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!

Things I Don't Get

There are very few pop culture phenomena that I don't get. I mean very few. I am usually right on board with most of the popular TV shows, movies, fads, etc. But there are two things that I just don't get. Try as I might, I just don't get them (and I hate not getting something).

The first?

Grey's Anatomy.*

I have never watched this show on any sort of regular basis, but I have seen an episode here and there and maybe because I didn't have the vested interest of already knowing the characters or story lines, but I wasn't impressed. Not even a little bit. And the episodes that I did see? They didn't leave me wanting to see more. To me that is the mark of a good show. You see catch a random episode and suddenly you are hooked. You've never seen it before, but suddenly you want to see the next episode and every episode before it. That's how I found Gilmore Girls and Sex and the City - two of my all time favorite shows. Grey's though? Not so much. I don't know, I guess maybe I am of the been there done that mindset seeing as how hospital dramas have been done - ER and Chicago Hope ring any bells? I just don't get it.

The second?
I'm probably going to shock and dismay people (all two of you that may read this) but here it goes....

The Twilight Saga

Ok, everyone. Let out your big collective gasps and sighs now. Better? Yeah I said it. I don't get Twilight and I have read the books and seen the first movie. But the second and the third? No desire. None. Not even a little. My impression of the whole thing? Silly. When I read the books I found myself interested. I wanted to finish to find out what happened, but overall I found all the characters to be annoying and whiny. The only character I was remotely interested in was Jacob and apparently that makes me a looney tune because how could you NOT LOVE EDWARD?!?! Well I think Edward is an overprotective, possessive, self important lunatic. I don't know why anyone would think he is so dreamy. And all that romantic garbage he spews. Gag. And before you go telling me that I'm not a romantic sap, I want to state that I am not for cheesy romance like writing me a song. Please. If my husband wrote me a song and played it for me on the piano I would die twice from embarrassment. Once for myself and once for him. I'm more of the he-bought-me-flowers-for-Valentine's-Day-and-it-was-surprise-because-we-don't-usually-celebrate-in-that-way type of girl.

Then there is the fact that these books were written for teenage girls. I just find this to be appalling. What are we teaching these girls? Go for the guy you are obsessive over and you spend all day and night thinking/wanting/loving/obsessing over, so much so that you lose yourself and all that you stand before because you are in love. Please. Then the last book. With the sex? Um, what? I just wouldn't want my daughter reading that. Yes, they are married. But for the love of God they have rough sex and there's all this adult innuendo and then the pregnancy? Lord - I can't even begin...

And the movies? May I just say that loathe Kristen Stewart? She is the worst actress EVER and I mean ever. That is a bold statement, but it is true and I know I am not alone on this. For me she ruined the whole thing with all of her broody bad acting. (Let's not mention that she SUCKS at her job, but she makes more money than I will ever hope to see... ever). Other than her terrible acting, the first movie was slow. I don't know how anyone saw it without reading the book and was suddenly interested in the whole thing because I fought sleep the entire time I watched it.

So in closing, I don't mean to offend anyone who loves either of these things. I am sure there are shows and things I am in to that other people don't "get". No harm, no foul I always say.

*Image via www.abc.com. Show and image copyright ABC.

Memories... Like the Corners of My Mind

Didja miss me? But OF COURSE you did!!

What have I been doing in my absence, you ask? Well I have been doing very big and important things.

Okay... maybe not.

What I HAVE been doing is watching an embarrassing amount of this:




And feeling rather nostalgic. I always feel that way during this time of year. I don't know if it's the changing of the season, kids being out of school or what - but I feel nostalgic for my youth. To be young again and not have to worry about jobs, money, babies or anything like that. To have almost three months off with not a care in the world. I feel nostalgic not only for my grade school years, but my high school years and even my college years. To be young.

In order to feed into my nostalgic kick, I have been watching YouTube videos of things that played on the Disney channel circa '95-'01. What are those clips, you ask? Well, of course I will show you!



I loved Zenon - Girl of the 21st Century. It starred Kirsten Storms who later played the "teenage" Belle on Days of Our Lives. John and Marlena went on their honeymoon and she was a baby, the came back, and she's a teen! Amazing.



