When I was 18, and my two brethren ( http://www.tt3.org ) had also made their (first) passages into manhood (since none of us are jewish) we decided to celebrate with a trip to our local gentlemen’s club. And Roach bought me a lapdance. It was lovely. The stripper, Anna, was absolutely gorgeous. She was very friendly (sort of a requirement) and nice. She took me upstairs to the VIP room and we sat for a few minutes while she waited for the next song to start, so she could dance for a full song. We just sat and talked. She told me she had a degree in music education, and that she had minored in philosophy. We talked philosophy all through the lapdance as she waggled her EXTREMELY lovely breasts in my face. It was a great conversation. When we got back, she told Tipsy and Roach:
“That was, without a doubt, the most intellectually stimulating lapdance I’ve ever given!”
Well this is nothing compared to the last post but it was something really sweet that a guy did for me. He wrote an entire sonnet, in spanish no less, about me nd all the good things about me. He’s the nicest guy, I’ll ask him for a copy later and post it maybe, for the few of you who understand spanish.
I was not happy, life was rough, I was thinking about trying to conform to the world rather than expressing myself, in general I was not happy with my self or my position. A dear friend addressed this with “You are not only the strongest person I know, but you have the purity of charactor that changes society, Kathryn. That makes you a good person, and one that this world dearly needs.”
I hope to live up to that. It keeps me going some days.
Well, I don’t quite think this qualifies as the best compliment I have ever received but I recently received a compliment right here on the board. In the warm-fuzzy thread that Sqrl started, TwistofFate gave me a compliment that just made my day. I won’t link to it, you can read it if you want, but it just struck me as nice. It made my day!
OK, after twenty minutes on stick, I was tapped out and went around the table to take my base. All women players on my side of the table. As I took out the other dealer, I commented, “Now this really is the girls’ side of the table.”
The boxman looked at me and said, “You’re not a girl. You’re a craps dealer.”
When I had my head shaved I used to have people come up to me and tell me that I have a great head or a nice skull. It was very weird at first, but once I got used to it, I thought that was a very cool compliment.
I’ve received a lot of compliments in my life about one thing or another, but one sticks in my mind particularly:
When I was in my early 20’s, I worked night shift. I’d get off work at 7:00 and go over to my grandparents’ house, since they were early risers. Now, you have to understand that I spent much of my childhood years being afraid of my granpa for no identifiable reason. I was probably mostly intimidated by the fact that he didn’t talk much, but when he did, he had a loud voice. As an adult, though, we began to develop a really good, close relationship. One morning, I took some Christmas gifts over to wrap while I visited. I was sitting on the floor, cutting and taping. I cut a piece of paper for a box and I cut it too short. Grandpa was looking and he kind of chuckled at me a little bit. I looked at the paper, looked at the box, turned the box around the other way, and it fit perfectly. Grandpa chuckled again and said “Girl, you’ve got a good eye!” Sniff, sniff. I never forgot that. Damn, I miss my Grandpa.
One time I was in line at at frat party, and I stepped backward without looking, I bumped real hard into something behind me. Without really thinking I spun around to see what it was, to see a guy spinning around to see what he bumbed into. I could tell he was drunk and pissed off, he was about 6-3, 250, and built like a triangle. I was afraid he was going to kick my ass. He suddenly turned back around, so so did I. About 5 minutes later I overheard him say, ‘Don’t mess with that guy, he looks tough’ and his friend agreed.
Sigh, too bad I don’t workout anymore.
Can I tell the coolest compliment I’ve ever GIVEN instead??? And I would die a happy man if I were ever to be in the situation the recipient of this compliment was in. I’ll explain…
The scene: A few years ago. A younger female friend and I were in this old smokey pub in the West [Greewich] Village called the White Horse Tavern talking television. The conversation drifts to MTV and VH1. My friend who, of course, is above such programming – and can’t afford cable anyway – sez she never watches the stuff. I tell my friend that I really don’t watch it either… oh, except for this cool new show I just discovered called “Pop-Up Video.” I go on and on about how witty, clever and imaginative it is. I had just seen it for the first time a day or two before and I was just gushing about how great the concept was.
Well. Then the guy at the next table leans over and sez, “Sorry to bother you, but I overheard your comments. I invented Pop-Up Video. I’m glad you like it so much.” He said his name was Tadd (Lowe, I think) and he gave us each a P-UV temporary tattoo. I later checked the show credits, and sure enough Tadd was right there on top.
