Falling into Hysteria (Funny moment 2/2)

I would like to begin by pointing out that the name is corny. I am aware. But it fits, so I am just going to leave it.

Funny Response #2:

Laughing hysterically. When one turns bright red in the face and continues to laugh for no reason. Just Because. Well, technically there usually is some sort of reason. Generally, though, it’s a pretty small reason. Not the type of scenario that you imagine when you think of as inducing a lot of laughter. As I believe I had mentioned previously, I believe these moments are usually not the result of something just being THAT funny. Let’s be honest, most things are not particularly funny for just being HA-HA funny. Situations are humorous by the comfort and the feeling of warmth around you. Similar to the last situation of “A hysterical, bursting out laughing, type of moment,” this occurred when I was surrounded by my closest friends in high school. Junior year. On the way to the homecoming dance. After girls to the typical process of spending about 4 hours doing each other’s hair, and makeup and making so-so-important decisions such as “which clutch matches better”, while the guys all the while pace back and forth for about 3 hours after they changed their clothes and called it good, my friends and I were finally ready for photos. For this story, it is necessary for me to tell you that I went to a small private school with a graduating class of 27. The type of school where you encounter everyone in at least one class, and many students stay at the school from elementary school through high school. So, its easy to say that we had all become pretty good friends throughout the years, the type of friendship that comes from understanding someone at every stage along their lives. The awkward braces stage, the “boys have coodies” stage, the 8^th-grade “I’m all that” phase, and the freshmen “bottom of the pit” phase. Well, we know reached it as upperclassman. Junior Year. Not to the sadness of senior year, but past the in-between sophomore stage. Well, I’m getting a little off topic remembering the good old days, so back to the story. As I said, my friends and I had finally finished getting ready and we were all ready to take pictures in my friend Giselle’s living rom. We always got ready for dances in her home, being that her house is rather insanely large and has artworks hung everywhere. After the individual date photos, and whole group photos, the girls (including myself) insisted on an “all-girls” photo, something every teenage girl would understand. Well this part of the story I’m not entirely clear on. I’m not sure what was said, or who said it. Knowing my friends, some sarcastic comment was probably made to someone and someone laughed in response. I’m clearly not very good at telling stories. Well anyways, somehow or another, in response to laughing my friend Whitney managed to slightly trip. Being that she was standing in the middle, she managed to pull the rest of us down with her. So in a chaotic turn of event, we all managed to fall down in one big pile in our 5-inch tall heels. After that we all just continued laughing, And that, my friends, was a true of moment of hysteria. Is falling down necessarily that funny? Of course not. Did we probable end up showing a little something we didn’t plan to in the process? Most likely. But in the end, in the comfort of your friends, when you all do it together and everyone has the same memory, its hilarious. So there we were, seven girls in blue and black dresses (Not quite sure how that worked out) laughing our heads off. And the best part? It was all captured in a lovely photo (Lucking before anyone landed in an unflattering pose)

Some Final Thoughts (Conversation 6/6)

Conversation #6:

Well The End. That’s It. This rounds it up. What I am referring to is the end of this little adventure I refer to as “Analyzing Conversations.” Which is my way of pointing out the fact that I realized how hard it can be sometimes to start a conversation with someone when you lack everything in common including culture, language abilities, foot tastes, movie tastes, et cetera. But there, I admit it. There were a lot of awkward pauses, repeats of sentences, and periodical checking-of-the-time. But we both survived and we both managed to make things less awkward. So Good for Us! Cheesecake points! (because brownies just don’t seem to cut it). Well for the last time we were meeting we both decided to share what our plans were for the future: immediate, long term, whatever. Fernande told me about how this is his last year at TCU. He began English classes here at the start of the summer and plans to enroll at TCC starting this January. After two years of school at TCC in which he plans to finish his core classes, he then wants to transfer to UT Dallas to study Petroleum Engineering. He plans to live with a couple of his friends somewhere closer to TCC campus next semester, and he’s looked at a couple of apartment complexes. He is planning after school to return home to Congo for a brief summer. He also hopes to visit his friends in Madison Wisconsin as soon as possible, once he feels he has enough money for either a train ride or a plane ride. He also plans to continue his relationship with his girlfriend, who is a student here at TCU, when he goes to TCC. He says he’s grateful he’s been able to learn this amount of English so quickly, because he knows he couldn’t have afforded another semester of TCU prices. Then I told him about how I came to TCU originally wanting to pursue going into the medical field, but now…not so much. If I’m being perfectly honest, our first meeting was cut rather short. We have about a 45-minute window before he had a meeting, but he also had to go get lunch. So, with that being said, I complied a list of thoughts about this experience.

