I feel like thank yous are a very personal thing. For me a lot more goes into a thank you than just the exchange of words. When I say thank you I take on a “thank you” demeanor. Not by choice so much as by what the phrase “thank you” implies. When I say thank you I automatically begin to feel grateful and appreciative because most of the memorable instances in which I’ve used the phrase before involved those feelings. What I’m trying to say is I think there needs to be another phrase that means either a lot more than your typical thank you, or a lot less, depending on how you define your typical thank you. For example, when a stranger holds a door open for you, societal norm dictates that you say “thank you.” I’m not saying that you shouldn’t be grateful and appreciative of this Good Samaritan. I’m sure there were things he would rather have been doing at the time but he chose to hold the door for you. Express your gratitude by saying thank you. But then your common sense of decency tells you to say the same thing when your mom leaves work early and drives through a wicked thunderstorm to come to your chorus concert that’s an hour away. The situations involve vastly different levels of gratitude and appreciation. Shouldn’t there be an inferior phrase for the former or a superior phrase for the latter? One of my really good friends Jessie (who I’m going to visit on the 8^th actually wooo!) has this strange habit of adopting a loud Irish accent every time she thanks a stranger for holding open the door. I thought at first she was just doing it to be funny but she has done it so many times, and in situations that would make even the brashest person uncomfortable, that I’m convinced she honestly can’t help it. It’s eerily Tourettes like. I’m not sure, but it may even be accompanied by a twitch.

Also, every time megavideo cuts to the screen that says “You have watched 72 minutes of video today. Please wait 54 minutes or click here to enjoy unlimited use of megavideo.” a little part of me dies.