OddballGreg - Social Awkwardness

According to the internet, being a penguin is about as socially awkward as you can get... Or at least, according to the meme.

You ever put up your hand for a high five and been left looking like a monkey that doesn't realize it's not in a tree? Or offered a hug and ended up looking like you were auditioning for a role as a tree in the school play? If so, you've probably experienced a bit of social awkwardness in your life. Good thing it's funny.

I have met many socially awkward people in my life. I speak to a someone who believes she is socially awkward every day. (Don't tell her I said so, but I think she's socially awesome. Teehee) And, to be fair, I was and am rather socially awkward myself. The difference being that I find it amusing these days. (Have you ever walked around a shopping center in mafia gear? The way people avoid eye contact is hilarious.)

Believe it or not, my magnificent self was not always as confident as I am now. For the first 15 years of my life, I was more awkward than a penguin that's had it's toes glued together. No confidence, stared at my feet when I walked to avoid tripping, spent break times at school reading Harry Potter in class, spent my days playing with computers. Very much your typical nerd. (Ironically, I still do the latter 2. Harry Potter is still cool, I'm sorry.)

What's really fun about being socially awkward is realizing just how funny it is. Everyone is weird in their own little ways, (okay, in my case, many big ways.), so why I should I be embarrassed about who I am? Saying awkward things at the wrong time, drawing unicorns and chirping out unnecessary innuendo's is funny because everyone makes such a big deal about it. Can you imagine if it was awkward to breath? ("Hey. Did you see that guy over there? He's totally a breather. Oh my gosh... you're doing it to... and so am I. We are such losers.")

The ridiculousness is that people say things are awkward, when in truth, awkward is just another term for something out of the ordinary that nobody knows how to deal with. Once you get around that, the person is as awesome as anyone else, but with the benefit of being something different and fun. The other day I was at a funeral and while leaving, stood with my arms outstretched to offer a hug to the grieving... who didn't notice me and continued with a conversation she was having. Haha, after standing like a tree for about 30 seconds I dropped the hug and started laughing with everyone else. It wasn't embarrassing, it was just funny, and everyone present understood that as they laughed with me.

So the next time you meet someone who does something that you're not sure how to deal with, don't make the other person feel awkward. The greatest people have the strangest habits. (Mine is having one sided conversations with the internet? Sounds quite sane when I put it that way. Teehee) So if you're a fellow awkward person, or simply someone who understand how to deal with us, why not say hello in the comments below or over Facebook/Twitter. We're always happy to meet cool people. Even better, if you know someone who's been feeling awkward and out of place, why not share this post with them. I'm sure they'll appreciate your thought. And of course, if you would like to read more thoughtful posts like this, then do be sure to like the official TCSA Facebook page and/or follow us on Twitter so that you can get the latest articles, as they're posted. Regardless of what you do though, I thank you for having taken the time to read this post; hope that you have/had an absolutely FANTASTIC day, and I will speak again soon.

Stay awesome my friends.

JovialJMan - The Joy of Fishing

"Is it me, or is the picture REALLY blue? I'm up too early for such bright colors..." -OddballGreg

Do you like sitting around, watching the ripples in the water and the grass grow while waiting for some unfortunately stupid creature to bite a metal hook you left in the water? If so, you probably enjoy fishing.

Yesterday I went fishing, (with my family), for the first time since I was 10 years old. I found out that it is really boring ... until someone catches a fish. Then it is game on as we all get into the competitive spirit of fishing.

This is the view from where we were fishing.

After we had arrived, the 3 kids (my brother Alex, my sister Anya, and myself) set up our fishing rods and cast them. We weren't able to throw them very far since we were still new to fishing, but after a few throws we could clear the dam. We didn't have a single bite for the first 2 hours, so I somewhat gave up for a bit and ate a few rolls that we had brought with for lunch.

There was also a very friendly lady there that was fly fishing whom my mom went to go speak to, and myself joining shortly after. She was explaining how to actually fly fish and offered to let me try. So, taking the very light rod, I gave it a swing but failed to cast the line. The lady explained how to do it by referencing 10 and 2 o' clock as how far my arm/rod should go. So I tried again and was far more successful for about 20 minutes doing that, until my sister wanted to try as well. While she was trying, my brother suddenly yelled out that he thought he had caught something.

As it turned out, my brother was the first to catch a fish that day, and the way he explained how it happened was; "I was reeling in one rod, then as it was just coming out of the water I look to the other rod. I saw the end of the rod going up and down (*indicating with an appropriate hand gesture*). As I started to reel it in I felt that something was nibbling on the other end, so I gave it a little tug. It tried to get away but failed, so I started to reel it in." The lady with the fly fishing rod came with a net and scooped it out of the water. My brother Alex them took a few pictures of it (see below), after which the fly fishing lady took the hook out of the fish and we let it go back into the water.

This is the fish in the net

Alex holding the fish he caught.

 After that, my sister Anya and myself decided we needed to catch one now as well. So I cast out a bit more hoping for the best while Anya went off to try a different spot while my brother just stayed where he was. Of course, my dad had a go at the fly fishing, after which Anya took the fly fishing rod again and, of course, she managed to catch one.

My dad trying to fly fish

Anya had this to say when it happened; "I took the fly fishing rod from my father, for my second attempt to do it right after learning how to fly fish and on my third throw in, I felt something tug on the line so I pulled as hard as I could. Then everyone around came to help me. The lady that let us use her rod came with the net to get the fish out of the water. My dad wanted me to hold the fish for a photo, but I really didn't want to. But in the commotion I grabbed the fish and it was really slimy. When suddenly it wiggled out of my hand and flop around on the ground. It managed to escape because it was really slippery and I didn't want to touch its's gills. I picked it up and my dad took the picture, (see below). Then the lady took the hook out of its mouth and I put it back into the water. It was the first fish I have ever caught."

Anya standing very far away from the fish she just caught.

She really doesn't want to touch it.

She finally allows my dad to take the picture.

She releases it back into the water.

Now this was where I was like " oh come on." I have to catch one. I cannot be the only one who hasn't caught one." So I tried a different bait, (a piece of fat from the chop I was eating at the time), and various different spots. After a while my brother took a rest so I used his rod as well. Despite the effort, my parents decided it was time to go after 40 minutes of not getting any bites. I was rather disappointed that I was unable to catch anything.

The day, however had been fairly awesome. I thoroughly enjoyed it, had a lot of fun and developed a fair bit of respect for those that fish frequently because they must have so much patience, but fly fishing is much more fun as you are not just waiting for something to bite, you are continually busy trying to coax a fish into biting, which makes it somewhat more interesting.

Anyways, if you liked my fishy tale, (see what I did there? Heehee), or would like to tell us about any of your fishing stories please do so in the comments down below, on Facebook or by tweeting us on the Twitter of the Tweeters. If you have any friends who are into fishing, please share the post with them as I am sure they will appreciate the fun of a beginners story. Of course, if you would like to read more posts as they are published or just want to show your support please like us on the official TCSA Facebook page and/or follow us on Twitter using the associated buttons on the bar to the left. Regardless of what you do, I hope you have/had a really good day, and I shall ramble again soon.

May patience be with you, my fellow readers.