Mike Birbiglia

The setup points the reader toward 'It reminds me of the Olympics.', then the trigger 'You know how they do gymnastics, how they’ll have those… The girls will do those crazy flips and twirls.' forces a reinterpretation. The main mechanism is incongruity-resolution.

The setup points the reader toward 'I think that’s an effective use of time.', then the trigger 'But in this instance, I needed someone who could communicate with the people on the plane.' forces a reinterpretation. The main mechanism is incongruity-resolution.

The setup points the reader toward 'And she said, “I don’t understand why you’re so obsessed with being right.” I', then the trigger 'go, “I’m not obsessed with it.' forces a reinterpretation. The main mechanism is incongruity-resolution.

The setup points the reader toward 'And so we found a Sunday where I was coming back from a five-day stint in Texas,', then the trigger 'which was awful ’cause it was… In Texas.' forces a reinterpretation. The main mechanism is incongruity-resolution.

The setup points the reader toward '“Second of all, I don’t even think we have “a common cultural', then the trigger 'understanding of what marriage even is.' forces a reinterpretation. The main mechanism is incongruity-resolution.

The setup points the reader toward 'And then we mailed all of that to the government for a passport. It was like the triple crown of identifications.', then the trigger 'Jenny was wildly identifiable.' forces a reinterpretation. The main mechanism is incongruity-resolution.

The setup points the reader toward 'So I’m like, “I got to tell him he’s got to stop the ride.', then the trigger '“I got to tell him he’s got to stop the ride.' forces a reinterpretation. The main mechanism is incongruity-resolution.

The setup points the reader toward 'And eventually, she realized she was on a date with me, and', then the trigger 'she was not happy about that.' forces a reinterpretation. The main mechanism is incongruity-resolution.

The setup points the reader toward 'And I’m not great at fast dancing, but they had the strobe light going, so it’s only', then the trigger 'catching me one out of every five… Hey!' forces a reinterpretation. The main mechanism is incongruity-resolution.

The setup points the reader toward 'My friends would call me like, “hey, what’s going on?” I’d be like, “I’ll tell you what’s', then the trigger 'going on!” I’d tell them this whole story.' forces a reinterpretation. The main mechanism is incongruity-resolution.

The setup points the reader toward 'So all of it’s mine. The officer makes one key mistake.', then the trigger 'He checks the box that finds me at fault.' forces a reinterpretation. The main mechanism is incongruity-resolution.

The setup points the reader toward 'I got on the next one they could get me on. There was a stopover in Texas.', then the trigger 'You know how I feel about Texas.' forces a reinterpretation. The main mechanism is incongruity-resolution.

The setup points the reader toward 'And I’m so angry, I’m writing over my own handwriting to the point', then the trigger 'where I’m ripping through the napkin.' forces a reinterpretation. The main mechanism is incongruity-resolution.

The setup points the reader toward 'We didn’t have a lot to talk about. I remember just being like, “hey, you like full house?', then the trigger 'Later.” You know what I mean?' forces a reinterpretation. The main mechanism is incongruity-resolution.

The setup points the reader toward 'Like, she had many suitors. She had… I don’t… The rest of the show is in old English.', then the trigger 'Uh… She doth had many suitors!' forces a reinterpretation. The main mechanism is incongruity-resolution.

The setup points the reader toward 'I found her.', then the trigger 'I’m 17 years old, and I’m done, you know.” And… Her name was Amanda, and she was, like, adorable and funny.' forces a reinterpretation. The main mechanism is incongruity-resolution.

The setup points the reader toward 'Like, she hasn’t called me back.” And Tom has this', then the trigger 'knowing grin on his face.' forces a reinterpretation. The main mechanism is incongruity-resolution.

The setup points the reader toward 'Then with 1 1/2 minutes left in stairway to heaven, the song hits that crescendo… All', then the trigger 'around me, kids start to make the tilt.' forces a reinterpretation. The main mechanism is incongruity-resolution.

The setup points the reader toward 'You don’t know that you shouldn’t eat popcorn and peanuts and ice cream and cotton candy and', then the trigger 'then step onto a machine called the scrambler.' forces a reinterpretation. The main mechanism is incongruity-resolution.

The setup points the reader toward 'And then it was co-opted by the', then the trigger 'carnival workers of America.' forces a reinterpretation. The main mechanism is incongruity-resolution.

The setup points the reader toward 'Like, she’s snuggling up close to me, and I’m thinking… I’m thinking like, “this could be it.', then the trigger '“This could be where it’s all gonna happen.' forces a reinterpretation. The main mechanism is incongruity-resolution.

The setup points the reader toward 'Like, I don’t even know how I got here.” But at the end of that, no', then the trigger 'matter what… And I totally fall for it.' forces a reinterpretation. The main mechanism is incongruity-resolution.

The setup points the reader toward 'And I said, “oh, no, thanks.” That doesn’t', then the trigger 'go over so well.' forces a reinterpretation. The main mechanism is incongruity-resolution.

The setup points the reader toward 'A lot of times I’ll write kind of manic notes', then the trigger 'on napkins or hotel stationary.' forces a reinterpretation. The main mechanism is incongruity-resolution.

The setup points the reader toward 'And the reason it’s a source of tension', then the trigger 'is that I’m right.' forces a reinterpretation. The main mechanism is incongruity-resolution.

The setup points the reader toward 'every night just surfing the web.', then the trigger 'I get a subscription to a site called netdetective.com, which is a great site for vigilantes who have $29.95.' forces a reinterpretation. The main mechanism is incongruity-resolution.

