Awkward List

Awkward moments and more weird stuff

college

Life and Photography

by 5 Comments

I’ve been a fan of photography for a while. I got pushed into being the “Historian” for a couple of organizations in the past, not because of my awesome ability maintain great records on paper or because I’m extremely committed to things  (since I’m probably neither), but because I take lots of pictures of random stuff.

Different.
Different.

Street photography, also known as a mild form of stalking strangers (what ever that means), is one of my secret hobbies. A street photographer attempts to capture life as it is, without fake smiles and without any poses that will make your boobs look bigger. A photographer showed me a picture of myself and a friend while we were sharing a nasty piece of tiramisu outside of a dessert place, and I felt like it really caught our personalities on a screen. I could tell he was a little nervous about letting us know what he captured, but we knew that privacy went out the window once we left our private homes and ventured into public space.

Waiting.
Waiting.

From people picking their noses, to capturing some fights about to break out, and people laughing at themselves laughing (whoa, that’s some Inception crap right there), it really calms me down. But of course, that comes with a share of awkward moments.

1. I forgot to turn off the flash on my camera one time, and it even went off with the red-eye light thing too. It was a person feeding the ducks. He quickly turned my way and adjusted his posture.. and I missed my shot. Posing ruins it.

2. An older woman called me a perv for getting down, belly-on-the-sidewalk status, in order to catch some leaves dancing around the sidewalk. I know, not very discreet on my end, but sometimes you just have to get on the ground, you know?

3. A couple of drunk girls asked me to take their photos out on the sidewalk once. So I asked for their camera, and they said they didn’t have one, and their cell phones were dead. Trying to be funny, I pretended to take out an imaginary camera and “snap” their photo. They said thank you over and over, while I just stood there, and they stumbled away. Uh, what?

Sun
Sun

All photos here, along with the ones on instagram.com/edwincov are taken with an iPhone 4S.

See, to be honest with you guys, things just happen. I don’t consider myself to be an awkward person.. but we all seem normal to ourselves, I guess, right? I’ve been spending a few years now searching for something that I enjoy doing for its sake. I’m actually beginning a new blog on just that: What to do with our lives.

Every single one of my friends can probably tell you that I have been wondering about purpose for quite some time. I ask them what they want out of life, I ask them about their future, about their wants and needs. It started a while ago, when I discovered what working in a cubicle actually meant. I started questioning everything and went into deep confusing and frustrating times. It has been almost 5 years since  it all started, and my eyes keep opening up.

Do I really want to live tied down to a job where I have to ask for permission to go see my family?

Will I ever be able to go out and enjoy my time on a Monday morning?

I can’t seem to focus on what I’m supposed to be doing, am I just dumb?

I watched some movies, I read many books. Took legit college courses. I bothered my friends. I talked to almost everyone who would be willing to listen. I spoke with professionals, pastors, old friends, and business owners. You’d be surprised to know how many people have also felt this way, and out of that particular bunch, you can tell the obvious difference between those who settled, and those who kept questioning and chose to follow their ideas. You probably already know which group had it “easier”.

Some of you guys have already found my new blog somehow, but it isn’t quite ready yet. I’ll still be here in awkward land, where the sun shines bright, and farts are announced with pride. I’ll actually be announcing it here on Monday morning.

Just out of curiosity, have you felt the same way? 

What advice would you give to someone in this position? (In the comments below ↓)

62. When your professor asks you to find a partner

by 11 Comments

They always do this. Why!?

It is the first day of school, and your best friend is not in your biology class. Bummer. Oh well, you’ll make new friends. . . though you’re not very sure of how this happens but you do know that eventually you will end up knowing a lot of people and becoming good friends with some of them.

So you greet the person next to you, and think to yourself: Awesome, I know one person in this classroom, yeah! But then your teacher decides to set up her seating chart and put you next to another set of complete strangers, making you start the greeting people thing all over again.

And just when you thought it couldn’t get any worse:

“Alright, students. I’d like you now to find a partner and try to discuss the problem on the board.”

You look to your left, then to your right. People awkwardly looking at each other to see who will end up with who makes the situation extra tense. Are people staring at you? No, they’re looking for a partner. Now you don’t get to casually meet people around you; you are now forced to interact and let your first conversation ever be about the structure of a cell, instead of talking about Maroon 5 even though you are wearing that band’s T-shirt, how unfortunate.

Some people don’t find partners, others end up fighting over a person, and some people might just end up together because nobody wanted to partner up with them. Sucks, huh?

Sometimes though, you get lucky. A friendly person around you might just look at you and smile to say “Hey, want to be my partner?” and only then, my friends, life is good. Are you that person? You are awesome!

Image source

 

58. Saying something at the same time

by 5 Comments

Here is the scenario:

You’re at a sushi bar with a couple of friends, enjoying the raw fish, rice and all the other cool stuff you can find at a place like that. After a while, the conversation dies down a little which hints that a change of topic is necessary. Certain people are better at it than others, because some people just have interesting things to talk about. Well what if there are two interesting people at the table that notice the sudden death of a conversation and want bring forth a new one?

