Hello Parody

Posted by random olio

Sometimes you get something in your head and you cannot get it out. Adele’s new song “Hello” has been one of those songs. Jimmy Fallon (with The Roots) and Saturday Night Live both did fun or parody versions of it and that does not help keep the song out of mind.

Today someone shared this parody of “Hello” — one that almost perfectly changes all the words and talks about food cravings and exercise. It is hilarious. Chris and I were commenting though that it would be even funnier if they acted it out (eating Fries and Krispy Kreme and all else).

My favorite lines: “Hella craving for some fries,” “That’s not sweat, my body’s crying,” and “Krispy Kreme gives me life.”

Enjoy – and have fun trying to get it out of your head!

National Anthem w/hiccups

Posted by random olio

Sometimes you see something and it inspires you, makes you laugh, and leaves you in awe. I have always had something inside me that when something catches me as funny, I sometimes have a hard time not laughing. It does not matter the situation. I can be in a room where it is not funny (say a funeral, or very important meeting) and if what strikes me as funny hits me hard enough I will not be able to stop myself from laughing.

This boy from Australia is amazing. First, you could never get me in front of any amount of people to sing (let alone the National Anthem). To then start singing and have the hiccups throughout the entire song, I think if I was him I would have started laughing — which would have led to crying, and I probably would not have been able to finish. You’ll notice the players from both teams are chuckling as the camera pans across them a few times. Why is it that when things like this happen it is our nature to laugh? In this case, no one is laughing at Ethan, it is like getting the hiccups at the worst time is somehow hilarious deep inside.

I was left in awe as Ethan made it through completely composed. Way to go Ethan!

…If you smell something, say something…

Posted by random olio

While not an avid, nightly, Daily Show with Jon Stewart watcher, I enjoyed watching him from time to time. I barely have the time to watch the few shows we do DVR, so adding a nightly show to the mix is not in the cards for us. In any case, the man is an inspiration and is hilarious. I am sad to know his show is over. In all the pleas from his fans to not end his show, I came across this quote:

“The best defense against bullshit is vigilance. So if you smell something, say something.” – Jon Stewart

Ah, well put, Jon. Well put. I love it. I am a fan of saying something — always. I am that person that 99% of the time is going to call you out on your bullshit. Why live life without being honest, transparent, and authentic? That does not mean it is always easy for me. Most of the time if I do not say something it eats away at me. While I am not yet a parent, I know all the times I have been told by my own parents, or in childcare situations, that if you let kids get away with something and you let time pass then the teaching moment is over. In most cases I agree. However, what matters most is that you say something.

Be it your spouse, your friend, a family member we so often let things sit inside and agonize over them. We get frustrated, we get angry, and often if we were just open and honest with the other person it resolves itself. They might respond by telling you how grateful they are for your transparency, they might be angry (and really that is their thing to work out), or they might even laugh at you thinking how absurd that such a thing bothered you. Whatever the result, it is good to get it off our chests and not let it fester inside.

Thank you, Jon, for your wisdom and for making us laugh for the past 16 years.

Unpaid maternity leave is a sad reality

Posted by random olio

I love those days when I find similar articles, ideas, and inspiration from different sources. If you have read my blog over the past few months you will see a trend of blog posts about women not being given paid leave after having a baby. It was not something I knew much about until my sister and friends started having babies and didn’t resonate as much until Chris and I started thinking about having a family one day.

As I get older and older, a certain political issue may have a different meaning to me. Once you own your own home you start to look at different laws and legislation differently then when you rented. As you endeavor towards different aspects of your life, your world view expands or maybe contracts (although I hope it only expands). Our country’s unpaid maternity leave standards is something that I still do not understand. How does it show a woman (aka a mother) that not only does her contribution at work matter, but it matters that she (and her husband) take time to take care of their newborn and not worry about paying the bills for those first few ever so important days and months of their baby’s life?

This is why I loved finding these two videos today as a response to Mother’s Day and unpaid maternity leave. The first is actually a clever campaign video from Hillary Clinton. She is right when she says: “It is outrageous that America is the only country in the developed world that does not have paid leave.” and “We can do a lot if we do it together.”

The below video, from John Oliver on Last Week Tonight, gives his take on America’s unpaid leave policy for women. It is quite hilarious. He shares different examples of women and when they go back to work, and the fact that they get 12 weeks of unpaid leave. I love his comment about the woman who had a baby on Friday and went back to work on Monday. He says: “You have definitely got everyone’s bullshit ‘what-I-did-over-the-weekend story’ beat.”

Another great line is at 10:30 into the video: “Get the f#$% back to work. Seriously. Because you can’t personally afford to take the time off you want, we are going to need you to bring your exhausted ass back to work and show us that can-do attitude that moms are famous for.” It makes a statement while also being funny.

Are we all a bunch of drunk three year olds?

Posted by random olio

For some reason the thought of bickering three-year olds is making me laugh. This showed up on my Facebook feed. Maybe because it is not too different from squabbling that happens at work, in meetings, or a bunch of folks at a bar – drunk. First watch the video, then we can discuss.

It is hilarious to me, because when I am tired, or wiped out I often cut words out of my sentences, and somehow Chris understands what I mean. Such as: “I hungry” or “I not child” (which means do not treat my like a baby). My favorites from this video are: “Say sorry.” “You poked my eye.” “Oow! You poked my heart.” “You are not real. I am real.” Maybe by real he means right? I think the one I want to take with me is, “Say sorry.” I may just have to use that with Chris when I am mad or sad at him: “Say sorry.” It is cute and endearing right?

And… to think that they are only talking about the rain… while one looks like she is picking her nose, the other is whispering to try to get the boy to listen. I wonder if we were all able to see ourselves in meetings, or interactions throughout our day and we saw how we acted, would we laugh just the same?

“You okay?” “You poked my heart.”