Start Spreading the News…

Well, I have a couple of awesome things to report.  Number one, my blog was Freshly Pressed…again!  Number two, I finally finished my semester at school, and got my first ever 4.0!  That’s right, straight A’s!  I didn’t know which of these things I should be more excited about, because I was pretty darn thrilled about both!

Speaking of Freshly Pressed, I just wanted to say that it really means so much to me.  I got so many amazing comments from new and old readers, and they all truly made me smile.  When I found out I was Freshly Pressed, I was in the middle of writing my final research paper for one of my classes, and it was your comments that gave me the boost of confidence I needed to finish it.  I apologize for not responding to the hundreds of comments, but please know that each and every one of them made my day!

I also just wanted to say thank you to all my new and old readers.  I appreciate every person who enjoys this blog enough to follow it.  When I started this blog last August, I had no idea that I would have this many followers.  It is truly so awesome, and you all are the reason I discovered how much I love writing!  So, thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

And thank you again.

Seven Things That Are Underrated (if you ask me)…

1. A woman with a firm handshake

Totally boss.

I don’t know about you, but I appreciate a confident, firm handshake when shaking another woman’s hand.  Nothing is worse than going in for an assertive grip only to be met by a feeble handshake in return . Those limp hand shakes are for the birds, and leave me asking, “What woman started this wimpy habit?”  I think there is something so refreshing about a woman with some substance behind that palm.  To me, it says, “I’m a strong, capable, secure woman, and I’m not afraid to show it.”  C’mon ladies, men do it, so why don’t we?

2. Eating dinner alone

When I was younger I hated being alone.  I could easily spend days and nights completely consumed by hanging out with my friends.  In fact, the first day I met my friend Reagan, we ended up spending nearly a week together, going back and forth to each others apartments.  I still love my friends (and my husband), but I no longer mind eating dinner alone.  I could easily go sit by myself at a café or diner and be completely content there alone without anyone else to talk to.  I think with age you start to appreciate alone time more (at least I do), and those times where you can turn your brain off become highly underrated.

3. Comfortable Silence

Does anyone remember this scene in Pulp Fiction?

It goes something like this:

Mia: Don’t you hate that?

Vincent: What?

Mia: Uncomfortable silences. Why do we feel it’s necessary to yak about bulls*it in order to be comfortable?

Vincent: I don’t know. That’s a good question.

Mia: That’s when you know you’ve found somebody special. When you can just shut up for a minute and comfortably enjoy the silence.

P.S.  Isn’t that true?

4. Getting lost

I hate to sound cliché, but everything really does happen for a reason.  Sometimes it’s good to be lost, and sometimes it’s good to not have your life completely planned out.  Trust me, I learned this one the hard way.  I spent most of my early 20′s trying to control everything and everyone who walked into and out of my life.  Finally something clicked one day, and I realized that living my life this way made me miserable, so I decided to make a change.  One of the best times of my life was when I decided to stop looking at the big picture, just take each day at a time, and give myself permission to flounder…and do you want to know a secret?  I became happier, and something wonderful happened.  I met Matt, who eventually became my husband.  You might think something is right for you, whether it be a job, relationship, etc., but it might not be what is best for you.  If you refuse to let yourself be lost, than you never allow yourself to truly be found.

5. Handwritten letters sent in the mail

Snail mail is way underrated.

In a generation where we can connect with people all over the world in a matter of seconds, it’s almost impossible to not take advantage of the internet and email.  However, I think sending a good, old-fashioned letter or card in the mail is completely underrated.  Think about it.  What if you opened your mailbox today, and received a note from a friend telling you how much they missed you, instead of simply writing it on your Facebook wall.  How special would that make you feel?  Yep, pretty special.  That’s what I thought

6. Electric blankets

So genius.

The fact that I found this picture, where the model is trying her best to look super cool as she is luxuriously wrapped up in the electric blanket, is so funny to me.  So, I know we’re moving in on summer here, but I’ve got to tell you, electric blankets are totally underrated.  If you’ve ever slept in one, especially in the dead of winter, than you know exactly what I’m talking about.  It’s warm…it’s cozy…and it’s phenomenal…Enough said.