Wish Upon a Star - one of Katherine Heigl's first movies! You know, before she got all self-righteous.



Lizzie McGuire - this was before they played the crap Hannah Montana. Now this was entertainment and child stars at their finest.



Even Stevens - Where Shia LaBeouf got his start. I have to say I like him much better as an adult, but still...



Flash Forward - I love, love, loved this show! It got me through those awkward middle school days. Bad memories of middle school, but great memories of this show.

All this talking about the past makes me want to search for more oldie but goodie hidden treasures!

Things Your High School Principal Probably Shouldn't Do

A while ago, I was watching an old episode of Saved by the Bell. I'm not really sure why I felt the need to add the "old" as there hasn't been a "new" episode of SBTB in, oh I don't know, 17 years. (THAT CANNOT BE RIGHT!!! Except that is, if you don't count the New Class, which I don't.) Anyway, I was watching this episode, and I thought how incredibly inappropriate it was that Mr. Belding, the principal, was hanging out with students talking about his and their love lives! Now I know it's all fiction, but still I got a little laugh over it because I remember growing up watching the show thinking, "That is what high school is going to be like!". Except I didn't take into account the fact that I would go to an all girls Catholic high school that was run by nuns so most of that stuff would most likely never happen. Oh, and the fact that it would never happen no matter what high school you went to. But that is neither here nor there. Anyway, it got me thinking about all the things Mr. Belding did that no high school principal would ever be caught dead doing. Or if they were caught doing it, would be fired immediately.

• Moving from Indiana to California with some of his students. Ok, so this is not technically what happens and most of you are probably scratching your heads, but before there was SBTB, there was Good Morning Miss Bliss which has Mr. Belding, Zack, Lisa and Screech. When the show moved to NBC, they scrapped the rest of the characters, kept the four and moved them to California. I just think it's odd they all moved together...
• In the above mentioned episode, Mr. Belding gives Zack and Slater love advice and then when they "lose" their mates, they form some sort of guys club which includes having Mr. Belding hang out in Zack's room while the order pizza and talk about girls. Very odd. I do believe that if this really happened, the principal would probably be facing some jail time.
• In the episode, The Surgery, Zack hurts his knee when he runs into Mr. Belding (add it to the list of far fetched). Mr. Belding feels awful for "hurting" Zack so he promised to make it up to him, by taking his math take home test for him. Um, what? I don't know of any teacher let alone principal that would find this to be acceptable behavior. Aren't the adults supposed to be charge here? I guess at Bayside High that was never really the case.
• During, Student Teacher Week, the kiddos get to take the place of the "adults" and take over as teachers. Kelly gets to be a history teacher and Zack gets to be the principal. One would think that they would just get to hang out with the teachers and principal, but this SBTB! Zack has full authority as principal and Mr. Belding lazes around the school like a student. In fact, he pretty much refuses to help Zack in a sticky situation because he wants Zack to learn to be an "adult".
• In a late episode during what I like to call the "Unexplained Tori Years", Mr. Belding's wife is pregnant and allows the gang to throw her a baby shower during class time. Again, what principal is so close with his students that they know his wife and want to throw her a shower, more importantly during school? What about the other kids who still had class weren't they jealous?
• In another episode during the "Unexplained Tori Years", the school is left with a sizable donation from a deceased alumnus. Rather than making the decision of what should be done with the money, Mr. Belding allows the girls and guys to face off against one another to see which gender's sport should get the money. They have all kinds of challenges all in order to see who gets the money. Now, I went to Catholic School. Catholic School runs on sizable donations, and I can tell you that never once, did my principal ask what I wanted to do with the money? I'm just saying...

And I'm sure there are many more instances of the lovable Mr. Belding doing being so principalably (yes, it's a word), but this is a good start. The unbelievable nature of most of the episodes are just another reason to love this goofy show.

Whatever Wednesday

I unfortunately don't have much to write in the way of television, but I feel like writing something, so this could come out sounding very random, but you know, it's Whatever Wednesday.

