Random Tuesday: Unwritten Rules

Hey everyone. Tonight I went to a concert by a brass quintet (& percussionist) from the US Air Force, which was a blast. I did have a experience right at the beginning that gave me an idea for tonight's Random Tuesday post. I won't say it just yet, but if it pops up, I'll be sure to point it out... now for some auto-completing!

What is an "unwritten rule of..."?

Airports: I think I've mentioned this in a blog before, but there are two scenarios when you're in an airport: you have adequate time before your flight or you have five seconds to cross three concourses, run up four escalators, and meander around two McDonalds, six overpriced candy kiosks, and a fountain. Anyway, the rule is to realize that you will encounter people in both scenarios while traveling and to be patient with those in the opposite scenario as you.

Baseball, Basketball, and other Sportsball: If someone is a fan of a sports team from their hometown/state/region, don't question why they are a fan. It's probably a big part of who they are.

College: Ooh, ooh! I mean, I did do something like this a couple weeks ago, but I'll try to think of something new. Ooh, check your school email at least once a day.

Dating: Use your words because the other person probably isn't a mind reader.

Engineering: Thinking about the experiences of many of my college friends, come up with a 15-second explanation for what you do that is understandable to someone who has no experience in your field.

Friendship: Every friendship is unique and will grow and change, which can be scary. However, trying to hold on to "the way things were" can be bad for both people involved.

"The Game": If you have an inside joke about "the game" with friends that you don't want to share with others, try to avoid bringing it up all the time around other people because it can become really annoying from an outside perspective.

High School: I'm clearly a few years removed from high school at this point, but the advice I would give my high school self would be to do what makes me happy and not spend as much time thinking about what others think of me. Oh, and don't be afraid to push yourself academically with AP & IB classes.

Instagram: Uhhh... this was the only thing that popped up that started with an i... So... I'm going to call a lifeline. *consults Michelle* Apparently, you shouldn't be the person who uses 2000 hashtags on each photo.

(After that work of using the lifeline, I can't find any auto-completions that start with J or K. Sad day...)

Life: Wow, that's a big topic to cover. I mean, I think the best unwritten rule is to remember that other people are just that - people. They have hopes, dreams, faults, and bad days just like you. So give people some credit before automatically thinking "that's person is just a jerk all the time".

Management: I have limited experience in this field, but give the people who manage/supervise space to breathe and adapt their job/responsibilities to fit their style and personality.

New York City: My only experience in NYC is in the airport, so I'm going to route this question to a YouTube video.

Online Dating: Make sure you know the time zone the other person is in and remember that time difference whenever you plan time to talk, have virtual dates, etc.

Professionalism: Proper spelling and grammar will take you a long way in professional emails. Well, maybe it's better to say that instances of spelling errors or grammar mistakes will make your correspondence stand out in a bad way.

(Nothing for Q either, but that's not all that surprising.)

Racism: Ummm... recognize the privilege you possess and just don't try to do/say things that are racist.

Society: Once again, I can only speak from my own experience, but adapt to your surroundings in terms of social cues. Some examples that come to mind are speaking volume and amount of personal space.

Texting: Avoid messages that just barely become two texts with the second text consisting of a word or two.

(Add U and V to the list of no auto-complete options. I would say "University", but I did already answer for "College".)

the Workplace: Again, only my own experience, but if you're part of a work team, include everyone on the team to invitations for lunch and fun events, especially if those things happen during work hours.

(It looks like that's the last one because X, Y, and Z were not conducive to auto-complete.)


Well, I think that turned out alright. Oh, and the experience I mentioned at the beginning of the blog is that if you want to enter a theater after a show/concert has started, wait until there's applause before opening the door from the lobby.

You might notice this from the timestamp, but I'm deliberately writing this earlier than normal so I can get to bed at a proper time. So, hooray for that! Tomorrow will be Veterans Day of course, but it will also be Origami Day, Red Lipstick, and it's also a palindrome day.

DFTBA