That’s you. YOU are one of the interesting, awesome people. And suddenly you want to talk about how your car broke down and the mechanic messed it up even more. But your friend wants to talk about his ex-girlfriend going out with his brother now. Here’s what it would sound like:

“So I can’t believe freakin’ mechanic she’s going out with made it worse with my brother!”

Whatta what?!

That’s right. Yup. Sometimes people just keep talking even though another person is talking. But who can blame them? There is no talking right-of-way rule listed anywhere.

And other times, neither of them wants to talk! Suddenly the battle of you-go begins:

“So I can’t believe freakin— oh.”

“You go,”

“No, you go. I was going to say something dumb.”

“Well I forgot what I was going to say anyway.”

Great, so neither of them will say anything. And, we’re back to square one. Both people might turn away and leave you with a dead conversation. Once more.

 

Image source

47. Walking into a spider web

by 13 Comments

Spider webs. I know, I know. . . many people are afraid of spiders, some more than others. But before you start screaming and attempting to destroy your computer, know that there are no pictures of spiders in this post.

After having dinner with a friend last night, I was asked for a favor: to debug her apartment. I had forgotten how afraid of bugs she was. You see, she doesn’t mind working with urine or blood samples and even gets excited over things like autopsies, so one day I came to visit her with a weird insect I had found (it looked like a cross between a tiny black ant and something else) because I figured nothing could gross her out, but I was wrong —very wrong.

Back to last night’s story: there happened to be old, dusty spider webs hidden in the corner of her window, and a lot of them outside that I was trying to reach with a broom, but eventually I realized it would be easier to reach with my hands. That’s when I remembered what a spider’s web feels like, which then reminded me of the following:

When I lived in the college dormitories, there was a path behind the buildings that would lead to the cafeteria and during the summer, spiders would make their homes right there. I’m talking about huge webs that would stretch from a light post to a tree trunk, and would take up the entire path (what were these things trying to catch? People?) I was aware of the spider webs because one morning I was able to see tiny droplets of water on a spiderweb that made it extremely noticeable along with the web’s creator waiting right in the middle of it. Some people, however, would not be able to notice the spiderweb; which was good AND bad because it created pretty hilarious scenarios in my mind, but that would mean that the spider would have to start all over. And also bad because of possible bites. Which might be poisonous. Which might lead to —O.K.! Alright! Let us say that no spider was present in my mind scenario.

But seriously, haven’t you ever walked into a spider web and felt those long strings of spider silk in your hair? Or even better, have you ever seen that happen to someone else?

You could be walking around somewhere with a group of friends and suddenly one of your friends begins to wave his arms around like crazy at some invisible force and no matter what he does, he cannot free himself. Is he possessed? No, it’s just a spider web. That’s the thing about spider webs, they are invisible and feel extremely sticky and stretch so much that attempting to get rid of it makes you look like a mad person. Some people feel the need to make a scene and start yelling and running around in circles. Other people take it too far and start panicking and might even attempt the old-school Stop, Drop and Roll, but that’s in case of your clothes being on fire! . . Wait, would fire get rid of it? No, don’t try it.

Image source

More awkward:

To handle such awkward situations, be sure to check out a book created by popular bloggers on how to survive the awkwardness. I have never found such a relatable book like this one. What do you do when someone tells you that they love you and you’re just not feeling it yet? You have to check out this book in paperback TODAY!

Just check out my Amazon affiliate links below:

(Disclosure:  Please note that some of the links below are affiliate links, and at no additional cost to you, I will earn a commission if you decide to make a purchase.)

Awkward HumanThe Awkward Human Survival Guide: How to Handle Life’s Most Uncomfortable Situations

Humorously and smartly written by two popular bloggers who’ve lived through it all, it explains how to call out a friend’s BS, handle that accidentally blurted “I love you,” confront a kitchen thief at work, and much, much more! Check it out by clicking here right now.

35. Angry customers

by 2 Comments

People started complaining to me when the person they wanted to see was not in the office. I didn’t know what to say, the man was out and had not taken his cell phone with him. What was I supposed to do? I calmly let them know and they kept on yelling. Ah, receptionist work.. oh well.

Sometimes customers get a little carried away when they don’t get what they’re looking for. I’ve witnessed the fury of angry customers, and its not pretty. Angry parents are probably one of the bad experiences I’ve had.

For our welcoming passive programs (posters on the wall), I teamed up with another Resident Advisor in the dorms to place a large informational poster on the wall about sex education. Parents, helping the students move into their dormitories, decided that this was promoting sex and that they were not happy. They complained to the other RAs, to the coordinator, to other parents. In the end, the poster got torn down. By a parent.

But I’ve seen worse. Way worse. A woman yelled at a McDonald’s employee after receiving a wrong order in a restaurant by my home. Angry over a cheeseburger that wasn’t plain.

