The last few days have brought an onslaught of extremes. The baby has either been so freaking happy she can barely contain it or homocidally miserable with her teeth. People have been upset with things going on in the American presidential race, so they are making big declarations on their preferred method of social media. This vacillation between extreme ire and utter elation makes me appreciate the things that just leave me with comforting meh.
Meh is easy. It’s inoffensive. It’s what fills most of our days. Is it always time for meh? Absolutely not. Often you have to take a stand and herald aspects of life as either horrible or wonderful. Sometimes you must have a strong opinion and act on it. But being fired up all the time is exhausting. Plus if you’re yelling all the time, no one listens. When you’re watching a movie and someone who has seen the movie before is like OK OK NOW WATCH THIS PART. THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT/EPIC/AWESOME, you are less likely to want to watch it. Does this make that part of the movie less important? No, but it makes you sigh with annoyance that your friend won’t let you watch the movie by yourself and form your own opinions.
Things that we sit on the more positive side of lukewarm fill our days and make them go by easier. They don’t present us a set of challenges to improve ourselves, to write strongly-worded status updates, or to legislate change. They are the things we don’t feel bad about taking for granted.
So today I present to you the first ever blog post that examines the mediocre in life and doesn’t criticize it. Here are some things that I like. Just like. Not like-like or hate.
1. Chilis. I like Chilis. It is not the best restaurant in the world. It’s also not the worst. I like it. It’s OK. Clearly, a lot of other people think it’s OK too because it appears to be doing well. But would I be sad if everyone stopped liking it and it went out of business? Nope. There are a million other restaurants just like it.
2. Going to the gym. I never want to go to the gym. I wish I did, but sorry, I’m not programmed to be an exerciser. But when I do go, I don’t hate it that much. I’m always pleasantly surprised by how not terrible it is. I daresay I like it. Amazing.
3. The Counting Crows. A lot of people like the Counting Crows, I bet. They are fairly innocuous. You can hear “Mr. Jones” in the waiting room of a doctor’s office or at a party and both times, it’s pleasant. But do I need the Counting Crows to make a new album? No, thanks, I’m good. I like them, not love or hate them, and that’s just fine with me. They are my male friends who I will never complicate my relationship with by dating.
Pretty good
4. Doing the laundry. Believe it or not, I like doing the laundry. It’s not that hard, and it accomplishes a lot. After the laundry is done, I can wear my favorite shirt again. If someone volunteered to do my laundry for me, I would take them up on it. However, that will probably never happen, and I’m OK with it because it’s not the worst chore in the world. It’s not washing the dishes or cleaning the toilets. So I like it.
LOL “salad”
5. Salads. Salads, when prepared correctly, are likable. And that’s about it. I get slightly annoyed with people who hate on salads like they are the antithesis of food. I also get slightly annoyed when people freak out that salads are the best things in the entire world. This is because salads are supposed to be healthy, so if they taste REALLY good, they likely have fried chicken strips or bacon or a gallon of bleu cheese on them, which negates the healthiness of them. Salads – real salads – are good, and that’s it. Not awesome. There is no such thing as an awesome salad.
So what do you just like?
The Waiting 
This is just what I needed. I’m with you. I wrote a happy-go-lucky post myself today, Em. Let’s see, what do I like? Cloudy days where it never rains. Walking. Going to the gym (yeah, I don’t love it, but like you, I’m glad when I do go). Food: peanut butter and jelly — don’t love or hate it, but it’s good. Leggings.
How’s that for meh? Have a good day and here’s to a day without extremes. :).
Great post in spite of all the “meh” things.
Those are some good mehs! I am with you on PB&J. Like it and that’s all. I’ve usually got PB in the house, but my husband is the one who usually eats it.
Emily, this was BRILLIANT! You always make me laugh. What a great idea to calm things down – examine the ‘meh’ in life. When I saw Chili’s and then the Counting Crows I LOL’d!!!
LOVE THIS!!!
Thanks! The Counting Crows are very so very meh in a good way.
I totally agree, you really like them when you hear them but are never compelled to buy their CD. haha!
Showering. It’s a chore, my OCD makes it take a long time, but it’s usually pretty enjoyable. Relives some stress.
Agreed. Showering is definitely not so bad.
