Explicit Eavesdroppin' by Courtney Mehlhaff

The best snippets of bus conversations (from people on their phones) in the last few weeks:

"You need to call up them peoples and they'll find you a dif-ernt day at a dif-ernt time. I don't know what to tell you, homegirl. It's a fuckin' dentist office."

"No, you got problems cuz that money be burnin' a hole in your pocket. You ain't gotta spend it all right away.  Lakisha.  Lakisha.  Laki. . . listen, bitch!  . . . What forms did you have to fill out? You shoulda talked to me, I might coulda helped you with that."

"I was like, fuck yo birthday! You gon' have lots more of 'em."

"What was it called?  Twat? . . . oh, Twilight.  I seen the first one, but I ain't never got into it.  Cuz that bitch almost died an' shit.  I cain't have that.  If you gon' die, just die, don't do it halfway.  It's a motherfuckin' movie, ain't no one gonna care."

Say What? by Courtney Mehlhaff

Three of the weirdest quotes I've ever heard on the bus. Don't expect context for these, because in many cases, there wasn't any:

"That's the last time I buy a Chinese padlock."

"Fingernails are stupid. But they're useful in self defense."

"Toys for Tots, n----! Toys for Tots!"

As a side note, a homeless guy once approached me at the bus stop and told me I look like Amy Klobuchar. After I gave him 95 cents, he yelled, "Cowabunga, dude!" and ran off. I used to laugh about this occasionally until last week, when I was flipping through Minnesota Monthly and realized that, dammit, I do look like Amy Klobuchar.

Monumental Issues by Courtney Mehlhaff

I recently watched a commercial for Cialis that featured men and their ladies having various little encounters that triggered spontaneous romantic moments. In one scenario, they accidentally brushed hands while setting up a campsite, and from what I could gather, the dude was super happy he could pitch a whole different kind of tent on the spur of the moment.

What confuses me is that, at the end of the commercial, all the couples are lounging naked in his-and-her claw-foot bathtubs, sometimes in the middle of nowhere, staring out at the horizon. WHY, Cialis, WHY? Why have they dragged bathroom fixtures into a field where there is no plumbing? Why aren't they in the tub together? Is this before or after a bit of hanky panky? Was it that dirty? Or do men with ED really just want a good long soak?

It makes even less sense than the Hoveround commercial that features elderly people riding motorized scooters at the Grand Canyon. That I can actually believe. Not that they rode the scooter all the way there, but that a person could, indeed, putter around in one to sight-see.

And while I'm on the topic, remember that Lunesta ad where the animated butterfly flew around, and everything it flew past fell asleep? Did anyone else think it was odd that the butterfly flitted past Mount Rushmore and all the presidents nodded off? Why did they feel the need to feature a historic landmark? Did they really believe someone out there was thinking, "Wow, if that stuff can knock out Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt AND Lincoln, think what it can do for me!" Tune in next week when Crazy Horse has psoriasis and the Statue of Liberty has a yeast infection.

21 More Questions by Courtney Mehlhaff

Do you have a webcam?  Yes, tune in at midnite CST for a hell of a show.

Have you ever been forced to take a bath with one of your siblings?  Of course! But I drew the line last year.

When showering, do you start the water and get in or get in and start the water?  I have to start the water before I brush my teeth, b/c it takes 4 minutes to get it hot.  (Just like me.)

Do you have more enemies or more friends?  All my enemies have been eliminated, or so my sources tell me.

Have you ever sent an anonymous letter?  Letter, no.  Envelope filled with naked pictures of me, yes.

Do you follow your horoscope?  No, but I do read fortune cookies. My last fortune said, "Plan your graduation party with Leeann Chin Catering and Delivery." Profound.

Have you ever stolen anything from your friends?  Their souls. Perhaps I've said too much.

Would you kill a dog for $1000?  Depends. Is the dog an asshole?

Are you impatient?  Next question.

Do you consider yourself nice?  Go to hell.

Have you ever smoked heroin?  You're supposed to SMOKE it?! I put it under my pillow and got a grand from the heroin fairy.

What is your secret weapon to lure in the opposite sex?  I suppose I could work the dimples, but my milkshake is what brings all the boys to the yard.

Are you crazy?  Stop looking at me, swan!

Is conversate a word?  Absaloofaliciously.

Do you like Paris Hilton?  I'd shove her sparkly sunglasses up her ass but I'm afraid she'd like it.

Do you have A.D.D.?  No, unless that stands for A Delicious Derriere.

Do you love chocolate?  If you don't like chocolate, you might as well go join Al-Qaeda.

Are you a superstar?  Don't you remember you told me you loved me, baby . . .  said you'd be coming back this way again baby . . . baby baby baby baby oh baby . . .

What do you smell like right now?  Polo Ralph Lauren Blue. And success.

Do you have a hickey on your neck right now?  Why do you ask that, just because I'm wearing a turtleneck in May?

Can you name the seven dwarfs?  Pride, Greed, Sloth, Gluttony, Envy, Lust, and Wrath.

21 (Old) Questions by Courtney Mehlhaff

Remember when, back in the early days of MySpace, you could kill the better part of an afternoon just filling out random, ridiculous surveys that people forwarded to you? Before finally deleting my old account, I decided to copy some of my more bizarre and/or hilarious responses. Naturally, I've posted them for your enjoyment.

Name?  You should know, you were screaming it all last night.

Who do you trust with your life?  That's a very short list. If you're on it, you probably know it. If you're not on it but would like to be, press 1. If you're not sure you're on it, press 2. If you're on it but would like to be removed, go to hell.

If you could change your name to anything, what would it be?  Maybe Candy, because then I wouldn't have to lie when I dance.

