Any of the "salads": Tuna salad, chicken salad, egg salad, potato salad benefit from a little added celery, both as an added flavor component as well as for a little texture and crunch.
While I use celery in a lot of cooking, I tend not to be able to use an entire bunch of it before it goes bad. So, whenever I buy it, I use what I can, and then I chop the rest up and freeze it. Then I can pull out what I need for cooking purposes at my leisure, and I don't end up wasting much celery.
All the options you mentioned for eating the celery raw are great. I'd also add cream cheese to that list.
This is probably stretching the definition of strange, but I got in school suspension in middle school for having 3 tardies (aka arriving late to school). I rode the school bus to school each day, I had no control over whether I was late or not, so I find it strange to be punished for something like that.