I feel the same about the Counting Crows. What I feel “meh” about will likely have people calling me a heartless communist. Christmas trees and well actually all Christmas decorations. It is so much work for a short amount of time and then you are stuck storing them for the rest of the year. Plus they put me in sensory overload sometimes especially if the people on our street end up going Grizzwald with the lights. I cannot imagine how much money gets wasted on all of the plasticky crap that collects dust for 11 months of the year.
Ok start throwing things at me now…
I am not going to throw anything at you because I sort of agree. Christmas is likable. It is what it is. What I LOVE are birthdays because as little or as much hoopla can be given as you want. It’s not compulsive, like it is with Christmas.
That’s all right for you – Chilis DID go out of business in the UK years ago (or just gave up, I’m not sure) and I still miss them – partly for their hugely fatty salads…
I guess you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone.
Coolers. They pass the time and they get you from sober to almost sober, but really they’re just glorified kids’ drinks. And Scarybear. When he’s not being apocalyptic, he has pretty good taste in films.
Hahahaha. At first I thought you meant coolers like the kind you take to picnics. But I should have guessed that you meant wine coolers ;D Yeah, Bartles and James are just meh. I agree.
My ‘meh’ at the moment is the TV show ‘White Collar.’ I like it, but I don’t love it. As I was watching it last night I decided, “Eh, don’t really care if I see this show again or not. If it’s on, I’ll watch it; if I forget to record it, I’ll live.” So profound, I know.
I haven’t seen that one. I have so little time to watch TV these days that I only watch shows that I know I love.
That’s me, too, but the choices are slim in the summer. I like an hour of TV as downtime before bed. Otherwise I’ll never get to sleep. :)
Game of Thrones so far has been “meh.” The books, not the series. Haven’t seen that. Also “Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood.” I’ve seen it once this week, and if I have to see it again, it may slide over to the “hate” category. Kids’ TV is a tough category in which to please me. There will never be another Pee Wee’s Playhouse.
Holy crap! I so agree with you on Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood. It was on when I was doing laundry and I still have the “Everyone is big enough, big enough to do some-thing” refrain stuck in my head. Mind numbing. Why can’t they just continue airing Mr. Rogers?
Good question. The song that makes me want to stick forks in my eyes is “When we do..something new…let’s talk about what we’ll do.” Because that’s a clever rhyme right there.
I’m Meh about Village Inn – don’t love don’t hate it – it’s innocuous. I feel that way about Easter too. I definitely felt that way about the book “John Adams” – I could have stopped in the middle of a sentence in the middle of the book and been fine. I’m also meh about showers. I don’t particularly like getting wet but since I can’t dry clean myself – I just do it with water.
What’s so funny is that I was thisclose to including Easter on this list! The only reason I didn’t was that the baby was born a week before Easter so now it holds a more special meaning to me. But yeah, I totally agree. I like it, but it’s no Halloween.
Damn straight. I was born on Easter Saturday and I’m still meh about Easter….but I’m all about the Birthday Month
Barenaked Ladies is my Counting Crows. I don’t go actively seeking out their songs, but I won’t change it if one comes on.
And to the food items I’d add sandwiches–any kind. I’ve never been like “ohmigod I need a sandwich sososososo bad,” but I defy anyone to turn one down that’s been offered. Except, of course, those stupid communist sandwiches with their 47%. . .
Oh dear, Facebook has gotten into my head and broken me. It seems I’m incapable of “meh.”
Haahahahaa! B has the same opinion of sandwiches. I really, really like them, but he is very underwhelmed by them. I think he’s just scared of deli meat, which is a valid complaint.
Don’t let the Facebook get you down. You need to be on Twitter more often, where it’s virtually impossible to get offended because the website itself gives you ADHD and renders you incapable of focusing on your ire.
I like vacuuming, a decently brewed cup of tea, and The Olive Garden. Like. It is a good solid word, a good solid feeling, it just simply is. There is no fanfare, no ticker tape parades, and certainty no hate mail with exploding envelopes containing unidentifiable white powder – just like.
I dare say that I *really* liked your post. :-)
Yes, yes, and yes. Vacuuming comes in second in my “Things That I Don’t Hate About Doing Housework” list. ;D
That’s funny. We went to Chili’s yesterday and “meh” was my exact emotion! Oh sorry, that exclamation point was a little too much, eh? I’d say healthy oreos are meh. I mean they’re cookies, but they don’t have the oooompf that oreos have.
Healthy Oreos? I need to look into this. I think I could really like those.