1)   This is the first I’ve ever learned about a country in Africa. To be honest, I feel like Africa seems to be discussed in blanket statements, as if each country can be classified all together. I’m just pointing out, I don’t think we would like it too much if people assumed that America and Canada were basically the same thing. For that matter, I also hate when people assume that Nebraska and Iowa are also “basically all the same.” No. Not True FALSE.

2)   Seeing Fernande struggle with English at the beginning reminds me about when I learned French back in high school, and I’m sure I butchered every sentence and pronunciation. I would like to point out that I DEFINITELY chose to avoid doing that again when I go to college.

3)   How can anyone not like movies or pizza? This was mentioned a long time ago, about how he hates all American food and doesn’t enjoy movies. I still find that completely perplexing. And that is all.

Toasters (Conversation 5/6)

Conversation #5:

So as one might predict, this is continuation of all of the conversations between my conversation partner and I. As a reminder, my conversation partner is Fernande. And I would just like to comment on how much his English had improved since the first meeting. I’m pretty sure he gets the “most improved award,” of course, it’s not like I have met anyone else, but still. I would also just like to take this time to be grateful that I had a partner who was willing to come. We pretty much only had one time in our schedule within the whole week to meet. But fortunately we managed to meet all six times. Hearing the horror stories of other students in their attempts to meet with their conversation partner, thank goodness Fernande was easier to meet with. But back on to the whole, “improved” business, at the beginning it was rough. I mean really rough. I pretty much had to repeat myself around 5 times and referred to the classic smile and nod at his responses (because most of the time I didn’t understand what he was saying even after the third time, and I felt rude asking again).  But now we have actually managed to ask each other questions and respond properly. So Brownie points! So I asked him how his day went and like a typical 21 year old boy he seemed pretty interested in talking about his boyfriend, so I figured that was at least something that interested him.  I learned that she only knows English, so that helped motivate him to pay more attention in his classes to learn English quicker. For the most part he speaks French with his parents and his aunt and uncle. But recently, he’s been trying to get his aunt and uncle, who he lives with, to speak English around the house. And then this reminded me of the program of Mango (which I feel that I’ve mentioned in a “What have I learned post”), which I had recently discovered and about all the possible languages you can learn with a program we’re paying for (yet no one knows about).  So I decided I think it would be awesome to learn Moroccan, just because you could be pretty much be the only person who could put you know how to speak Moroccan on your resume. He thought it would be cool to learn Spanish, since he said “so many people seem to know Spanish here.” And then he commented on how a lot of times you will be in the cafeteria and hear a group of students speaking Spanish. So I admit, Spanish would be much more useful to learn. Having taken two years of Spanish, a long long time ago, I told him about how it would be incredibly easy for him to learn Spanish since he’s fluent in French. They’re pretty similar in structure and what not. I told him about how, when my friends and I went to Italy, a friend of mine spoke Spanish and Italians were able to understand her.

With the topic change to our trips to France, we discussed elements we both liked and didn’t like. For example, we both agreed that people in France smoke A LOT. Including that we both had seen children smoking outside as well. I personal thought there was too much graffiti, but he thought it was artistic. My favorite graffiti in France was when I saw a graffiti drawing of a toaster:

And who doesn’t see this and think of the “brave little toaster:

And with that thought “B slema” (Moroccan for Goodbye) 

What Have I learned #4

What I’ve Learned #4

What I have learned is that finals are coming. I just feel like I need to clear the air with that one. What I have also learned is that I am pretty much done with all my classes. Which, I know everyone says, but that’s slightly shocking when you think about it. I honestly feel like it’s a bi early for that type of discussion, but nope. That’s it. Finito. All that remains are finals exams and final projects. So with that said in mind, it is slightly obvious to point out that I have not learned an exceedingly vast amount of new knowledge in my classes. So, instead of a usual breakdown by classes, here are some random points I made:

1)   So when discussing horror movies and Christmas movies (yes, this conversation did actually happen) in my English class kid in my class happened upon the film “Silent Night.” I just thought I would like to share for those who really like scary movies as well.  I (hopefully it was successful) attached the trailer below. I personally think the idea is brilliant. Well it also turns out that it is based off of an 80s horror movie “Silent Night, Deadly Night.” So for those who are a fan of fake blood and cheesy 80s technology (and Bonus: porcelain masks) I would recommend it.

