she would bark at everything and everyone.” I’m sorry – what kind of animal did you think you were getting?! If she can’t bark during her walk, outside, where and when can she?

I’m still kind of hoping that this will turn out to be a joke, but I’m not optimistic.

That said, if you do buy one and your dog ends up peeing all over the house because he couldn’t bark to have you let him outside, well, I’ll be among the first to say I told you so.

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When I dip, you dip, we dip

I imagine that many of you have seen this relatively new study on what constitutes good and bad dancing (for men, as judged by women). Yes, now the quality of your dancing is determined by scientific measures, and how can you argue with science?

If you haven’t seen the brief videos of the “good” and the “bad” moves, please go here for just a minute and check them out. I’ll wait. I promise.

Now, I guess I understand the “bad” moves. After all, it’s really just glorified walking, potentially keeping with the rhythm, but we can’t tell that from the video. I’m less likely to label it “bad,” as I am “low risk.” Those moves probably won’t get you noticed on the dance floor, but that can be a good thing.

But the “good” moves…well, they kind of reminded me of Mac:

Most definitely high risk. But entertaining, nonetheless.

More importantly though:

1) How did they (i.e. those who conducted the study) get clearance for spending money on this type of research?

From what I can tell, they’ve found another way in which to aid guys in picking up women, so is the overall goal matchmaking? Because if it’s purely to study human behavior they could have done their research at a variety of bars.

2) How do I get chosen for a study like that?

Don’t get me wrong – I do actually think it’d be interesting to sit there and judge dance moves, in the name of science, of course. But it would be even more interesting to do it live. None of this avatar nonsense. And if live judging leads to bias (paying more attention to height, looks, outfit, etc.), then use it as a follow up to the avatar study. You can see if stellar dance moves really trump physical attractiveness. I have a hypothesis, but I’ll wait for the scientific results.

So, with all of this dancing talk, I’m curious: do you consider yourself a good dancer? And do you have a go-to move? Or, are you more likely to stay on the fringes, and engage solely in the low risk moves, if necessary?

And, because I couldn’t write a whole post about dancing and not show you this, I leave you with a video from camp this year – where we taught kids how to drop ‘bows, do the Jersey fist pump, and make it rain. Who says we’re not preparing them for the real world?

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Because it’s never too late for 90210

I think we’ve already established that I’m usually a day late and a dollar short when it comes to just about anything pop culture. So it’s no surprise that I missed what yesterday was:

90210 Day!

(Get it? 9.02.10? Get it?)

And I’m not talking about Aunt Becky’s 90210, though I suppose technically it would apply. But I’m talking about the “2, 4, 6, 8, Donna Martin graduate!” 90210. The real one. The classic.

So, even though it’s a day late, go ahead and celebrate your favorite teen soap. I hear the Peach Pit After Dark is the place to be tonight.

It’s what Dylan McKay would have wanted. If he ever admitted to wanting anything.

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Truth or Fail

I am someone who likes to be right. I am also dating someone who likes to be right. In fact, when Liz Lemon said, “What? You just want to sit here and be wrong?” when told that she should have just let something slide for the sake of small talk, we were both on her side.

So, to that end, we love games with right and wrong answers – like Jeopardy and bar trivia, online quizzes and now, Truth or Fail.

You see, the other night the boyfriend sent me a video, calling it addicting. The premise was that you’d be presented with two “facts” and you had to choose the truth. It didn’t really sound like anything I’d get addicted to…until I started playing. Because each time you click on whichever item you think is the truth, the video tells you whether you were right or wrong, but then asks you another Truth or Fail. And of course I had to continue to find out if my choice was right. Otherwise, how would I know how smart I was?

Go ahead, give it a shot:

How’d you do? The first fact was one of my favorites.

(I also just found a Harry Potter version, while I was writing this post. Which may have delayed me a bit, because I obviously had to play.)

In any case, I’m pretty sure that everyone has a few tidbits of trivia stored away, whether they know it or not. That fun little fact that they use as a conversation piece. So, if you do, list in the comments the two “facts” that you’d contribute to a video like this (remember, one has to be false), and we’ll see if we can get a little round of Truth or Fail going next week.

For instance:

1) The majority of polar bears are left-handed (or, left-pawed).

2) A dog’s mouth is cleaner than a human’s.

Leave yours in the comments, and we’ll see who the smarty pants-es are. Ready? Go!

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Plus, it’s so much fun to scream “goooooooooooooooal”

There are plenty of times that I get frustrated with my job – the people, the bureaucracy, the day-to-day blah – but today’s not one of those days. Because whenever there are BIG sporting events on, the office management comes through. During March Madness, we had screens set up in the conference room showing the games. We had an office-wide bracket pool going as well.

Now, we have the World Cup. Because they understand that there are about seven of us (okay, okay, maybe ten) who feel that they must see this game between the US and Algeria. We’re not content to follow this one on ESPN’s GameCast, or just listen on the radio. And we could leave for the bar, but having it on in the office is much more convenient.

So, in just a few minutes, we’ll gather in the conference room, pick a good seat, and get ready to cheer or curse, yell at the players or yell at the ref, and take an early break from work for 90 minutes (plus stoppage and half time).

And if our shouting distracts people who are actually being productive? Well, then maybe they should have thought about that before they decided to skip the game.

Note: If you want a little more background on the Cup so far, Marie has a lovely recap.

Extra note: If you don’t really care about the World Cup, well, then you’d probably appreciate this Simpson’s video that the boyfriend showed me this past weekend (I couldn’t find the complete video, so you get two parts, same episode):

Update: Goooooooooooooooal US! For the win! In extra time! My throat may hurt for the rest of the day from screaming, but it’s totally worth it.

Did you watch? Did you cheer? Will you watch them play on Saturday? Gotta love the adrenaline rush…

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