Wednesday, April 27, 2011

whatnot wednesday.

EveryDaytheWonderfulHappens




*i hope you had a lovely easter weekend. we sure did! and it was made even lovelier by post-easter candy sales on monday. i was crushed to discover that BOTH targets i went to were swept clean of my precious mini eggs. but, i discovered these little guys that are an acceptable (but still not as awesome as the original) stand in:
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i bought four bags. i probably should have bought more, but i still haven't given up hope on finding mini eggs on sale! and i think i've uncovered what it is that makes the mini eggs superior (because i can clearly claim expertise in this area since i have consumed multiple bags of both). it's totally the candy coating. and not just the ratio of coating to chocolate, but also the coating itself. it's a little thicker on the mini eggs and it stays on better, so you don't have those little coating flakes at the bottom of the bag or eggs with only half their coating. and i feel like the fact that the mini eggs have a matte coating (versus a shiny coating), makes them tastier. and it makes me feel like it's *slightly* less chemical-y, since one would think it takes more chemicals to make something shiny, versus matte. no?
probably not.
i can't believe i've written this much about chocolate eggs.
i need help.

*so, vanity plates are huge in our area. i'd say as many as a third of the license plates are vanity plates. some of them are funny (the best i saw was on a REALLY ugly car and the plate read: OK LAFF). some of them are clever. and some of them are fun to try and figure out when you're stuck in traffic. but others are just plain lame. last week, we saw a license plate that said SAM PARK. and i'm thinking it's probably the dude's name (and he's probably korean). hmmm...do you really want your name on your license plate? doesn't that make it super easy for people to track you down and remember you? for example, if you were fleeing the scene in your getaway car, witnesses could just tell the police, "SAM PARK did it!!!"
not that i'm planning on doing anything bad and then fleeing the scene or anything...;)

*have you seen that new show "happy endings"? it's okay. not hilarious, but fairly entertaining. in the preview commercials, it was described as being "like 'friends,' but not as white!" huh? not exactly sure what that meant, but it cracked me up. that comment was probably funnier than the actual show. ;)
anyway, i was watching it, and i as obsessively often do, i looked up the cast on imdb.com (i heart that site -- anyone else?). and i was so sad to discover that half of the cast is younger than i am. for some reason, the fact that they have sitcoms about people my age and younger, makes me feel old. i used to watch sitcoms and think "haha, that's funny! someday, i'll be able to relate to that!" and now i watch and think, "oh yeah. i remember when i could relate to that."

*know what else makes me feel old? faceb00k profile pictures. every once in a while, an old classmate's status or activity will pop up in my news feed and i'll click on their profile, look at their picture, and then gasp and think, "good gracious! when did they get so OLD?!" and then i remember, oh, wait. i've aged, too.

*one of my favorite singer/songwriters is ingrid michaelson. she's fun and cheeky and quirky and she writes great music and lyrics. i just love her. apparently, so do advertising execs. because recently, two commercials have ruined two of my favorite ingrid songs. the hair*cuttery used "maybe" in one of their commercials -- and i have NO idea why. that commerical makes ZERO sense. plus, do you really want to pair an advertisement for your business with lyrics that say, "maybe, in the future you're gonna come back..."? shouldn't you be a little more confident in your product and say that people will *definitely* want to come back?? i don't understand. anyway, after that, i can't listen to that song and not think of that blonde chick standing in the street with a pouty look on her face, showing off her hair.
and now, e*harm0ny has gone and used "everybody" in their commercials. and admittedly, the lyrics to that song are quite appropriate for e*harmony's product, but still! i don't want to think of dr. neil when i'm singing along to one of my favorite songs!
if someone uses "the chain" or "lady in spain" in one of their commercials, i'm going to be so sad.

*i'll end with a confession:
up until three years ago, i had no idea that asians had different earwax than (most) other ethnic groups. and the way i discovered this is rather amusing. i was in the middle of a reading lesson with a (non-asian) student and noticed a dark brown, sticky substance in her ear. i thought it was dried blood. i thought she was BLEEDING FROM THE EAR. so, i stopped our lesson, and took her down to the school clinic and told the nurse, "i think the inside of her ear is bleeding." she took a look and then laughed and said, "oh, that's just earwax! it's different from your earwax, but that's what it looks like."
oh.
i was embarrassed. and then grossed out. and then quite curious. and i also finally understood why it's called earWAX. ha!
and it also made me realize why, growing up, my non-asian friends looked at me as if i had two heads when i mentioned my mom cleaning my ears with an ear pick.
you know, these:

{source}

i know, they look like tiny torture devices, but don't knock 'em til' you try 'em. 'cause it feels awesome.

oh, and in case you're worried about the safety of using an ear pick, don't worry. because these newfangled ones come with a handy dandy LED light.

