Tag: help!

convos with strangers

conversations with strangers #6

abby mumford

even though my mom taught me not to, here’s why i’m talking with strangers.

i pulled into the grocery store parking lot and got out. unfortunately, my finger didn’t move as fast as the rest of me and as a result, got smashed in the car door.

a few seconds later, i could breathe through the pain, but looked at my finger and there was blood everywhere. i couldn’t exactly go into a store like that, so i plunked my purse onto the trunk of my car and got out tissue. i noticed someone out of the corner of my eye and it’s the guy putting away the shopping carts. he was making his way over to me (i parked next to the cart holding area), so i’m not exactly sure if he was just doing his job, coming over to comment on my stupidity, or was maybe going to offer some concern? when it was clear he had something to say, i looked away from my damaged finger and over to him.

him: i was just trying to read your jersey.

me: oh. um, well, it says devils lacrosse club.

him: are you a good player?

me: i was. this is from high school.

him: where was that?

me: new jersey.

him: oh, yes like the [new jersey devils] hockey team. are you going to play in the Olympics?

me: i wish. it’s not an Olympic sport yet.

him: it’s not? too bad.

i couldn’t agree more, and it has been a lifelong (unattainable) dream of mine to be in the olympics, but come on, look at me in this moment. i couldn’t be less of an Olympian. i just shut my own finger in the car door. clearly, i’m going to need some more time.

perhaps i’ll be ready for the 2016 summer Olympics.

and, for the time being, at least the guy took my mind off the incredible pain of my stupidity.

convos with strangers

conversations with strangers #4

abby mumford

(i know, i know, you want an italian recap. you’re going to have to wait a little longer as i struggle with some serious jetlag. and, to refresh your memory about why i’m talking with strangers, here’s the deal.)

a couple of weeks ago, i was back in wonderland, aka porter square books. i had time to browse and oh boy was it fun to sift through the titles and skim through the jackets with nothing more important on the agenda than picking new books for my TBR list. they didn’t have the book i originally came in to buy (DIE FOR ME by amy plum), so i picked up HOLD ME CLOSER, NECROMANCER by lish mcbride mainly because of this review, but also because i find it impossible to walk out of a bookstore with empty hands.

“you’re all set?” the man asked.

“yes, this, and could you order a book for me?”

“sure thing. what’s the title?”

“DIE FOR ME by amy plum.”

he types some stuff into the computer. “i don’t see it. you said it was called DIAPER ME?”

me, mentally pointing to the name of my blog, can’t decide whether to make a joke or repeat myself. i settle for the latter, but wonder if he’ll even be able to understand me due to my barely contained laughter.

“oh,” he says, giving into his own chuckles, “i thought it was some kind of parenting book.”

convos with strangers

conversations with strangers #1

abby mumford

i’ve linked to this site before (which is now defunct, so CLICK HERE to meet the original inventor of conversations with strangers), but i can’t stop thinking about it, so i’ve decided to conduct my own “conversations with strangers” research.

without further ado:

i reached the bus stop and stopped outside of the waiting area to enjoy the scare April sunshine. a woman was already there perusing the posted schedule.

a few seconds later, i saw a movement in my peripheral vision, turned, and found this woman looking at me expectantly. “excuse me,” she said.

i removed my ipod ear bud because a really loud song was on and while i could see her lips moving, i couldn’t hear her over the treble. (i was a little worried because she looks lost and frankly, i’m not the girl to help her. i’m horrible with directions on a good day, but also, this shuttle bus is linked to a big name university. i don’t go there, i just work there and so don’t know the ins and outs of the campus like i should or like it appeared i do considering i’m waiting for the bus.)

“i need to get to radcliff quad,” she said. “is this the right place for the shuttle?”

i smiled because YES, I KNOW THIS. “yup. you’ll need to get on the quad express route.”

