In 1997, I worked for the Dean of Students, a.k.a. the Queen Dean. If the office move before my senior year I noticed a foam hat in the shape of a crab. I asked why the Dean of Students office at The University of Texas had a crab hat not a longhorn hat. Someone explained that if you were having a bad day, you could wear the crab hat as a warning. This person added it was better to take crab hat yourself than to have it given to you. This lesson stuck with me as did an affinity for crab hats.
In 2002 at a work sponsored social event at the Baltimore Orioles game, I purchased a crab hat from a street vendor and wore it the rest of the day. I was not even deterred when some teenagers pointed and said, “She’s got crabs”.
In 2010, I gave the crab hat to my good friend Megan as a reminder of the funnier times in our friendship. The crab hat was the hit of our wedding after party.
In 2012, Grandma Margaret bought Marley an adorable summer crab outfit. She has worn this outfit exactly twice and both times she has been crabby. Which lead me to wonder did she grab the crab herself or was I subconsciously giving it to her?
The Shower Principle
I was watching 30 Rock a few weeks ago and Jack Donaghy was talking about the Shower Principle. I had always been fascinated by the fact that my most amazing (yes, by my standards) ideas came when I was in the bathroom. I feel funniest when I’m in bed (but that’s another story). Well a few years ago I went to the PowerPipeline program through Texas Women’s Leadership and someone was talking about the fact that there are fewer and fewer opportunities for people to think. Silent times where you aren’t listening to TV, radio etc. I realized that the bathroom was the only time my life was quiet enough to hear my own thoughts. Until I watched 30 Rock, I thought it was just me who was brilliant in the bathroom but apparently there’s an entire principle around this.
Car Time
Taking this a step further, someone at the program mentioned she turned the radio off in her car to help her hear her thoughts. I tried this and loved it and lately, I’ve been trying again. Granted my commute is nothing but the 10 minutes of utter silence between day care and work is amazing. Thinking isn’t the only thing I like to do in the car, hair drying and mascara application are also regular morning activities. In fact, thanks to the extended shower principle, I came up with a new idea for card companies. The air conditioner should come with a blow dry option. I just need one more vent behind my head to dry the back of my hair.
Two birds, one stone
Commuting while hair drying is just one of the many ways I’m trying to “kill two birds with one stone” on a daily basis. I was thinking about this phrase the other day and it occurred to me that while this is efficient for the person with the slingshot, it must be pretty painful and exhausting for the stone. Sometimes I feel more like the stone than the slingshot operator.