Getting yelled at by angry customers is very awkward. In one hand, the customer is “always right” and in the other hand, the customer, well, is wrong (for getting all mad). That itself is awkward. Now imagine adding on all of that other stuff like how an angry person is typically very irrational, says things they don’t mean, are over dramatic, spit while they talk, make unusual hand motions, and embarrass themselves and whoever is there with them. Uh, yeah, awkward.

What is a person supposed to do when faced with an angry customer?

Image source

34. Getting locked out of your home

by 2 Comments

I lived in the dorms in my early college years. That’s where I gained a ton of friends and got to know many students. I spent two years and one summer living in a 250-resident building, sharing five toilets and 4 showers with 45 other students.

Yeah, it sounds cool but its not as awesome as what I was able to manage throughout those seven quarters (not semesters) living on campus: I managed to only get locked out of my room once. 

My story isn’t as interesting as the one I read on Sandi’s ahhsome blog. Actually, mine isn’t interesting at all… hmm. Oh I know, I’ll tell you someone else’s locked-out experience instead:

I was a Resident Advisor in the dorms for an academic year and a summer, so I learned to really dislike it when people got locked out of their rooms. And they would always get locked out at very inappropriate times; in the middle of the night, early morning, while I was in the shower, you name it. One of these times, I was hanging out with one of my friends who didn’t live in the dorms. He was thinking about moving in. He asked,

“Does anything interesting ever happen around here?”

“Not really. . .” I responded

“Any girl stories?”

Just as he said that, I heard a loud knocking on my door and a girl yelling out my name. I ran to the door, and opened it. A girl from down the hall, named Marie, ran inside, and closed the door behind her and just stood there looking at me. I was looking back at her in surprise. She was extremely embarrassed. This young woman was wearing nothing but a towel and had wet hair dripping down her face.

I turned to look at my friend, sitting on my futon. He was nodding his head and trying to hold in his laughter at the same time.

“I’m locked out of my room and I’m late for class!” she said to me.

“How did it happen?” I asked back. You see, as RA’s we’re supposed to hassle students in order to keep them from locking themselves out again.

“It wasn’t my fault.” she said.

Yeah, it is never their fault. Almost every student has a very good excuse to get locked out, and its usually never their faults. Did they leave their keys inside? Yes. But it’s still not their fault. I decided to save her the trouble, I mean poor girl, she was late and in a towel. But how can it not be her fault? She forgot and forgetting is not her problem? Then who is there to blame? I let her in her room after fetching the master key, and she never looked at me in the eye since then, I guess she felt too awkward.

Ahh.. memories. I remember the only time I got locked out.. it wasn’t that embarrassing. Someone was throwing blank CDs like Frisbee’s in the hall and I stepped out to see who it was when the wind decided to shut my door.

It wasn’t my fault.

Image source

22. Public restrooms

by 4 Comments

Some restrooms at smaller places, such as coffee shops, usually are Single Rider restrooms. This particular type of restroom only has a one person limit with one toilet, one sink, one of everything. They’re very comfortable, actually. Not having to deal with stalls, or making eye contact with other people and no need to follow urinal laws.

The experience, however, has a different side to it; a very uncomfortable one.

After having to hold it for a while, you finally find a restroom and head right in. You poop (while checking your email, new text messages, perhaps play a short Angry Birds session on your iPhone, you know, the usual), and feel very relaxed. Suddenly, you hear something unexpected.

A knock on the door startles you and then you begin to feel the pressure. That’s right, friend. That is one of the sacrifices we must make in order to enjoy the luxury of one of these restrooms. At this moment, you must say something, otherwise this gives the person waiting full right to attempt to open the door. A typical response is “BUSY!” That should keep them away; well maybe just a couple of meters from the door anyway.

It can be very uncomfortable to be rushed when you’re taking care of business to know that someone is waiting for you to finish. It might even cut off the drive you had built up. Once you finish though, follow post-restroom protocol please. Fortunately for you, there is a quick way to remember what to do before you leave the restroom. Just remember C.H.I.T.

C- Cover. The seat cover must’ve flushed. Oh and make sure its not stuck to your pants. It doesn’t only happen in movies, trust me.

H- Hair. Leaving hair on the toilet seat or anywhere in the sink is just not cool, please remove it.

I- Instruments. Make sure that all bathroom equipment is fully functional, and that your poop has left the toilet bowl.

T- Toilet paper. All soiled paper must be properly disposed of.

What this acronym will not save you from, though, is the awkwardness that comes after leaving the restroom and having an encounter with the person that was waiting. The last thing they saw before they stepped into restroom was your face, and their objective as soon as they step in is to assess the environment, primarily the odor.

You might encounter people that leave restrooms saying:

“Uh, yeah.. you don’t want to go in there.”

“I dropped a bomb, heads up.”

“..sorry..”  Or they might just smile at you.

I’m still not sure which one of those is most awkward, but they’re all pretty high up there. Don’t worry though, usually people that are willing to wait for you outside of the restroom probably have to use it badly, so they won’t mind the smell that much (unless its toxic), but they will mind anything on the CHIT list.

 Image sources: Top, bottom