Rikker: Good point. But while I’m entitled to it, I would still feel bad if someone in a wheelchair needed to use the stall I was occupying. It’s not as if there aren’t other stalls, perfectly usable though claustrophobic. :) For me it’s more of a compassion issue. I’d rather inconvenience myself so that someone else can have it easy. (If there’s no someone else nearby to have it easy, though, I don’t have any problem with having it easy myself. :))

Liz: Oddity is the soul of wit. Wait, that’s not right. :) Anyway, I think it’s the structure of wedding receptions (the line, the guests eating food elsewhere, etc.) that somehow grates on my soul. Shredded soul. But I digress.

Alyssa: Yes, this is true. :) Wearing the same shirt on Mondays and Fridays wouldn’t really be a problem, but Tuesday/Thursdays would be too much, I think. And so I will probably stop dressing chiastically. It was nice while it lasted. (Since I don’t really do anything sweaty in the course of a normal day, there’s usually no problem wearing the shirts a second time before sending them to the washer.)

Just a thought.

There was an article in the celeb gossip section on MSN today about Angelina Jolie.

Jolie says that while their biggest parental problem these days is terrible-two-suffering Zahara tossing a tantrum whenever Pitt boogies in front of her, they’re already thinking about the day the kids will rebel.

“They’ll go against us one day,” she sighs. “We were trying to figure out how, because we shoot guns in movies, we have motorbikes and planes, and Mommy’s covered in tattoos. All that’s left for them to do is become Mormons.”

LOL. :)

5. That’s because you’ve never been to my family’s wedding receptions. Never a dull moment. :D But then again, my extended family is get-together central, so a wedding reception feels like just another extension of our semi-weekly gatherings.

But it is true that it’s awkward to go when you don’t really know anyone but the bride and/or groom . . . .

There are other handicapped people in the world.

A handicap stall is “handicap accessible,” not “no-wait-guaranteed.” And they’re not like the parking spots. You don’t have to have a pass to use them.

There’s an old episode of Seinfeld where George parks his car in a handicap spot while the gang goes to the store. When they come back, there’s an ambulance on scene because a handicapped woman was so tired from having to wheel herself from a far away spot that while going up the wheelchair ramp of the building she lost control and rolled back down and into a wall, injuring herself. The angry mob proceeds to destroy George’s car out of righteous indignance, who won’t fess up that he’s the owner.

That, of course, is just a sitcom (and a funny one at that). But what would the crowd have done if it was another handicapped person who had taken up the spot?

There’s also an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm (from Seinfeld creator Larry David, as it happens) where Larry uses a handicap stall because the regular one is full, and a wheelchair-bound person “catches” him, and they argue about it, and general hilarity ensues.

At the movie theater I worked at throughout college, a patron saw an employee come out of our handicap accessible bathroom and complained to the management. We have no policy that says anyone can’t use the handicap accessible stall, but it resulted in a big brouhaha which the employee eventually quit over. The person who complained was not handicapped. There was no handicapped person waiting to use it. Maybe they watch too much TV.

So here’s the deal: Use it. Enjoy your right to use it. But don’t go around in fear that someone will call you on it. And if they do, deal with the situation and continue to live your life like you want to.

You’re entitled.

Though it will largely depend upon the bride-to-be, wherever-she-be, I don’t want a reception at all. I’d rather have an intimate dinner that night w/ family and close friends. I feel that receptions are blown way out of proportion, detracting the focus and emphasis from the wedding/sealing itself.