Sreejit just posted this photo of pasta being cooked at Amma’s ashram in Amritapuri, India. Just a normal day in the Amritapuri kitchen. Dinner- 150 kilos of pasta!
Pasta for Dinner!
Tag: humor
Weekly Photo Challenge: Numbers
This challenge reminded me of a fun thing that happened on my last trip to Amma’s ashram in Amritapuri, India.
When I left my room to go to breakfast, I took the back stairs, as is my normal practice. I looked down at the stairs as I started to descend them. By my foot there was
one green bug
It reminded me of a bug I’ve seen in Seattle. Its color was brilliantly green, almost fluorescent. I passed it by but was afraid it would get stepped on so I came back and pushed it to the side of the stairs. I walked away but then realized how hot it was in the sun. The bug had looked like it was dying. It occurred to me that it would certainly die if I left it sitting in the sun so I went up the stairs again, got something to pick the bug up with, and took it to a part of the landing that had some shade. I placed the bug in a crevice and continued on my way. At the next landing there were
two black crows
sitting on the railing. We looked at each other for a moment. One cawed and then they both flew away. One green bug followed by two black crows; that was an interesting “co-incidence.” I looked over the railing and the first thing I saw were
three Indian girls
Okay, this feels like no co-incidence. I think I will play the game. I wonder what will be next. Now I’m on the first floor (which in India is one floor above the ground). I look ahead in the distance and at the far part of the hall I see a doormat with shoes on it. As I get closer I see there are
four thongs scattered on the mat
Going down the last set of stairs, I’m now on the ground floor. I turn the corner and pass the supply office where
five Indian family members are getting bedding
As I make may way to the cafe, I pass a bush with
six hibiscus flowers which are being picked by an Indian woman
Once I arrive at the café I see there are
five people ahead of me in the breakfast line
I order my food and take it to the table where
four friends eat breakfast together
I finish my food, wash my dishes and take them to the drying station where there are
three towels for drying dishes
I take my empty water bottle to the drinking water station where I find
two are filling water bottles
I fill my water bottle and then head back to my room. I push the elevator button. Soon there is
one person on elevator
Me!
I wish I had pictures to go with the experience but I was busy living it! I decided to be to content using a shot of one of the Amritapuri hibiscus bushes.
Can You Say, Too Much Information?
Today I was remembering a post Sreejit wrote when he arrived in America from India in 2014. I laughed just thinking about it. A few minutes ago I read the post to friends who are visiting and we all laughed. I decided to share it with all of you. Enjoy!
Early Morning Fun
Yesterday morning began in a most unusual way! When I left my room to go to breakfast, I took the back stairs, as is my normal practice. I looked down at the stairs as I started to descend them. By my foot there was
one green bug
It reminded me of a bug I’ve seen in Seattle. Its color was brilliantly green, almost fluorescent. I passed it by but was afraid it would get stepped on so I came back and pushed it to the side of the stairs. I walked away but then realized how hot it was in the sun. The bug had looked like it was dying. It occurred to me that it would certainly die if I left it sitting in the sun so I went up the stairs again, got something to pick the bug up with, and took it to a part of the landing that had some shade. I placed the bug in a crevice and continued on my way. At the next landing there were
two black crows
sitting on the railing. We looked at each other for a moment. One cawed and then they both flew away. One green bug followed by two black crows; that was an interesting “co-incidence.” I looked over the railing and the first thing I saw were
three Indian girls
Okay, this feels like no co-incidence. I think I will play the game. I wonder what will be next. Now I’m on the first floor (which in India is one floor above the ground). I look ahead in the distance and at the far part of the hall I see a doormat with shoes on it. As I get closer I see there are
four thongs scattered on the mat
Going down the last set of stairs, I’m now on the ground floor. I turn the corner and pass the supply office where
five Indian family members are getting bedding
As I make may way to the cafe, I pass a tree with
six hibiscus flowers which are being picked by an Indian woman
Once I arrive at the café I see there are
five people ahead of me in the breakfast line
I order my food and take it to the table where
four friends eat breakfast together
I finish my food, wash my dishes and take them to the drying station where there are
three towels for drying dishes
I take my empty water bottle to the drinking water station where I find
two are filling water bottles
I fill my water bottle and then head back to my room. I push the elevator button. Soon there is
one person on elevator
Me!
