Sunday, March 28, 2010

Awkward Texts

The growing world of technology has led me to write this blog post. Think about all the texts you sent today. Some were for merely informational purposes while others may have been flirty, witty texts. How was your spelling? Did you use any words in IM? Were any of the words wrong because it was in T9 and you forget to press the arrow to get to the next word? Did you use punctuation? Were you at one point trying to be sarcastic? Did you use any emoticons? The answers to these questions could lead to a variety of awkward situations. Wrong spelling could convey the wrong message. Sentences without punctuation is awkward to read. Sarcasm could be taken seriously. But I think the most awkward of these is the emoticons. Especially "the wink". My advice to all is to be very cautious when using "the wink". Only use it if you know the person really well and it is a joke (this same scenario can be applied to real life winks). I think winks used seriously are kinda creepy and unnecessary. Smiley faces are usually fine. I have never really encountered a situation where I felt the smiley face was inappropriate.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

Awkward Acquaintance

So you know those individuals in your life that you know but aren't really good friends with. Yeah, those ones. At BYU they are most likely those ward members whose names who aren't so sure of but you sat next to them one time in sacrament meeting. You pass by them going to classes and are not sure whether or not you should say "hi." I know many people who feel very awkward when this happens. However, this is an easy situation to overcome. You should just say "hi." It is important to be friendly to others because you never know when someone is having a bad day. Be friendly and smile, you never know when you are going to brighten someone's day. I also try to throw their name into the mix if I know it. I heard that a person's favorite word to hear is their own name. Even if they don't know yours they will be flattered that you know theirs.

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Awkward Hugs

Perhaps the most awkward thing about this blogpost is the variety in different kinds of hugs. You have the one-armed hug, the hug-back pat, the hug from the back, the tight hug, the weak hug, the hand hug, the "church hug", the bear hug, the lift-off-the-ground hug, the long hug, the short hug, and hugs which are variations of these types of hugs. So how do you know which hug to do and how long to do it for? For me, I try to follow the other person's lead (I highly suggest this if you are a girl, and if you are a boy then you should try to initiate the type of hug). I also think 5 seconds is a good hug time. It shows you care but aren't creepy. However, hugs of comfort are generally longer and should be ended by the person being hugged. Another good rule of thumb for hugs is to try and make every hug a good hug. Don't do the weak hug. What's the point of giving someone a hug if you aren't going to make it a good one. Hug everyone like you mean it.

Saturday, March 6, 2010

Awkward Telephone Conversations

So I pretty much feel like the most awkward person on the telephone which makes me feel inadequate to try and give advice on how to make telephone conversations less awkward. However, first I would say to call someone when you actually have something to say to them. My little brother is awesome and I love him to pieces but sometimes he will call me and have nothing to say. He'll just sit there in silence and when I ask him questions he just says one-word answers. Another awkward part of telephone conversations is when they are ending. Have you ever been on the phone with someone and can't find a good way to end it and hang up? You are trying to find an excuse to end it but it finally just ends with an "Okay, bye." For this I have no good solution. Just embrace the awkwardness and laugh at it.