I have a weird sense of humor. I live with me 100% of the time so I know. And – there are times where I crack myself up and others where jokes just fall flat – I don’t mean to an audience, I mean me telling myself something funny and me disagreeing. Welcome to living with me 100% of the time. (Pity Loren because I am not leaving the house like normal – poor guy). Anyways…

Here is how my sense of humor is getting me through COVID-19.

Step one – An article was posted, March 10th, on Facebook by a friend that owns a speaker agency, “Have You Checked in on Your Meeting Planner Friends Lately?” and in the comments was something offhanded about drinking wine and eating their feelings in Oreo’s.

To be supportive and fun, I ordered multiple kinds of Oreo’s to be delivered to her work the next day. Who knew there were so many flavors? This is going to be hysterical! Crap, they just moved. I text to get the new mailing address – ha ha – hysterical!

I get an email a few hours later, that there is a slight delay in delivery and that they should arrive by the following Wednesday. Um… will my joke still work then? Almost two weeks later, I send a text to my friend and sheepishly ask if the Oreo’s had arrived. She had no idea what I was talking about. I explain my joke.

Now for the record, any joke that needs to be explained instantly isn’t funny. I have to say this a lot when doing humor coaching – humorists are very serious people and us talking about jokes is totally not funny. Hanging out with us and never knowing what we are going to do or say is funny (sometimes), but explaining the chain reaction that occurs in my brain to someone else is never ever funny.

At least, in this case, it would end in Oreo’s…. At some point.

I get an email from Amazon a few days later apologizing for the delivery delay with a partial refund for every package of Oreo’s – itemized. Wanna know what else isn’t effective after having to explain, itemized impulse shopping to make a joke that doesn’t work. Remember I purchased every flavor and combination – this is a long email. Impulse buying, partial refunds, and scrolling ruins a joke as much as an explanation.

It is also important to mention that in these two weeks, I am now much more aware of what is going on with the virus, shelter in place, and the events industry. Not really a joking matter now.

Finally – the Oreo’s have arrived. Luckily, my sense of humor is still intact. I am still craving Oreo’s and evidently, the new Lemon flavored Oreo’s won an unofficial taste test.

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