The intellectual equivalent of a ham sandwich.

Posts tagged ‘compliment’

De Jour of the Week (9/20/10)

Let’s say you have a problem with compliments. Not that you hate them (“what did you just say to me?? You think I’m attractive?! Oh HELL NO!”), and not that you don’t get enough of them (I heard every time Peyton Manning comes to the sideline he totally baits the hook – “that pass was only 99% accurate … ideally it would’ve been 3 centimeters to the left of its actual location.”)

No, the problem I’m speaking of, is that you don’t give enough compliments*.

*Having been told I am one of these people, on more than one occasion, I can tell you that this problem is, 100%, absolutely, undoubtedly your mom’s fault.

Moving on.

Here’s a little trick to help you, and me, out. Where can you go to find a ready-list of compliments? You could watch sappy movies, you could eavesdrop on romantic teenagers (“your braces are totally hot”) – OR … Check movie boxes.

“Lushly romantic and subtly sexy!”

Of course, you may have to change some of these. Try adding “you are” to the start of some,

“[You are] lavish and entertaining!”

Check out this very flattering, totally natural conversation I will have memorized to woo anyone, any time.

Me: “Hey! How’s it going?”

Other person: “Pretty good, thanks. How are you?”

Me: “Great! You know, you’re funny and dazzling and you have tons of family appeal!”

Other person: “Thanks?”

Me: “You know what I love? Battles of the sexes. And you’re just like a fabulously fresh and totally entertaining battle of the sexes!”

Other person: “That seems like it could be an insult?”

Me: “Two thumbs up!”

Other person: “Why are you talking like this?”

Me (lean in close): “You’re eternally funny … but subtly touching …”

Other person: “I’ve got to go.”

Me (whispering creepily as the person walks away): “You’re just like a historical thriller full of suspense, intrigue and adventure!”

Category:

Du Jour of the Week

Tagged with:

Weekly Wacko (36)

Hey, look at that box! It’s made out of soap … (Anyway, it’s the weekend, so that’s reason enough to be nice to everyone.)

Smile Pretty

I’ve had several female friends who have told me about things like this, but never a guy friend – so if you want to comment and write about something knock yourself out.

The various friends told me about guys they had big crushes on who were quite a bit older. These guys wouldn’t do anything to lead them on, but they were nice. This is all it takes when you have a little-kid crush (you can still have these as an adult, like the time I sat by a baseball player’s wife on an airplane). But, they remembered vividly years later going out of their way to see the guy and act spazzy and stupid around him. They were harmless-fun type situations.

My example of this came before the start of 7th grade. My family had moved from Kansas to New York. When we got there my parents took their usual action to help me make friends – they “encouraged” me to sign up for sports teams (they did this for my brother and sister as well).

There was a summer track program that was going on currently, and I could show up as I pleased. My mom was thrilled by this because it meant I could try and make some friends before school started, and so I was forced to be thrilled as well.

The first time I went out to one of the meetings (basically people just jogged around a track to prep for fall sports) a high school girl, aka an older woman (ooh la la), told me that she thought I was ‘cute.’ She said this in the same way she would’ve said it to a dog, but that didn’t matter. She told me I was cute.

Oh yes, you can bet I took that home with me. It’s amazing how clearly I remember that even to this day.

So this weekly wacko comes with a sentimental preach – smile at somebody, say something nice for no reason other than you happened to think something nice about them – you’d be surprised how you can make someone’s day without even trying.

Of course, I don’t practice what I preach, but that’s a crazy idea anyhow.

(I would be too preoccupied with making sure people don’t think my compliment is a come-on.)

Category:

Weekly Wacko

Tagged with:

De Jour of the Week (10/20/09)

10/20/09

My dad was never very big on compliments. I know this could sometimes drive my mom crazy, but it didn’t really affect me. Nevertheless, my mom felt it was necessary for my dad and I to connect on some deeper level. If I had to guess, I would imagine she gave my dad a big talk before they went to bed one night. She probably told him about how when they were dating in high school he would mention off-hand about how he wasn’t that close to his dad. She would then tell him how this made him feel when he was that young, and how he should try to learn from those lessons. There’s a good chance she would then, politely, inform my dad what he learned from those lessons. Unfortunately, even the best laid plans of mice and moms sometimes go awry. One morning, probably the very next morning after this talk, I was eating cereal and getting ready for school. My dad looked over at my mom, then down at me, and said, “your mom told me to tell you I’m proud of you.”

Category:

Du Jour of the Week

Tagged with: