Bubble Moments

There are times - particularly at work - when I'll be in a group of people and I'll start looking up off into space after someone says something that, in my mind at least, provokes a thought. Well, more like a scene. The space into which I'm looking contains a "thought bubble" similar to what you see in comics where a separate thought or scene is played out, although in my mind they tend to be a little bit more graphic, more detailed. My old peer group at work had seen the thought bubble in action many times, frequently verbalizing a desire to know what was going on inside it. I told them that, despite their desires, no, they really didn't want to know what was going on. Moreover, I don't want them to know, either. The reason it's in a bubble and not verbalized is because, generally speaking, whatever is in that bubble can get me fired.

Now this isn't to be confused with a jaw-dropped, gaping-mouthed stare at an attractive lady. No, the thoughts in the thought bubble are of an entirely different quality. If you've ever seen Ally McBeal, she frequently would have or see thought-bubble thoughts. Also, in the movie The Upside of Anger, there is what I could consider to be quite possibly the most perfect thought bubble moment ever. Ever. A man's head blows up (but you really need to see the movie and the context to truly appreciate what makes it so great).

The thoughts are necessarily deadly, or even violent, either. They're just...expressive. Or maybe simply too different and off-the-wall for what I expect my present company to understand at the moment. Frequently I'll hear something and my brain will find it funny for some reason, full realizing that others around me just wouldn't find it funny at all. Not necessarily inappropriate whatsoever...just not funny...so to verbalize such a thought would do nothing but waste time and air and unnecessarily ostracize myself just a touch.

So if you see me looking up off into nothingness, just let it be. If you wanna see what's going on in there, just watch a few episodes of SNL, read a comic book, or blow up someone's head. Chances are one of those three will contain the right answer or at least something similar.