The Following Story is completely UNTRUE and was completely fabricated back in 2000 for my English 100 class. I'm pretty sure you can tell this isn't a true story by just how damn cliche it is! I was instructed to compose a story of an embarassing moment in my life and so here it is!

Embarrassing moments happen all the time. While they seem to be preventable in some cases, that may not always be the truth. In addition, the worst part of an embarrassing moment is suffering the humiliation that comes from being caught in an awkward situation. Laughter and the ability to laugh at your own mistakes is the only way to get passed such a situation.

August 28th, 2000 would be a day that I would never forget even though I would love to be able to forget that day. I drove down to Santa Monica where I would go on my first date with a girl that I was completely infatuated with. During my drive, I felt a rumbling in my stomach due to being extremely nervous. I thought nothing of it and continued to her house. After about an hour drive through traffic, I finally arrived at her house in beautiful Santa Monica. I got out of my old-blue Toyota car and began walking up the steps to her house. As I approached her door, I felt the rumble in my stomach increase and my heart began beating faster than before. I told myself not to be nervous but it no avail. I knocked on the door and waited for five-seconds. The door slowly opened and there she stood; five-feet six-inches tall, dark-brown long hair, sparkling brown eyes, and a gorgeous slim body. I had only wished it were possible to actually date Yuri Nishizawa and finally my wish came true and at that moment I knew it was worth all the wishing and waiting.

The one thing I did not want to do was start off on the wrong foot. She invited me into her cozy Santa Monica house where I was surprised to see her parents sitting on the couch waiting to greet me. “Konbanwa Maiku. Ogenki desuka?” They said to me that equates roughly to “Good evening Mike. Are you well?” I had a decent conversation with her parents and spoke in polite Japanese only. Being nervous while speaking to your date’s parents is bad enough but speaking in a foreign language terrifies me. It became quite obvious as I stumbled in my conversations to find the right words even though none traveled to my brain. “Onaka Suita no?” [Are you hungry?] asked Yuri’s mother. Before I could even answer, she volunteered to cook dinner for the family and I.

If there is one aspect of my body that I dislike, it is the fact that my body cannot tolerate massive amounts of food while being extremely nervous. I had no intention of eating that night due to my nervousness, but at the same time I realized how terrible and disrespectful it would be to turn down Yuri’s mother’s offer. Yuri and I sat down and had a small conversation while waiting for her mother to finish cooking but I was not able to fully listen to Yuri. Instead, I was concentrating on telling my body not to get sick, to eat slowly, and to be able to enjoy the meal. My body, just like my friends, never listens to me.

After thirty minutes of chatting with Yuri her mother announced the dinner was ready. She had prepared a Japanese delicacy: Sashimi, Tonkatsu, Tempera, with a salad and miso soup and rice. I became impressed at how much food was on the table and asked why only Yuri and I were sitting down. Her mother laughed and told me that it was for just Yuri and I. My jaw dropped down to my knees. There is no way my body can handle this much food entering my system, while my heart races, and my stomach bubbles. Nonetheless, the first impression is important to the Japanese. I began eating slowly while complimenting the flavor of everything I devoured. The food was absolutely delicious and I found myself forgetting that I could not tolerate such a mass meal. I began eating and eating. Then her mother did the unthinkable. She refilled my plate with more food. There was nothing I could do. I told them I was getting full, and yet she kept filling my plate. It would be incredibly rude for me not to finish the food since it would appear as if I thought the meal was not delicious. Finally, her mother stopped placing food onto my plate and I was able to finally rest my poor stomach. It was all about five minutes of resting until I felt that feeling in my stomach. “Someone shoot me,” was all I could think.

I excused myself and rushed to the bathroom. I quickly looked around for a deodorizer that would eliminate the chemical warfare I was about to launch. I finally found a can of wizard and held on to it for my big finish. I finally stared down the toilet, my enemy, and declared war on it. The food had entered my body fast, but nothing like how it left my body. The old saying, in one way and out the other – well that applies here. Finally after getting rid of the delicious food, I realized that I was in the bathroom for over five minutes. I cannot let them know that I could not tolerate Yuri’s mother’s food. I quickly sprayed the room as the smell of grape filled the bathroom. I flushed the toilet and got up to wash my hands. Then I looked into the toilet, “That’s an awfully odd flush.” The toilet did not seem to be flushing correctly as not even close to half went down. Then the water began rising. “OH MY GOD!! NOOOO!! THE TOILET IS OVER-FLOWING! IT’S PLUGGED!!” I screamed in my head. I began scrambling for a plunger but could not find one. I looked everywhere while questioning why this is happening to me. After five more minutes of searching for a plunger, Yuri knocked on the door and asked if I was feeling sick. I finally realized then that I was a beaten man. What a great way to make a first impression on your first date, diarrhea out your mother’s delicious food and plug-up your toilet.

Finally her dad came and handed me a plunger and I went to work on the toilet yet something still was wrong. Finally, after fifteen minutes of plunging I finally released the clog and watched the feces twirl down much to my delight. Luckily for me, all of them laughed about it and still do to this day. Yuri has never held that event against me but rather apologizes for her mother’s actions of shoving pounds of food into my sensitive stomach. Nonetheless, it was truly one of the most embarrassing moments of my life.

Embarrassing moments happen all the time. They occur when one least expects it to or some times one can have a sense of when it will happen. Nonetheless, the best way to handle an embarrassing situation or moment is to laugh it off. Most people will laugh at someone during their embarrassing moment, laughing at yourself and joining in with everyone will help lift off the embarrassment and aid you to recovering. Another solution is to realize that these types of things happen to people all the time. Maybe knowing that one is not the only person experiencing a certain type of embarrassment, that individual will not be as embarrassed.