Watch Me Entertain Myself!

Sacha Guitry once said, "You can pretend to be serious, but you can't pretend to be witty." Oh yes, I'm the great pretender.
(pilot episode: 20 January 2004)

Friday, November 13, 2009

McDesideratahahaha

I once took an online test on what kind of humor I had, and the result was “banter”, which explains why I like making side comments during podcasts. But what that test didn’t measure is the risqué streak in my sense of humor.

There’s a part of me that likes humor that pushes buttons and boundaries, that mocks propriety and that raises a middle finger at political correctness. C’mon guys, why so serious? Yes, there is an element of meanness with that kind of humor. But hey—sticks and stones may break my bones, and all that crap.

For example.

My former art director was struck by polio as a kid, so now he’s got one shorter and thinner leg, plus an impossible-to-ignore limp. Recently he hooked up with one of his officemates, this semi-fresh graduate who, previous to her current position, was employed for a short time as a customer service representative. (Now she’s finding new, er, positions with the AD.) Ever since she hooked up with him, the other officemates noted a marked increase in her kakikayan level—in her clothes as well as her pattern of speech. Needless to say, they are the talk of the town.

When they (my former officemates) were telling me the stories about this “kikay gurl” they recounted how, one evening, she was so worried because the AD told her, “I’m going to the car now. If you’re not there in 5 minutes, I’m leaving you behind.” (LQ? Not really. She just has a penchant for dilly-dallying, and he’s not the type who’d wait for anyone, especially if the cause of delay is kakikayan.) So she was squealing in a loud voice, “OMG! OMG! I’ve to hurry! I’ve to hurry! He’s gonna leave me na! He’s gonna leave me na!”

I looked at my former officemates and blurted out, “You should have told her, ‘Oh stop whining! Run after him. After all, he can’t get that far that fast, right?’” Pause, then gasps all around. I just love saying the things that people are actually thinking of, but have no balls to say them out loud. Thus, the laughter that followed was a mix of nervous, mock-outrage and unapologetic.

Life is already a big joke to begin with. Humor helps one put things in perspective without being bogged down by ennui.

And if you think my humor’s not funny, check out Philippine politics. Now that’s a bad joke.

4 comments:

Ming Meows said...

hindi ka naman siguro pikon sa mga ganyang jokes noh.

joelmcvie said...

@MING: If you dish 'em, you gotta be able to take 'em. Or ignore 'em.

rudeboy said...

Hear, hear, McVie!

citybuoy said...

it always helps if you don't take things too seriously. it's the secret to young, beautiful skin!