7. Diners, Drive-In’s and Dives

Best. Show. Ever.

I am seriously obsessed with this show, and think it’s the bomb.  Let me guess, you’ve never heard of it, right?  That doesn’t surprise me, because every time I try to shoot the sh*t with someone about it, they have no idea what I’m talking about.  If you’ve never seen it, it’s basically a cooking show where the host, Guy Fieri, travels around the United States in search of the best diners, drive-in’s and dives.  It’s not your average cooking show, in that it doesn’t go into all the tedious step by step process of a recipe, but it does give you a recap of numerous cooks whipping up deliciously unhealthy grub that is sure to make your mouth water.  In a nutshell, this show is entertaining and tons of fun, but completely underrated, because hardly anyone has heard of it.

Photos by New York Daily News, Pinterest, IMDB, The Food Network, http://www.notthatkindofgirl.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/catladydinner.jpg

Sometimes Being a Grown-Up Means…

Being (genuinely) happy when good things happen for other people.

Using a lint roller to look more presentable.

Learning from past mistakes.

Not wishing that you looked like someone else, were someone else, had someone else’s brains, body, bank account, job, etc.

Eating your vegetables.

Being flexible (and this has nothing to do with yoga, but more to do with giving and taking.)

Being fifteen minutes early (not late) for work.

Wearing sunscreen.

Not always having to get your own way.

Being honest about your flaws, and either embracing them or changing them.

Giving up on always being right.

Putting up with people and/or things that you don’t like (with a smile.)

Paying your bills (on time.)

Overlooking others faults and trusting that they’re probably just trying to do their best too.

Admitting when you’re wrong (and apologizing.)

Remembering your loved ones birthdays.

Giving up your seat on the train, bus, etc. for an elderly, disabled, or pregnant person (happily not grudgingly.)

Making sure to eat breakfast in the morning.

Not blaming other people for your problems.

Taking care of yourself emotionally and physically.

Flossing.

Drinking responsibly.

Going to work even when you don’t feel well.

Respecting other people’s time.

Listening (really listening) without thinking about what you’re going to say next.

~The End.

Picture by: http://thebottomoftheironingbasket.blogspot.com/2010/10/best-kind-of-juggling.html

Say Hello To My Little Friend…

Well, many of you told me that I was crazy and I have to admit, I sort of knew you were right.  A few months ago I wrote a post called Six Things I Might Never Understand and it got a lot of traffic.  On one day alone I had over 4,000 views, and every one of those readers heard about how much I disliked phone games, and how I don’t understand how anyone else can like them either.  I went as far as to give examples, Angry Birds, Words With Friends, etc., and almost every one of you told me how I was missing out, but I still wasn’t convinced.

However, something happened between then and now, over the course of four months to be exact.  I fell in love.  I fell in love with a game, but not just any game.  I fell in love with a GASP a phone game.  DrawSomething.

For those of you not familiar with DrawSomething, essentially it is a modern-day Pictionary where you draw on an iPad or phone screen with your finger.  You can play it with your Facebook friends, or if no one you know in the real world is around, you can play a complete stranger somewhere out in the internet universe.

My interest in DrawSomething started out innocently enough.  I played a few times on Matt’s iPad and I enjoyed it.  My pictures were simple, and I didn’t put much thought into them.  However, something happened.  Friends started finding me on DrawSomething and initiating games.  You could say my obsession with the game sneaked up on me without me even realizing it, because pretty soon I was playing regularly.  Little by little my pictures became more intricate.  I would sometimes spend twenty minutes on a single game, creating a masterpiece.  I purchased more colors other than the standard black, red, yellow, and blue.  I was playing sometimes four to five games a day.  I would wake up thinking about DrawSomething, and without even asking, Matt would simply hand over his iPad to me with a knowing glance.  I wouldn’t go to bed without checking to see if any of my opponents had drawn me a picture back.  Soon I had to face it, I was involved in a full-blown relationship with DrawSomething.

