Awkward/Awesome

[Sorry--I started writing this post on Wednesday but blogger has been down.]

Awkward: Today after I got to work I pulled my female coworker aside. "Breta," I said. "Do you know how to tie a bow?"

She looked at me dumbly. Like, who doesn't know how to tie a bow? "I only know how to do bunny ears," I said. "This is really embarrassing and has affected my social life since kindergarten. But just look at my suit. Obviously bunny ears aren't doing the trick.

Can you teach me how to tie the other kind of bow?"

She laughed at me, but we quickly realized that the other way of tying shoes works better with shoelace. The bow looked even worse when I didn't do the bunny ears trick.

We finally decided on a "kimono type look." I think it is much better.

Awesome: I had to drive my boss to the airport this morning. I have really, REALLY been missing my car and so I basically jump at the chance to drive anyone and anything. Plus, I was really excited to drive the big government van again.

When my boss was ready to go, he looked at me and said, "Do you have a jacket?" I stared at him dumbfounded for a minute, thinking, "Do I really need a suit jacket to drive you to the airport?" I finally said, "You mean, like a coat if I get cold?" (It is summer, after all!) "Well," he said, "My car doesn't have a roof."

Yes, my friends, I drove a convertible around Washington DC. Definitely awesome. I am pretty sure half of the people in the city were gawking at me, and as I drove over the Potomac I saw the most beautiful sunrise ever. What. A. Dream.

Awkward: After my awesome day at work I was walking up the escalator at the metro center near my apartment. All of a sudden my heel caught one of the stairs and I totally biffed it, falling into the side. All of a sudden people sprung into action. People were swearing and shouting and grabbing me to pull me up before I got sucked in. It was super awkward. I tried to pretend that it was just a little trip until I got to the top and started walking. All of a sudden I felt this hot wet liquidy thing running down my led. I looked down and my foot was covered in blood. Feeling a little faint (and still in a lot of pain from the fall), I walked over to the side and lifted up my pant leg and saw that I had three very deep holes in my knee (from the escalator) and they were gushing blood. I have seriously never bled that much in my life.

Several people rushed over to me and one of them said, "Did you fall, ma'am? You got ta report that! Are you gonna be ok? You should seriously report that."

Report this! What I need, lady, is to get the blood cleaned off of my knee!

Luckily, I was right next to a hospital so I went into their bathroom and cleaned up my leg and my shoe, put 3 bandaids on, and walked home.

It might not look that bad, but those are pretty deep! They bled for several days.

Awesome: I walked into the Barlow Center (housing is on the 3rd and 4th floor and offices, reception areas, etc are on the 1st and 2nd) after work and there was some sort of China-Utah relationship reception going on in the lobby. I watched it for a minute to see what was going on (I was less interested in the shrimp and more interested in the Chinese :) and one of the girls walking by started talking to me. I told her I speak Chinese and she said, "Do you want to come in and have some food? We have plenty!"

Yes, actually. I love shrimp and I love Chinese. Shrimp, French cheeses, delicious tomato bread things, egg rolls, chocolate cake...it was one of the most delicious (made even more so by its free-ness) dinners I have eaten in a long, long time. And I got to speak to these awesome people in Chinese, I found out that my coworker was the home teacher of two of the American girls that were helping out, and the older couple that was there knew someone from my mission.

Small world.

Awkward: I went to the church that evening (after washing the blood out of my pants) for choir practice. I was still limping so the holes wouldn't open up again and gush blood, so I was taking the stairs a little carefully. Not carefully enough, though, because I totally biffed it down the stairs, again.

At least the holes didn't open up and start gushing, though!

And that, folks, is the reason my life is so awesome. All this in one day!