(I’m teasing my fiancé about how much he likes it when I talk in a particular voice during “fun time.”)

Me: “You are such a dirty old man.”

Fiancé: “Well, it’s like ASMR!”

Me: “I don’t think ASMR is meant to have that effect on you.”

Fiancé: “It’s supposed to give you tingles. I don’t see why I should get judged based on what part of me tingles.”

(Yes, I laughed.)

I had the opportunity to study abroad in Japan while I was in college. During our orientation week, one of the staff volunteers mentioned that those of us who were taller might get some extra attention, but not to worry about it. I didn’t think much about it, because I’m average height by Japanese standards, until random events like the ones below started happening to the taller students in the group:

1) While visiting a Japanese onsen — public bathhouse — my friend, who was at least 5’10”, had just removed her robe and was about to step into the water — we’re both women, so we were on the women’s side of the onsen — when a tiny, elderly Japanese lady popped out of the water and hustled over to us, completely naked. I thought, at first, that maybe we had forgotten to do one of the pre-bathing steps and she was warning us, but when she reached us she stretched up as far as she could and patted the air somewhere around my friend’s shoulder.

“Takai!” she said, which means “big/tall.” She giggled, and then quickly hopped back into the onsen where her friends were all cracking up.

2) Another friend of mine in the group, a man, was over six feet tall, and had long hair down to his shoulders. One day, we were waiting for a crosswalk sign to change when a group of Japanese middle-school-aged girls ran up to me, asking if they could take a picture with him. I said they’d have to ask him, and he was usually a good sport about that kind of thing, so I ended up with five phones and cameras shoved into my hands to take pictures of them with my friend. I don’t know if they thought he was a celebrity or were just excited to take a picture with a tall foreigner, but they were so happy.

3) When the same male friend was going through the airport on a flight from Japan to Korea, he got pulled over to the bag inspection table, but when the customs agents pulled out a pair of his shoes they forgot about the check and instead spent a few minutes talking about how big his shoes were! That was it; they didn’t pull anything else out of the bag.

Overall, there were never any negative encounters for my taller friends, except for maybe not fitting comfortably in some spaces, and house slippers never fitting.

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(My doctor has gotten a new office and I am visiting it for the first time.)

Doctor: “This is a nice office, isn’t it?”

Me: “Yes.”

(Somehow, I have pressed the Siri activation button on my Apple Watch.)

Siri: “I agree totally!”

Doctor: “See? Even Siri likes my office!”

(I work in an office as a receptionist. When the company got this building, there was no reception, but when one was made, it turned out that this one point was the coldest point in the building, and there was no way the climate system could get it warm. So, we got a mobile heater and it works like a charm. In the summer, it’s the coolest place of the building. One day, the CEO and one of the high-ranked managers come inside after borrowing the company bikes. They hand in the keys.)

Manager: “Man, it’s cold outside; look at my hands!” *shows red hands*

Me: “I can imag— Oh, wait, I believe you! Those keys are cold!”

CEO: “My hands are freezing!”

Me: *jokingly* “You poor things!” *pulls out mobile heater* “Why don’t you warm up your hands here?”

(I expect them to decline or walk around the reception and warm their hands. Instead, they lunge over my desk and both put their hands on top of the heater! They are now laying on top of my reception desk, not caring about their expensive business suits, and they release a relieved “Aaaaaah” of sweet contentment.)

CEO: “Next time we take the bikes, this thing is coming along!”

Manager: “How long is our longest extension cord?”

(My CEO and manager are pretty cool people.)

I worked as a cashier in a “fast casual” restaurant a while ago, so I don’t remember the dialogue for this incident, which is unfortunate. Every so often, I’ll get customers who are friends and doing their utmost to pay for the other’s meal. Usually, this resolves with one of them insisting more than the other — or getting their form of payment faster — and the other one backing down. Not this time!

Two women had come up to my line, joking with each other and with me. When I told them the total, they started arguing about who was going to pay, racing to get to their wallets first. They good-naturedly took out their credit cards and waved them at me and tried to get me to pick. Laughing but also a bit scared to pick a favorite, I took both credit cards, put them behind my back, switched them around a bit, and asked my general manager to pick a hand, any hand. The winner cheered as I swiped her card, while the loser dejectedly took hers back. I had never seen anyone be that exuberantly generous, and it put me in a good mood for the rest of the day. Good thing I had learned some basic conflict management skills!