Skip to main content

wotd: popinjay

popinjay \POP-in-jay\, noun:
1. A vain and talkative person.
When I started teaching preschool I discovered a talent for reading aloud to children and a predilection toward performance, leading to a subsequent discovery of delight in reading aloud in church as Lector. I can only express my gratitude to God for these talents, for I believe they were given me by Him. At the same time, I'm graced with paranoid humility. Whenever I'm complimented on my reading, I smile and quietly say "thank you" lest I be perceived a popinjay. In conversation in general I keep my remarks brief and innocuous, unless I'm with people I know and trust. It seems incongruous to me that I'm unafraid to address an entire congregation but terrified to express an opinion.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

doesn't take much

This afternoon I went to Starbucks. I don't go often because they're spendy and they've monopolized the coffee business and most of the time I just want black coffee. Part of our Thanksgiving tradition, though, is going to Mom's Target and Starbucks on Black Friday. This year we made it to Target but not to Starbucks, nor did we make it to Starbucks on Saturday, as we said we would on the way to the Deer Valley Goodwill. I have a gift card smoldering in my pocket so today, after buying spray paint and water marbles at JoAnn, I pulled up to the drive-thru at Starbucks. Usually I get some kind of blended iced vanilla chai thing. At the orderboard I was distracted by all the holiday drinks and opted for a white chocolate peppermint mocha, grande. One thing I will say for Starbucks: the employees are always uber-friendly. After ordering from the chirpy counterperson I pulled forward slightly, plugged in my ipod, and started a game of solitaire while listening to the White S...
3 comments
Read more

memory

10 comments
Read more

thrifting: getting good again

The Sunday before Halloween I scored this vintage Fisher Price Barn at Saver's for $2.99. When I was a kid I had this barn, and played with it all the time. At that age I was convinced my dad could fix anything, and I can't remember if it was the Fisher Price Barn or the Weebles Cottage that he fixed up for me, numerous times, beyond any reasonable expectation. Jack's interpretation of how the barn should look on the inside. Retro sticker, clue to the life of the previous owner. I should also mention that I recently found another similar Fisher Price vintage barn at Goodwill, but they had it priced at $19.99! At Goodwill! Crazy. That same thrifting day at Saver's I bought this repro Kewpie for $7.99, which is, for me, quite a lot to dish out for one item. Again, I had a similar one when I was younger, but mine wore yellow/peach flowered coveralls. I remember once learning that Kewpie is a boy, and trying to reconcile that with my own conception of Kewpie as a girl. Clea...
1 comment
Read more