The strange things in life, such as, not talking to Jews during lunch break, voting for Ann Coulter and more...

• Calling a business associate in Texas and getting a response through a secretary, "I don't talk to Jews during lunch break. Call back later." The humorless secretary was mortified. Poor thing.
• Wondering if these people are for real. No, not Ann Coulter, but those who find it necessary to actually say she's crazy instead of assuming, the way I do, that everyone already knows.
• Having a toddler at home who loves to scream "Oh my gosh" before the most random statements. Only for the last week of this lovely month of June it's been, "Oh my gosh, it's raining." Every morning.
• Driving alone with the windows down and listening to the radio on full volume. Pure summer fun, until you discover that one of the last decent music stations has been pulled off the air for lewdity and everyone else is playing Paris Hilton's muzak. The irony.
• Reading about the unidentifiable junk people get for their wedding gifts on Slate and laughing uncontrollably, because not only did I get a gerunkensplunk, but it was broken. The perplexed groom and I ended up settling on two possible choice, either a water filter (this was in the pre-copipod age) or a miniature Tower of Piza model that doubles as a hat stand with wires to charge a cell phone.
• Attending a wedding so boring that the only thing more exciting than the fact that they had an open bar was that noone else was using it.
  
• Reading about Jameel's midnight adventure at the grave of Yehoshua ben Nun and remembering my midnight adventure sneaking into Beit Lechem at the start of the intifada. Back then I was more thrown off by the christmas decorations everywhere than the fact that if my car had been stopped by PA police, I would have been out of Israeli jurisdiction and at their mercy. Stupid American!
• Having a late Saturday night visitor (after a long and busy shabbos) look around my apartment and say, "I'm so glad to see you're not a neat freak." Sure thing, sherlock.
  
• Telling my grandfather about all my "accomplishments" in school and at work, but only seeing his eyes light up when I tell him that I painted the walls of my corridor and kitchen by myself. The things a girl can do to make her old man proud.
  
• Justifying not talking about yesterday's attack in Israel by saying I'm not a news source for anyone. But neither is he, nor he, nor she, and yet they have the guts to put their thoughts into words. Well, my gut is too wrenched to speak, so I'll let the other do it for me.
• Finishing a great novel and thinking, "I should write a book", because what could be better than really moving people. But then, what in the world would I write about?
• Discovering that the second most powerful 2 words, "I'm sorry," can fend off the most powerful 2 words, "You're fired".

With that I end this Monday morning edition of "The strange things in life". Please feel free to add your own take on this phenomenon, because let's face it, it's only getting stranger.