Laugh. A lot. Genuinely.

I’m reading A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink, and it’s been a great read. In it he talks about us transitioning out of the Informational Age into what he calls the Conceptual Age, and explains the need to beef up our right-brain skills to deal with the challenges presented by our society’s over-abundance, the automation of technical skills, and outsourcing to other nations.

One of the aptitudes he believes will be crucial in the Conceptual Age is that of Play (or humor). I just finished reading all about how laughter relieves stress, promotes wellness, increases creativity and productivity, and simply just makes you feel better – all things I knew, but it was interesting to read about in an objective manner.

And now I just want to laugh my head off, but feel like I’m going about it too intentionally. Anyone have any good jokes/links/stories?

Between my cat being super-feisty and finding humor in every small thing, I kept giggling, and J would mimic me and put an even funnier spin on it all while holding me down and doing it right in my ear. It only made us laugh harder. It got to a point where I was screaming, gasping for air, and shriek-giggling all right before falling asleep. Awesome!

Absolutely hilarious!

Put it in your Netflix Queue now! :)

J and I find ourselves laughing a lot. It’s the best. :)

J and I invited our little “Foodies” group over for the Super Bowl, which turned into a potluck. As part of hosting, I pulled out these very Swedish dark blue napkins with crowns on them my best friend found for me at a Scandinavian store. Well, one of our friends used our oven to make chicken wings with an assortment of hot sauces. Apparently, he sweats a lot when he cooks, and I saw him keep wiping his face with the napkin. Well, what I hadn’t noticed is that the dye in the napkin leaches. And the sun had gone down during the game, and we were mostly in the dark. Well, when he stood up to go to the bathroom, we turned on the lights for him, and his face was bright blue. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like it! He really was a smurf! Fortunately, it wasn’t too hard for him to wipe it off in the sink with a WHITE paper towel. But it was certainly a memorable part of the evening! And I laughed as hard as I did when we saw the sperm/ovum copulation of the Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers logo at the start of halftime. [Anyone notice THAT???]

“Love Poem to an Avocado from a Tomato” by Yumi Thomas:

Tonight I wore my bright red suit
and came to the opera
just to see you at the buffet.
Leaning against a cabbage leaf
in a bowl of salad,
your olive skin shimmers
like a river at night.
You dance among carrots, cucumbers,
and wear a crown of alfalfa sprouts like a queen.
I straighten my green necktie and bow to you,
then blush red as my suit
as you glide by in an artichoke’s arms
under the rain of a thousand islands.

J’s med school schedule and my newfound free-time now that I don’t have a job I hate means that we can now have lunch together…

Now, let me just say that I am prone to the hiccups. That in itself has caused riotous laughter between me and J, because he believes that no one should get the hiccups after the age of 6. And I get them every other day!

Anyway, after lunch today, I got the hiccups as usual. [It tends to be after meals, and that makes sense.] J then said, “You sound like a baby alligator.”

Um, ok. “How do you know what a baby alligator sounds like? Have you heard one before?”

“I watch nature shows…Baby alligators make this ‘urp, urp’ noise right before they hatch. Your hiccups sound exactly like that!”

Oh, I laughed so hard! I’ve seen those same shows, and I suppose my hiccups DO sound like that… Hilarious!

...with the people who enjoy life most, and you’ll always be laughing. Telling stories, laughing at each other’s jokes, and just BEING.

It’s important to reflect on the somber, sobering parts of life, but it’s also important not to take it too seriously!

This morning J went to hug me before jumping in the shower. He snuck his two very cold hands just under my T-shirt at the small of my back. I squealed, laughed, tried to pull away, and we nearly fell over onto floor I was squirming so much. We both got a huge laugh, and it was a wonderful way to start the day.

Revengeofnudefreedom recently posted a Deep Thought, and it reminded me how much I used to always quote Jack Handey. So, I’m adding a bunch of my favorites here:

“One thing kids like is to be tricked. For instance, I was going to take my nephew to Disneyland, but instead I drove him to an old burned-out warehouse. “Oh no,” I said, “Disneyland burned down.” He cried and cried, but I think that deep down he thought it was a pretty good joke. I started to drive over to the real Disneyland, but it was getting pretty late.” -JH

“Anytime I see something screech across a room and latch onto someone’s neck, and the guy screams and tries to get it off, I have to laugh, because what is that thing.” -JH

“When I was a kid my favorite relative was Uncle Caveman. After school we’d all go play in his cave, and every once in a while he would eat one of us. It wasn’t until later that I found out that Uncle Caveman was a bear.” -JH

“Laurie got offended that I used the word “puke.” But to me, that’s what her dinner tasted like.” -JH

“Sometimes when I feel like killing someone, I do a little trick to calm myself down. I’ll go over to the person’s house and ring the doorbell. When the person comes to the door, I’m gone, but you know what I’ve left on the porch? A jack-o-lantern with a knife stuck in the side of its head with a note that says ‘You.’ After that I usually feel a lot better, and no harm done.” -JH

Oh, classic! :)