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Expectations vs. Reality

The other night, I randomly decided that it would be a good idea to watch a horror movie.  For some reason, I thought that everything would turn out okay even though I hadn't watched a horror movie in years exactly because nothing is ever okay after I watch a horror movie.  

But on that night, for no particular reason, I felt like I could handle it.  



Immediately after I turned off the TV, a feeling of apprehension welled up inside of me.  I could feel my psyche organizing what I had just seen into a highlight reel that will be freely embellished by my own imagination and then called upon to torture me for the rest of my life.  It will be dredged up over and over, turning innocuous everyday occurrences into terrifying threats against my survival.  Every noise that is not immediately identifiable will make me think that there's something in my house that is trying to kill me.   


I know that this is what will happen because it has happened before.  In hindsight, there was absolutely no reason to believe that it would not happen.  But for some unknown reason, I ignored a lifetime's worth of cautionary evidence and pranced merrily onward into the unavoidable consequences.   

Blind optimism and impulsivity often cause me to ignore logic and instead make decisions based on a hopeful projection of what's going to happen next.  It's like I forget everything I've ever learned about the things that generally don't end well when I do them.  And then I'm somehow surprised when things don't happen the way I expected.  

Take dancing, for example.  Despite hours spent watching instructional YouTube videos, I still lack the ability to move my body in a way that does not resemble a structurally unsound robot.  

But then I go somewhere where people are dancing.  I join in and, at first, I just try to keep it simple.


But after a little while, I get tired of repeating the same dance moves.  I start wanting to try something new. This is when that little bit of blind optimism creeps in and makes me believe, deep down in the very core of my being, that not only am I capable of shaking it like Beyoncé, but that is exactly what I should be doing. 


But something about the move I've just attempted feels "off."  


This is usually the point at which I am abruptly snapped out of my fantasy where I am graceful and sensual, into reality where my body is contorted into a vaguely gargoyle-like shape.


I am immediately filled with shame and regret. 


I begin to wonder why I would ever assume that I was capable of making my body do what I had pictured it doing.  My coordination is questionable even while performing simple tasks like walking or putting food in my mouth.  In college, I took a dance class and at the end of the year, the only thing my teacher wrote on my evaluation was "Allie tries hard." Nothing I have ever done would indicate that I have the potential to dance like Beyoncé.  But I didn't consider that.  

Another thing that almost always ends in direct contrast to how I had imagined is singing while other people are present. 

One time I went on a road trip with my college roommate, Julie.  I really liked Julie and I desperately wanted her to like me back, but she was quite judgmental and there is a lot about me to judge, so our time together was usually just a series of tense moments in which I tried my hardest to escape judgment long enough to win Julie's approval.

We had just left town, the sun was setting, the windows were down, the radio was playing and I was suddenly overcome with the desire to be a part of a montage-worthy car-singing duet.  In my head, it was the perfect opportunity to bond with Julie.  


I decided it would be a good idea to just start singing enthusiastically in order to get the ball rolling on fulfilling this pointless fantasy of mine.  


It soon became clear that Julie did not wish to participate in this potentially idyllic moment.  My enthusiasm imploded, leaving behind a black hole of awkwardness and insecurity.  


But I knew that if I stopped singing and just sat in silence, it would alert Julie to the fact that I was feeling awkward and insecure.  I had to pretend that I was unaware of the awkwardness I'd caused.  I had to keep singing.  


I mumbled the rest of the song quietly, turning my head toward the window to give the illusion that the sudden reduction in volume was due to the sound waves being impeded by my head and not because I was embarrassed.  

This discrepancy between the way I imagine things unfolding and how they actually happen is most dramatic when I overestimate my ability to perform a pointless feat of athleticism.  I'll walk past a low-hanging branch and be struck with an irresistible desire to see if I can jump up and touch it with my face.  I'll see something heavy lying on the ground and suddenly need to know if I can pick it up.  There are absolutely no tangible benefits to doing these things, but the consequences are often significant.   


As I'm lying there, crumpled and broken from my most recent attempt at meaningless success, I feel complete bewilderment at the motivation behind what I just did.  There was no point.  I'm sure that the decision was based on some scrap of reasoning, but in retrospect it seems that chaos and unbridled impulsivity just collided randomly to produce a totally unexplainable action with no benefit and all consequences.  

619 comments:

  1. Yayyyy! This is amazing, as per usual, Allie. So funny. And I'm the first to comment :D

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  2. Incongruity detected?

    You miss, continue to be a rockstar.

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  3. XD This is awesome. And I'm TOTALLY like that regarding Horror movies.

    I freak so easily.

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  4. aw allie! twitter tried to tell you not to watch Hostel!

    I have been impatiently waiting for a new blog post...and I am not disappointed :)

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  5. Man, that last panel just says it all. I can relate to Hyperbole and a Half so much.

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  6. So.. the moral of the story is: Dance like nobody's watching when no-one really IS watching? And if at all possible do this to scare off the bad people who will otherwise kill you because just when you THOUGHT no-one was watching they decided to sneak up and kill you. Right. I get it now.

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  7. Despite your inability to perform awesome feats of athleticism, you're still cool because you're hilarious. Congratulations. :)

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  8. I wish I had something awesome to say in this, my first ever comment on your blog. Because, see, if I had something awesome to say, I could say that, instead of "thank you for posting this on my birthday because it made me happy."

    =/

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  9. Yay for a new post!!!! Thanks, Allie!

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  10. This reminds me so much of myself. I'm always so crushed because I have such high hopes.

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  11. At least you try hard. I avoid risk, and have a much less interesting blog to show for it.

