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When exactly did the word “full-blown” become part of our official vernacular?

I think the first time I saw “full-blown” in print was in reference to someone having “full-blown AIDS”. Since that time the word has shown up more and more: full-blown diabetes, full-blown hostilities, full-blown , etc.

Maybe it’s a perfectly cromulent word, but it seems awkward to me. Not to mention quite redundant. Is having AIDS different from full-blown AIDS? I feel pretty certain that full-blown isn’t a medical term. From usage I gather that its use is to differentiate between pre-something and the actual something. Someone can be pre-diabetic, but then end up with full-blown diabetes.

Maybe it’s because I don’t come from the Dickensian world, in that I focus on the economy of words, but it seems that full-blown is a nothing word that brings nothing to the party. Which means it fits in perfectly with today’s media/world.

Unlike others I know (*cough* wadE *cough* Jason), I’ve never had trouble with the affliction known informally as “pee-shyness“. The thought of whether I’m next to someone else or not doesn’t even cross my mind. Wait, does that make me pee-cocky? That’s fun in a couple of ways, isn’t it? Hee hee.

Where was I? Oh, right. Despite my lack of modesty in the men’s room, I don’t go out of my way to shoulder up to fellow relievers. Bathroom, uh, tasks are private ones; I want to give people as much space as possible, and expect the same in return. Hence, I bring up the topic of stall etiquette. (Oddly, Alex and I both ran into this separately one day last week, and were similarly perplexed.

Imagine, if you will, the following bathroom layout, where X = urinal, O = little boy urinal, and | = divider. This is the loo layout at work:

X | X | O

When nobody else is around, I take the far left position. If that’s occupied, I take the far right. If those are both occupied, I take the middle, but that’s the only time. (If all three are occupied, I go in the sink.) (Just kidding.) (Sorta.) We’ve recently taken on a fair number of non-Minnesota native workers here, though and I’ve noticed is that most of them will come in and pick the middle slot, even if all three are open.

I would never, ever do such a thing. Would you? Do these people not consider that weird? Are they more pee-cocky than me? Is this a Minnesota thing? I’m not sure. I wish they’d hurry up and start paying heed to local convention; at some point, someone’s going to catch me going in the sink.

‘Kick-Ass’ star, 19, engaged to 43-year-old was the headline. Now I’m not one to look down my nose at older women scooping up younger men. The double standard of older men and young women has been in place far too long.

But dude… you really could do better. It’s one thing for a young guy to hook up with Demi Moore… but really? She’s more than twice your age, and has a daughter 6 years younger than you.

Just creepy no matter how you look at it.

The other day I asked my manager to forward me some information on a new project that I would be leading. She was unable to send it to me for days because she was in what we affectionately refer to as: Email Jail.
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