I felt like such a fraud.  Hadn’t I claimed to thousands of readers that I hated phone games?  I rationalized my fixation, saying that technically it wasn’t a phone game, for me anyway, because I was playing it on an iPad.  After a while I knew I had to face the truth, and more importantly face my readers.  I had to tell you all that I have converted to the other side where people like phone games.  I don’t know if DrawSomething is an exception to my rule, or if there will ever be another phone game that I like as much.  Either way, let me go on the record as saying that I like DrawSomething.  I like it a lot.

Here are some of my highlights:

Bonjovi

Scarface

Pinecone

Hamburger, fries, and Coke.

Skeleton

Does anyone else love DrawSomething as much as I do?

~The End.

Scenes from a Weekend in Montauk…

Matt did it!  He took the most important test in his medical school career last week!  So, after months of being confined to a desk and his books, we decided to celebrate a little with a trip to Montauk.

Notice my nautical attire to go along with the seaside ambiance of Montauk.

Have you ever seen Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind? It’s one of my favorite movies, and where I’m standing is where some of the film was shot.

In more exciting news, you may have noticed that my blogging has been a little more sporadic lately.  Well, Matt and I have been busy finding an apartment!  Yes, we are proud to announce that after Matt found out that he would be in Park Slope, Brooklyn for his clinical rotations, we began a search for the perfect apartment.  It didn’t take long before we settled on this little apartment on a shady street lined with cherry blossoms trees, in the middle of Brooklyn…

Me in front of our new digs…

How cool is that?!

~The End…

The Kid Table

Can we talk about something really important for a minute?

Manners.

This post was directly inspired by a post from another blog on manners that I read recently about people who stand to close.  It got me thinking about one of my biggest pet peeves.

On Tuesday mornings I take the 6:27 am train into the city from Long Island to get to work by 8.  Every morning, but especially the really early trains, are always packed with other commuters trying to get an early start at work.  Needless to say, it’s a struggle to get a seat on the train, and any commuter knows that sometimes you end up sitting next to some, well, interesting characters.  If you want a pleasant ride to work, it is vital to choose a seat next to someone who is like-minded.  When I’m picking my seat, I try my best to find someone who looks like they want the same kind of ride to work that I do, which is a quiet interlude before the hustle and bustle of the day begins.  Usually I look for someone with a newspaper and coffee in hand, because that typically means they just want to drink their coffee, read their paper, and not be bothered otherwise.  But I’ve been wrong.  Oh, I’ve been so wrong before, and made decisions that have ended with me practically banging my head against the window at some people’s bad manners.

On these rides, I’ve encountered a wide range of bad manners, so much so that I could probably write a book on train etiquette.  I’ve experienced such things as, two women sitting next to one another yapping loudly on an otherwise quiet/serene train about their menstrual cycles, clipping fingernails, painting fingernails, someone humming to music on their iPod for the full hour ride, people putting coats/and or bags down on the seat beside them so that some other poor unfortunate soul can’t get a seat and has to stand the whole time, smoking in the bathroom, and much more.

Perhaps the worst, and the absolutely most egregious of them all, was the man who sat beside me one Tuesday.  He seemed nice enough as he sat down next to me with his newspaper tucked under one arm, and a white paper bad under the other.  He was middle-aged, bald, and married (I could tell because he had a ring on his finger).  I was watching a movie for my film class on my Kindle with head phones in, and when he asked to sit down, I scooted over as much as I could to give him room.  I was right in the middle of watching a Danish film with subtitles, when he broke open his white paper bag,  unveiling two bagels with cream cheese that were wrapped in thin paper.  He wasted no time unwrapping the first and digging in.  There I sat, minding my own business watching my movie, and sipping on my coffee that I brought in my travel mug.  I was trying to pay attention to the subtleties of the film, like lighting and camera angles, hidden meanings in dialogue so that could write my six page paper later on that night, when I began to hear loud, churning mouthfuls of the man eating his bagel.  I paused my movie for a second, and hoped that the resounding smacking of food churning around in his mouth would soon subside.  Instead, it went on and on and on and on.  Each time he took a bite, he smacked his mouth open and closed, so that I could hear the very moment his bite of bagel and cream cheese began to mix with his saliva.  I sat there in disbelief that a grown human being was eating this way.  As he continued to chew with his mouth wide open, I noticed other people turning around to see who was eating like this, too.