    But here's a horror movie tip: never ever rent anything that the blurb for talks about "a group of friends" no matter what they're doing. It could be volunteering at an old folks home, searching for the cure for brain cancer, or raising money for orphans and nuns, it doesn't matter. No matter what they'll be viciously slaughtered by the end, and you'll be hiding behind the couch. And if you're super unlucky, you'll freak out at a little sound, step on a cat, and find the sharp parts.

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  12. If it makes you feel better, I once fell over on crutches and split my pants. ):

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  13. You know, I sing really well, but I've had the same humiliating experience with car singing. The second picture in that sequence made me laugh out loud, then cringe.

    :(

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  14. Well, you are quite the funny one.. And I can remember my own similar experiences... Trying to lift up a log, and in my mindset at the time, it was nothing more than a twig, I felt like I was superman, then, my dreams crumbled into reality when I couldn't even make the log move an inch. Ah, memories.. You always seem to brighten my day up, Allie. Coming back to something to laugh at after the end of a tough day always helps. So, I thank you for your hilariousness. Don't ever stop being funny, you got a serious talent here. So with this final sentence, I say adieu.

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  15. Oh god. Your comics make me laugh and cry because this is my life, as well. D8

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  16. I AM LAUGHING SO HARD RIGHT NOW I'M SURPRISED I CAN TYPE :o

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  17. I always seem to get the opposite of what I want :( And I feel you on the dance moves. Oh, do I feel you.

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  18. I did that once with awful pain in my abdomen when I was having horrible menstrual cramps.

    It... it didn't work out very well...

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  19. Awwww this ends on such a low note! D: I want to hug you!

    I looove how you draw people though, especially yourself. So hilarious. :3

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  20. Allie, you are wonderful. You make awkwardness and humiliation so endearing. Was your dance class called Modern Dance Techniques, and were you asked not to be in the final recital because you were so terribly stiff and robotic? Because if you were, we have uncannily parallel lives.

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  21. I have these sort of thoughts all the time, but there's this one circuit in my head that insists that everyone is going to laugh at me.

    When I try anyway? Nobody ever laughs on the outside, but I'm *sure* they're all trying desperately not to do it.

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  22. Your blog is like a drug, and the drug is so good that you want to share the drug with everyone you know, but deep down you realize that the drug is also bad because you spend your entire day staring at a computer blog and not peeing and that can't be good, but the drug owns you so you read it and share it anyway and fast forward two years we're all in Blog Rehab sweating and vomiting.

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  23. You need to write a book, or a movie or have a show or something.

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  24. I am fairly sure that you some how invaded my brain for this post. Along with not being able to watch horror movies, I did once try to jump over a "fence" consisting of 2 concrete posts and a chain. In some horrible unlikely twist of fate, I ended up tearing a 9 in gash in my shin, and had to make a tourniquet out of my shirt and limp back to my grandmother's house to receive medical attention. In other words, I sympathize.

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  25. That "SuperAwesome" picture just made my week.

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  26. That is the same thing that happens to me when I watch horror movies...which is exactly why I DON'T watch them...I'm just happy to know I'm not the only person that gets freaked out!!

    Yay for new post :D :D

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  27. OMG. We ate totally dying over here! I'm crying, I'm laughing so hard!

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  28. Sigh. You, and a fair portion of your commenters, make me feel SO much more normal. Thank you.

    BTW, I'm envisaging the way my wedding day will go, and I REALLY hope it stays at least partially to plan... Don't want to be lying in a puddle of mud at the end like your last frame!

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  29. Once I jumped over a stone wall at my super smart cousin's house (she married a millionaire with stone walls around his house, sweet!!) into thorn bushes. Bleeding, I continued tearing around the house trying to outrun and generally outawesome all my male cousins when I came to another stone wall. What did I do? The same thing. What happened? More blood. Now I have matching giant scars on my thighs. The FRONT of my thighs. No short skirts for me. (And those were the only things keeping me from doing Beyonce-like dance moves!!)

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  30. Well, you may not be able to shake it like Beyonce, but she'd have to hire you as her ghost writer to write like you. ;)

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  31. At least you're optimistic! :) It wouldn't be nearly as fun to say, "Hey...fence...I bet I could jump that...eh, probably not."

    That would make a sucky blog!

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  32. Please stop posting about my life. You make me sound much cooler than I am, and that's really depressing.

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  33. ALLIE ARE YOU STILL DATING BOYFRIEND
    THERE HAS BEEN NO MENTION OF HIM IN AGES

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  34. If there were a shirt with that picture of you dancing with your arms flailing wildly, I would buy it.

    I dance like that as well.

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  35. Car singalong fails always hit me when Snoop busts out in "California Girls."

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  36. I always had thought that the crazy crap that goes on in my head made me original and alone, like, y'know, one of those super cool arty hipsters. But every post from you makes me feel like you have a window inside my head... And I'm excited to not be alone anymore, but sad that my Urban Outfitters wardrobe may no longer fit my newfound personality. You complete me. Let's jump over fences together... In our heads, of course.

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  37. I've said it before and I'll say it again...you ROCK. Hysterical...and you have more personal insight in your little pinky finger than most people have in their whole lives.

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  38. This is my life, to a T. Whatever that means. Seriosuly, though, awesome. As usual.

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  39. I have done the car thing. It is TERRIBLE. This is why I sing in the car alone and just torture the steering wheel. :P

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  40. Ahhh I once jumped off the top of some bleachers and landed on my ass in front of a bunch of coworkers. The upside was the creepy guy who liked me was no longer interested after that. Yay?

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  41. And all I could think was "where is Boyfriend when he's supposed to be protecting her from the scary movie?"

    Oh, and you managed to make me laugh and cover my mouth with my hand. Because when I read your blog, I turn into some bashful old biddy from a black and white movie.

