Jokes and Cartoons

Danielle, Haley and I compiled some jokes and cartoons. Here's what we came up with...

The past, present and future walk into a bar. It was tense.

 There’s two fish in a tank. One turns to the other and says

‘You man the guns, I’ll drive’

 

Tom and Jerry 

 

You probably had to be there

When it comes to handiwork, I’m essentially inept. After moving into our new dorm, Carter, one of my roommates and I were attempting to hang posters and put together wooden shoe racks, etc. I must point out that we would never have accomplished these tasks had our friend Jett not contacted us earlier. Kelsey and I did not have any tools whatsoever. Jett brought over his toolbox and set it on the table in the same manner as he seated himself on the couch. I discovered the power of persuasion about 10 minutes later. After much coaxing on my part, and stubbornness on Jett’s, he reluctantly gave in and agreed to help us put everything together on the terms that I help him. So naturally I sat down on the speckled carpet next to Jett and watched him as he assembled Kelsey’s shoe rack alone. I explained to him that without the help of IKEA’s step-by-step illustrated instructions, I wasn’t able to operate tools.

A shoe rack, two hanging, framed posters and a shower curtain later, Jett was finished helping us assemble our room. Throughout his work, I talked at him, played (and sang along) to some Florence and the Machines, critiqued his placement of my posters and basically did absolutely nothing, while drifting from room to room. At about the time Jett finished, I was getting restless from doing nothing and wanted to talk to Jett. Except I couldn’t find him anywhere. Our dorm room is not that big. It consists of four bedrooms the size of a full-XL bed, two bathrooms and a living room with the minimum amount of space required to accommodate four people. I searched high and low for Jett. I checked my bedroom and Kelsey’s bedrooms to no avail. The other bedrooms were locked, which left the bathroom. Earlier Jett was hanging our shower curtain, and I just knew he was still inside the shower. My plan was to creep into the bathroom and scare him. However, I wasn’t able to execute because when I crept into the bathroom and threw open the shower curtain, the only thing I surprised was a couple bottles of shampoo.

Behind me I heard a giggle and a snort and turned just in time to see Kelsey spit up the contents of her water. She had just taken a huge gulp from her water bottle to swallow a pill and now the water was spilling from her mouth to the carpet – as was the pill. She was doubled over in laughter on the now wet carpet, searching for her medicine that had escaped. Of course, her frantic searching for a pill on the ground had me giggling, especially since she put it back in her mouth and swallowed after she found it. I think that made me laugh harder since it disgusted me so much. I still didn’t understand why she was laughing so hard until I looked past her to see Jett sitting in a chair in the living room. Suddenly, I found myself beside Kelsey unable to breath past my laughter. I’m not sure if we were laughing at my ignorance because I was unable to see what was right in front of me or if we were laughing at my stupidity because I just yelled ‘boo!’ at a couple of shampoo bottles, but it had us laughing for a good five minutes.

Meeting Ory

I was pleased when I learned that my conversation partner was male. Honestly, talking to girls I don’t know is a lot more nerve-wracking than talking to guys. Girls tend to be more judgmental. So when I met Ory, I was overjoyed to discover he has a carefree, relaxed demeanor.

The basics: Ory was born in Guatemala, but his family moved to Israel when he was eight years old. He has an older brother and older sister. His older brother received a business degree from TCU. Ory would like to study political science at TCU after he finishes with the IEP.

The conversation flowed effortlessly as Ory and I switched from topic to topic. From movies to politics to sports, there was always something to comment on. It was nice to bounce off one another, but I could tell I hit a hot topic when I asked what his interests were and politics was brought up.

Ory took me by surprise when he launched into the topic of politics. He leaned forward and started waving his arms around. His face lit up with passion as he outlined for me the patterns of history that could help predict the future of politics today. This just shows how little you know about people until you sit down and really delve into conversation past the superficial, “how are you?”

We did eventually touch upon the topic of humor. I learned that humor, although it can be different, has a very similar theme for everybody of all cultures. Ory asked me what humor I most enjoy, which I answered is sarcastic, witty humor. Ory agreed. He enjoys sarcasm as much as the next American. He also enjoys teasing and laughing at his friends, he said, but only to make them overcome their insecurities. What a great friend. Ironically, I feel as though Ory and I laughed more when we weren’t discussing the topic of humor, which is a bit funny in and of itself.

Talking with Ory seemed very natural. He seems to be a light-hearted, friendly person and we never ran out of topics to talk about. He’s only been studying English for three months, but I couldn’t tell. He seems to have grasped the language very easily and was a great conversationalist. I’m looking forward to what the next conversations will bring.

What I've learned thus far

Well, there have been four weeks of classes, and I can honestly say I feel I’ve learned a lot in those four weeks. My classes this semester have been unlike any previous semesters. I’ve had no tests so far, and my knowledge hasn’t been measured periodically by multiple choice questions in quizzes either.

Instead, I’ve been working hands on, such as in my Radio/TV Newswriting class, where my professor had us start writing and working with the camera in the first couple of weeks. In my Rhetorical Traditions class, I’ve engaged in deeper and more thought-provoking discussions than I thought was mentally possible for myself all the while learning much about Greek philosophy. I’ve expanded my spirituality in my Buddhism class by practicing meditation techniques and reading writings by monks such as Thich Nhat Hanh. I’ve learned how to utilize Excel for reporting techniques, which is great because I’m normally incompetent when it comes to things on the computer.

Most importantly, however, I’m learning the value of humor in my Literature and Civilizations class. But really, humor is universal, and it’s interesting to learn about how it differs in cultures around the world. I can’t say I’m absorbing the readings from Comic Relief very easily, but when it’s discussed in class, I’m able to understand Morreall’s theories a little better.

The start of the semester has been very promising. I’ve been promised a lot of work (mainly reading and writing), but I’ve also been promised a great educational experience. After all, if I’m taking seven different classes, I’d hope I can learn something!