Have a nice trip, see you next fall -Karen

I was getting on the bus. (It seems many of my awkward moments happen on those wonderful vehicles of public transport...) I missed the last step and tripped, my body propelled forward. I came face to face with the bus driver - our faces were uncomfortably close. I laughed a little and held out my student ID. He smiled and said, "hi." That was awkward. (Also, turning and knowing everyone on the bus just witnessed my blunder didn't ease the awkwardness. I found a seat and tried to hide.)

Some Awkward Lip - Karen

Today on the bus on my way home from school, a girl with very swollen, infected lips sat next to me. I noticed her lips, but didn't make it obvious that I noticed. A few minutes into the silent bus ride, she looked at me and said, "I'm allergic to my chapstick." "Oh," I replied. "What kind of chapstick do you use?" "Carmex." "Bummer." It was quiet again until I got off the bus at the SLO Senior Center and walked home.

An Awkward Upturn - Autumn Carlisle

Oh man, it was worse than getting my teeth pulled. This professional photographer named Weber (about 30 years old) was helping me take pictures of the clothes I made, in between his comments like "yeah, uh, this camera is worth 35 bizillion dollars" he made me wear the stuff I made (not part of the plan mind you) and it was so awkward! To make that worse, I was sitting in a hammock with this long wool skirt I had made (he was just trying to take a picture of the skirt, not me really) and I totally flipped over the hammock so I'm laying there on my back, in shock with my legs crossed, in the air, (where he is) holding my skirt up, and figuring out how the heck to get up. That was awkward.

An Awkward Chase - Karen DeRoss

A guy left his credit card laying on the counter. The lady next in line was paying when I noticed it. I gave a subtle gasp and said, "Oh no. That guy left his credit card." She was alarmed as she exclaimed, "Well, which way did he go?!" "I, I'm not sure" I stammered. "Well come on!" she said, walking at a brisk pace out the door. "Now, which way did he go?" "I think that way" I said, my voice rising at the end of the sentence as if in a question. The woman lost no time in recruiting the help of others. "Did anyone see which way a man who walked out of here a minute ago went?" One lady at a picnic table informed us she thought she saw a young man get into a red car across the parking lot. "There he is!" my helpful customer said, "you better catch him." Not knowing what else to do, I ran across the parking lot as the guy was backing away. He was startled when he turned his head and saw me, smiling, his credit card in hand. "You forgot your credit card" I said, handing it to him through the window. "Wow. THANK YOU for chasing me down!" he said. When I walked back across the parking lot I realized I had the attention of everyone sitting outside Froggie's. "Good job honey" my friendly customer said. "Thanks for your help," I said.

An Awkward Tip - Karen DeRoss

Today at work a woman and her daughter bought frozen yogurt. The friendliness between us was mutual, but they left no tip. A few minutes after they left, the daughter (who was probably around 15) ran back in and dropped a handful of change into our tip jar. *CLANG!* She ran out the door as I uttered a surprised thank you. A few minutes later the mom stuck her head in the door and simply said, "that was kind of awkward."