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  42. Really needed this tonight. I'm literally crying from the laughter. Please don't ever stop.

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  43. From your illustrations, clearly you have seen me dancing and watching scary movies... I LOVE your blog. I am the world's worst scary movie watcher, according to my husband, precisely because I look EXACTLY like your drawings while doing so...

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  44. Oh my gosh... why are you me?? Like I'm reading this thinking "Allie just wrote my life!"

    Awesomely hilarious!!

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  45. OMFG, I have found your blog and now I cannot escape. Currently sitting at Starbucks laughing so hard I am crying. I think we may have somehow been seperated at birth, but you got all the funny.

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  46. To think it all began with Hostel... I love your blog btw. Keep the good work! I know it's not easy but you should post more often, you always make me laugh. Hugs and hope you have a lovely week, you sure deserve it.

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  47. Dear Allie,
    Please stop writing your blog. You are too funny for normal people like me to handle. Your relate-able events are related so well that it causes people like me to think they are funny and start their own blog. They are not funny. I am not funny.
    Signed,
    Jenna

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  48. Wow, your comic about jumping the fence made me both have flashbacks and feel sympathy for you at the same time, because I have that much luck as well.

    Kinda like when I thought it would be fun to play truck driver at the age of four and ran myself over...

    P.S.: If your going to see a horror movie, please don't see any of the Saw series.

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  49. "Blind optimism and impulsivity often cause me to ignore logic and instead make decisions based on a hopeful projection of what's going to happen next."

    story of my life. i <3 your blog allie. and therefore i <3 you. reading your blog always does one of two things to me:

    1) inspires me to make my blog better

    2) makes me want to pack it in, cause my blog will never be nearly as awesome as yours.

    but your blog ALWAYS makes me laugh :D thanks for that.

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  50. I totally understand you when you talk about dancing. xD
    I do not dance. I kind of flail around pathetically.

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  51. Imagine all the people out there, thinking they can blog and draw cartoons and be funny and clever and insightful - - - all at the same time. Screw fences.

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  52. The dancing part hit home. I tend to try too hard at dancing as well.

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  53. I sang in public once. I'm still in therapy about it. Thanks for being as neurotic as I, and sharing your pink-bedressed neurotic self with us all, to remind us that we, the slightly-crazy, are not alone.

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  54. Probably if you were wearing the sequen covered cape that was in your Gloss post this week the dancing part would've gone over much better because everyone would be distracted by the sparkle effect! Hehe.. I love you Allie...I promise not to stalk you though - not because I don't want to but because I really don't have the attention span for stalking and Montana's a few hours away. Keep the posts coming!!!

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  56. i love this= so true. i am the same way with horror movies- but generally don't get past the creepy dvd menu. then i take it out and ask myself why the hell i thought this time i could handle it. thanks for making me laugh today!

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  57. This is my life right here. This is my life ):

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  58. I think you should watch Hostel 2. I think it would be an amazing experience for you.

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  59. Omigod, I SO want "DANCING!" on a t-shirt...I too dance like an epileptic fish out of water...

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  60. Oh and you sure picked a winner for your movie! I DO like horror movies, but was extremely disturbed by Hostel. Yikes!!!!!

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  61. You also got thirty comments in the minute it took me to write mine.

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  62. i got scared to go to bed after watching Pretty Little Liars on ABC friggin Family.
    the end was scary and every noise in my house made me jump.

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  63. Wait, with your face? No. No. You do not aspire to touch these things with your face. It just happens, and you immediately regret the way things turned out.

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  64. You, m'dear, are full of awesome and win.

    the moral of your story?

    Damnit, I fucking tried.

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  65. Love it. Great job!

    The Blair Witch Project did me in...and I'm proud that I've only tried to watch a horror film about once a year since. :)

    Keep it up.

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  66. I am constantly imagining myself doing things that I will never dare to do. Dancing is one of them. Believe me when I say that my not dancing is doing everyone a favor. Mostly, I think about things as I pass by them on the street. For example, I wonder how far I can get if I snatch that Twix from the street vendor's display without paying. Similarly, would anyone notice if I just grabbed one of those cases of Dr. Pepper just sitting alone on a dolly behind a parked van? How many poor children would I be hurting if I just took a handful of books from the donations box? My conclusion to most of these inner questions is usually this: I am terrible. I'm terrible even when I do do the things I think of doing. My own mother has told me on several occasions that I get my singing skills from her, and that is not a compliment. I still do it, of course, but I am glad I have someone to keep me grounded. Otherwise I might delude myself into trying out for American Idol. I once thought of trying out for America's Next Top Model, even though I have no modeling dreams or even talent. I just wanted to be the one in the House that laughs at all the drama and takes nothing seriously (where are all the smart people at, reality TV?). Also the first thing I would do when I got in front of the camera would be to say, "I am here to make friends." So in conclusion, sometimes I do things and sometimes I don't. I guess.

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  67. I often have the same weird expectations. Like, I firmly believe that I should be able to just lift up my girlfriend and just . . . place her elsewhere if I see fit (I'm a weakling girl myself, and she is, you know, the weight of an adult human). And so sometimes I just kind of grab her around the waist and really really expect it to work and of course it doesn't and I'm disappointed every time.

    Or sometimes I'll be walking along and the idea that I should do a cartwheel pops into my head. I've never done a cartwheel, I failed gymnastics as a child, and I'm certain if I tried I would kill myself or at least snap both my wrists off. But I just get this urge to start running and then flip ass over teakettle and somehow land on my feet again. It makes no sense whatsoever.

