"What is the origin of your name" Valerie, a tall blonde haired girl asks me as we walk around Glebe, hunting for a bar where we can get a beer.
"Hebrew" I respond without hesitation.
"Oh I should have guessed, what with the hair and the nose" she causally replies. Like a boxer punched the stomach, I feel a whoosh of noise leave my mouth that sounds vaguely like "what!"
Valerie is not trying to hurt my feelings or make racial slurs. In fact she has many Jewish friends, has eaten Matzah, and attended a Jewish funeral (which she swiftly endorses and tells me she wants one). Quite honestly, Valerie is just the most honest person I have ever met in my life.
We find a karaoke bar and it turns out Valerie not only has a penchant for the truth but is also a very good singer. As we sit around the bar, we (Valerie, Jill, Kaila, and myself) all belt out the lyrics to popular songs from the 90's while Kaila deflects the advances of a 30 something man. However, before we can get up in front of the crowd to sing and make fools of ourselves, karaoke night is over.
It's times like these that remind us that we're only half a percent of the world's population.
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