January 7: Anna!

I was so excited today get a call from one of my favorite people ever: Anna! As you may recall from my first post, Anna was the inspiration for this blog. We finally were able to catch up this evening after a few days of phone tag, and while talking about how "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" is so similar to "Forrest Gump," she reminded me of this anecdote.

I laughed today when I was talking to Anna about the time a bunch of us were watching "Forrest Gump" on the way to a USY convention. In one scene, Lt. Dan is missing several important limbs, and then he disappears from the movie for awhile...and when he shows up a few scenes later, this exchange actually took place with one of the people who was watching the movie:
(Lt. Dan comes on the screen, with a very obvious difference in his appearance)
Nikki: "Look, Lt. Dan got a haircut!"
Anna: "Yeah...and legs!"

January 6: Gotta Love Gawker

You know how there are those web sites that you visit every single day, usually multiple times, and you can't remember life without them? Yeah...I feel that way about Gawker. It's a site for snarky New Yorkers, so I feel wildly out of place when I read it. Same with its sister site, Defamer, which is all things L.A. In any case, both were recommended reading when I started my job. And this exerpt from Gawker's "Gossip Girl" recap (hilariously titled "Incest Is a Game the Whole Family Can Play") was awesome.

I laughed today when I was reading Gawker's "Gossip Girl" recap from last night's episode, and while discussing the ridiculous development that Rufus and Lily have a love child, offered the following dialogue for the phone operator: "South Boston Adoption Agency, how may I further the plotline?"

January 5: The First TV Post

Because I spend most of my day reading about/writing about/watching television (it's for work, I swear) I wanted to avoid including TV things that make me laugh. But I've been watching a lot of "Scrubs" lately in anticipation of tomorrow's premiere (starts tomorrow at 9 and 9:30 on ABC!), and I love that show so much and am SO delighted that it's back on the air...I couldn't help myself :)

I laughed today when on "Scrubs," J.D. called the Janitor stupid, and he replied, aghast,"I've been called a great number of many horrible names in my life. Back stabber. Zebra poacher. Josh."

January 4: Hmmm...

So I realized that, sadly, this will have to be a family-friendly blog. Not that there's anything wrong with that...but that means I can't always tell the funniest story of the day. Such as today. First of all, it's not really my anecdote to tell. Second of all -- it's highly inappropriate. Too bad. It was hilarious!

I guess this moment will have to do.

I laughed today when I went to go pick up my glasses at the mall, and remembered the exchange I had with the salesman over Thanksgiving when he was trying to get me to buy two pairs of glasses.
Salesman: "Come on, I bet you need an extra pair of glasses for your job! What do you do?"
Me: "I'm a journalist."
Salesman: (blankest look ever) "Oh. Um...well, right! Cause you definitely need another pair for when you're...uh...journaling..."
End scene.

January 3: Oh, the cantor

I grew up in the lovely suburb of Beachwood, Ohio, and the whole time I lived there, went to the same synagogue. Even though some of my best friends belonged there, I wasn't a huge fan of the place. Apparently my parents felt the same way, because they quit and joined a new one when my younger sister graduated high school. And even though I wasn't there for this moment, I can imagine it very well.

I laughed today when my mom told me about how at synagogue this morning, when the cantor started chanting crazy fast to speed up the service that was running late, my dad exclaimed, "Yikes - the cantor's gone rogue!"

January 2: Typos!

Typos can be glorious and quite funny...provided I'm not the one making them! Luckily, none of the embarrassing ones I've had have actually made it to print (me/brilliant copy editors catch them)...but that leads me to today's moment.

I laughed today when I was talking with my editor about my three favorite typos I've ever done while writing the Highlights column: "Dirty Sexy Monday" (prompted someone to ask 'What did you do Monday night??'), "Antiques Rockshow" (actually sounds so much cooler than the real thing) and, my personal favorite, "Dead or No Dead" (my editor agreed that could be an actual show).

January 1: The Laurie Tales

2009? Pretty good so far. And by pretty good, I mean I alternated between sleep, brunch with my college roommate Laurie, fielding/making random "HAPPY NEW YEAR!" phone calls, watching "Gilmore Girls" Season 7 on DVD, and getting hopelessly lost when Laurie and her boyfriend John drove me back to pick up my stranded car from last night's party in Crofton, Md.

So, I couldn't actually ask for a better start to the year/more relaxing day off.

I laughed today when Laurie told me about the time she was at a party in high school, and when the cops broke it up, she climbed up a tree to hide, and it took her friends an hour to find her afterward.

Apparently Laurie ran with a tough crowd in high school. Who knew?

I laughed today when Laurie and I were trying to find our way around Crofton, and accidentally drove over a rickety wooden bridge that we're 99.99% sure was pedestrians-only.

Note the laughter came after the shock of the near death experience...

Explanation for this awesome blog

I haven't had a cold in awhile.

Not that I'm complaining. Being sick, especially away from home, is the least fun thing ever. Still, I thought it was a little weird that I've gotten through flu season unscathed (so far).

And then I saw this:

"In a 1985 study, scientists found that laughter increased levels of salivary immunoglobulin, a vital immune system protein, which is the body's first line of defense against respiratory illness."

I always knew laughter was good for the soul, etc., but I didn't know there were actual medical benefits to breaking into hysterics. Oh but there are. Many!

Anyway, that's one of the many reasons I'm starting this blog. Not only is laughter vital for your health (see above!), but it's basically vital for sanity. Especially during terrifying life changes, such as...oh I don't know...the first year of real life post-college.

This blog idea actually came from one of my very best friends in the world, Anna. Back in the day (middle school, I think?), I discovered Anna kept a journal with two entries each day: "I smiled today when..." and "I'm thankful for..." I thought it was a great idea and decided to copy it myself. Except apparently I was pretty self-centered back then, so I dropped the "thankful."

I started January 1, 2001. And lasted about six weeks.

But this is going to be different. First, laughter is even more fun than smiling. Then, everyone has been telling me "start a blog! start a blog!" but it all seemed too complicated until I realized that, exactly eight years later, I could pick up the "I laughed today when" thing, and call it a blog. Then I could document my life, while entertaining myself, and hopefully others, at the same time! So simple...but awesome.

Seriously, I hope other people will chime in with things that made them laugh. And to get the ball rolling, I'll re-write an entry I found in my old journal, dated Jan. 15, 2001. It deals with another one of my very dear friends, Rachel. I believe this was the time she had to stay at my house for two weeks while her family was in Florida during freshman year of high school.

"I smiled today when me and Rachel were listening to the Bloodhound Gang on the radio, and my mom asked, 'Are those lyrics inappropriate?' and Rachel responded, 'Yes, they deal with pre-marital, inter-species sex.'"