    --Sharon

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  68. Hehe that happens to me all the time. I'll be like 'I can do it!' And then I'll do it and people laugh at me. Sigh. I'm the same way with horror movies. I can't look at a huskie without seeing a lot of blood and ugly European vampires. I also can't look out windows at night.

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  69. I'm crying from laughter, my husband thinks I'm having a seizure.

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  70. Oh. My. Gosh. I'm the same way! Seriously, you want to know what a scary film is? E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial! That thing gave me nightmares the first time I saw it when I was five, and it STILL gives me nightmares to this day!

    And don't worry Allie, I'm sure Beyonce is jealous of your sexy take on her moves ;) She wishes that she could get low like that :P

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  71. you write the coolest blogs evar! kudos to you! i really laugh out loud when i read this. thank you for making me happy

    http://lifespamphlet.blogspot.com/

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  72. Funniest. In. Forever. And totally true. I do that too where I'll disregard a lifetime of evidence and declare myself "whimsical and fun-loving" or some crap like that and it always ends in disaster.

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  73. My friends like to karaoke, and I have attempted a couple of times, but usually just sit back and let everyone else have fun.

    my singing is not fun.

    maybe if THEY drink enough, I might sing.

    I think what you do is brave, and you don't have to feel embarrassed afterward... you got guts, kid! and we all love you for it.

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  74. I'm glad I'm not the only one who idealizes situations and then things are not as expected.

    Great post!

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  75. You are the voice of an army of awkward, insecure people who believe they are cool. And because we have you to speak for us...we ARE cool. Because you define cool.

    So, thanks. And thank you for posting...I always watch for it, am never disappointed, and I can't ask for better.

    :)

    -JAB
    http://mirthmelancholyandthemundane.blogspot.com/

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  76. You are seriously my new fave blog. THANK YOU!

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  77. Oh, those sweet, sweet impulses to do things that have no point. This is why I can't go deep sea fishing. If there's a shark, dolphin, or sea turtle, I'm going to want to ride it.

    To the jumping, I'm white and I accept my limitations. The only jumping that happens is that Shaun of the Dead-esque planting of the hand on the fence and toppling over with it.

    Horror movies are never a good idea. I dislike bathtubs in general, shower curtains in specific. The one time I don't check there will totally be a dead lady waiting for me.

    Thanks for sharing your feats of awesomeness with us. I was beginning to have withdrawals and there are only so many times I can send rude comments/flag that idiot on Youtube that stole your video.

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  78. Have you seen the trailer for the new movie The Human Centipede? oh....my....god...

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  79. This is me with karaoke. And all the things mentioned. But especially karaoke. Though I never voluntarily put myself in a situation where karaoke will besung, it is sometimes unavoidable, and I invariably come to believe that should I sing, despite past experience, that I will sound the way I do in the sower or car, and NOT a more female William Hung.

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  80. I think I died laughing at that first set of illustrations. XD Man, if you are not a horror movie veteran and decide to randomly watch one, Hostel is pretty much the worst choice. There is absolutely no plot to that movie, just violence and gore. It doesn't even pretend to have a plot like the Saw and Final Destination movies do, it's just gore. I feel your pain. Same with the singing-in-public thing.

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  81. I'm the exact same way with horror movies. "Oh, I can handle it NOW." Nope. I'm usually okay watching it as long as I'm with others but as soon as I'm alone in my apartment... "OMG! What was THAT?!"

    And who else now has "Genie In a Bottle" in their head? Thanks, Allie! :D

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  82. Oh lol! I fall prey to that same compulsiveness and spontaneity. I however 90% of the time achieve the desired result! :D

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  83. Allie, you make my day. I watched Pet Semetary at 14 and proceeded to sleep with the light on every night for the next six months. My last attempt, in 2002, watching Event Horizon, resulted in me checking the bathtub for bleeding-eyesocket women for weeks.

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  84. Look at least you tried. I've found as I've grown older that the things that were easy as a kid no longer. I don't bend over as much, I rarely get down on all fours. I can't move around on my back as well. Squirming and climbing are difficult.

    Don't give up, many won't even try.

    Also your pain is pretty hilarious.

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  85. As always, you are amazing! Your uncanny adventures always capture the essence of human nature and self reflection.

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  86. I watched The Mothman Prophecies back in 2002 I think. That was the last time I watched anything remotely scary, for precisely this reason.

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  87. True Story: I made my husband check under the bed, and in every closet in our house, two nights ago because I was CERTAIN that this creepy weird guy who had been walking up and down our street all day, had some how gotten in and was waiting until I fell asleep to kill me. I facebooked it... so I can proove it! This is not an unusual thing. Horror movies are COMPLETELY out for me. Also... I have a scar on my leg from attempting to "jump-climb" a chain link fence with drunken "friends" at age 22... AND... AND... if you ever heard me sing... you would be Julie and I would be you. I am that sure you are *that* much better. At this point... I think you sneak into my life and then watch me... Laugh YOUR ASS OFF... and then think, "Ah HA!". Time to blog about it. :) You're so awesome... LOL!!

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  88. We just want you to know that you're fucking awesome. Your illustrations kill us every time and have sent us all into fits of hysterics. You should make a shirt with the last two panels of you in the mud, the front and back kind. We'd buy them instantly. Your awesome!!!

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  89. Dude, that was so spiritually deep. And I totally laughed my a** off. Thanks!

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  90. Dude, that was so spiritually deep. And I totally laughed my a** off. Thanks!

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  91. The older I get the less I like scary movies because with my bad hip I KNOW I'm toast if I have to outrun the monster[s].

    As usual your superb drawings make your post!

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  92. Well one thing that does apparently match your expectation sis your ability to be COMPLETELY HILARIOUS.

    You should check out dance dance party party, dark room, much ass shaking and one of their rules is no Judgement. Being good not required.