{source}

off to go pick my ears now.
kidding!
maybe. ;)

{edited to add a clarification}: you can read all about earwax here. it's actually quite interesting. and plenty gross, so don't click on over if you have a weak stomach. here's the gist, taken from the page itself: "There are two distinct genetically determined types of earwax: the wet type, which is dominant, and the dry type, which is recessive. East Asians and Native Americans are more likely to have the dry type of cerumen (gray and flaky), whereas Caucasians and Africans are more likely to have the wet type (honey-brown to dark-brown and moist). Cerumen type has been used by anthropologists to track human migratory patterns, such as those of the Inuit." <-- how COOL (and bizarre) is that?!

so, to sum it up, east asians and native americans have dry earwax that is yellowish to grey (more like the consistency of dirt) and caucasians and africans have wet, light to dark brown earwax that is more like the consistency of wax.

and that's probably more than you'll ever need to know about earwax.

if that's not whatnot, i don't know what is.

;)


come and join the whatnot wednesday party and link up with elizabeth!

23 comments:

  1. Wait, you can actually buy ear picks!? Huh. I thought only pediatricians were able to use those things. {blushing} Not that Spencer would let me anywhere near his ears with a "magic wand" as it's been called at above mentioned pediatrician's office...

    And, imdb is my bestest friend too! :-)

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  2. Grace, you are hysterical!!! I love reading these. You had me cracking up at each bullet point, I don't even know where to start commenting. I love how you have analyzed the candy coating in so much detail. I ALWAYS look up actors on imdb and often sigh when I realize I'm so much older than them. I love Ingrid and get so bummed when musicians go commercial. And the differences in ear wax is new to me. I had no idea there were so many instruments to pick your ear!!

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  3. i love that you completely over analyzed the chocolate eggs! but i get you, there *are* differences!!!!

    and the ear wax pick crack me up! i had heard of them, but never seen so many different kinds!

    and what is that imdb that everyone speaks of? i must check it out!

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  4. wait...what do you mean that asians have different ear wax? i don't get it....so confused.

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  5. So what is ear wax like for an Asian? I had no idea mine might be different. Mine's not dark brown though. Too funny about the ear picks.

    LOVE LOVE LOVE cadbury mini eggs too. They rock! I purposely avoided the Monday sales because I soooo don't need any. :-/

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  6. Grace, sometimes I feel like your brain was MADE for Whatnot Wednesdays. You know I mean that as a total compliment, right? I love your random thoughts :) Anyway, I've been watching Happy Endings too and I agree - it's funny-ish but not super funny. Every once in a while there will be something really funny but I think they can do better. I had not seen the promo about being like Friends but less white. That's interesting because I feel like they have Damon Wayans on the show for that very purpose (to make it seem less white) but I always feel like they never give him any lines! Oh, imdb? Don't get me started - I'm constantly looking stuff up on that site! Love it. I also love Ingrid Michaelson. Too bad she's turning into such a sell-out with all the commercials. What up with that? Finally, like the other commenters above - I don't get the earwax thing. Mine's not dark either. So what's different? Those picks are kinda freaking me out, although I am personally obsessed with Q-tips.

    PS - SAM PARK did it!!

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  7. I just learned about these ear picks in the last week and I have to tell you - I'm excited to learn there is something to help clean out my kids' ears! I knew their ears had a ton of wax but didn't think too much about it until an Korean friend told me recently that Asians have a different gene and the ear wax is different. Learn something new each day.

    and vanity plates - they are big here too. and I've had the same thought...

    happy wednesday!

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  8. Hey I have some Ingrid on my blog playlist, I love her music! I'm still learnin' about the earwax too- Still waiting to see what comes out of Mimi's ears cause so far I've not seen a thing, which makes me worried it's all piling up in there.....

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  9. hehe! i LOVE the ear picks! i love gathering all my family together including my husband and cleaning out their ears...i know sounds gross...but so satisfying!