I pressed play on my movie, turned the volume all the way up, and tried to block out the incessant sound of the food swirling together next to me.  It didn’t work, though, the acoustics of his chewing sounded as if they were coming out of a loud-speaker.  “Smack.  Smack. Smack,” his chomping went on.  I racked my brain trying to come up with a way to politely tell him to eat quieter, but how do you tell a grown man that?  Well, you don’t, because if he hasn’t already learned that its impolite to eat this way at forty something years old, than I doubt he is going to listen to me.  He probably wouldn’t even know what I was talking about anyway.  It was obvious that no one had ever drawn it to his attention before, or maybe that had, but he just didn’t care.  He had to have noticed the multiple people around him giving him dirty looks, but it didn’t matter, because he was going to swish the food in his mouth like a whirlpool whether it bothered everyone else around him or not.  Sitting next to this guy was like sitting next to a two-year old at the kid table.

When he finally finished the last bite of his bagel, I breathed a sigh of relief.  I began to watch my movie again, but just as I started to get into it again, there was the smacking again.  However, this time he was chewing gum.  I saw him put piece after piece of gum in his mouth, and to be honest, I’m not even sure how he managed to fit nearly an entire pack of gum in there, but he did.  There he sat, snapping away at his gum.  Luckily, the train ride was nearly over at that point, and I resolved to shutting my Kindle and giving up on the movie.  When we got to Penn station, I got off the train, and figured (and hoped) I’d never see this guy again.

But I did end up seeing him again.  The next time I saw him, he was standing on the train platform, newspaper under one arm, and a white paper bag under the other.  I watched as he stepped onto the packed train, making his way to an open seat.  I heard him say, “Can I sit down here?” To an unsuspecting woman in her mid-thirties.  A few people who seemed to be acquainted with his eating antics actually got up and moved as if they were migrating to the imaginary good habits section of the train.

You'd think he'd take a hint...

I never saw the woman once the train ride was over, but I still see the man with bad manners every now and then.  Each time I see him, a quote I once heard replays over and over in my head.

“Good manners sometimes means putting up with other people’s bad manners.”

And sometimes it’s just as simple as that.

Tell me, what are the bad manners that you can’t stand?

Photos by pinterest.

The Results Are In…

Here we go!

1. What is your favorite book and why?

This is a hard one, because there are so many books that I love.  I would have to say Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen because I like to think of myself as a Marianne Dashwood, Middlesex by Jeffery Euginides because it takes place in Detroit where I’m from, and Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte because I could read it over and over and never get tired of it.

2. Favorite place to be? Why? 

My favorite place to be is at The St. Regis in Kauai with Matt at the huge buffet breakfast eating our brains out. <- Pure heaven.

3. Where did you take the picture that’s at the top of your blog?

This picture was taken at my bridal shower given by my BFF Reagan.  It was on a rooftop of an apartment building on the Upper West Side in New York City.

4. What was your favorite acting job? What was your least? 

Hmmm…I think my favorite was when I was in Les Miserables.  I toured in the Broadway National Tour for two years when I was a kid, and I met so many awesome people from it.  Most of them remembered me all these years later, too, and I am friends with them on Facebook!

My least favorite was when I was in an Italian Opera called Tosca, because I had no idea what anyone was saying!

5. What’s the craziest thing you’ve ever done?

This is a hard one, considering I am not really a daredevil.  I think the craziest thing I’ve ever done is moving back to New York when I was 23 with only two suitcases and a dream.  Also, anytime I’ve ever put myself out there to be scrutinized and/or rejected, including when I studied musical theater in New York when I was 18, any audition I’ve ever been on, writing a novel, going back to school, and starting this blog!

6. If you could meet the cast of one television show, who would it be? 

Definitely True Blood hands down.  I am obsessed with almost every character on that show, and am in awe of all the incredible acting.

7. If you could look like any person, who would it be?

I would have to say Penelope Cruz, but only in Vicky Christina Barcelona.