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  93. we did try to warn you.
    I absolutely love the scary, but I wouldn't go near Hostel. I tried one time and pretty much had the same reaction as you. I turned it off and decided to watch the Exorcist instead.
    As for the thinking I can do something and then trying it. Nah. early in my childhood I learned a lesson I won't forget . And that message was that gravity is not my friend.

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  94. Because you are brave enough to even attempt to dance in public YOU WIN! ^______^

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  95. It's like you live inside my brain and articulate everything I've ever felt in a way I never could.

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  96. " There was no point. I'm sure that the decision was based on some scrap of reasoning, but in retrospect it seems that chaos and unbridled impulsivity just collided randomly to produce a totally unexplainable action with no benefit and all consequences. "

    The fact that you do it anyway is what makes life interesting, Allie.

    ...Too bad about Hostel. >_>

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  97. Obviously we were separated at birth. I managed to break my tailbone walking (slowly) through a parking lot! Amazing that all the apendages are still attached. Thanks for the laugh!

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  98. Hahahaha this is SO me whenever I'm drunk! I believe I am some kind of super-woman and/or gymnast and can do amazing feats of awesomeness...then I wake up in the morning and realize that, no, I am neither of those things. And I'm sore because my body remembered who I really am hahaha

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  99. DANCING!! GET LOW!!!! AHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Thank you for that!

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  100. I laughed so hard I frightened my cats, my boyfriend and quite possibly my neighbors. That's ok though. If they ask, I'll demand they visit your blog...then you'll be even more famous!

    Oh, and yes...this is exactly the reason I don't watch horror films. I love your blog and snarfle it up like yummy funny crackmeth!

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  101. Ah, I am not alone! I have the achievement of making people's ears bleed when I sing (though its not too embarrassing as all my friends are equally talented as I in the vocal department) and my dancing is abysmal. At prom I was all 'No I'm not dancing like a ho! I'm going to dance like an AWESOME person!' and proceeded to dance in what I decided was an 'awesome' fashion- it consisted of the most awkward arm-flailing, boob-jiggling, leg-waggling and body-waving imaginable, all at once. I convinced my boyfriend (who had by then learned to accept my oddities) to try dancing like me, and he proceeded to do so. At the end of his pathetic, half-hearted attempt, he said, in a somewhat strained voice, 'Dancing is about moving your body with the music. This is ... not natural'

    Allie, thank you for being awesome!

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  102. there are times where i feel like you are writing about my life. the horror movie thing? YES. the dancing? YES.

    as an aside, so many of my friends enjoy hyperbole and a half that it's customary to text one another, or post on fbook walls when you have a new post up. congrats, you're internet famous :P

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  103. This is so me too in regard to dancing and singing and awkward girlfriend relationships and the need to jump over things... sigh.

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  104. Story of my life. Best lesson ever, never have faith in yourself! ;)

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  105. This made my day all that much better XD

    your drawings and your humor gets me every time.

    kudos

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  106. I totally want your "DANCING!" picture on a t-shirt. Because that's how I look when I dance...I flail my arms and, if I'm lucky, nobody gets hurt. But usually I get hurt. I've managed to injure myself TWICE while dancing to Weird Al Yankovic's "Everything You Know Is Wrong". So not only am I a flailing stick figure with no sense of grace, I picky ultra-nerdy music to dance to.

    Anyway, if I can wear this on a shirt, maybe people will stop asking me why I'm not dancing at parties.

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  107. You are the epitome of awesome. I'm thisclose to kidnapping Boyfriend and dressing up in his clothes and asking you to marry me (we'd have to do it in Iowa or California or something... damn Illinois laws...).

    No, seriously, this blog is just effing ridiculously awesome. Your words, your drawings... Perfection.

    I'm buying the rainbows tshirt! Can't wait! Can you make a shirt with the DANCING frantic arms? That would be SWEET.

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  108. Beyonce might be able to go low, but if you do the sexy velociraptor dance, you'll totally beat her.

    Also, I totally understand the scary movie leading to paranoia. I get the same way except I totally believe that my blankets are forcefields and I'll never be killed if I hide under them. You should watch creature features like Jaws. At least you can go 'Damn, it's a good thing I don't live near an the ocean.'

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  109. I feel guilty whenever I laugh (usually hysterically) at your descriptions of things that happen to you which are, actually, quite horrid.

    But you make it so funny!

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  110. Haha, what does Boyfriend think of all of this? Does he think it's adorable? XD

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  111. Love it! I get that way with horror movies, too. Unexplainable impulse to watch only followed by regret and paranoia.

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  113. Love love love your blog. You put words to those things that I feel but can't really express :)

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  114. Awesome. I almost woke my children I was laughing so hard. Just awesome.

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  115. Everyone on Twitter told you not to do it! But I'm glad you did, because then a post appeared where you compared yourself to Beyonce, which I liked.

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  116. This post is particularly funny to me because I know this phenomenon SO WELL. Sometimes I think "Man! I'm going to this thing, and it's going the be AWESOME! All my friends will be so impressed :D"

    But it ends up with them being more like "What the hell is wrong with you? O_o"

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  117. Hilarious.
    I'm not allowed to watch horror movies. As they, like spicy food, are just something I can't take, plus I yell at the characters which never does a bit of good as they never listen.

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  118. Whoa, this blog just brought back a repressed memory. No, not one of THOSE memories, just a weird one.

    I was on a date my freshman year of high school in 1996 will my then-boyfriend Bill. We went to the movies and saw... "SCREAM." (Yes, that was the start of the whole horror franchise that pretty much died with "H20," bleh).