Good God, I must have his day. I mean, short of a groupie blow-job, do compliments get better than that?
At a bar, I backed into a girl accidently looking for my pal who was at the other end of the bar. I turned around and smiled and said excuse me. She smiled and walked away toward a group of girls standing next to my pal as he got a beer. 2 minutes later, he came up and said “that girl who bumped into you did it on purpose. She came back to her friends and said ‘god what a ass on that guy…all muscle’”
I bought her and her friends a drink and became really good friends with them. Lovers with a few too.
I’m not sure if any of these count as compliments (though many were meant in that vein). People say the strangest things about me. I’m not sure if it’s because I’m one of those people that doesn’t quite fit any stereotype or not, but the strange comments continue regardless.
“You’re the most romantic idealist I’ve ever met.” and later from the same person: “You’re the onyl person I know who can combine realism with idealism and a hopeleless romantic streak.”
“You’re way too easy to fall in love with.”
“You have the saddest eyes I’ve ever seen.”
“You? You can do anything! Whatever you try you do well. You make the rest of us feel inadequate.” (boy did I feel bad after that)
“You’re too sincere! You ask for something and I want to give it to you. I hate that!”
“You’re a strange person. You see the world for all its greys and accept that but force yourself to live in black and white values.”
I suppose I’ve given these without background and context… Oh well, use your imagination or intuition.
One day, years ago, my shop chief came up to me and asked me to read a bulletin that had come down from Wing Safety. It was about some guy who strapped a JATO bottle to his car and plowed into a mountain. We didn’t find out until later that it was an urban legend. My boss asked me to read it because he knew that with my whacked sense of humor, I was the only guy in the shop who could read it and keep from cracking up.
Despite the fact that it turned out to be fiction, I think it was one of the all-time favorite safety bulletins to come down the pike (those things can be pretty damn dry).
I like to give compliments. I like to make people feel good. But when someone gives me one, it really strikes me as special. Mainly because I don’t expect to get compliments. So I remember pretty much any compliment that people have given me.
Just a little while ago, however, a good friend of mine paid me a compliment that almost made me cry. I was feeling really, really depressed. I won’t go into the details, but it was a lot of things. So I was talking to my friend, and I mentioned that. My friend is a nice guy, but usually pretty loud, and obnoxious; and thus usually very fun to hang out with. Anyway, I told him this, and he said, “Really? Rob you shouldn’t get too down. You’re one of the most understanding, caring people I have ever met.”
It was just so out of left field, I didn’t expect it at all. I was feeling so bad, and expecting my friend to make some sort of crude joke to get me out of my funk, and he said that. Blew me away.
Actually, now that I think about it, there is one really cool compliment that stands out. My best friend, since birth, really, wrote a song in his songwriting class. He really wanted me to hear it, and I did, and it almost made me cry (I’m not usually so sentimental). It was about how glad he was that “you’re my best friend.” A great song, and I’m pretty sure it was about me. Extremely cool.
I’ll also mention that there are several people on the Boards that have paid me very cool compliments, and that I appreciate greatly.
Me-At a B.B. King concert, 8 months pregnant, humongous.
Stranger comes to me and says, You have got the best ass I have ever seen on a pregnant woman. Most women just get big all over; you are amazing. I just thought you should know. Then he just walked away.
This is just the sort of thing a woman appreciates when she is at her most whale-like. The best part was he wasn’t trying to pick me up or anything. The compliment felt more sincere.
Form one of my students (Korean… learning English): “Thank you for teaching, you are a very general man!” Still pondering that one…
Also, from a co-worker (regarding a class of PE majors [notorious for hating their required English classes]): " You’re the perfect teacher for that class, you’re so laid back that nothing ever bothers you!"
Another co-worker (noting the fact that I’m 6 feet 4 inches tall, and weigh 320 pounds, not all of it flab [but a good percentage!]): “If you weren’t so nice, you’d scare the hell outta me!”
But the winner of all, from my girlfriend: “I love you!”
Back in 1975, still some years before women were serving aboard Navy ships, I was an avionics technician in a training squadron. Women in the shop were still a relatively new phenomenon, and there was a lot of resentment because some used the “helpless” mode to get out of certain assignments. Not being one to play such games, I just did my job. So it really gave me a boost when my team chief said “You know, you’re the kind of person I’d like to go to sea with.” And from that day on, I work my ass off to remain worthy of that compliment…