8. What is your current most favorite celeb gossip?

I think consistently my favorite celeb gossip is anything to do with Jessica Simpson.  She is the perfect combination of being completely clueless, annoying, yet endearing in some odd way that I can never seem to put my finger on.

9. Which Disney Princess would you be and why? 

I would say I’d like to be any Disney Princess that doesn’t have to give up her old life and family at the end of the movie, but that wouldn’t leave any princesses left to choose from! Has anyone noticed that trend, or is it just me?  All kidding aside, I think I would be Belle, because she looks the most like me (brown hair), she has the most beautiful singing voice out of all the princesses, and she gets to live in an enormous mansion with dishware that talks…Um awesome!

10. If you could play any role in any show on Broadway (musical or not) what would it be? 

Oh, easy!  Elphaba in Wicked so I could belt out “Defying Gravity” at the top of my lungs.  I would also love to play Glinda from Wicked, which would probably suit me more, because she has more quirks and such.

11. If you had the choice to live anywhere on Earth (including low Earth orbit) where would it be and why? 

I would love to live part-time (meaning during the NY winters) in Hawaii.  Why?  Because I think it’s the most beautiful place on earth, and because I never feel prettier than when I’m in Hawaii (incredibly good hair days…)

12. When, and why, did you start this blog? 

I started this blog because I was bored!  I was living in Grenada while Matt was in medical school, and I needed a hobby.  My friend, Reagan, had encouraged me for a while to start a blog, and I finally just went for it.  I had no idea I would get any followers let alone hundreds!!  I would have been happy if one person read it!

13. Who are you? 

Who am I?!  I’m just a girl standing in front of a boy asking him to love her.  Just kidding!  Julia Roberts’ words in Notting Hill (which I happen to be watching right now) not mine!  I don’t know how to answer this…I guess see “Who Is This Broad Anyway?”….

14. What is yours and Matt’s favorite hobby to do together? 

Our favorite thing to do is EAT!  We love to go out for dinner, particularly at Rosa Mexicano in the city, and eat our brains out.  We order appetizers, dessert, the works, and sometimes go and see a Broadway show afterward.  We also love to watch Boardwalk Empire and True Blood.  It’s our Sunday night ritual!

15. What are you studying in school? 

I am finishing up a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at The New School.  After speaking to my adviser, she has concluded that I have turned into a writing major.  It was completely unintentional, but I guess I ended up taking a whole bunch of writing courses, because I enjoyed them.

16. How would you commit the perfect crime? Would it be murder? Embezzlement? Or the perfect con? If you could, how would you get away with it?

Haha!  Good question.  Well, anyone that knows me, knows that I would never break the law, because I am way too much of a goody two shoes…but to play along with this…In a fictitious world, I would probably rob a bank…but only if I could get away with it.  Remember that movie called Sugar and Spice, where the good-girl cheerleaders robbed the bank?  Yep, that would be me.

17. What is your favorite food? 

My favorite food is an Italian dish called gnocchi.  I love it served with a rich, meat sauce, and a lot of Parmesan cheese on top.  I also love sugar cookies with frosting, and chocolate chip cookie dough blizzards from Dairy Queen!

18. What are your Kodak Moments from your time as a child on Broadway, your courtship with your husband, and now your time being married… and why? 

Best moment performing: Seeing the huge stages in each city for the first time when I was traveling in Les Miz.  There was always something so magical about seeing where I was going to be performing, before all of the monstrous sets were put up.  Some of those images are engrained in my brain to this day!  Courtship with my husband:  Probably our first two dates, because that was when we fell in love!  Being married:  Our honeymoon, because we finally got to relax for the first time after our wedding…and because we went to Hawaii!

19. If you could talk to anyone in your life that has passed on who would it be?? 

It would be my Grandma Barkoff, because sometimes I feel like she is trying to send me a message, but I don’t know what it is!  Hoping I run into the Long Island Medium some day soon…Here’s hoping…

20. What is your favorite healthy recipe? 

I love turkey chili with low-fat cheddar cheese on top, or banana bread made with apple sauce in place of oil.  Also, see http://pinterest.com/sarah_barkoff/stuff-i-eat/ 

21. Who’s your favorite parent…Mom or me? (asked by my dad…) 

Um, not answering that!

