Here's the Edge...and Here's Me...Really?

So...today I happen to send an email mentioning that I bumped into Hayley's new boyfriend coming out of the bathroom in a cute pair of jockeys...striped...with the string cut on the side. Cute. Sexy. Chic. And then I might have said something about Hayley may want to get a matching thong. Just a suggestion. I watched the Oscar's last night...and a good portion of the Project Runway Marathon on Saturday...I'm a little fashion sensitive right now. So then I get an email from Peter...to the group...perhaps suggesting that I once again jumped way over the edge of what general society may find appropriate. I don't know how he could imagine I would ever do something like that! I'm a lady.

To be honest...that's not the first time someone has remarked that I might sometimes push up against the boundaries of propriety. Heck...it's not the first time this weekend. I don't mean to make statements that could possibly be used as anti-pornography evidence at a Supreme Court hearing...I just happen to 1) have a sick and twisted sense of enjoyment at daring to say what others only think (to a point even I have limits...I ain't Howard Stern), and 2) for the most part I spend my life in a world where language has to be so couched in caveats and airbags that when I'm interacting on a personal level I tend to shut down most of my filters for fear that they may get all used up, and I'm so broke right now that there's no way I could afford to replace them.

I grew up...at least from the ages of 12-17 near or next door to many of my pre-college friends. We hung out in vaguely the same circles (Nerd Herd North High versus Nerd Herd Henry High forming to create the Mighty Nerd Herd Northside). But somehow...I missed or slept through or ate the socialization lessons that defined what is acceptable to talk about in public and what you should probably keep to yourself...if not for your own sake...for the sake of your friends and anyone that shares your last name. Some of that comes from my Mother...who swore like a sailor on shore leave in the middle of a brothel having a two for one sale. And I'm sure some of it is my genetic West Virginian coming out (probably why Cathy is runner up in the Miss Inapporpriate Humor Pageant...both of her parents are from WV). And then there is the fact that for the most part...I just like to make people laugh. If I can end my day knowing that I have made the people I love chuckle in their St. Paul multi-million dollar corporate offices...then I can sit in my little patch of the desert and feel like I done some good.

I know that sometimes I can take the joke too far. And I genuinely feel bad when my "read the crowd sensors" aren't working correctly and my "stop before its too late" brakes fail to initiate. I've had to apologize profusely and mark certain joke areas as forbidden because I've not realized that I've been shoving my foot down my throat while attempting to speak at the same time. But in the end, I think that pushing the boundaries of what is generally defined as acceptable to talk about/think about....is good for everyone involved...and I'll tell you a secret...sometimes I make myself uncomfortable....and that my friends is pretty dang impressive. Here's to toe jam and Appalachia!