Is This My Car?

For many individuals, having a car is a luxury. It can transport you from one place to another without the restrictions of waiting for public transportation. The only difficulties about having a car are the monthly payments, the gas prices, and the multiple cars on the road that look exactly like yours. For instance, Marie went to the grocery store to purchase some items for the coming week. At first, when she got to the store, she had a hard time finding a parking space because of all the cars. Luckily, she was able to find one not that far away from the store. Once she parked, she got out of the car and familiarized herself with were her car was located. Then she locked her car and went into the store. After about an hour, Marie walked out into the parking lot with her grocery basket. When she got to her car, she placed the items inside and then entered on the driver’s side.  As she turned the key in the ignition, the car would not start. Worried that she would have to get her car serviced again, she tried one more time, but then suddenly stopped. She looked at the passenger side and the seats in the back and thought to herself, “I don’t have leather seats.” Then she looked at the rest of the interior and realized that she was in the wrong car.  Immediately, she got out of the car, grabbed her items, and ran to her car. It was parked right behind the one she was at. Now, every time Marie goes to the store she double checks to see if she is opening her own car and not someone else’s.

"Oops" Moments

Have you ever had a moment you wish you could erase? I know I have had plenty. One moment that comes to mind is when I was a sophomore in high school because everything seemed more embarrassing when I was a teenager. There was a Starbucks across the street that I used to love to stop by before I went to my first class in the morning. On this particular day, the weather was supposed to be cold and the weatherman said that it would rain all day. So, I grabbed my raincoat and stopped at Starbucks to buy a cup of coffee. As I walked to class, I decided to take a small sip of coffee. Bad idea! At that moment, two drops of coffee fell onto my white blouse in the most inconvenient places (I will leave that up to your imagination). I ran to the bathroom and tried to clean the two spots, but nothing would work. The only option I had was to wear my raincoat the whole day. The problem was that the day actually turned out to be a beautiful sunny day, and not as the weatherman predicted. The morals of my “oops” moment are to not wear white when drinking coffee and never believe the meteorologist.

What Did You Say?

One day, while my grandmother was preparing breakfast, she discovered that she was out of eggs. Since my grandfather was not doing anything at the time, she asked him to go to the store. Even though my grandfather’s native language is Spanish, he knows how to say a few words in English. As he entered the store, he wanted to ask an employee for help, since he was unsure of where to look. The first person he encountered was a young female employee walking down one of the aisles. As he approached her, she politely asked, “How may I help you?” After he responded by saying, “I need eggs, ” the lady looked at him with a nervous expression. Believing that it was his thick accent that was confusing the employee, he repeated the same statement while clucking and flapping his arms. As the employee slowly backed away from my grandfather, she threatened to call the police. Fearing that he did something wrong, my grandfather decided to leave the store. What he found out later was that she had misunderstood what he said—she thought he had said, “I need legs,” instead of” I need eggs.” After that incident, he would not go to the store by himself.

Stop...Ahead

One afternoon, Ronald was driving his family and a few friends to a party. He did not know the neighborhood very well, so he tried his best to find the location with limited directions of where to go. Luckily, there was no other car behind him as he was driving on one particular street, because he came to a complete stop in the middle of the road. Everyone looked at him curiously. Then his wife, sitting in the passenger seat, asked him why he stopped. He responded by pointing to the road and reading the four-letter word, “Stop.” All the passengers began to laugh out loud. After wondering why they were laughing at him, his wife pointed out the word, “Ahead” that was only a few feet after “Stop” on the road. Ronald did not want to be the designated driver after the party.

Lost In Fast Food Translation

(Photo uploaded by Michael Galero on Flickr.)

Communication is a skill that is essential and must be developed through practice.

Children can be vicious critics when it comes to judging one's manner of

speaking. That is why, during their adolescent period, many individuals develop

the fear of being teased for their pronunciation of certain words. This fear can

continue to be a hindrance as children reach adulthood, because adults can be

just as callous as children. Most likely, everyone has had an incident in which

he or she has regretted making a comment. Even though it may have

been embarrassing, sometimes one cannot help but reflect on what happened

and laugh. Instead of remembering an incident as humiliating, think of it as an

experience to laugh about with family and friends.

(Photo uploaded by final_station on Flickr.)

For instance, one afternoon a family was driving home from a prior engagement. Since the event lasted longer than expected, all of them were hungry during the trip home. The parents decided to stop at a fast food restaurant, so their children would not have to wait to eat dinner. In order not to divert much time from their trip, the family agreed to go through the drive-thru. The only concern was that the husband was driving. Since he was not a native speaker, he was afraid to communicate with others. He did not like being teased -- especially by his two young daughters -- about the way he would pronounce certain words in English. Therefore, his wife told him not to worry. She would order the food once they arrived at the restaurant, but the man told his wife no. He wanted to try it on his own. As they approached the Jack In The Box menu, his wife and two daughters told him what they wanted. Then it was time to face the dreaded speaker where he would utter the food orders. And yet, with a smile on his face, he confidently said each order with perfect pronunciation. His family was impressed. He was proud of himself for being able to say each item they wanted from the menu with no hesitation. The only problem was that once he was done, the next thing they heard from the speaker was: "Hello, may I take your order".

All This Work For One Little Dessert

  With the current economic crisis, it is very expensive to spend time away from home. Gas prices continue to rise, decent restaurants are becoming costly, and stores are closing their doors. What can one do in an era when people do not like to read? Watch a movie! Although renting a video is becoming more of a preference, going to the movie theater is still a popular pastime for many individuals. Most likely, our attention is focused on the film or the actors we are about to see. But the most fascinating and sometimes funny moments about a movie are the audience. I am sure we have all had an embarrassing moment or at least one funny experience at the movie theater. Sometimes these occurrences are even better than the movie. 

    One common example is sneaking food and beverages into the theater. Even though one could save money during matinee hours, the outrageous prices at the food stand make it difficult for people to enjoy a tasty snack during the film. No matter what the reason may be, the fear of being caught can create a funny experience. For instance, three friends decided to go to the movies one afternoon. After eating lunch close to the theater, they bought a tapioca drink to sneak into the movie. As they were walking to theater, one of them was able to inconspicuously hide his drink under his jacket. However, the other two instinctively put the straw through the cap and started drinking their beverage. They had forgotten that the last time they went to the movies they saw an employee catch someone sneaking in a soda. The person was not allowed in until they threw away the can. Therefore, the two who were drinking their tapioca drink began to panic. The three friends ended up standing outside for a few minutes trying to come up with a plan. As a result, one decided to place his drink inside his jacket pocket, which caused him to hunch over and walk very slow. The other individual decided to try and keep it out of sight as they walked inside huddled together. If anyone was watching the three friends as they strategically walked into the theater, they would have been laughing. Luckily, the three of them were able to walk by the person taking tickets. However, after all that work there was a problem. The straws that were provided for the drinks were too thin. So during the whole movie they were laughing at each other as they struggled to drink their tapioca beverages.