22. Are you curious about any of your readers that you don’t know? 

Yes!!  I am curious about all of you, because most of you (if not all of you) I’ve never met!  I appreciate all of you reading and commenting on my blog though!

23. What is your favorite meal and what celebrity chef would you like to prepare it for you? 

I would love to have Giada De Laurentiis make me some of her Winter Minestrone soup…and then I would ask her how she manages to have such a bangin’ bod when she eats all that pasta.

24. At what point did you know that Matt was the right one for you? 

Hmmm…I knew right away.  Our first date possibly…It was just a feeling…and I hate to sound cliché, but you really do “just know.”

25. What’s your favorite salad or salad dressing? 

My favorite salad is a Build Your Own Salad from Hale and Hearty Soup that consists of romaine lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, red beans, croutons, and goat cheese, with oil and balsamic vinegar, and sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

26. What do you miss about living in Grenada?

I miss the predictable sunny weather every day, and the fresh fish market.  I’m surprised that I don’t have more to report in terms of missing GND…but I don’t think I’m far enough removed from it yet!

27. What is the most you have ever spent on a pair of shoes and were the shoes worth it?

Well, I love a good sale, so it’s basically against my religion to spend full price on anything!  The most I ever spent on shoes was around $150 on a pair of boots that I purchased in March, knowing I would only get use out of them for maybe another month or month and a half at the most.  They were full priced, but I bought them anyway.  Yes, they were worth it, because I still wear them four years later!

28. What’s your favorite crayon shade? Your favorite dress (and an accompanying picture)? 

My favorite crayon shade is Carnation Pink, because my favorite color is pastel pink.  My favorite dress was of course my wedding gown because, in my opinion, was the most beautiful dress ever and was so me!

With that…we will wrap up the 20 Questions game…uh, 28 questions, really…but who’s counting!  This was fun!!!

~The End.

Wanna Play 20 Questions?

Hey, wanna play 20 questions with me?

Not the classic 20 questions game, but our own version?  I felt like doing something a little different this week, as my brain has been fried from school lately, so I thought I would give you guys an opportunity to ask me some questions.  You can ask me anything you’ve ever been curious about, my childhood in the theater, where Matt and I went on our first date, what my favorite color is, favorite book, favorite movie, etc.  You can post your questions as a comment, and then I will copy and paste them into a blog with my answers as soon as I get 20 (hopefully I will get 20!)  If not, I will work with whatever I get.

Is this a dumb idea?  Or is it fun?  I can’t decide yet.

I guess we’ll find out.

Happy questioning!

~The End.

I Bet You Think This Song Is About You…

You wanna know what I find awkward?  When singers sing their own names in songs.

Has anybody else ever noticed this?  When I hear an artist lovingly singing their own name, whether it’s amidst a long drawn out riff, or a random shout-out in the background of a song, I cannot help but feel my skin crawl.  I don’t know, maybe something about it reminds me of the old Greek mythology tale of Narcissus, or the heeby-jeeby way I feel when people speak of themselves in the third person…whatever it is, it’s awkward, and I wish all those that exercise this strange, strange habit would just, well, stop.

The First Offender:  James Taylor

Go on, get down with your bad self, James.

The first time I experienced this phenomenon was a few summers ago while watching James Taylor on a hot summer night in concert at Jones Beach.  It was a wonderful concert, don’t get me wrong, and James Taylor can still hold his own in a two-hour plus concert.  However, I couldn’t help it.  I cringed a little when he started breaking it down on his guitar while singing, “Baby James” over and over, as he shook his head in pure jamming mode.  I squirmed a little, as I looked at everyone else in surrounding seats, happily singing along to his classics.  Was I the only one noticing this awkwardness?  I glanced back up at James Taylor on the huge stage, still improvising on his guitar.  “Baby James’ he crooned again, this time with more emotion and conviction.

Hadn’t anyone ever told James Taylor that this was an awkward little habit?  I imagined that anyone close to him probably felt too uncomfortable to point it out, and thus enabled ‘this thing’ to go on and on…

Anyway, after my James Taylor discovery, I suddenly started taking notice of other singers doing it.  They seemed to be popping up everywhere which way I turned.