What would you do if someone told you that you were the most beautiful person in the world and they would do anything to wake up to your face each and every morning?  I would say, "Thanks, but I'm still not giving you change for the bus."

Who is the nicest person you know?  Whoever doesn't try to monopolize my corner.

Have you ever snuck out of your house/someone in your house?  Have I ever snuck out of someone in my house? That's so dirty! And difficult to do without waking them.

How did you get the idea for your MySpace name?  It was a very long, drawn-out process that involved a peg-legged gypsy woman and my star chart. 

What does your dad do for a living?  He says he's in auto insurance, but I don't think that explains the multiple passports and semiautomatic in his bottom desk drawer.

What did you dream last night?  I can't remember, but last Friday night I dreamed I was in a gun battle in a Korean parking garage.  Figure that out, Freud!

Have you ever done something to make trouble?  Some called it an "international incident" . . . I just called it a brief but torrid affair with a certain young man third in line from the throne of England.  Big whoop.

Are you mad at anyone at the moment?  Mitt Romney.  Because what kind of a name is Mitt, anyway?

If you had to be reincarnated as a sea dwelling creature, what would you be?  A giant squid, because I would be universally feared and admired for my powers of suction. Wait . . . 

Of all people, with whom would you want to be stuck in a well?  Anybody with a flotation device and survival skills.

Do you like to spoon?  I like to fork.

What do you wanna name your kids?  Oh come on. Women don't share that. What if some bitch steals your idea?

How many houses have you lived in?  Two with my family, one in Japan, and one while those people were on vacation.  Shhhh!

How many watches do you own?  One. And it's always peanut butter jelly time.

Have you ever been to Kentucky?  I don't think so, but I notice my cousin's name is on this marriage certificate, so you do the math.

How many lamps are in your bedroom?  Only one. Any more and there's too much glare off the mirror on the ceiling.

Easiest person to talk to?  Rob Lowe. He hasn't done anything worthwhile since The West Wing, and he's not doing anything right now. Go ahead. Call him. He'll be there.

Have you ever stripped?  For money, no. For the sheer joy of the pasties, yes.

Stretch of the Imagination by Courtney Mehlhaff

A few years ago, when my sister was dating a guy who was 6'6", we decided to have a tall joke contest. These were my submissions.

He is so tall that . . .

17. When you talk to him, there's a two-second delay.

16. If you want to hug him, you have to hire a sherpa.

15. His first toy was the world's largest ball of twine.

14. He had to upgrade to Verizon's stratosphere plan.

13. For show and tell he brought Babe the Blue Ox.

12. When he failed his driver's test, he blamed cloud interference.

11. He instructs his barber to "just trim it to 40,000 feet."

10. When he pees in Grand Forks, they start filling sandbags.

9. He's the only person to join the Mile High Club without a plane.

8. When he wants to change the channel, he just taps the satellite.

7. His parents had to record his growth chart on the Washington Monument.

6. He was the only kid in Little League to catch a comet in right field.

5. When he says he sees dead people, you know they're in heaven.

4. When he moons someone, the tides change.

3. Birds worry about him pooping on them.

2. He had to take the Statue of Liberty to the prom.

1. Other kids had lice . . . he had aliens.

You Quack Me Up by Courtney Mehlhaff

The other night I was texting back and forth with a friend, trying to decide where we were going to eat before seeing a movie. There were several minutes' lag time between messages, since she was also trying to coordinate with her husband. By the time she finally proposed a restaurant, I checked the clock and told her we might be cutting it too close to make the show. Her reply:

Okay that's good. Sorry ... can't get our dicks in a row fast enough.

I think I read it twice before busting out laughing, which I was then doing so hard that I couldn't get a text back to her before she realized what she'd written. The next message:

And wow, I meant ducks!!

Auto-complete epic fail.

Lack of Love in an Elevator by Courtney Mehlhaff

I was recently on the elevator heading to work along with three other people. A bubbly young woman was chatting with a man who was obviously a coworker, and another woman was standing behind me. Bubbles, as we'll call her, since she was FAR too energetic for a Monday morning, started talking about her daughter.

Bubbles:  "Oh, my baby's never going to leave me. She's going to live with us forever."

Me: How old is this kid?

Bubbles:  "Have I shown you the double pacifier picture?"

Me: Oh, crap. It's an actual baby.

At this point, Bubbles whips out her cellphone, and I make a concerted effort to avoid looking in her direction. She shows the picture to her coworker, who offers an appropriate adoring response, and then shows it to the woman behind me.

Meanwhile, I'm watching the floors tick by and hoping against hope that I stay off her radar. No such luck.

"Here," she says, literally shoving the phone in my face.  "I think you're missing out."

Parents, we know you think your kids are precious. And, most of the time, we're willing to give you the obligatory oohs and ahhs that are somehow your reward for procreating. Hell, we even lie and say your offspring are the most adorable things we've ever seen, even if they look like scrunchy little aliens.

But here's a general guideline: No matter how proud you are, do not force pictures of your child on complete strangers and demand validation. Especially if they've shown absolutely no interest, and especially if they appear tired and/or generally surly.

What bothered me more than Bubbles' audacity (besides the invasion of my personal space) was that she gave no thought to why I might not be ogling her kid. Maybe I'd just lost a baby. Maybe I was having trouble getting pregnant. Whatever the reason, I wasn't interested. But she insisted.

So, when she said, "I think you're missing out," I wanted to reply, "Nope, I don't think I am." 

What I actually said was, "Cute." But I said it through gritted teeth and without smiling, and my lack of enthusiasm seemed to deflate her a bit, which was highly satisfying.

In any case, I managed to get my point across without explicitly telling her where she could shove her phone next. Because hey, I'm a bit of a grouch before 9 a.m., but I'm not a monster.