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  10. I just so enjoyed these today. that is all. :)

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  11. As an audiologist I could write an entire blog post of my OWN on ear wax (also known as cerumen). Cerumen looks different for different people...sometimes based on race, but mostly based on body chemistry. And...wax's "make-up" and amount can change over one's lifetime (at certain times more/less is made). I could tell LOTS and lots of horror stories of things-gone-very-VERY-wrong when people put objects in their ears...even when innocently trying to remove their yellow/brown/black/white/sticky/non-sticky ear wax. The old saying stands true: Don't stick anything in your ears smaller than your elbow. (I'm sure it was an ENT MD who first said that.) I could go on and on...but won't.

    LOVE IMDb also...LOVE! We use it all the time (just today, in fact).

    And...after your last post about those doggone candy-coated eggs I went out to buy some...and couldn't find any...and had to settle for something else...and I'm still craving them...even more now after reading your paragraph on them. And know what else...I was at Target today...but didn't look at the candy aisle. Avoided it on purprose. Insane? Yep.

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  12. So they say you learn something every day, and you just taught me ear wax is different cross culturally. Who knew?!?! (Seriously...had NO idea). Those cleaning devices look like medieval torture sticks. Do I have to use one of those on *my* C one day? Have never even heard of that show you mentioned..is that sad? Thanks for making me laugh today!

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  13. i have to thank you for this post, grace. as a gal that has been back on weight watchers for almost 2 months now, i was dying for chocolate after reading all about the yummy candy eggs again. but then you did me the oh so big favor of ending this post with ear wax. i am no longer hungry...and i thank you. ;)

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  14. I'm with Kelly, you were born for Whatnot Wed! Sorry, but I gave up half way through the chocolate egg paragraph (which was actually pretty far), but I loved the rest :)
    Thanks for the ear wax tip and I'll be on the look out for Sam Park.

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  15. I was going to buy the eggs but I was too nervous that I would gain one thousand pounds from eating so many bags of them. I'll buy some for you if I find it.
    but seriously though, you are HILARIOUS. I love these posts SO MUCH!

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  16. Hilarious! I love Whatnot Wednesdays...and chocolate, and Ingrid, and especially picking earwax. Isn't that disgusting. And I noticed the difference between earwax b/c my oldest son is white, and my youngest is Asian, but I didn't realize there was an actual reason why! And I'm just sick enough to be jealous of the doctors when they use their lighted picks to dig in my kids ears...I never knew you could buy them! Score!

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  17. Totally need a ear pick for Alex - he has a real problem... but our doctor said to let it be. I think I need a trip to Korea town. Or Seoul... sigh.

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  18. You are so right about the earwax. Our international adoption doctor tipped us off about it. Need to get on the ear pick wagon, cause Matthew is flaky!

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  19. that was a bit too much about earwax for me. nasty. but very interesting at the same time. who knew. thanks for enlightening me. i can't wait until ear wax becomes the topic of conversation at the next dinner party and i will bust out with all of my new information about it. :)

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  20. This earwax information was fascinating! I copied it and sent it off to my hubs, because I know he'll think it's interesting too. Oh - and half-price Easter candy?! So on that!! Yes, I've stockpiled some of my faves, including Cadbury mini eggs :) Oh and Creme eggs too. I am such a sweet tooth! And I'm also living under a rock, because I had to watch some Ingrid Michaelson videos...but I did recognize some songs ("You and I" for one), so maybe I'm not totally under a rock? I like her sound.

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  21. Wow - no idea about earwax. Probably good to know before I bring my child home and wonder what is in his(her) ear? :)
    Cadbury mini-eggs have been hard to find after Easter - I've looked! But I've bought some half price Easter candy, it's not going to last long though...
    Oh and I check IMDB all the time while watching tv. That is a little disconcerting that we're now the same age or older than many of the main characters. Probably watching Friends now would be strange..
    Have a great weekend!

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  22. I am laughing so hard at this post! Your write-up on the Cadbury mini eggs is awesome. I also agree with their supremacy to other types of candy-coated eggs. Barb and I totally hit up our local shops to find half price Easter candy. I am all about that. I may have to go back tomorrow and see what else is still left. (: Very interesting to note about the earwax. I did not know that at all. Very funny story how you found it out! I can't imagine using an ear pick-- would it work as well for Caucasians?

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  23. No freaking way. I had no idea about the ear wax! I'm kinda terrified to use an ear pick though. And sadly, I didn't get to the store in time to get more Cadbury mini eggs. Only managed to scarf down two giant bags (by myself) before Easter was over. Guess it's a good thing I couldn't find more after all!

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