(Our voting place has been inside an apartment complex near our house for years. I usually walk there, but one year I decide to drive. I go in the morning because I can vote before work and my shift will last past voting hours. No big deal, right? I drive up and the complex has four parking spaces for voters and all are being used. The only other parking space is handicapped. Knowing I am going to run in and out — I have a filled-out sample ballot so all I have to do is color in some circles — I park in a resident’s spot. I hate doing it but figure I’ll be really quick. I am quite literally filling in the last circle when a lady bursts into the voting place.)

Lady: “Who drives a [car meeting mine’s description]? You’re in my spot!”

Me: *fessing up* “That’s me. I’m leaving right now. Sorry, there was nowhere to park.”

(It’s lame, I know it, but I’m complying with her wants.)

Lady: “You’re in my spot! It’s not for voters!”

Me: “I know. All those spots were filled. Again, I’m sorry.”

(I try to leave to move my car, but she isn’t done.)

Lady: “You can’t park there! You—“ *directs her finger to the voting volunteers* “—need to make sure they can’t park there.”

Volunteer: “Ma’am, we do not block people from voting. It is about ten in the morning, so people are going to use those open spots. We will not stop them.”

(She had a small meltdown and I walked out to move the car. Out there I saw one vehicle parked across two open resident spaces near the spot I parked in. Apparently, she could park in two other people’s spot but I couldn’t park in one!)

(When I teach, I like to use interesting and practical examples whenever I can to keep the students engaged. We’re doing an essay on problem-solving, so I decide to show “The Martian” in class to study the character’s problem-solving skills. [Student #2] has been subtly flirting with [Student #1] all semester to no avail.)

Me: “All right, guys, make sure you’re taking notes about what problems you see and what the character does to solve them.”

Student #1: “I can’t wait! I loved the book so much!”

Student #2: *[trying to impress [Student #1]* “Uh, yeah! I did, too!”

Student #1: “Really? I didn’t think you liked to read.”

Student #2: *fake scoff* “I said I don’t like fiction, but this is based off of a true story.”

Me: “…”

(Needless to say, that romance went nowhere.)

(I am sitting outside soaking in the sun right after a quantum mechanics final. A guy approaches me and says hi.)

Me: *not wanting to be rude* “Hi. How’s it going?”

Guy: “It’s all right. I’m [Guy]. What’s your name? What are you doing here?”

Me: “I’m [My Name]. Just got out of a final.”

Guy: “Oh, what final? What major are you?”

Me: “I’m a physics major. This was the final for the last course in the quantum mechanics series. I have a math final later, too, so I’m just waiting on campus.”

Guy: “Quantum mechanics? That’s so cool. How much do you know about it?”

Me: “I mean, that’s a little hard to say, but I know everything I should at an undergrad level, and enough to be able to engage in research. The core of the subject, essentially.”

Guy: “Well, I could teach you so much about!”

Me: “Oh, that’d be cool. Are you a physics grad student or something?”

Guy: “No, I’m a psychology major. I don’t really know anything about the math or anything. But I’ve seen so many YouTube videos about it. There’s so much crazy stuff about it that you won’t believe. Anyway, maybe I could take you out to dinner or something?”

Me:  “…”

(While I appreciate people trying to learn about a subject in whatever way they can, it seemed really arrogant to assume that YouTube videos would make you more familiar than me with a subject I’m majoring in. Especially when the subject in question is essentially all math; you can’t do any physics without doing the math! It’s what differentiates it from random thought experiments.)

(I’ve always had a weight problem. I have a history of diabetes type 1 and 2 in the family and I often flirt between normal and pre-diabetic. As a result, I try to keep my weight down, but it isn’t easy, particularly belly weight which is the worst for diabetics. I take up running, and at first, I lose a lot of weight. Then, I rebound and my weight is higher than ever. I’m still running and mixing in different exercises to try to regain control. I often run through a local park. The neighborhood is rather diverse, but there is a large population of people of a particular nationality that wear traditional garb. The men congregate at the benches, and one day they flag me down.)

Man #1: “We noticed that you are out here a lot.”

Me: “Yeah, I’m trying to lose some weight.”

Man #1: “You are overweight.”

Me: *laughs nervously*

(I jog away, chalking it up to cultural differences. But yeah, that’s why I’m out here! I’m out there again on a different day, and I run into a different guy at the same park. He is on a bike and he stops me.)

Man #2: “You are always out here!”

Me: “Yeah.”

Man #2: “How far?”

Me: “Oh, three or four miles today.”

Man #2: *nods like that’s good* “How old are you?”

(Odd question, but okay.)

Me: “Thirty-three.”

Man #2: “You have babies?”

Me: “Nope, just a cat.”

Man #2: “No husband?”

Me: *starting to wonder* “No?”

Man #2: *nods again and pedals away*

(I think this is weird, and now I’m wondering if I’m being set up. This last encounter happens at the same park but on a different day with a different guy.)

Man #3: “You losing weight?”

Me: “A little bit, but not as much as I’d like to.”

Man #3: “You need to lose more.”

(Maybe I should stop running through the park.)

I was enjoying a beer with my husband at a local pub near a well-respected university when we overheard two local, college-age girls discussing languages. One girl was from Israel and her American friend was asking which dialect of Hebrew she spoke. The Israeli said, “Just Hebrew.” Her friend kept repeating her question and went on to explain how folks in different countries, like Mexico, have different dialects. My favorite example she gave was the “Guacamolans” and how they speak differently from other Mexicans. It took everything we had not to laugh out loud.