Neil Pasricha's Blog, page 357

#449 Staying up so late that everything becomes funny

Midnight is long gone.

Maybe you're crowded around a kitchen table pasting construction paper onto poster board, squirreled into sleeping bags on a cold basement floor, or drinking cold coffee and leaning over laptops before tomorrow's big deadline.

Either way, it's time to face facts: you're up way too late.

Your eyes burn a bit, your head spaces out, random arms or legs starts throbbing, and maybe your scalp gets really, really, really, really itchy. Point is, you've ignored your body's Go to...

#450 Horrible fake accents made by close friends

Believe it.

It's your girlfriend at the lunch table doing her dad's lecture with a bizarre sailor with a sore throat inflection. It's your grandson at Thanksgiving pretending to be his angry first grade teacher, hitting the squeaky high notes with fist thumps and furrowed brows. It's your best friend giggling on your bed about her new college classmates who sound like they're all from a tiny island off a made-up country.

There's just something hilarious about watching a good friend tell a...

#451 Somehow waking up at the right time even though you forgot to set your alarm clock

That was a close one.

Last night you hit the pillow without a safety net and fell into a free-falling slumber with no end in sight. You could have slept all day, you could have slept all night, but somehow you got up just in time. Yes, you sprung up like a Jack-in-the-Box with your heart beating, eyeballs popping, staring in shock at your curiously quiet clock.

But that's when you suddenly tap your temple with your finger and nod a slow nod at the genius of your own brain. Thank goodness that...

#452 Picking things up with your feet

Embrace your inner monkey.

Dirty crumpled socks, dropped Doritos, rogue pen caps: We see you there. Yes, we see you right in the crosshairs of our toes and we're about to scoop you up with a good old fashioned foot scrunch.

Bending over is overrated.

Picking things up with your feet is

AWESOME!

Photo from: here

#453 Getting all sweaty and jumping in

Time for some fun in the sun.

Spiking volleyballs in the backyard, tossing frisbees at the beach, or just running around in your bathing suit on the scorching sand, it's always fun getting hot and sweaty before racing to the edge of the dock or tip-toeing to the front of the diving board. Now with your forehead dripping, eyeballs stinging, skin sticky and sweaty, you stare into the deep water and smile before splashing right into a cool refreshing world of

AWESOME!

Photo from: here

#454 When you manage to get ready super fast when there's no time to shower

My friend Mike taught me the power of Mustache Maintenance.

Whenever we running late on a Friday night back in college Mike would race up the stairs and shave off his mustache fuzz in ten quick seconds. It took away his dirty upper lip look without taking all the time of a full shave and we'd be on our way to meeting friends at the bar without spending much time getting ready.

Over the years whenever I've been running late for school, work, or a social event I've pulled off Mustache...

#455 Digging a hole in your mashed potatoes and filling it up with gravy

Get your mash on long.

Get your mash on strong.

How great is it that a bunch of rock-hard brown things yanked from the dirt can turn into a creamy smooth-n-salty canvas of deliciousness right in the middle of our plates? I'm talking salty lumps, I'm talking tasty bumps, I'm talking mashed potatoes, people.

Mashed potatoes are one of the few foods who achieve that rare 10 out of 10 on sculptability:

• Lakes and ponds. The classic. Nobody's bending burgers into teapots or folding pancakes into...

#456 When your friend returns your book and they actually read it

Man, I'm a master of the Ghost Loan.

This is where I borrow someone's favorite book and them promptly leave it on my shelf for months without touching it. Sure, I see it, I look at it, I think about it, I want to read it, but I just… don't. And then I keep it for a while, thinking I'll eventually get to it, but eventually I just admit defeat and return it unread, unfinished, unsatisfied.

It's always a sad moment because that's when your friend looks up at you with wide, eager eyes and asks "So ...

#457 That little hole at the top of your sink that prevents it from overflowing

Let's face it.

We're all idiots who love cranking taps and have no idea when reckless shaving and face-washing shenanigans might flood our bathroom floors.

Thanks for watching our backs, little hole.

AWESOME!

There will be a special announcement on 1000 Awesome Things this Friday.

– Email message –

"I'm in Ireland this summer, the first time I've spent significant time away from home and my family.  My best friend Shannon and I both read 1000 Awesome Things and so before I left, she made me this...

#458 Those rare moments when you're the only person on the beach

Enjoy the silence.

Maybe you're an early bird who goes jogging on the cool sand as the sun rises. Ocean waves quietly lap to shore together with twisted messes of dark seaweed and chipped seashells as faint orange sunbeams peek over the horizon…

Or maybe you're a sand stroller going for a quick walk around the bend as your family takes a final dip before heading home. Your feet sink into the hot sand as you find yourself alone with wet tree branches, quiet circling gulls, and a bright pink...