A fairly common occurrence in my everyday life is when I use a somewhat obscure quote from a movie or TV show while talking to a stranger or borderline stranger. I can't really help myself; some of them have become so ingrained in my everyday speech that sometimes I can't lock it up. I have no problems with cursing or otherwise inappropriate quotes, it's not like I walk into a board meeting and announce "Howdy howdy, fuckin' partners!" or anything like that....it's the other stuff that gets me.
Por ejemplo, on my first day at a new job, the guy who was training me in and I were searching for a missing number on the balance sheet, thought we knew what we were looking for, and when it turned out to be something completely different, without thinking I exclaimed "Samsonite!" As in Dumb & Dumber, trying to remember Mary's last name, looking at the briefcase, "Samsonite...I was way off!" And a period of awkwardness followed, as he (understandably) had no idea what I was talking about. I didn't think anything of it....it's what I always yell when I turn out to be completely wrong on something.
So the other night I'm supposed to be meeting this guy off of craigslist (not for the usual reasons I meet strange dudes off of craigslist-- this meeting was entirely non-sexual) so I can buy the entire series of Arrested Development on DVD from him....$30 bucks, still in the original wrapping, what a steal! All I knew about him from our emails was that his name was Pete, and he was supposed to be tall. So when I first saw him approaching with the DVD's, I gave him a "Big...Pete? You're Big Pete?" and clapped him on the shoulder. If the lightbulbs aren't clicking for you, it's around the 55 second mark of this clip:
Well, apparently the lightbulb didn't click for Pete, either, even though he was around my age and certainly part of the Saved by the Bell era, and our transaction took an immediate turn into Awkwardsville. And once again I made an ass out of myself in front of a stranger. Oh well. Sorry for partying.
Happy Friday.