Maybe healthy is being generous. They’re from Back to Nature. They have no HFCS. They aren’t half bad.
As long as the kill me slower than regular Oreos, I’ll give them a whirl.
Great list. My family goes out to Chilis once a week, although we haven’t gone there in 2 months. We like it because it’s quiet and inexpensive. The food’s not bad either.
I’d probably replacing Counting Crows with another band like Live. I really don’t mind them but I always turn them down when stopped at a red light.
Counting Crows guy was at a party my friend’s friend was DJ’ing at a few years ago. Counting Crows guy goes up to the DJ and says “Hey can you do me a favor and not play any Counting Crows songs?” DJ says “Don’t worry sir, nobody has since 1998.” Epic if this was true.
I am just going to pretend that it IS true, if you don’t mind.
Eating. Yup. I’m weird. I like it, but I don’t love it. I’m not likely to freak out about food, unless it be cheesecake or chocolate. In that case, hand it over!! :)
Oh and sometimes carrots or grapes. I have a very balanced diet :p
I go through phases where I’m over food. Like, nothing really tastes good so there’s nothing to get excited about. I’m kinda in one now.
Hahaha! This was so good, I read it twice. Definitely not meh.
I’d say Taco Bell is pretty meh. Also, The Boppy and most daytime television.
Daytime television is supposed to be meh, I think. It’s like a laxative to get people through the day. I don’t see Nate Berkus offending anyone.
I am the exact same way with Chillis and the gym. Most importantly, Chillis has really good drinks. And once I’ve had a good drink, everything starts looking better. In fact, I think that might be what my gym is missing.
Counting Crows. Wow, does that take me right back to the mid-nineties… I’m pretty sure they owe me money for all the therapy I needed after listening to Round Here 94,257 times.
Hahaha! I had forgotten about the drinks at Chilis. Because of those, I’d say Chilis is on the high end of like.
I see that perhaps one of my problems is that I don’t feel “meh” about enough things. I tend to love ’em or strongly dislike ’em–and you’re right–it’ exhausting. But Easter, I’ve got to say, is a shoo-in for the meh list that I will try to cultivate from now on. Maybe I’ll add lingerie, too.
Lingerie. Yes. Definitely meh. I’m glad I also feel meh about that because that stuff is expensive.
As much as I love freshly laundered sheets, I only like making my bed, but I hate the thought of having an unmade bed so making it is always the first thing I do every day when I get up. If there’s a Chili’s in NYC, it’s not on my radar, but there are a few fairly popular chains out here that I merely like, Shake Shack and 5 Guys Burgers. They’re both okay, but if they were to both shutter in the next minute, it would not matter to me. I’m feeling pretty blah as I write this comment.
I am the exact same way about unmade beds and laundered sheets. Dirty sheets are pretty much the grossest thing ever and I am mental about them.
Ditto Emily.
Meh is kinda my new thing with life in general. It may have something to do with my recent lack of sleep. Chili’s, Friday’s, and Applebee’s all fall into my I don’t hate them but I don’t love them category. Grapes I’m pretty meh about them and Tom’s. I don’t quite get all the fuss about Tom’s or why I should spend 50 bucks on a pair. But I didn’t say no to the pair I received for my birthday. Presents I love!
I feel pretty strongly for presents too! And a free pair of Toms is nothing to sneeze at, although I wouldn’t buy them myself.
I’m with you on the Chili’s meh. Also, I find macaroni salad to be meh. Salads in general are kind of meh too. I wish going to the gym was just meh for me, but I actively dislike it. I also feel meh about groups like Weezer and Hootie & the Blowfish. And Dave Matthews.
If you look up meh in the dictionary, you actually see a picture of Dave Matthews. My dictionary, at least. I pasted it in there.
I knew I liked you.
I just like a lot of my friends. Is that terrible? Probably, but to hell with it.
Nah, I have a lot of friends that I just like and that’s all. They make up about 85% of my FB friends.
Haha what a good topic! I so agree about Chilis. My family always goes there and it’s fine for the first time but then after the third time, I’m like, ummm why are we always here?
Most classic books are okay to me. I don’t always get what the big deal is. Hmm other stuff? Man this is a hard topic but you really did it justice!
Thanks! I only like a lot of the classics. The first one that comes to mind is Moby Dick. The first time I read Great Expectations, I just liked it (I was 15) but then when I read it again by my own free will as an adult I loved it. Maybe loving things are relative to age.