Well, that was an interesting way to start the day. I wonder what the rest of my day will hold. (BTW, the bug was gone when I returned to that crevice again.)
Over or Under?
There was a time earlier this year when I noticed the amount of space devoted to toilet paper in our local supermarket. The toilet paper display had caught my eye in the past but the absurdity of it really struck me on that day. The sight impacted me enough that I wrote a post about it! (Only in America?)
Another toilet paper issue has surfaced in my life. While I was aware of the debate over whether toilet paper should hang over or under the roll, I didn’t realize how much energy people had about it.
I personally side with the under camp, but began to wonder what other people thought. When we were planning some “getting to know you” exercises for a recent therapy activity, the staff decided to place a fun question among the serious ones. We asked the participants if they were unders or overs and had them divide into two groups. I was surprised to discover that in a group of 15 people 12 were overs and 3 were unders. I had no idea that the distribution would be so skewed or that I would be part of the minority.
After a friend sent me the picture I will place at the end of this post, I decided to delve further into the topic. (Sometimes it is fun to investigate a topic that has no particular importance!)
Wikipedia devotes 5445 words to the issue and that number doesn’t include the 132 footnotes, 119 references and 13 recommendations for further reading.
I found these factors mentioned in various sources:
- Over keeps the flap further away from the wall, which may contain germs.
- Over is the way that hotels do it so it must be right. (Over allows hotel staff to neatly fold back the flap.)
- Over makes the pattern on the toilet paper look right.
- Over makes it easier to tear off the number of tiles you want
- Over makes it easier to find the flap.
- The patent on toilet paper displays it in the over position.
- Under makes it less likely it will unravel in an RV or during an earthquake
- Under keeps children and pets from unrolling it.
- Under is neater since the flap can be hidden.
- Under creates less kinetic friction
An engineering study found that 70% of the people they studied are overs and 30% are unders. When looking at psychological factors, the researchers found overs to be overachievers who stay organized and take charge, and unders to be laid back, artistic and dependable. The study reported that 50% of people pay attention to the orientation of toilet paper, and that 20% have changed the orientation when they thought it was wrong. The investigators estimated that the average American spends half an hour a year trying to find the end of the toilet paper roll and that endeavor is said to create a $300 million loss in productivity.
I believe I now know enough about toilet paper orientation, so to end this post I will share the picture I mentioned above. My friend found this toilet paper dispenser in a “pizza joint” in Kenmore, Washington!
A Favorite Prayer
Many years ago, I was given a handout at a workshop that contained this prayer. I laughed when I read it then and I laugh when I think of it now. I can so relate.
I believe finding humor even in a dark or frustrating situation can help us lighten up.
Oh Lord,
Please help me make it through
this self imposed
and totally unnecessary challenge.
(Author Unknown)
Written for Dungeon Prompts: Using Our Words for Spreading Joy
Make-Believe Problems
Today, I saw a cartoon on Counseling TidBits that I loved. I asked Jane A Weiss, LCSW for permission to post it on my blog and she said “Yes.” Thank you Jane!
I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
Wordless Wednesday
They Wiggle and Squiggle!
I love the variety of challenges Writing 201: Poetry is offering us. Today’s assignment was to explore Concrete Poetry, also known as Shape Poetry.
“The idea here is to arrange your words on the screen (or the page) so that they create a shape or an image. The meaning of the image can be obvious at first glance, or require some guesswork after reading the poem. It’s up to you to decide how difficult you want to make it for your readers.”
We were also encouraged to use enjambment.
Enjambment “may sound like a mouthful. But what it describes is a really simple phenomenon: when a grammatical sentence stretches from one line of verse to the next.”
The word prompt we were to use was “Animal.”
“Polar bears, microbes in your cells, unicorns, your pet hamster, lolcats: find a way to include an animal, today’s word prompt, in your poem. Or write about a situation that can bring out the animal in you (or someone else). Or dig deeper into the word’s etymology (anima = latin for breath). One way or another, give us a beast of a poem.”
It was a fun assignment to do, although figuring out how to do the formatting in a way that it held when put into the post was a challenge. I am grateful to the various people who offered suggestions.
So here is my animal shape poem using enjambment!
And here is a photo of my “pets!”
Sreejit’s Home!
Sreejit came home from India Friday night. Today he wrote a funny post about his reentry to the United States. Take a look!
Can You Say, Too Much Information?
Living, Learning and Letting Go 