I turned 44 years old yesterday, which sometimes seems
impossible to me, since my brain tells me I was in my 20s only a few short
years ago. But then I wake up some mornings more sore than when I went to bed
and realize, yep, I’m old. The fact that I buy my Advil by the 50-pound sack is
another clue.
This year, in honor of making another successful trip around
the sun, I have added to my list of thoughts, observations, and acquired wisdom
(arguably). Here it is, one for each year. You’re welcome.
1. There are two
kinds of people in the world. Those who prefer the toilet paper to come off the
top of the roll, and those who prefer the bottom. The people who like it to
come off the bottom of the roll are wrong.
2. If beds were
advertised the same way as tents, a queen-size mattress would sleep nine adults
comfortably.
3. The three-second
rule has almost infinite extensions depending on how much you like the food
that dropped.
4. You never fully
appreciate how crazy your family is until you have to explain all of them to
your new wife.
5. I don’t understand
why disappointed is not the opposite of appointed.
6. Pi and the
circumference of a circle have a similar relationship to pie and the
circumference of a person.
7. Here’s the main difference
between men and women: Men can look at a picture of women's underwear and get
excited. Not women in underwear, just
the underwear itself. Women do not get excited looking at pictures of boxer shorts.
8. The toothpaste
tube is the most amazing invention ever. You get four days of toothpaste out of
the large main body of the tube, and six weeks of toothpaste out of the last
10% of the tube, up by the cap. If we could make automobile gas tanks out of
the same stuff that the last 10% of the toothpaste tube is made of, cars would
get 700 miles per gallon.
9. The clearest
evidence that America is the greatest country on earth is that the Red Bull
beverage company put a man in space. Take that, Belgium.
10. If you give
enough money to the right charities, you will never have to buy address labels
again.
11. I am over the
electronic tipping point. At this point, I would much rather lose my wallet
than my phone.
12. A really good
financial goal in life is to have your bank account balance be larger than your
bank account number.
13. Life without beer,
wine, and cheese would be horrible, but life without bacon would simply be
pointless.
14. When packing
thirteen suitcases into the car for your wife, is it impossible to have ten of
them be “on top” so she can get to them easily.
15. Never get a woman
personalized license plates like "HOT QT" or something like that,
because eventually you, the boyfriend or husband, will have to drive the car
and you will be mercilessly ridiculed by the rest of us.
16. You can ask
someone to do something, or you can tell them how you want it done, but you
cannot do both.
17. A good indicator
of where you are in life is this: Does the advertisement of free food still
affect your decision making?
18. Fabric softener
sheets go in the dryer, not the washer. Just FYI. I’m not saying I didn’t know
that.
19. There is no “t”
or “t” sound in the word across. There is no “b” or “b” sound in the word
supposedly. Please pronounce accordingly.
20. Men are far more
likely to clean things with spit than women are.
21. Money and toilet
paper have something in common – They’re both easy to take for granted until
you run out. Also, in totally opposite, but equally dire situations, they can
be substituted for each other.
22. Pets and skull
tattoos have something in common - Just because yours is badass does not mean
you are badass. In fact, it usually means the exact opposite.
23. If you ask any
guy to tell you a story about a time he almost died, he will have four stories
just off the top of his head, and one will be from this year. If you ask women
the same question, most of them will look at you like you’re crazy.
24. One sure sign of
getting old – When you start sitting down to put on your pants.
25. Children and
ceiling fans are just incompatible. It’s science.
26. In life, it is
very important to remember where you are and why you're there. That way, when
your podiatrist tells you to drop your shorts, you’ll ask some questions first.
27. The hotel alarm
clock - You can either take the time to figure out how it works before you go
to bed, or you can figure it out in the dark at 4:30 A.M. when it unexpectedly
goes off. Your choice.
28. Probably the
funniest thing ever written is this: “We’ve upped our contribution. Up yours!”
29. People who don’t
use their cruise control on the freeway should be pulled over and arrested. Or
water-boarded.
30. There are 21
words in the English language that need to be used more. They are: Bailiwick,
Hootenanny, Skullduggery, Scofflaw, Ballyhoo, Shenanigans, Donnybrook,
Catawampus, Chicanery, Cajoled, Hullabaloo, Besmirch, Boondoggle, Haberdashery,
Melee, Befuddled, Flummoxed, Hoosegow, Wiseacre, Tomfoolery, and Kerfuffle.
31. Nothing is more
interesting to a child than what you are doing, provided that what you are
doing is easier without children involved.
32. You cannot claim
to be a grown woman, fully capable of taking care of yourself, and also claim
that you do not know how to operate a toilet seat.
33. Fried chicken and
touch screen devices do not mix well.
34. A carsick child
and a blender without a lid have a lot in common.
35. To be or not to
be is not the question. The real question is, which towel in the guest bathroom
am I allowed to use to dry my hands?
36. Give a boy enough
time with any object, whether it be a stale Cheerio, a bouncy ball, a doll, or
a book, and he will eventually turn it into a weapon.
37. "The only
difference between men and boys is the price of their toys" is a pretty
accurate saying, but it leaves out the other major difference: the speed at
which they heal when they fall off those toys.
38. New parents - The
best thing to do when your infant cries at night is to set a timer for ten
minutes. If the timer runs out before the baby stops crying, reset the timer.
39. The people
investigating alternative energy sources should take a look at my wife's side
of the bed. When she comes to bed she is in a near-frozen state, but the bed
somehow heats her up to roughly 8,000 degrees in the middle of the night. I
have never once plugged the bed in or recharged it in any way.
40. As I get older, I
find myself dividing the world into two categories: People I would let watch my
kids for five minutes, and people I wouldn’t.
41. The person who
invented the hotel shower curtain rod that curves out away from the tub so the
shower curtain doesn’t stick to your arm should receive the Nobel prize.
42. If you want a
good example of unbridled optimism, look at your smoke alarm. They all have "test
weekly" printed on them. Yes, smoke alarm company, I’ll get right on that.
43. Guys, do you ever
have trouble figuring out if you’ve had too much to drink? Here’s a handy
guideline:
“There is no way I can scratch that itch on my ankle while I’m
standing here peeing, so I will not try.” – You’re still OK
“I can totally do it without peeing on myself.” – You are
drunk
44. If you have to
choose, it makes more sense to become a strong swimmer than a strong runner.
You don’t automatically die when you stop running.
See you soon,
-Smidge
Copyright © 2016 Marc Schmatjen
Use catawampus routinely, boondoggle within the last week, and kerfluffle just yesterday.
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