jamaican me crazy!

it amazes me how ignorant we, as people, are.  it’s not a bad thing, although it could be.  it’s just that all the things we’ve seen and experienced is so narrow.  that’s why i really really admire and respect people who are open-minded, cause it’s just really hard to be for most people (including myself).  again, not saying it’s a bad thing, i mean, imagine how much knowledge is needed to understand people from all walks of life – where they’ve come from, who they are, their culture, their language, etc.  the amount of information itself is staggering.

today i met a new jamaican friend who took me and some other friends to a jamaican restaurant.  it was awesome.  the food was great, and we got to learn some things about jamaican culture.  it was really cool listening to my new friend speak.  mostly because he had a cool jamaican accent, but not only that but it was just really cool having him open up his culture to us.  it was like he was able to share part of his world and integrate it into ours. by the way, the jamaican beef patty is freaking awesome.

as a korean-american, i feel like i am pre-disposed to be exposed to many different cultures.  did you catch that?  to put it in other words, i am naturally exposed to a lot of cultures.  i grew up in a predominantly white neighborhood and school, attended a korean church my whole life, live in the middle of korea/china/mexico town, and live with a thai roommate.  i’d say i’m fairly open-minded about a lot of things, but complete open-mindedness is far from me.

open-mindedness is definitely a gift.  to those who are not phased or judgemental by things they are not familiar with, i tip my hat to you.  although ignorance is bliss most of the time, sometimes it’s just better to know more than you do.  part of the goal behind this site is to combat close-mindedness.  change one’s mind – get it?

slow your role pt. 2

first off, i apologize for changing the name of the site. i just thought it made a little more sense, plus it sounds more philosophical and it’s a play on words if you know me well enough.

so it seems people are interested in conversation “roles”. so here’s part two of slow your role including user feedback roles.

the downer: brings the whole mood of the conversation down the instant he or she opens their mouth. this person just cannot wait to tell you about a tragic world event or the fact that they just “can’t catch a break”. this person just lost their phone or keys for the 15th time while tripping in front of a crowd of people down the stairs into a puddle of mud with the only clothes they own because they lost all their clothes when their house burned down the night before. provides fodder for any of the “comedic” roles.

the one-upper: this person turns everything you just said into dirt because they own, have a friend, or they’ve done something that is better, more expensive, or more well-known than anything you have ever bought, known, or done. they can’t wait until you’re done speaking so that they can “one-up” you. no i’m not talking about the green mushroom in mario brothers that gives you an extra life. but this is the person who after you talk about the new phone you just bought, tells the group that they were considering buying that phone but decided it didn’t have any good features so they went with a better one. and not only that, but they bought it for half the price you bought yours for.

the name/place-dropper: you just ran into who? ursher? are you serious? you just came back from where? the north pole? whoa whoa whoa! this person is kind of like the one-upper. actually, put the name/place-dropper and the one-upper in a conversation together and guarenteed they’ll keep going back and forth the whole conversation. perfect match for the question/information seeker.

the make up my own story in my head person: this person is one of my favorites. this person, when you start telling a story is totally with you and present. somewhere before the end of your story, he or she has completely phased out but in all appearances is paying attention. as soon as you finish the story, this person has somehow replaced the names of all the characters, locations and minor details of the story you just told. so when they try to ask questions about your story, you have no clue what they’re talking about because they’re talking about someone else who did something somewhere else other than what you just said.

the phone answerer: this person will always answer their phone when they’re in a conversation with someone else or with a group of people. this person is usually but not always in a serious relationship and is usually talking to their significant other or else is an extreme workaholic and can’t get away from work. he or she is usually not even seen in the conversation because they aren’t even in the same room. they’re outside talking on the phone. you can always tell the severity of the phone conversation by how long they’re away from the real conversation.

if there are more roles people comment with, i would more than happy to write about those as well.