    I was scared. shitless. Seriously. I was SO freaked out for literally a week. And then... I became obsessed with it. TOTALLY obsessed. I went to see it like 3 more times in the theatres, and then when the DVD came out... Oh man. I had practically the entire movie's dialogue memorized.

    Was it because it was a spectacular cinematic masterpiece?

    Nope. Turns out I had a ginormous crush on Neve Campbell but didn't realize it was a crush until I was 21. This is what happens to little suburban lesbians when their parents force heteronormitive-ness-ess (WTF is that word???) on them... They become obsessed with someone under the impression she is just "a great actress" (and sorry, Neve, you're hot, but great actress, you are NOT)...

    What was I talking about? Oh yeah. Horror movies. Eek!

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  119. Isn't there a saying to the effect that the definition of insanity is performing the same act over and over again with the expectation of achieving a different result each time? Just a nugget :-)

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  120. Poor Allie...
    HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
    Oh just kidding, you know I love you.
    Just kidding, you don't know me at all.
    *walks away*

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  121. I am the exact same with horror movies. The other day I actually "A Haunting" on the discovery channel. Now every time my child has a funny look on his face I freak out for a second that he might be possessed.

    Nice.

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  122. thankyou. I feel every post gives me insight into the human psyche.

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  123. I'm so ashamed I'm just now finding this site. You are HILARIOUS! (And I totally feel you on the scary movie jeebies.)

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  124. I haaaaaaaaaaaaaate scary movies, but my husband loves them. And one night he peer pressured me into watching a Nightmare on Elm Street movie with him saying that he'd protect me. Fast forward to 3 hours later and we're laying in bed: him fast asleep and snoring, and me hiding every bit of myself with the covers except for my eyes which are WIDE with unadulterated terror. I am completely convinced that Freddy is literally about to walk through my bedroom door and eat me. (Or whatever it is he does.) If only I could work up the courage to reach out of my comforter cave to turn on the lamp, because the light keeps the monsters away, you see.

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  125. I was having a bad day and you just totally cheered me up. Thanks for the laugh!

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  126. If the internet was crayons you would be Win-colored. If you were a computer you'd be running on Win-dows. If you were a season you'd be Win-ter. You could not be made of more win if your mom had swam through the Sea of Win, covered herself in Win pheromones, and gotten herself impregnated by the most winning specimen from a tribe of horny Wins to conceive you. If you were an actress you'd be Win-ona Ryder. If you were a cartoon you'd be Win-nie the Pooh. When you tripped and fell it made me win-ce. If you were a power source you'd be a win-dmill.

    Seriously. I don't care what some stupid contest says, you totally win the internet. I hear they're gonna rename it the Win-ternet in your honor.

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  127. Awesome as usual! Thanks for the great laugh. Amazingly/ disturbingly accurate. Which is probably why it's so funny. :-)

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  128. I loved how the song lyrics matched up during the silence with how you were feeling. Job well done!

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  129. Allie, I realize nothing is more enticing than telling someone 'not' to do something, but unless the prime objective is to kill us all with laughter when you post about it, please do not try dancing on a stripper pole.

    Love, love, love your way of looking at the world—and we're looking back with lots of smiles and laughter!

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  130. The drawings on this are priceless. This is one of my new favorite posts.

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  131. I'm getting faster at posting comments! YAY!
    I completely understand this need to do stupid things that prove nothing! I did a heel-click move off of a slippery edge on the campus of the university I was attending and I completely wiped out in front of all my friends and the guy I was on a date with. SO EMBARRASSING. And why did I do it? Because I wanted to be badass.
    That is all.

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  132. Ok A:I'm proud of you for trying to dance, sing and jump the fence. B: I tried to slide down a banister at school one time to impress the cool kids and yeah.. I broke my elbow.

    Hostel still gives me nightmares!

    You can always dance like Beyonce in your own bedroom - I do and I look great.
    Move to Texas so we can be friends.

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  133. oh man. i haven't laughed that hard in a while. awesome. thanks.

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  134. I think this might be my favorite post to date! I also have almost the exact same reaction with horror movies, except instead of just making the right decision and turning it off or leaving the theater, I sit and watch as my brain liquefies into goop made entirely of terrifying images that will only appear when I am in a dark room by myself.

    I think I see it as some sort of challenge, like how some people eat an entire tablespoon of cinnamon, or drink an entire gallon of milk in an hour. As soon as part of my brain says "OH GOD I CAN'T DO THIS" another part says "WELL DAMMIT YOU'RE GOING TO, YA PUSSY!" And since I don't want the cool side of my brain to think I'm a pussy, I sit and watch.

    I then find all the similarities between myself and the people being attacked/maimed/killed/tortured in the movie, which only makes things worse. Such as when I was younger and I watched the movie signs. That night, I realized that not only does the attic open into my room (perfect for aliens to come get me), but the way my window looks out at my garage is shockingly similar to the way the little girl's window looks out at the farmhouse, which is where they see the first alien. Which is why my bed is no longer next to that window.

    The worst is when you watch a scary movie in which bad things happen during the daytime and/or when the lights are on. Because then nothing is safe ever, and even though you previously assumed that the photons in the light killed any and all bad things (such as ghosts, crazies with knives, or zombies) that may be living in the closet/under the couch or bed/outside your window, now you know that the crazy zombie ghosts can attack you whenever they want to.

    Long story short, I relate completely to this post. You're not alone!

    I probably could have saved like 6 paragraphs and just written the above statement, but those were some pretty good paragraphs. I regret nothing.

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  135. "Incongruity Detected" Hilarious! Scary movies rarely scare me but Beyonce sure does. Whoa.

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  136. The picture you made of you trying to do the Beyonce move looks a lot like the picture you made of your dog licking the floor.

    Um...I'm sorry. It's still awesome.