2)   When walking past the Grand Mark the other day I decided to try a tea/smoothie type of institution that my friend had mentioned previously called FruiTEAlicious. And OH MY GOODNES. As the manager told me “this place basically has bubble tea on crack”—nice thought. But I just have to say, those little squishy tapioca-like balls are quite an experience. Popping those little squishy jellies is like the 9^th amazement of the world. What I learned is that you apparently have to cook them, like pasta. I asked the manager inquisitively about those little suckers and I found that out. That is all I have to say about these. But it needed to be said.

3)   Limmericks entail two sentences with more syllables in one type of rhyming pattern, two sentences with 5- 7 syllables with a second rhyming pattern, and then taking it home with a third longer (same number of syllables as the first two) sentence of the first rhyming pattern. With that being said, here is my own limerick:

Allison blogged with a ton of anxiety (12)

Always avoiding any impropriety (12)

So many she had wrote (6)

But ‘twas no time to gloat (6)

For her blog lacked a proper notoriety  (12)

Allison had fun writing a limerick (11)

Thinking of  new rhymes was such a gimerick (11)

She knew it was absurd (6)

For that was not a word (6)

But she could not find a rhyme with limerick (11)

Her final thoughts were written and composed (10)

Her speculations no longer disclosed (10)

She wrote "What have I learned" (6)

Every post, now adjourned (6)

Her blogging was done, or so she supposed (10)

4)   I had complex numbers. Such a busy mess. Recently In linear algebra that was the primary focus. Dealing with determining unitary matrices for a matrix containing a complex number. Just to inform anyone who is not entirely sure of a complex number, a complex number is any number that contains an imaginary number  (as in some value of i). I would just like to say though, I’m a big believer on the usefulness of math (I mean…I did choose this as a major) and no where, I mean NO WHERE can I think of the relevance of using imaginary numbers. It’s called imaginary, as oppose to a real number. As in, useful in the real world. That needed to be said by someone.

5)   On a noneducational note – because let’s be honest, I’m suffering from a slight lack of motivation with the holidays so close at hand, even though most of these statements weren’t educational in the first place – Thanksgiving is coming soon, which most people know.  And that’s pretty cool.

The end of Allison’s “What have I learned” fun facts.

Sayonara <3

A bowl full of chowder and a happy heart (Funny moment #1)

A Bowl Full of Chowder and a Happy Heart: A Moment of Uncontrollable Laughter

- A couple of months ago I was asked to describe what humor is. I recorded different friend’s opinions and meshed them together into a film using iMovie. Well, one thing I believe that description left out is that I used the word “humor” as a blanket term. Humor itself encompasses so many circumstances of ‘what people find funny.” I believe that the funniest moments sometimes can’t even be described into words. Often, the humor in a situation occurs from being there. Whether it’s the look in someone’s face when telling a joke or the comfort you feel with your companions that just results in a not-so-funny situation transforming into something hilarious. Humor often results from awkward situations, nervous giggling, and forced laughter upon yourself to hide your own embarrassment. Humor in its purest form, I believe, is that uncontrollable laughter one has for unexplained reasons. The situation, the atmosphere, and the attitude just all work in the person’s favor to result in irrepressible giggles. Well, the following story may not make much sense to anyone else. It’s another one of those “you had to be there” type of stories. But it’s an instance of that uncontainable humor. A couple of years ago, during the blissful high school days when I was still a teenager, back when feathers and colored streaks in the hair were still cool and before One Direction stole the hearts of preteen girls. Good old 2009 – or something like that. My friends and I were sitting in the cafeteria. I was eating a grilled cheese and some assortment of fruit. My friend Katie sits down, slams her tray on the table and places her spoon in the Chef’s special “Enchilada Chowder.” Scooping up a large spoonful, she inverts her spoon and watches the cheesy concoction slowly plop back down in the bowl, in one large conglomerate in the shape of a spoon. “Well that’s appetizing” she said. At that moment, across the table my friend Giselle spits out the gulp of Diet Coke she just gulped and continues to burst out laughing. As Giselle continued to laugh hysterically, the rest of the table joined in the chorus of chuckling. As I had warned, probably anyone who is reading this is thinking something along the lines “this isn’t funny, I thought she was writing something about humor?” Well something about that moment, and the unappetizing goop fueled Giselle’s uncontrollable laughter. And when that happens, you can’t help but to join in.