The setup points the reader toward 'And that’s how I ended up here. That’s how we all ended up here, in a sense.', then the trigger 'So… uh… So here’s what happened with Lisa.' forces a reinterpretation. The main mechanism is incongruity-resolution.

The setup points the reader toward 'And at this point, this stops being about money, and it’s just about stopping a man who', then the trigger 'has no regard for people or the law.' forces a reinterpretation. The main mechanism is incongruity-resolution.

The setup points the reader toward 'Then a few nights later, I’m out to dinner with Jenny, and she says, “how was', then the trigger 'your trip?” And I said, “it was great.' forces a reinterpretation. The main mechanism is incongruity-resolution.

The setup points the reader toward 'I don’t know, and, uh… I didn’t have the nerve to ask her myself, and so', then the trigger 'I convinced Andy to ask her for us.' forces a reinterpretation. The main mechanism is incongruity-resolution.

The setup points the reader toward '“I got to tell him he’s got to stop the ride. Please stop the ride!” And I’m back!', then the trigger '“I’m not sure he heard me.' forces a reinterpretation. The main mechanism is incongruity-resolution.

The setup points the reader toward 'Since I didn’t have a lot left, we went to Bermuda ’cause it was the off season.', then the trigger 'You can get these great deals online.' forces a reinterpretation. The main mechanism is incongruity-resolution.

The setup points the reader toward 'You’d know when he was lying ’cause he would lick his finger like a bookie, and he', then the trigger 'would dart his eyes from side to side.' forces a reinterpretation. The main mechanism is incongruity-resolution.

The setup points the reader toward '“I mean, you’re away a lot of the time.', then the trigger '“And even when you’re here, you work at night, “and I work in the day.' forces a reinterpretation. The main mechanism is incongruity-resolution.

The setup points the reader toward 'Like, he was just kind of around, like, he was in the pool, like, wading and', then the trigger 'doing laps, like, that kind of thing.' forces a reinterpretation. The main mechanism is incongruity-resolution.

The setup points the reader toward 'But I believe in her, and I’ve given up on the idea of being right. Thank you guys very much.', then the trigger 'Thank you guys so much!' forces a reinterpretation. The main mechanism is incongruity-resolution.

The setup points the reader toward 'The other car has made a right turn at the light and veered into this very skinny tree.', then the trigger 'I can’t help but think, “that’s karma.' forces a reinterpretation. The main mechanism is incongruity-resolution.

The setup points the reader toward 'What’s it like?” And I’d be like, “yeah, you know, it’s just like licking an ice cream', then the trigger 'cone.” And they’d be like, “no, it’s not.' forces a reinterpretation. The main mechanism is incongruity-resolution.

The setup points the reader toward 'And he’d go, “yeah, yeah, nice. Nice, you know.” And he wasn’t even handling money.', then the trigger 'Like, I don’t even know what this is about.' forces a reinterpretation. The main mechanism is incongruity-resolution.

The setup points the reader toward '“I’m gonna sue Jim Bosworth, and I’m gonna sue the entire Los Angeles police department!” At', then the trigger 'this point, people stopped talking to me entirely.' forces a reinterpretation. The main mechanism is incongruity-resolution.

The setup points the reader toward 'And I was like, “well, this can’t be happening.” I explained to the woman, “I think it’s a misunderstanding.', then the trigger '“The other guy was clearly drunk.' forces a reinterpretation. The main mechanism is incongruity-resolution.

The setup points the reader toward 'And it’s going pretty well. I mean, he… He seemed like a nice guy.', then the trigger 'I could totally see what she saw in him.' forces a reinterpretation. The main mechanism is incongruity-resolution.

The setup points the reader toward 'I walked off the dance floor, Sam was like, “how’d it go, dude?” I', then the trigger 'had to be like, “same as always.' forces a reinterpretation. The main mechanism is incongruity-resolution.

The setup points the reader toward 'Led Zeppelin, eight minutes long.', then the trigger 'What’s great about slow dancing is you can’t really mess it up ’cause it’s just sort of a slow-motion hug.' forces a reinterpretation. The main mechanism is incongruity-resolution.

The setup points the reader toward 'We’re out to dinner, and she says to me, she goes, “everyone hates me at work,”', then the trigger 'and I said, “why would they hate you?' forces a reinterpretation. The main mechanism is incongruity-resolution.

The setup points the reader toward 'And I said, “then what?” And she', then the trigger 'said, “he died.' forces a reinterpretation. The main mechanism is incongruity-resolution.

The setup points the reader toward 'I was spectacular. And we did not make out. I did not lose my mouth virginity that evening.', then the trigger 'Two years later, it gets worse.' forces a reinterpretation. The main mechanism is incongruity-resolution.

The setup points the reader toward '“Don’t look at Lisa, “don’t look at', then the trigger 'any other people.' forces a reinterpretation. The main mechanism is incongruity-resolution.

The setup points the reader toward 'One time I built up the courage to ask her to go to the carnival with me, and she said yes.', then the trigger 'I couldn’t believe it.' forces a reinterpretation. The main mechanism is incongruity-resolution.

The setup points the reader toward 'And it says zero minutes. I was like, “perfect.', then the trigger 'That’s exactly how long I want to wait.” But the tram’s riding away.' forces a reinterpretation. The main mechanism is incongruity-resolution.

The setup points the reader toward 'I had to catch a flight at 6:20 A.M.', then the trigger 'Out of Newark airport to Los Angeles for a show I was doing that night.' forces a reinterpretation. The main mechanism is incongruity-resolution.

The setup points the reader toward 'Like, the bouncer just kind of waved her through, which has not been my experience with bouncers.', then the trigger 'For me, bouncers are like prison guards.' forces a reinterpretation. The main mechanism is incongruity-resolution.