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  137. When i was in grade 4 i tried jumping over a boulder in the school yard because no one else could jump over this fuckin boulder. So i ran, took a big leap AND... hit my foot on the boulder and broke it.

    You're the best!

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  138. I'm seriously dying reading this. I'm exactly the same with horror movies. Even just READING about horror movies.

    I read the wikipedia page for "Human Centipede"* and couldn't sleep that night.

    * DON'T read it. It's like asking to have nightmares.

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  139. I love you :D

    Your blogics make me smile

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  140. Ha! I do the same thing with foods or activities I hate. I forget why I hate them and assume there must be no good reason, and even though I know I will have a miserable experience decide to remind myself of what the pain feels like.

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  141. I'm really not sure why I feel the need to share this, but if you took picture six, turned the person on her side, closed her eyes, and added a about six friends watching like normal people, that would be me the last time i tried to watch a scary movie... I even ended up accidently punching my boyfriend in the nose and they had to physically pull me out of the fetal position... not a proud moment... but maybe you feel better about yourself now! :)

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  142. "She tries hard"? That's all you got? My dance teacher said I should "find another hobby." :)

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  143. Wow, this may be the first of your posts that I didn't identify with myself... but my husband is the boy Allie of this post! Eerie. (I started typing this on facebook and realized that would be stupid, because he might not recognize himself as the boy you and there might be consequences).

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  144. Your car situation with your friend is almost identical as to what happened with my dad and I on our last road trip. Me trying desperately to bond, and him not understanding at all what was going on. Awkwardness ensued.

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  145. I'm so glad you labeled the pics of you and of Beyonce. You looked so sexy, I couldn't tell who was who.

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  146. Every one of my car-singing experiences wind up that way. Sometimes, even, the montage moment happens, for a couple minutes. Then the other person will stop singing and I'll be thrown completely off, not knowing how to handle it.

    Anyway, great post! I just discovered your blog a few weeks ago and have been skimming the archives since. I love your drawings.

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  147. I actually adore horror movies, but I'll tell you what gets to me: Unsolved Mysteries. All I have to do is hear the theme to that horrible show and I start freaking out. And yet, like you with horror movies, I convince myself that this time I can totally handle it.

    Michael Myers, Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger? We're homies.

    Robert Stack in a trench coat? I want my mommy!

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  148. OMFG You have a WINDOW IN MY HEAD!! This is exactly me!

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  149. I hear ya about the dancing. My dancing consists of swaying back and forth rapidly, kind of like Rainman. You. freaking. rock.

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  150. First of all.... your awesome... second of all... hostel is the worst movie I have ever seen... I saw it years ago and I still have nightmares... whoever made that movie is horrific and twisted!

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  151. The very best part is your unquenchable spirit, Allie. You just don't give up. You apparently don't learn either, but let's just choose to not look at it that way, yeah? Let's go with 'unquenchable'!

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  152. Wow. It's like you're inside my head or something. Like the time when I thought it was an awesome idea and could certainly have no adverse consequences to throw a brick straight up in the air, repeatedly. Granted, I was trying to knock something out of the air, but still, a brick? I'm gonna end up in a darwin awards book, I just know it. Yay for being ADHD.

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  153. Out of the air? Out of a tree, actually.

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  154. Thank you answering my life question as to how beyonce and jumping fences are somehow related. I can now sleep.

    :D

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  155. Thank you answering my life question as to how beyonce and jumping fences are somehow related. I can now sleep.

    :D

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  156. You are a bamf if I ever met one. Win.

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  157. Ooh, Julie! Crazy Wheat Thins Julie! I love recurring characters. (I guess...this being your life...people will tend to show up more than once. Right.)
    And I totally have the same deal with horror movies. But nowadays even the DVD menus creep me out enough that I reconsider watching (sometimes).

    And your attempt to dance reminds me of my attempts at public speaking. (And socializing in general.) I always think THIS time I will be great and breezy and funny and forget the history of painful awkwardness.

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  158. The last image needs to be on a t-shirt.

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  159. I would sing in the car with you!

    Julie reminds me of some "friends" I used to go camping with. I figured out after about a year that they kinda didn't really like me but maybe felt sorry for me and that's the reason they dragged me along. Now I only associate with people who ACTUALLY like me, not that I HOPE like me. I have more friends now than I used to, go figure!

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  160. Julie had an awesome mustache, I can see why you coveted her friendship.

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  161. "no...:( I wanted the opposite of this...:(" Too funny! That one's t-shirt worthy.

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  162. Urghh, I hate the term, LOL, but you actually make me...laugh. out. loud. As in, you damn near slay me. So very glad I found your blog!

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  163. Damn you, woman! I just had surgery and now I'm laughing so hard I'm afraid stuff is about to fall out! If stuff falls out, you're getting a bill. Ow.

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  164. This is amAHZing, and I think both "DANCING" and "No...I wanted the opposite of this" belong on T-shirts. Preferably on ones already in my closet, but if you have to start them from scratch I'd understand.

    I am also the exact same way about leaping before looking either forward (literally) or backwards (in my memory) and your roommate sucks for not chiming in IMMEDIATELY.

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  165. First off, my punctuation and grammar are probably going to make your eyes/brain bleed, but PLEASE try and look past that so we can be friends. You won't regret it.

    I love reading how weird you are, because it makes me feel so much better about myself. I am very much like you, and I've decided that you are pretty amazing which means that just maybe i'm amazing too, even with my psychological oddities.

    I fear I may have discovered you a little too late. You are getting dangerously close to winning the internet, which may be good for you, but for me it means my delusions of us becoming friends are getting more and more ridiculous. Like, today I tried to be your friend on facebook, but was told you have too many friend requests. I had already planned out my speech "oh allie brosh? Yeah, she IS super funny. we're friends" I would probably mumble "on facebook" so I didn't feel like a big fat liar, but still, you get the point.

