Once embarrassing, now funny

There's this game/quiz I like to play with people to get to know them better. The quiz was designed to make anybody fall in love with you. That's kind of ridiculous, but I like the quiz because it does help you to become more vulnerable with someone and it's hard not to like a person who's willing to divulge something personal. I've done this quiz with family members, co-workers, friends, and on first dates.

For those of you who would like to participate in this quiz yourself, based on a NY Times article from about 10 years ago, here's the link: http://36questionsinlove.com/

It's set up as 12 questions in three parts, with each part getting slightly more personal. None of it is sexual or overly personal, don't worry. I played this recently with an old friend I'd become reacquainted with after a hiatus of around six years. One of the questions asks, "What is the most embarrassing thing that's ever happened to you?"

If you're as awkward as me, then you would have gazillions of choices of horrifying events to choose from. Today, an old memory surfaced of a super embarrassing thing from my teenage years, that luckily now made me smile instead of cringe. At the time, however, I wanted to curl up and die.

I went to exactly two high school dances, and the first one was during my sophomore year. My best friend at the time decided we should double date. She went to all the dances, but I was an introverted bookworm and couldn't have cared less about social events. A senior I had a crush on asked me to go, so of course it felt safer to double up with my friend and her boyfriend.

My parents didn't believe in spending good money on a fancy dress for a one-time event, so my friend lent me her dress from the previous year. We were both very skinny, weighing no more than 90 pounds each, and so were quite flat-chested. She raided her mom's dresser and managed to find us both a set of bra inserts that allowed us to suddenly look like we had boobs.

My date showed up with a large corsage the size of my head, and he carefully pinned it onto my dress. We met up with my friend and her boyfriend, then off we went. This was in the mid-seventies, so it wasn't the extreme thing that dances are now with rented limousines, etc. We probably crammed into one of the boys' junky cars and went out for pizza. I don't remember now.

The dance was fun. I got over my shyness and was out in the middle of the gymnasium floor, dancing with abandon with my friend and our dates. At some point, I looked down and saw a crumpled-up bra insert, dirty from me trampling on it. At first I was confused, but a quick glance at my chest displayed the horrifying truth - I was completely lopsided and it was NOTICEABLE. The head-sized corsage had been inadvertently pinned to my bra, and the weight of it lifted the bra from my body so that the insert was easily able to slide out, down the inside of my floor-length dress, to the middle of the gym floor.

I froze. I glanced in the direction of the girl's bathroom and it was miles away. Miles. I couldn't bend over and pick up the insert off the floor because that would have drawn attention to my plight. I think my soul actually left my body from pure panic. I grabbed my best friend's arm, pulling her with me across the desert of gym floor to the bathroom, while sliding that damn bra insert with my foot all the way there.

It was duly stuffed back in where it belonged, but I had no idea if anyone saw, and I really just wanted to go home where I could die a private and quick death. The rest of the evening was a blur, because my deep shame dominated my thoughts the rest of the evening. After that night, my date ditched me and started taking out my best friend.

This might not seem so awful to many of you, but when you're a teenager this sort of thing is mortifying. Of course now I find it pretty funny. In my first year of college, I'd written up this account for a paper in English class, and the teacher read it aloud (not using my name, thank God), and half the class looked at me afterwards and asked, "Was this you?" I was quiet even in college, so the fact that anyone would have guessed it was my story was mortifying all over again.

Anyway, to circle back, give that 36 Questions quiz a try with someone you want to feel closer to. And if you want to send me an email with an embarrassing story of your own, I will read it and respond and I give you my word I won't ever tell your story to another soul.