"Bless the moment... and the years will be their own blessing. Many of us
live life in a rush because it allows us to believe we are going somewhere."
-Jacob the Baker-


Saturday, November 13, 2010

iNormal

I still want an adventure.  But in the absence of adventure, I am learning the joy of being ordinary and doing ordinary-people things.  Like letting the neighbour dog tag along when I go for walks, and going for sushi with friends, and discussing the merits of different varieties of green tea with other tea connoisseurs, and working out at the gym occasionally, and watching movies with my housemates on our new TV on weekends.

PS - Why did no one tell me that Little Miss Sunshine is a MUST WATCH movie?  I'm well aware of my shortcomings in the realm of anything to do with popular culture, music, movies, etc. but I thought you all had my back.  It was your job to sit me down for 'a talk' and break the news to me - very gently - that my entire life is way off track.  I don't understand why you were all holding out on me (insert guilt trip here).  But now I have discovered for myself how much joy can be derived from escaping into the awkwardly dysfunctional misadventures of Olive's family for ninety minutes... *sigh*.  Ninety very satisfying minutes reminding me that normal is just a setting on your dryer.

On another note, I successfully incorporated ebullient into my last paper (thank you KP!) - a discussion of the social origins of borderline personality disorder.  I'm anticipating a "??? what are you THINKING?" beside that sentence.  My fellow students know the word game that I play (A has suggested bombastic... an excellent word), but my professors have not yet been informed.  Half the joy of the game is seeing how long it is before they begin to suspect that my word usage is contrived.  I have another three papers coming up in the next two weeks, so I need you... to find at least three new words for my writing entertainment.  Piquant has found its way onto my list... definitions attached in the comments.

5 comments:

Jenni said...

ebullient |iˈboŏlyənt; iˈbəlyənt|
adjective
1 cheerful and full of energy : she sounded ebullient and happy.
2 archaic or poetic/literary (of liquid or matter) boiling or agitated as if boiling : misted and ebullient seas.
DERIVATIVES
ebullience noun
ebulliently adverb
ORIGIN late 16th cent. (in the sense [boiling] ): from Latin ebullient- ‘boiling up,’ from the verb ebullire, from e- (variant of ex-) ‘out’ + bullire ‘to boil.’

Jenni said...

bombast |ˈbämbast|
noun
high-sounding language with little meaning, used to impress people.
DERIVATIVES
bombastic |bämˈbastik| adjective
bombastically |bämˈbastik(ə)lē| adverb
ORIGIN mid 16th cent. (denoting raw cotton or absorbent cotton used as padding, later used figuratively): from Old French bombace, from medieval Latin bombax, bombac-, alteration of bombyx ‘silkworm’ (see bombazine ).

Jenni said...

piquant |ˈpēkənt; -känt|
adjective
having a pleasantly sharp taste or appetizing flavor.
• pleasantly stimulating or exciting to the mind.
DERIVATIVES
piquancy |-kənsē| noun
piquantly adverb
ORIGIN early 16th cent. (in the sense [severe, bitter] ): from French, literally ‘stinging, pricking,’ present participle of piquer.

kerry said...

NICE! I'm honoured to be part of your scholastic process!

New suggestion (this one might be harder to use, but it comes to mind because my mother recently accused me of pandering to panophobia):

pano·pho·bia
Pronunciation: /ˌpan-ə-ˈfō-bē-ə/
Function: n
: a condition of vague nonspecific anxiety : generalized fear

or ...

prom·ul·gate
[prom-uhl-geyt, proh-muhl-geyt]
–verb (used with object), -gat·ed, -gat·ing.
1. to make known by open declaration; publish; proclaim formally or put into operation (a law, decree of a court, etc.).
2. to set forth or teach publicly (a creed, doctrine, etc.).

Heidi said...

You're too funny:) I wish I could see your professor's reactions when they read your words:)