Dec5

Just when I thought my life couldn’t get any crazier

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Just when I thought my life couldn’t get any crazier

Who am I kidding? I never thought that.

Anyway, heading home one day, passing the house on the corner, which I pass every time I leave or come home, a guy walking toward the front door half turned to look my way as I drove by.

Whoa, I thought. That guy looks a lot like the guitarist from Surfer Dude and Blue Belt’s band.

Nah, couldn’t be.

But then… right build, right height, right hair, right half of face I saw as he turned (actually it was the left side), though I was across the street and driving by quickly…

His bandmates call him “Subie” because he drives a Subaru, and I have admired that beautiful blue car in the driveway every time I see it, even once thinking, “Hey, a Subaru, like Subie.”

The similarities were enough for me to reach out to Blue Belt as soon as I pulled into my driveway.

So what do you do in this situation? You trot down the road to find out for sure.

Because you’re crazy.

Internal dialogue:

So… I’m just going to knock on a potential stranger’s door and find out if he’s Subie?

Yep! That’s the plan.

Alrighty then.

Fortunately, I didn’t need to. I was three feet from the door, when he stepped out of it. With the full face in view, I was more confident, but still, timidly, I said, “Subie?”

“Yeah, hey,” he said, smiling.

“I’m Surfer Dude and Blue Belt’s friend. Do you remember me?”

“I do,” he said.

Wow. Honored, especially because he was still smiling, not grimacing like he smelled something bad.

It probably helped that, at the last gig I went to, he had a guitar solo that was phenomenal. After their set, I was sitting in a booth with a Jiu-Jitsu friend. Surfer Dude slid in next to me, and Blue Belt sat across from him.

Subie wandered over, and I told him how great that solo was. (Always be kind to strangers. You never know if they might secretly be your neighbor. Someone stitch that on a pillow for me.)

So Subes (if I may be so bold) and I chatted about his car, which house was mine, and how thrilled I was to get a pic to show our mutual friends.

What I sent Blue Belt

I also showed Mrs. Instructor and had sent it to Surfer Dude, but he wasn’t responding. When I complained to Mrs. Instructor about that, she told me he was helping teach classes that night, so probably wouldn’t see the pic until after the last class.

The last class was mine. Grooooaaaaannnn. Hours away!

Finally, my time came. I walked in, caught SD before class started and said, “Where’s your phone?! Check your phone!”

“Huh?”

“Your phone! Check your phone. Quick!”

I did the toddler pee-pee dance, minus the crotch holding, bouncing back and forth, waiting for him to unlock his phone… get to Instagram (follow me if you’re not already)…

Big smile. “Where’d you see Subie?!” I explained. “That’s awesome! That’s hilarious!”

So now, of course, every time I pass the corner house, I shout, “Subiiiiieeeee!!!!” Honk! Honk! Honk!

I’m sure the adjoining neighbors love this new tradition. Maybe it will catch on.

I’m kidding, of course. I don’t honk three times. I just lay on the horn until someone shouts an expletive out their door or window.

~~~

I missed a recent gig. I let Blue Belt know in advance, but I couldn’t just say, “I can’t make your show,” because I’m me. So, instead:

Joining Jiu-Jitsu has made my life so much more entertaining.

I didn’t give a lot of time between posts for people to vote on this one, but: “This spicy sauce is named for the eastern Thai city of its invention.” According to my trivia book, the answer is Sriracha. (And now I know how that’s spelled.)

New question: Despite popular belief, “Aladdin” and “Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves” are not from this compendium of tales; French translator Antoine Galland added them from Syrian stories.

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51 responses »

  3. Geez Louise, sounds like a similar route Ferris Bueller took to beat his dad back home! All that’s missing is the trampoline.

    Subie? Anyone? Subie, Subie?

    I don’t know if the Quran is considered a “compendium of tales” but that’s my best guess. Emphasis on the word guess.

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  4. Dang it, I misread the trivia question. I saw “Ali Baba” but my brain changed it to “Arabian Nights,” which is of course the source material. I was trying to figure where that came from, but alas, it’s a moot point as Autumn beat me to the punch.

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  9. “I did the toddler pee-pee dance, minus the crotch holding…” made me laugh out loud but when I read your plan A…Wow. I think you should do it and post copious amounts of pictures. THAT would be entertaining.

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    • Hahaha. I’m glad that made you laugh, Herb. If I were to do Plan A, I’d probably need a film crew to capture that adventure. Now I know I just need to sneak out soon enough to hide in Subie’s Subaru if I want to get to the show!

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  16. Arabian Nights? The whole dynamic of neighbors fascinates me. You have an excuse when you first move in because you’re the new kid on the block: either knock on their doors or have yours knocked on without awkwardness (“Welcome to the neighborhood!”) But miss that window and suddenly it becomes an invasion of privacy and maybe even the perception of being weird. Similar to taking your seat on an airplane next to a stranger. Greet that person immediately or you’ll be subject to an entire flight of awkward silence.

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    • Yes on the trivia, and too true on the rest. I still haven’t officially met the neighbors who moved in next door months ago. Maybe I’m still sad that the previous ones left. I’ve smiled and waved. I hope that counts. We considered baking something for them, but gluten and sugar, and allergies… So, whatever. I basically just dropped the whole thing. Good call on the airplane sitch.

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