    I will let you think on that for a while.

    -Grace

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  166. Today I almost screamed aloud when I saw a white shirt sitting on the other end of my dark hallway. And it's all because I watched Ghost Hunters International on SciFi tonight. I feel ya, dog.

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  167. Sometimes ya gotta stick with your talents. You may not be a great dancer, singer, jumper, or horror movie watcher, but you're a helluva writer, and surprisingly good at MS paint!

    You're hilarious, I am constantly checking to see if you have posted something new. And, like everybody else who posted, I totally relate to this story.

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  168. This is my favorite blog ever ^_^

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  169. This.rocks. TWO POSTS within days??? Love it. Thanks for brightening a week of massive paper writing.

    Also, I find I overestimate my ability to do things like cook, and decorate my home. "Fettucini al fredo from scratch? No problem..." Or "Wow that is the PERFECT color for curtains for the door. Yeah that'll really make the room 'pop'..." No. It just looks terrible and then I return to the store, again, to return things, again, and slink dejectedly back to my car reminded that I have no domestic abilities and should just give up. But...the upstairs window COULD use some curtains too...

    Can't wait til the next post.

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  170. My best friend Katie and I love love love your blog. We started reading it while "studying" for the bar this summer. (So we're newbies.) This post is Katie. I loved it.

    I laughed so hard. I am still tracing my way back through your older posts. It is wonderful. Thanks lady!

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  171. we are like identical twins except you would be the funnier and more exciting one & i would just be the awkward twin wishing i could be as awesome as you.

    is that creepy? haha

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  172. "Allie tries hard."

    That for me was diamond-encrusted gold.

    There are probably less than ten things that are useful on the Internet; your blog is on that list.

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  173. This made me cackle until I cried, and then my mother asked, "Can I tell you about this cool thing or are you too out of control?" because I was cackling so uncontrolably. I definitely think it's because I can relate, but you make it sound much more awesome, or at least amusing, than I feel like my silly little quirks really are (I crash into things or trip over them while performing some ridiculous feat of AWESOME rather often. Or I just trip over cracks in the sidewalk).

    You definitely win an internet, or three.

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  174. This is every moment of my life. Even just saying words. In my head my intended response or point of conversation is all intelligent and fancy, but when said it's all warblgarbl as if I maybe had some kind of stroke.

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  175. Oooooomg that last fence jumping experience totally happened to me. Except it was a chain that blocked off this driveway at my middle school. And I was training for hurdles (bad idea, all around). Anyway, I decided it would be SO FUN AND AWESOME to practice on the chain. My back leg totally caught and I went face first into ::pavement::. I definitely had scars on my cheek and chin for over a year.

    So I feel your little failures. Thanks for making them hilarious :)

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  176. You know what also sucks? Listening to a song, thinking you know all the words and then getting to a bit where you realise you only ever listened to the first half of the song. And then having to stop singing because you don't know anymore of it. And everyone notices.

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  177. Somebody, somewhere, I'm sure of it, loves the contorted gargoyle look.... I'm positive :)

    X
    Corianda
    http://corianda-corianda.blogspot.com

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  178. A masterpiece, as usual. Thanks, Allie!

    (Favorite parts: the first Julie paragraph, the last paragraph of the piece, and all of the incredibly expressive artwork.)

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  179. Allie, if no one ever told you before, you totally WIN at the internet.

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  180. Allie, thank you for this! Being able to identify with someone as awesome as you makes me awesome by proxy. Thank you for making me feel special.

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  181. I've gone through this process. It mostly involves going to college.

    I don't know if I've learned yet, because I'm thinking of going back.

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  182. Look, Miss Lady (if that is your real name)---

    You know what I fantasize about? Drawing awesome cartoons.

    You know what happens?
    I try to draw awesome cartoons and then I show them to people and people laugh.

    But not at my wit and humor. Oh, no. They laugh because everything I draw looks like it was scribbled by a drunken squid. That just got off the Tilt-A-Whirl.

    SO I THINK WE KNOW WHO THE WINNER IS HERE because I can't even draw an hysterically funny cartoon about my mishaps.

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  183. I think the difference between you and beyonce is that she apparently had her right leg sugically relocated to the left side of her body and now has two left legs. Also, congrats on your first celebrity guest!

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  184. Great post as usual, and I hope your dog is feeling better! Thanks once again for making me literally LOL!

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  185. I laugh out loud every time. I love how true everything is that you post.

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  186. yeah, what John Henry said.

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  187. This is exactly why I don't understand "visualization" as a life-enhancing technique at all.

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  188. YAY NEW POST:D

    greatness as usual. i love you. never stop the unbridled impulsivity/hilariousness.

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  189. Prior to reading this, I had had the exact same experience with the horror movie attempt.
    Before: "Sure, Mom, I'd love to watch a scary movie with you!"
    After: "Mom... Think maybe I can hang out in your room tonight? And the next?"
    After reading your post though, I feel so much better & I'm quite happy to know I'm not the only one who thinks they can tackle scary movies only to be terrible disappointed. :) Keep writing, your posts mean so much to so many people just by being a guaranteed laugh even on the worst days.

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  190. Yay, I am not alone in feeling awkward after doing something that I know I'm not supposed to do.

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  191. I relate very much to the dancing-like-an-idiot-though-still-believing-I-could-totally-dance-like-a-dancing-unidiot.

    Your posts are usually the highlight of my day. You have a golden tongue...or golden fingers, as it were.

    Yay! :)

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I'm super creepy and totally capable of finding you