“great! thanks!” she said.

she still looked a bit confused and i suppose i could have followed up with some questions about where she was going, but i was afraid it would lead to topics i didn’t have answers for and then i’d feel bad i brought it up in the first place. i guess all i could do was leave one ear bud out in case she had more questions as we waited for the same bus.

wordpress com stats plugin
feelings

superstitions

abby mumford

i expected to be writing a different post. one filled with springtime temperatures and babies and family and easter egg hunts as my family spent easter weekend up here with me. however, baby mac got sick and then got her mom sick, so sister J and family had to leave boston, which meant it was the parents, sister E and i left to weather the storms mother nature set upon us.

we were a bit soggy and chilly, but the more surprising thing is what happened after they left. i was busy packing up my room and was shifting from one task (shoes) to another (pulling down pictures) to this (spackling nail holes) to that (the mini bookshelf) to here (the top of the shelf) to there (cleaning the mirror) and back again. i’m usually very focused, but i guess a move of this magnitude brings out the A.D.D. in me.

i had finally finished up the shoes and was lugging the rather large box out of my room. a second after i stepped through the doorway, i heard a loud noise. i’m holding an awkwardly sized and not light box, so i continued onward with that and when i returned to my room, i saw this:

that loud noise i had heard? it was my full length mirror crashing to the ground and was now shattered. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN TO ME? seven years bad luck? a chance to buy a new one? a dangerous mess to clean up? a portal to another world that i should jump through? i suppose it’s really all in how you deal with superstitions, but aside from it being a really difficult word for me to spell, i am nervous about this.

wikipedia tells me superstitions aren’t based on reason or knowledge so i guess like most things in life, it’s all about what you decide to focus on. i could get stuck on the fact that i found out last night (mere minutes after said mirror broke) that i’m now saddled with a full sized refrigerator because my landlord is not from this planet and has no clue that it’s so much easier for him to buy this (only 7 year old) fridge off me than for him to buy a brand new one OR i could fixate on the fact that my coworker just left three chocolate eggs on my desk.

even if these two things don’t carry quite the same weight, i’m going to concentrate on the charming, delicious nature of the latter, BUT just in case, i’m going to keep this around my neck for awhile longer.

feelings

spring cleaning

abby mumford

due to an upcoming change of apartments, i’m finally joining the millions (thousands? hundreds? few?) who partake in a yearly spring clean. before having the gargantuan task of moving put upon me, usually i’d just tidy up a bit. i’m a neat, organized person, but dusting and scrubbing and throwing things out? forget about it.

but now? when faced with the option of having to lug all these things down three flights of stairs, into a moving van and back up another flight of stairs, i am suddenly objective and unburdened and can throw things out. this is a huge step for me because if there’s one time in my life that i procrastinate, it’s when throwing things out. “i may need that in june.” “i may need that if it rains.” “i should keep this for when, if, it snows in august.” “i’m going to read that. someday. i’ll keep it.” the excuses i used to make are now as big as the piles i’ve trashed.*pats self on back.*

and, in addition to dust bunnies that are bigger than the easter bunny, it’s amazing what i’ve found after not having looking at the bottom shelf of my bookcase or under that table or in my nightstand. i found a bunch of old college papers, poetry final exams, and my papers from my first and second creative writing classes. honestly, they’re cringe worthy, which is exactly why they landed in the “keep” pile. as much as i despair about the state of my writing now, HOLY COW, it’s miles different from where it started all those years ago.

one of the things i was excited to find was a comment from my very first (and scariest) creative writing professor. the comment that often rattles around in my brain because she managed to articulate what i never could about myself:

“…I think you might be the kind of student who makes great leaps between semesters as a result of study. Just a hunch.”

— LC

it’s not the most sparkling thing i’ve ever heard about myself, but it is the truth. my mind works at the speed of molasses. i can know something, but it takes time for it to sink through the layers to reach the part where i can be productive. it’s so freeing to know this because it’s a grand thing to know how my mind works. it’s also troublesome because it means i have to work overtime to understand the intricacies and be as productive as someone whose brain processes faster… but i’m always game for a little competition. it keeps things interesting.

who knew that spring cleaning would not only lighten the load, but dispense advice as well? it looks like i’ve got some wise dust bunnies. perhaps i should keep them around?