The Wallflower

If ever I had had the desire to become a mail robber, this afternoon would have put that profession to sleep. It's about one o'clock when I decide to check the mailbox. Usually by this time, the mailman has come and gone.

I open the door, step onto the porch and open the mailbox. To my surprise, it is stuffed with mail. Usually we get a moderate ammount of mail, but this was a little excessive. I take the chunk of letters and bills, and one small package out of the wooden mail box, and reenter the house.

I set the pile on the dining room table and look at the first parcel, it was a letter or a card or something. I can't remember. I flip through to see if there's anything for me precisely, which there was. I letter from the school. I wasn't quite sure what it could be.

I happened to look at the mailing adress on one of the bills in the pile. To my shock, it wasn't addressed to my house, but to my friend's mother down the street. What? Oh great, this is such a hassle.

Now worried there would be more, I started flipping back through to see what else had been misplaced. I found more for the same person, then I found one for another person on our street...then another....and another...and yet another person. I couldn't believe it.

I felt like the post office itself, organizing and filing all sorts of mail. I set each pile for each person on the radiator by the table. In total: five other people's mail found it's way into our mailbox.

So I think to myself: these people have rather stalwart mail. You know, it's the common thought to think that it would be so mischevious and deceitful to rob somone's mail, but really it could be quite dull. I mean, unless you live on Sunset Boulevard, all your getting is some credit card bills, random brochures and possibly a greeting card. The greeting card may be pushing it.

I mean, who wants to go out of their way and risk getting caught to steal someone's mail that will in the end put you to sleep? So I guess it turns out that 'Mail Robber' can be crossed off the list of exciting illicit activities. Or unless you live in some swanky suburb like...Wysteria Lane, it might pan out for you.

But I guess it's a little fun to call my self the amateur mail-robber. Not gonna lie, I can get pretty sneaky when the time comes. Only joking. This all reminds me of a quote from one of my favorite books:

"Are you a robber?"

"Not professionally."

"Well, it's good to have a hobby"

-Starting Out in the Evening, Brian Morton

Hope your weekend goes swimmingly!

BTW: I watched Monk last night, may I say it was first rate! It's the last season, you should totally tune in. :)

(top photo link)

...okay. It's not really a love letter to Miss Natalie Tran, but's most definitely a letter of admiration. First of all, if you haven't heard of 'Natalie Tran' or 'Communitychannel', then go here, watch a few videos and report back to me. See also the video(s) at the end of this post.

So my great love for Community Channel and Natalie Tran's humor in general is most definitely a recent affair. I'm not one of the followers who have been faithfully tracker her down for years. No, I have just this past year been really following the Tranny (Chortle, as she would say).

Why do I find her and her videos so utterly fascinting? Well, let's put out some ideas: a lot of the things she talks about I can relate to, and therefore are much funnier; she has the ability to act out all of the characters she talks about, always a plus; well, she's freaking hilarious and of course having an accent doesn't hurt either, in fact, it makes the jokes funnier.

I discovered Nat Tran and Community Channel because I wondered at the time what the #1 most subscribed person of all time was, and then I saw it. I looked at the page and was rather stunned. The title was very generic, and the videos looked average (this was before I watched them, of course). How could this little vlog be #1? I thought to myself, and I was jealous. I refused to watch the videos, and renounced Miss Tran altogether.

But once I finally cracked open the book that it Community Channel, I was hooked. I couldn't believe her comedic timing, her down-to-earth-ness, her calamity. I was so unbelievably entertianed by this 22-year old, college-student comedienne.

What I also love about Community Channel, are the phrases and famous instances she has immortalized. Think of her sayings (Your mum, lamingtons, sleazy in the rain, ruin my moment, sliding escapes, HI!, etc...) and compare them to the cultural icons that Seinfeld introduced in the nineties (yada, yada, yada, the double dip, the chinese restaurant etc...). To me, Tran's are almost, or are becoming just as impactful, and that's a crazy thought. The thought that a normal, unpaid young woman with talent, picked up a camera and started a YouTube account and is now practically a cultural icon.

Well, I'm going to stop talking her up and let you watch 'the magic' as they say. Here are two of my all-time favorite videos of her's, don't forget that link up top and have a fabulous day!

It's actually a funny story. You see, I had hoped to be President and had planned to voice my desires at the meeting where the student council decides on offices. It's not too particularly hard to get the office that you want. It's not super competitve at my school. But the thing is, the day of the meeting, and the meeting was during my lunch hour, I go to sit at my regular table at lunch.

But as I look around, all the people going to the meeting were gone, I had totally forgot about the meeting altogether, go figure. Classic me. So I turn to my friend sitting next to me and I'm like, "Crap! When's the student council meeting?" to which she answers, "Now!".

So, rather frantically I go to the room where the meeting was being held and of course it was just letting out, another kid in my class turns to me and says, "Well, you're the president!" I was shocked and also very happy. I had gotten the office I wanted and didn't have to attend the meeting!

Well now that responsibilty is kicking in. For you see, it's responsibility of the Junior class to put on the Senior Prom every year. So as President, and my mother being president of after-prom, I will have to be on Prom comittee.

So tomorrow, I have to wake up at a normal time (what? unheard-of!) and go to 'the city' to get concessions for the football scrimmage this Saturday. You see, I have to work the concession stand all morning to help raise money for after Prom. Oh, the joys abound ceaselessly.

So on top of the AP work I have to accomplish (approx. 100 pages of text, including assigned problems) and the serious friend-time I have to over-see (yes, very important) there's this Prom stuff, too.

Here's to a good year!

P.S. Oh yes, I'm also getting a long over-due haircut coming soon, thank God!