Things that I was amazed by today

Number 1: The winter/cool months are just long enough for me to forget how stinky the Georgia Tech Trolley can be. The university setting brings lots of different nationalities, backgrounds, and cultural norms. One that I will go ahead and say that I can't really appreciate is the lack of deoderant, especially combined with what I can only assume is a lack of showering. And I forget this during the winter when there isn't as much sweatiness and there are lots of clothing layers to restrict the flow of odor. But I can always count on GT's university transportation (cleverly called the Stinger (go jackets!) and the Trolley) to bring this fact back to full conscious memory. Today I sat on the trolley and was just continually met with wave after wave of stench. Every stop prompted movement that introduced me to a new aromatic-experience. And the funny thing is that each time it happened, I was equally shocked. There's no desensetizing. But here's the thing, before you think I'm mean. I honestly can put up with a little B.O. On a hot, sticky summer day, moments of unfreshness happen to the best of us. But these are honestly like punches in the face. Someone might as well smother me with a pillow (although that might be more pleasant), I literally can't breath. I hate to admit this because I am not one for public displays of drama, but I have put my face in my bag before. But it was literally for survival. A girl needs oxygen. So here is my question. In cultures where this is normal, are they able to breathe? Do you get used to that? Or do they get bothered by the extreme cases as well?

Number 2: It took me over an HOUR to get home today. It is normally a 15-20 minute drive. It was POURING. The reasonable results of rain are obviously that people are slower and more cautious, and also slightly worse drivers because of the visibility restrictions. This I understand. What I am amazed by is that when it's raining it seems like there are at least 2 to 3 times the normal amount of cars on the road. Where do they all come from?? I never see as many cars on the road as I do when it's raining. Does rain give people the urge to drive? Or maybe cars are like gremlins and they multiply in water.

Number 3: People are strange. Everyone has their oddities, particularly in social settings, but there is a lady at work that I am confused/baffled by on a regular basis. When I walk by her and give the obligatory smile/nod/hi, she laughs. And I am always wondering what's funny. It's in the place of where normal people would smile. She giggles. I've never understood. I know this lady is odd just from being in meetings and seminars and watching her function, so I always have my little curiosity of what is going on in her head, but generally just blow it off and smile. Well today I walked into the bathroom and she was standing in there by herself looking at what I assumed was the wall, and laughing. As if someone just told her a funny story. So I smiled, definitely thinking it was odd, but didn't want to make her feel judged, so acted like she was normal and proceeded to a stall. So she goes "I'm laughing at this hand sanitizer." I was dumbstruck. I had nothing. How do you respond to that? So I smiled and finally said "hmmm new technology huh?" and went into a stall.

Number 4: I witnessed two grown people get into a screaming fight today at the Costco gas pump. Apparently one almost hit the other when they were pulling in, but usually people just honk and drive away. Well these people honked and got all hot and bothered, and then had to park next to each other and get out of their cars to pump gas. Which turned into two normal looking grown people screaming at each other until another man came over and asked them to stop because his kids were there.

Number 5: I am amazed at how differently two people's brains can work. I am a Teacher's Assistant for a class that is about engineering design (for medical devices). It's a Biomedical Engineering course, but there is a guy from the Industrial Design department working with the class to really give them the full perspective on the "design" side. And I'm the representative for the "engineering" side. Which makes sense since they're both really important for the course and it's good to get the different perspectives/backgrounds. But it is also the perfect environment to realize some major differences. He's a super nice guy by the way, it is just a situation that has me constantly thinking "Really??" He and I have meetings to discuss the content and assignments, how we're gonna run the class, how we're gonna communicate the concepts, etc. And I honestly have never felt more like I might as well be speaking Spanish. Our brains work in SUCH different ways that I think I could communicate just as well with him by barking or chirping at him. We would get the same results. I will explain a thought to him. Then he will respond with something that to me has NOTHING to do with what I just said. Or in fact might be the exact opposite of what I said. And I am left wondering did you not listen? Or did you really totally misinterpret what I just said? Or am I misunderstanding what you're saying back to me? Or did I just get transplanted here and am joining a completely different conversation already in progress? Total confusion. And I feel certain he probably has the same experience on his end. The more I interact with him, the more I realize that we both have great intentions, but it's our thought processes. He's all creative, free-flowing, "oh this would be really coooool and beautiful"; while I like to keep a goal in mind and keep some practicality (a.k.a. don't waste my time). When he is talking, sometimes his flow of thought is SO different from mine that I literally MUST stop listening and processing what he is saying or my brain might explode. It's amazing. I would LOVE to see a brain scan of both of our brains during our conversations just to see the difference in the activity areas. I guarantee it would be complete opposites. But like I said, he's a super nice guy, it is just a genuinely baffling situation.


And those are my reflections for the day. Thoughts?