you're normal, like every other girl

i don't know how many people who read my new blog (this one), know about my co-worker that i like to refer to as R.  i've posted several of her gem-like conversations elsewhere, but i think this might be the first R story i've told here.

R is not dumb, by any means.  she is just kind of flighty (she was a pom-pom girl in high school, if that gives you any indication of what she's like).  she sometimes says things improperly - she kind of has this problem with pronunciation - and she also says things without thinking, every once in awhile, and then realizes after she says it that it was wrong.  i love her to death, and am always writing down things that she says because they amuse me so much.  (she's lately learned from her own kids that 'tard' is the new insult, so she says it whenever she can.  only, yesterday she forgot the word, and so said 'tred' instead. now we call each other 'treds'.  no one really knows what it means.)  here is a recent conversation between the two of us:

me: what's the proper term for mental retardation?
R: [bright look] 'physically challenged!'
me: ...
me: 'mentally challenged'?
R: oh!  yeah, 'mentally challenged'
 
=hee hee ha ha ho ho=

me: haha, 'physical retardation' ...i mean, 'physically retar--' ...i mean, 'menta--??'
me: oy
R: you can't even repeat it back to me properly!

so, a couple of days ago, there were four of us in the office: 3 CSRs, and one very innocent, sheltered high school girl that i've known since she was a baby.  i helped her get the job.  anyway, it was a quiet afternoon, and R was talking about something someone had taught her about creationism.  she was talking about the different layers of soil, or something, and all the -- well, she meant to say 'organisms', but ...you guessed it: she said 'orgasms'.  plain and clear as day.  and it was as innocent as could be.   of course, i started snickering - it amazes me the way these things slip off her tongue.  so, then she started giggling, and then we three were just laughing and couldn't stop.  it wasn't because she said a risque word, but that she said it instead of the intended normal, everyday word - and in front of a really naive school girl.  well, the high school girl wasn't giggling, and i knew she wouldn't.  eventually, she said, 'why are you laughing?'  we hesitated and vaguely explained that R had said a wrong word, blah blah blah.  so she asked us what word.  i couldn't tell her.  i mean, i know she's sheltered, and i will discreetly and lovingly explain many things to her because i care about her and believe that no one should be as sheltered as she and her sisters are.  but i very firmly decided that i would not be the one to tell her the word 'orgasm' and then proceed to explain it.  that was definitely not my job, and would get me way too deep into a task i didn't want to even touch with a 10-foot pole.

i don't know that it's wrong for a 15-year-old girl to know the word 'orgasm'.  i certainly wouldn't say that they should know and understand the word.  but i do think it's something that loving parents should explain, if at all possible.  especially if they care about the quality of her education in that department.  i wish parents didn't see strict sheltering of their children as something that is healthy to do, let alone the most proper of options.  they're only causing their children greater problems in the future.

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this song has been haunting me, lately, so i thought i'd finally dig in and look for it.  took me awhile, but here it is.  i love this song anyway, but the a capella spanish is almost more than my delighted mind can bear.  this is a clip from mulholland drive, so if you haven't seen the movie, the other things that happen during the song will make no sense to you.  well.  actually, even if you have seen the movie, the other things that happen during the song will still not make sense.  i couldn't make heads or tails of this movie, no matter how hard i tried.  it made my head hurt.  but this particular performance is gorgeous.  enjoy.