• First of all, is it already Wednesday? Wait, almost Thursday? I'm not complaining, by any means, but I'm just surprised by how fast this week is going. Lately the weeks have been d.r.a.g.g.i.n.g. by and it's nice to know that the week is almost over. Now just get me through Thursday and Friday and we are into the weekend!
• Speaking of the weekend, the husband and I have an overnight trip planned to Indianapolis to see a Pacer's game. We are both super excited to just get away for a little bit. We love to do little things like this every now and then because are a carefree, childless couple. Why not celebrate it instead of feeling sorry for ourselves?
• I have a random cut in the crook of thumb and hand. I keep randomly hitting and it hurts to the highest heaven. Ok, it's not that bad, but it still hurts and is annoying. I wish it would just heal already.
• At my work we are lucky enough to have FSA's - Flexible Spending Accounts - if we so choose. For the first time, I signed up for one thinking of all the medical expenses I was going to incur with infertility. I haven't actually made a claim until today and I am uber excited thinking about the money that is coming my way.
• Speaking of work... it's been stressful. We have (just now) been struggling with the crappy economy and there are been a lot of (not so fun) changes around the office. I, luckily, have not been part of those changes as of yet. I thank my lucky stars everyday, but it often feels like I am just waiting for the other shoe to drop.
• I may or may not have re-watched every episode of Kell on Earth. Whatever, I don't care.
• I really want to read Kelly Cutrone's book, If You Have to Cry Go Outside. I will read it, learn to bitch at people and boss them around and effectively take over the world. Ok, maybe not, but add it to my list of dreams.
• I have decided that Bravo is my most favorite channel. If the cable company called tomorrow and said that I had to get rid of all channels but one, I would definitely pick Bravo.
• Remember when I wrote about Veronica Mars? Ok, probably not, but I did because it is one of my favorites. Seasons one and two are now playing on the WB. So for the love of all that is holy, go watch it! If you don't take any of my other advice, take this advice and get a little VM in your life.
• I just had a fabulous idea for a blog post, but you are going to have to wait as it is going to take some time to research. Yes, I said research.
• Today a friend of mine told me that my knowledge of pop culture was unparalleled. I don't think I have ever gotten such a high compliment before.
• I am totally joking about that being the highest compliment I have ever received.
• ....Or am I?

I hope you enjoyed Whatever Wednesday. I know I did!

I Have a Dream...

Ok, don't get too excited now. It is nothing as lofty or worthy as Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream or anything relating to my career or family life, but it is a dream nonetheless.

But before I get into my dream (or rather dreams), a little background is necessary.

Typically on my lunch break at work, I go to the lunch room and watch TV with some of my co-workers. It has become a bit of a tradition if you will. We don't do it every.single.day., but we do it often. Usually between the hours of 1 and 2 you will find downstairs in the lunchroom watching two particular shows. Now, you are probably thinking, "This is where she tells us she wants to be a soap star" or "She's decided to go to community college to get her degree in the fastest growing field, health care!" But I will tell you that you are wrong on both counts. For I don't really aspire to act and let's face it, me? in health care? HA! I'd run miles in the other direction if someone said their stomach hurt.

But back on point to my dream. We watch these shows - (and all the horrible commercials that play during daytime TV) Family Feud and Who Wants to be a Millionaire (with stinky Meredith Vieira not Regis). So, now are you getting a feel for what my dream is? Yes dear readers I want to be a contestant and both of these shows because I think, no I dare say I know, I would be good at them. Now I know you are thinking, "Whoa dream big!", but that is fine. We all have silly dreams that we dare to dream.

And like any dreamer, I already have the whole thing worked out in my mind. For Family Feud, I wouldn't actually take my real family (sorry family). I would actually take people I work with for my team. We practice everyday at lunch and there are a handful of us that are damn good if I do say so myself. I may even hold open auditions at work to fill spots to ensure that I am getting the best possible team together. No silly answers from anyone on my team! That would be embarrassing. We would of course moonlight as a family as that is the whole point of the show. We would be sisters, cousins, aunts... you get the picture. We would definitely win the maximum number of times - 5 and America would love us.

