the salt mines

my dad often referred to going to work as 'going to the salt mines'. after my weekend out of town i went back to work in the cubicle maze that is corporate america. waiting for me was 2 tomato plants that a colleague got for me on friday. hope that i do better this time, i had 1 before and it died. it was one of 2 times i did a 'simpsons' episode reference, about when they grew mutant crops of 'tomacco'. the other was when i spoke to my 'work spouse' how i had a lady gaga song stuck in my head, and it prompted me to ask her if her preteen daugter still sings another gaga song, 'love games'. it is one song she doesn't want her to sing due to the innuendo in it about riding on a disco stick. she doesn't know what it means yet. and i thought of when homer was at the zoo and the zookeeper explained to him what the animals were doing, he found out the hard way.
i made a joke how we should have a betting pool as to who becomes today's winner on the simpsons reference, and how early as well. also once wondered aloud if using a stunt double would work at work. if he looked just like me, talked about baseball, history, and the simpsons, would anyone notice the difference? there's a chance that some wouldn't.
i like going to open mic comedy shows, and that is where i went tonight after work, and stopping at a convenience store for food and fuel. had hoped to see the 'sassy' clerk but she wasn't there. she thinks i'm funny, though i'm dour and deadpan things. so i'm funny to her without trying hard. i do like sassy people, if she was a colleague she would be on my 'don't mess with' list.
i have been on stage a few times on open mic night, but even when not picked i like the sense of community there. even if some of them act like people i thought i left behind in school. i just know how to joke around with them better now. one of them said i entered looking the most confident i had ever been, like a pimp. i asked if pimps had denim jackets, i do. guess it was also the haircut and how i carried the denim, draped on one shoulder. i later told the same comic how a large man was looking for him, not realizing how that sounded a little menacing.
i was also holding court with some others a few minutes later and one joined in and wanted to be vulgar on guessing what my story was about. i asked him if he wanted to finish the story since he enjoyed trying to tell it so much.
i was telling a story about traveling this weekend, guessed it was st. louis but of course it was iowa. i do like st. louis though. and i greeted them with my 'cheers' impression of 'evening everybody, norm!' since i seem to be well-known just like the norm character was.
even the bartenders are funny people at times. i kept calling one of them 'barkeep' until he called me 'customer', so i finally decided to call him by his name. he said he got the 'customer' thing from the movie 'half baked', had to watch it so i would understand. had some charm to it, helped that janeane garofalo was in it. i noticed this bartender had that inside joke going with another comic, i must have been the inspiration for it.
i also shared the story of what finally got me on stage, fate had intervened. i realized how life was too short to keep wondering how i might do after going to a benefit event 2 years ago for a coworker who was dying of cancer. i had the winning bid for one item at the silent auction, it was a gift certificate for a comedy club. it reminded me of how i had heard many times over the years how i was funny and should try it. but i lacked the courage, the confidence. and i hadn't done well in speech class in high school and college. but i kept working on it, and was no longer that clueless teenager. one only fails when they don't try. sometimes you have to fail a little before you figure out why, and if you see what lessons can be learned then it will pay off.