Pop Culture FANatic

If you haven't noticed, (look around the blog) I am a bit of a pop culture freak. I don't know what it is, but I can hear/read the most random bits of pop culture and it sticks with me like a flu bug. Really, it is trivia in general. You don't want to play me in a trivia game. You really don't. The only other person that I have found that comes to close to my trivia knowledge is my husband (he may even beat me, but only in some areas). I promise I don't have a big head and I'm not bragging, but I'm just telling you what my skills are. Some people are crafty or musically talented, but me? I know my trivia.

That is why, among the many things I am addicted to, I have been addicted to Sporcle. There are several trivia games for several different categories such as TV, movies, history, sports, literature - you get the picture. I promise you have any sort of affinity to trivia or sense of competitivenes you will be hooked on this site.

I was interested when my husband was telling me about this quiz in which you name the 50 states within five minutes. You even have a map to look at! Easy-peazy lemon squeezy, right?


WRONG!! It was just like that episode of Friends in which Ross introduces a game just like this to the friends and he says that you always forget at least two. Chandler insists he can do it and when he doesn't he spends the rest of the episode trying to figure out what he's missed.

So I challenge you. Go and try it. See if you can get them all the first go around. Prove me, Ross and Chandler wrong!

Making it Work

I do apologize for my last blog, as it was a bit... salty. It's been a rough two weeks with work and I've been a bit of a Negative Nancy BUT it's Friday and I have some reassurance with work things so things are on the up and up.

So, this time around let's say we have a more positive entry, shall we?

Last night was Project Runway night (among other shows). I love Project Runway. There really isn't much about it that I don't like. Heidi is fun and entertaining to watch. She says some of the funniest things even though I don't think she realizes that they are funny. She doesn't seem snotty or self-centered (cough, cough Tyra! cough, cough, Padma!) She seems rather genuine and sweet. Plus (for the most part) she has a good fashion sense. I enjoy Michael Kors and his acronyms. For example DTM (dyed to match) and MOB (Mother of the bride). I like the creativity of the designers and seeing how they can really something out of nothing. My most favorite challenges are when they are given odd materials and it seems like they will never be able to make anything wearable out of it - and then they do! It never ceases to amaze me.

But do you know my most favorite part about Runway?

I love him! Words cannot describe. I would love for Tim Gunn to be my very best friend in the entire world. I feel like I could go to him at the end of a very long, very hard day and tell him my woes and he would have some fabulous words that suddenly would make everything ok. Or, I could go to him with a very big problem and he would tell me in his very recognizable voice to , "Make it Work" and I would know exactly what I needed to do in order to solve my problem. Having Tim Gunn as my friend would make my life that much better. Of this I am certain.

If Tim and I were friends, I would most definitely take him shopping with me. I can just see us now walking through fabulous stores while he picked out clothes that were both stylish and timeless. He would tell me in his sing song voice how stunning certain things were and how unflattering other things were. I would never have to wonder again if a certain piece would work or not work, he would be right there to help and guide me. So not only would my life be better for having Tim Gunn in it, but so would my wardrobe (did I mention he would also have to fund entire said wardrobe??).

And not only would we shop together, but he would also give me fabulous swag from Liz Claiborne, because that's what friends do, right? When one friend has the "hook-up" said friend shares with their friends. It's the polite thing to do.

And because Mr. Gunn is so well connected, he would introduce me to all of his fabulous friends including Heidi, Michael Kors and Nina Garcia (but only after we have been on said shopping trip). He would tell me secrets of Project Runway (did Irina's model really use double sided tape??) and I would get front row seats at the Project Runway runway show at fashion week. Ok, who am I kidding, he would score me tickets to the front row of all the fashion shows as fashion week. Now, my social life would be that much better just by having Tim Gunn as my friend.

Yes, I can see Tim and I having a wonderful, long lasting friendship, but alas it is only a dream. And a girl can dream, right? So what about you? Do you have any celebrities or TV characters that would like to be friends with?

The One Where I Get Serious and Personal

Ok, so I am going to be about as serious as I can be, so don't go thinking this is going to be a heavy entry or anything like that. I mean, this is still about TV, so how serious can it get, right? Recently I was thinking about two shows that I love for different reasons and aren't really all that much alike - Friends and Sex and the City. I was thinking about them in conjunction with one another because both touch on a topic that is near and no so dear to my heart, infertility. Yes, I admit it: My name is Emily, and I'm infertile.

Hi, Emily.

There is nothing to be ashamed of.

Anyhow, not too long ago, The WB was showing episodes from the later seasons of Friends, in which Monica and Chandler both find that they are infertile. While there are some tender and serious moments, it is mostly used a punch line. A way to make to make them seem "real" but still comical. I am here to tell you that when you are going through it, at first, there is not much that is funny about the situation. In fact, it downright sucks, but as you learn to deal and cope with it, you begin to find the humor in the situation. For example, my mom always worried that I would come home pregnant in high school. Turns out she really didn't have to worry all that much! Anyhow, I just don't feel the gravity of the situation. Watching it and having been through it myself, I don't find myself drawn to Monica and saying, "I totally know what she feels like". I guess you could say it's not a "real depiction".

On the other hand you have Charlotte York Goldenblatt on Sex and the City. I really have to commend the writers of SATC because I feel like they hit the nail on the infertility head when the wrote that plot line into the script. The night a friend of mine told me she was pregnant, I didn't at the time "know" that I had problems, but I had a feeling. I came home that night and watched the episode in which Miranda tells Charlotte she is pregnant. I.cried.my.eyes.out (and this was before the artificial hormones!). Because everything Charlotte said and did, I identified with. I knew, just like that she did, that something was wrong with me. And that my friends, is a tough pill to swallow.

This past Christmas, I completed my SATC set with parts one and two of season 6. I used to have them on DVD, but then I gave lent them to someone never to be seen again. Since they were new, I watched all episodes again which I hadn't done in a long time. The last time I watched them, I was in college and the "real" world didn't really apply to me. Now I watched it with a fresh eye and a little bit of experience (ok not much). Again, I was amazed at the accuracy of how they portrayed Charlotte's journey to baby. One of my favorite episodes, is when Charlotte gets a new dog and they take her to the dog park where she gets "gang banged" by the other dogs. The dog of course gets pregnant and this fires Charlotte up, because according to her everyone can get pregnant but her, and her dog got pregnant and it was her first time. There is humor in this situation, but also truth. Every time someone tells me they are pregnant, I want to scream because, "they weren't even trying" or "they got pregnant on their first try". It really does seem like everyone is getting pregnant but you. The most poignant episode though was when she got pregnant and had a miscarriage. She says that she can't go to Brady's birthday because it's too hard. I have been there. I have not had the experience of miscarriage (I can only imagine the pain of trying and trying only to be let down in that manner), but I have been there in the sense of not wanting to go to baby showers, or baby birthday parties because it's hard to smile and say I'm happy for you, when really you are sad and upset that it's not you. But like Charlotte, I try to rise above and still make it to those events because life does go on.

I could go on and on about the similarities I see in my journey to baby and that as depicted on SATC, but I'll stop there. Infertility is not a fun subject, but I try to make the best of it, just like Charlotte and Monica. I laugh about it, I cry about it, but I don't let it become who I am. Because I am much more than just infertile.

And that is about as serious as I ever want to get.