Then there is Millionaire. I don't honestly believe that I could make it all the way to the million dollar question - and if for some reason did, I don't know that I would actually know that answer. I have a healthy dose of confidence when it comes to all things trivia, but I do not have any delusions of grandeur. In fact, my goal would be to make it to $25,000 and anything after that would be gravy. Part of the whole thing is strategy. For example if you are going to use lifelines, you have to know how to use them correctly. You can't be asking the audience a question really anything past $16,000. You have to assume that at that point, the audience is just as stupid as you are when it comes to that. Also, be careful about saying what you think that answer might be, as that will skew what other people think it might be. The other key is having the perfect people to call in phone a friend. My people would be: my husband, my dad and my friend Nick. They all have limitless knowledge in very different areas and I know that between the three, one of them would know the answer. And finally, you have to keep that Meredith Vieira quiet because she talks way.too.much. We are here to win money Mer, not shoot the breeze. It's not personal, it's just business (well maybe it is personal as I can't stand the woman).

So there are my lofty ambitions. And if I ever make it, I will be sure to blog about the experience.

That's a Fact

With every good show on hiatus, I am lacking on TV blogging ideas so I thought I'd write a little more about myself because I am that vain. So without further ado here are 25 random factoids about moi (in no particular order):

• I met my husband when we were in high school. Yes, high school. We went to different but we met through mutual friends. We then went to the same college and married and lived happily ever after.
  


• I hold a special place in my heart for all things pink and green and turtles. Whenever I see anything with this color combination or with a turtle, I stop and attention must be paid.
  

• On the other hand, I am not a fan of the pink and blue combination. You will never see me wearing this colors together.
  


• I love peppermint. I could eat it all day long. Here's a hint: for a special treat, place a peppermint in your coffee. It is sure to brighten your morning!



• I have a sweet golden retriever mix named Carly. She is my child, and for right now, I prefer it that way.



• I am sarcastic (as if you couldn't tell). Sometimes I think I am too sarcastic for my own good.
  


• I love to quote movies and/or TV shows. I could probably have a whole conversation in entirely movie quotes.



• My wedding colors were bright pink and orange with a hint of green. I know it sounds retched, but I think it was quite lovely.





• In keeping with the wedding - I got married on the biggest wedding day ever - 7/7/07. And as if that weren't enough seven's, we had 7 bridesmaids, 7 groomsmen and the wedding started at 7. All of the 7's were purely coincidental. I promise.



• When it comes to cleaning, I would prefer to clean the bathroom than ever do dishes.



• I once shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die.



• Ok, that last one was a lie.



• I love to read. It's an escape from the every day life. For a brief moment in time, I can slip into another world entirely and forget about my problems for a while.



• I love TV (duh), much for the same reasons I love reading. I have so many favorite shows, but my all time favorites are Sex and the City, Gilmore Girls and Veronica Mars. Apparently I love shows with strong female characters.
  



• Any show, movie, character, TV personality, etc. that deals with infertility causes me to tear up just a little because I am all too familiar with the experience.



• That being said, I just adore Jen Arnold from TLC's The Little Couple. The woman is not even four feet tall and she is conquering the world. The show in currently chronicling her journey to become a mother (carrying a child is not really an option for her) and I find her courage and optimism inspiring. I wish that I could be more like Jen Arnold. Add her to my list of people I want to be friends with.



• In case you weren't keeping track that list includes Tim Gunn, Kelly Cutrone and now Jen Arnold.



• I have a major fear of vomiting. I mean major. I don't want to do it and I don't want to be around people who are doing it. That's all I'm going to say about that.



• I love purses. LOVE them. I could buy a new purse every week if my husband and bank account let me. I love everything from the very expensive to the cheapest of cheap. I'm not picky.



• I went to Catholic School for 12 years and I thank God and parents every day that I had the privilege. I am proud of my Catholic school education and wouldn't trade it for anything.



• I was in a sorority in college (if you look real closely at this list, you can probably figure out which one) and I loved it to bits and pieces. I still love it and wish everyday that I could go back.
  


• I can't cook to save my life. Ok, I can make things from a box, but that is about it. Thank goodness I married a man who is a good cook.
  


• I enjoy traveling, but don't get to do it nearly enough. Last year, I went to Gatlinburg, Tennessee; Mackinac Island, MI; Norris Lake in TN; Sacramento/San Francisco/Napa Valley, CA. This year so far all I have planned is a night in Indianapolis, IN and a week in Seagrove Beach, FL.




