Oh the many varieties of weirdness...

You've been there before. There you are, in a social sitch, and it happens. You go for a hug and get a handshake... or vice versa. You're with people you've just met, and you say something awkward, which they only half hear, and suddenly silence overcomes your group. Awkwardness. It's difficult to put a finger on exactly what creates it all the time, but one thing is sure - we all know it when we're around it.

Of course, we could just ignore it and continue on like nothing happened... but isn't that just as weird? It's a conundrum.

There are certain kinds of weirdness that are acceptable. One of those is the kind that my little dog sometimes exhibits:

Weird little dog.

Of course, I recognize that her weirdness might only be acceptable to me. But Cookie is on a mission to make everyone find her acceptable. We failed to tell her she was a dog until she was about 7. She didn't take that very well. Now that she's 9, she continues to be in denial and the weirdness just promulgates itself...

There is another kind of weird, too, that completely baffles me. I know I will be virtually hanged by my friends in the North for this, but I just have to get it out. It is weird to be a warm-blooded creature and like the cold. There. I said it.

But it is! We are warm-blooded creatures. We are not born with lots of layers of skin. The seven layers we get are thin, and generally we are not born with much insulation. Some of us do develop this warmer layer, but it's not because of evolution! It's because we like milk shakes and cookies. Oh man, I could really go for a milkshake right now... "House wench? Milkshake!"

*silence*

"House wench!"

*silence*

Oh, that's right... there is no house wench here. :( That's awkward.

But I digress... The thing is, don't be weird. If you're in a social situation in which there is weirdness, don't ignore it. Acknowledge it. Trust me... it's always ten times funnier if you make fun of the weirdness rather than pretend it's not there. There's no hope for Cookie; she is a Chihuahua. For some reason there are certain concessions made for small, rodent-like dogs who think they're human. But not you and me.

If you live in the North, and you are cold, there is a reason for that. It's because your body is warmer than the external temperature. Your body wants you to be warm because it loves you. It doesn't like for you to shiver and have to wear crazy amounts of clothing to feel a modicum of warmth. And it's ok to admit that being cold is unpleasant... and that it is more unpleasant than being hot. If you disagree, please see the last line of my post here: Wouldn't it be better if....