The Second Offender:  Lady Gaga

The Gaga-nator.

Does this ring a bell?

“Rah-rah-ah-ah-ah-ah!
Roma-roma-mamaa!
Ga-ga-ooh-la-la! <–Um, yeah she just gave herself a shout-out while chanting in her song Bad Romance.

Now I love Gaga, people, so don’t get it twisted.  She’s a good ol’ Italian gal, she loves Liza Minnelli as much as I do, and she sounds amazing live.  But still, she has a penchant for belting out her own name.

Recently in an interview on Oprah, Lady Gaga’s mother was asked what she thought of her daughter growing up.  Her mother responded something like, “Well, I always kinda thought she had a screw loose?”  Uh, yeah, you think?

The Third Offender, and might I add, WORST Offender:  Jason Derulo

"Jason Deruuuuuuuuloooooooo," as sung by Jason Derulo.

Jason Derulo’s habit of doing this is by far the worst.  He has multiple YouTube videos dedicated to this unbecoming habit, and even a Facebook page entitled, ahem, “Jason Derulo Sings His Own Name.”  He thinks nothing of riffing his own name, or saying it all breathy at the beginning of his songs.  I’m sure he just wants us to know who he is, but I have to ask myself, is this really the way to go about it?  Eh, I don’t think so, but maybe that’s just me…

So, you tell me, has anyone else ever noticed singers crooning their own names?

~The End.

Photos by boardwalkhall.com, idolator.com

I Had Awkward Years…And So Did You.

About two years ago my brother-in-law got his hands on one of my photo albums, where I put miscellaneous pictures that I don’t know what else to do with.  He was casually rummaging through the pages commenting here and there, until he stopped on one picture in particular, and proceeded to burst out into hysterical laughter.  I said, “What?  What are you laughing at?  Show me!”  He pulled the picture out of the photo jacket and there it was.  The. Most. Awkward. Picture. Of. Me. Ever.  “I knew I should have destroyed this when I had the chance!” I said, slipping it back into its place in the album and closing it shut.

Rewind a few months earlier to when my mother was having discovery of her own.  She found the same infamous picture at my family’s home back in Michigan while cleaning out the garage.  The day she found it, she called to inform me of her finding.  When I answered the phone and said, “Hello?” All I heard on the other end was my mother’s laughter.  “What?” I asked, “What is so funny?”  When my mom finally stopped laughing she said, “I found the funniest picture of you ever!”  I asked her to describe the picture to me, and once she mentioned the mustard colored B.U.M. Equipment sweatshirt I was wearing in it (which by the way was a staple in my wardrobe at age 9), I knew exactly what picture she was talking about.  I told her I wanted to see it for myself, so she mailed it to me.

The day it came in the mail, I opened the envelope and pulled out the picture, and I couldn’t help it, I started laughing, too.  “Had I really been that awkward?!” I asked myself.  Later that night I showed it to Matt and he said, “Ha!  You still make that face!”  I snatched it back from him, to get a closer look.  “I do?” I asked, analyzing it.  “No way.”  I held the picture out, tilting my head to the side, as if it might help me see myself hidden somewhere in my nine-year old body more clearly.  “I’m going to destroy this thing,” I suddenly said at once, ready to tear it in half.  “No, you can’t.  Those are memories,” Matt said.  As I flipped the picture over, and saw my late grandfather’s handwriting, I thought better of it, and decided to not make the rip.  Not knowing what else to do with it, I stuck it behind another picture in my photo album and forgot about it.  That is, until it was uncovered a few months later.

So, what do you do with your most awkward picture ever?  I can’t necessarily destroy the thing, it wouldn’t be right, and it’s bound to be discovered again…and again…

At this point, the only thing I see fitting is to own this picture, and my awkwardness, and everything else that was inelegant about my most clumsy years.

Yes, I’ve decided to unveil it.

Drum roll, please.

The pink and purple moon boots are a nice touch, eh?

So, there you have it…my most awkward picture ever.

C’mon you all were awkward, too, right?

~The End.

Photos by awkwardme.com.