• I truly enjoy my job and the people I work with. I don't think many people can actually say that.



• I'm not much for sports, but if there is one sport I can watch an entire game of and not be extremely bored, it's basketball. More specifially Kentucky Basketball. There is just something about it. If you're not from here, you wouldn't understand.
  



• And an extra since I wasted one with the Reno comment - I am from Kentucky and proud of it! I wear shoes, I am not married to my cousin, I have never dated a cousin, I can read, I have all my teeth, I don't smoke, I don't farm tobacco and No, I have never been to the Kentucky Derby.
  
  

I hope you enjoyed! Any questions, just ask!

In Case You Missed It

There have been some goings on among the pop-culture world and regular world so in case you missed it, check it out here!

Grammy's
Ok, I didn't watch so shoot me. Honestly, I don't really get into award shows all that much. It usually starts with two or three good awards, then they do crappy awards and montages and tributes for three hours and then they do the really good stuff at the very end when everyone is too tired to even care anymore. BUT I do hear things and read, and I see that my very favorite, Taylor Swift beat out Beyonce for Album of the Year to which I say HOORAY! I absolutely adore T-Swift and I think that Kanye should now eat his words from the VMA's.

Sandra Bullock
Nominees for the Academy Awards were announced today, and no surprise, Sandra Bullock was nominated for Best Actress for her role in The Blide Side. The Blide Side was also nominated for Best Picture. Seeing as how this is the only movie that I have seen out of the nominees for Best Movie I think it should win. But no, really. The movie was amazing and Sandra Bullock rocked out as Leigh Anne Touhy.
In other news, Sandra Bullock was nominated for a Razzie for Worst Actress for her work in All About Steve. Shocker. Did anyone even see this movie? It is a bit shocking that she go nominated for both Best and Worst Actress. Talk about best/worst week ever. A little ironic, dontcha think?

Punxsutawney Phil
Well that little f&$%^*#, a#%&*^@ rat saw his shadow today. So you know what that means, kids - six more weeks of winter. That rat sees his shadow every year, and let's face it, the sun was not shining in Punxsutawney, PA today. That rat didn't see anything but a bunch of people. What a crock. I woke up this morning and didn't see my shadow and I can tell you that there is still going to be six more weeks of winter, and probably more! About the only thing I like about Groundhog Day is the movie, oh and it's my grandparents wedding anniversary!


So, now you are all caught up... kinda :-)

When Art Imitates Life

This entry is actually going to cover a few things, so please bear with me. I just have a mish mash of things I wanted to write about so instead of writing ten million little entries, why not just jumble it all into one? Sounds good, yes? I thought so.

First up... tonight is the finale of Jersey Shore. *Tear* Like all good things, this too must come to an end. I knew that it was going to happen. I knew that eventually we would have to part ways and say good-bye and yet... it seems too soon. I feel as though there are still too many parties to be had, drinks to drink, fights to fight and girls to well you know. Where will I get my weekly Jersey fix? Where will I learn cool and important phrases like "the grenade" and "the grenade launcher"? In good news though, I heard from a co-worker of mine that Mike, "The Situation" is going to be in my hometown February 2nd. Woo hoo! Too bad he is going to be a skeezy bar that I would never be caught dead in. Not that I would want to be meet The Situation either...

Moving on... with Jersey Shore leaving the line-up it makes more time to watch Project Runway. Ah Tim Gunn, how do I love thee, let me count the ways. Well, actually that's another entry for another day, but I do love the show and I am excited that it's back (not too excited that Ping got to stay though).

Speaking of shows coming back, mark your calendars because Greek comes back on Monday! Again, another one of my favorite shows because I can relate to it (yes, I was a sorority gal) and it stays pretty true to the reality of Greek life.

So on to the bulk of this entry, life imitating art. A few months back, the husband and I were fortunate enough to visit friends of ours that live Sacramento. We had an awesome time out there. We got to go to Napa and do wine tasting, shop at outlet malls, eat at In and Out (pretty good), go to a farmer's market (best kettle corn EVER) and we got to visit San Francisco as well. Visiting SF was truly life imitating art for me in so many ways.

