CCLXXX: PEN15

Are you a member of the PEN15 Club?

In August 2001, back when I was a volunteer at a children's summer daycamp, I was asked this question in jest at an end-of-summer sleepover with my fellow volunteers. Pretty clever and immature, huh?

I've encountered a couple of phallic-misinterpretations lately--and, funnily enough, men as well, though this is irrelevant--and I wanted to share them with you as I did with Olim over lunch today.

Case #1: Oli (≠Olim) talks about how wonderful a restaurant was because they had a show pianist. Well, walk for a second in my shoes (or rather, hear for a second with my muffled ears), and you would have misheard the last word in that sentence. I was baffled at why she would find that positive, started rethinking all of my preconceptions about her, and calculated the logistics of how a restaurant would involve this kind of centrepiece. All these thoughts fired from my synapses in the space of a few seconds. And then we quickly (and hilariously) cleared things up. "OH! You said pianist!"

Case #2: Olim (≠Oli) mentions that one of her friends lives in Campinas, Brazil. Let's just say that I heard two dirty words in one.

Either the universe is trying to make me laugh this week or I am just sick-minded. Likely both. And FYI, I mean "sick" as in "cool" and "dirty" (ugh I actually rather dislike its use for "cool" but that'll be a rant for another day). If you know me then this is not news to you. If you only know me through this blog, stolen glances, or brief encounters, SURPRISE! This is who I am and I have concealed it from you for 280 days. 281 if you count my introduction. I am just sneaky like that.

By the way, I apologize for having very similar nicknames for two of my dearest friends. I'm not trying to confuse you. I have known Olim since high school and her name is Damelvian in origin and based on a character in Pepper Ann. I have known Oli for two years through work, and hers is a shortened form of "Oliphant"--what the hobbits in Lord of the Rings call an elephant. Oli wasn't given this nickname for any physical reasons (in fact, she is tall and slender; and I am not that mean!); it was because I gave her a small souvenir elephant from my trip to Thailand and learned upon presenting this gift that she loves elephants.

I love the spontaneous and inspired birth of names, don't you?

PS. To conclude my topic of the day, if you have seen (500) Days of Summer--which I highly recommend if you haven't--there is a scene in which they play a specific game. I do not have the balls to do this! (Pun!)