For example:

Lombard Street! This has been featured in several TV shows including Full House. (Really the whole trip to SF was like a walking Full House tour)

Alcatraz, again seen in lots o' movies. Ok, none that I have seen, but I've been told so.

And the part that really imitated art?

We ate here:

So you might be thinking, what in the world is Taqueria La Cumbre? Found in the Mission District of San Francisco, Taqueria La Cumbre is the first restaurant to serve the Mission Style Burrito. Those would be the burritos that you get at Chipotle. So next time you are in line at Chipotle to get a burrito, you can thank this little unassuming place.

So how does this imitate art? There is a show on the Travel Channel called Man vs. Food. The host travels to different cities, tries the food at two different local restaurants and then takes on a food challenge in the city. You know like eat a 20lb hamburger in an hour some ridiculous thing like that. Anyhow, my friends that live in Sacramento had seen an episode from SF and they came to this place! They decided they had to go, but they wanted to share the experience with us! And boy am I glad they did! This place was phenomenal and I would surely go back if ever given the chance again. If you ever find yourself in SF and like Mexican food you should totally check it out. Don't let the place skeeve you out (because I was a little skeeved myself) because the food is amazing. Maxim even named in the most bitchingest burrito, so there's that too.

Don't believe me? Don't you see how happy I am to be eating there?

(Ignore my half closed eyes. I have decided that I don't have very wide eyes or something like that.)

And that is how my life has imitated art.

Can You Keep a Secret?

I have a secret to share. I am embarrassed to say it, but what the hell, right? I like... One Tree Hill. Shameful, I know! It is by far one of my favorite guilty pleasures.

Why am I so ashamed? Because, well, it's lame. Ok, I said it. The show is lame. The lamest, but I love it so. I'm not really sure why I like it as it's lame as previously stated, but I like it! The drama, the silliness of the drama. It's just so easy to get lost in the goofiness. Why is it so lame? Because the things that happen would never, in one hundred million years! Seriously? How many high schoolers do you know get married in high school and not because they aren't pregnant? I'm going to go with slim to none. How many high school students do you know have severely absent parents? By severe, I mean they aren't there. At all. I can think of three occasions on the show where this happened. How many people in your graduating class were extremely accomplished by the age of 22? By extremely accomplished I mean own their own clothing line, own their own record label, write a best-selling novel and almost become an NBA star? Again, I am guessing slim to none.

Unfortunately, the show took an odd turn this past season and let two of it's main characters go - Chad Michael Murray and Hillarie Burton. I mean really? Can you say suicide? Coincidentally, I have no interest in watching this season. I have no interest in watching a show that changes so drastically. Ok, ok, once the season hits The WB I'll be watching with bated breath. What can I say? I'm a sucker. So despite all the silliness and the things that would never happen in one hundred million years, I'm still a closet fan.

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.

It's All Right Cuz I'm Saved by the Bell

I am somewhat new to this blogging thing. I head several blogs on a daily basis but I have never really written on. What I have noticed about blogs is that everyone has a schtick - something they always write about: sports, fashion advice, reviewing things, etc. I have wanted to write but about what? No one cares about my daily life because, let's face it, it's not that exciting. Whackadoodle things don't happen to me and who wants to hear me bitch and moan? Certainly not I. I like clothes and fashion, but I am not that fashionable nor do I have the budget to be so. And sports.. ha! So what do I write about? I have always heard, what about what you know. So I may not know much about clothes or sports, but TV? TV, I know! So it's not the most deep topic, but what are you going to do?

I love TV. I really do. I have other hobbies. I read. I am not some couch potato content on never leaving the house in favor of watching the boob tube (on most days anyway), but I love my TV shows. Those shows that I look forward to watching every week and spend the next week quoting. So what you'll find here is a mix of reveiws and my views on the shows that I love, the shows that I hate, and the shows that I love to hate. I think you will quickly find that I like comedies, dramedies, reality shows and fresh new things. I HATE, hospital dramas, forensic shows (in the words of Emily Gilmore, "I don't find forensic work as fascinating as the rest of the country), and things that are truly uninspired and unoriginal.

So sit back and enjoy your lunch at the Max!