October 21, 2008

This Post Was Supposed to be About How I Wanted to End Memes, But Then a Really Cool Chick Tagged Me So I Chickened Out.

Plus, I'm not really sure what my meme stance is. Am I pro meme or con meme? Doesn't pro meme sound like it should be some sort of topical cream the dermatologist gives you? "Sorry about that unsightly boil on your face, Jen. Instead of lancing it, why don't you try this new product, Promeme?"

My first meme started out harmless enough. I was tagged by Kat over at 3 Bedroom Bungalow (whom I love, love...thanks for Monday night, Kat!) for one of those unspectacular meme lists. Anyway, when she tagged me I was so excited I could barely breathe. I shoved both kids and Jeremy into the closet and began fervently typing away. I may have tagged way too many of my blogging buddies but I suddenly had the urge to find out seven unspectacular things about everyone of them.

I was on an adrenaline high. When Jeremy finally made it out of the closet, he refused to talk to me for a few hours. Not only was he upset with me shoving him in the closet, but he thought I seemed a little self-important about being tagged in a meme. When Jeremy came out of the closet he announced to me there would be no more memes for Jen.

(As a side note, Jeremy would like me to stop typing "When Jeremy came out of the closet". He claims it's misleading and totally false. Sorry, honey. I promise I won't type "When Jeremy came out of the closet" any more.)

Back to our story, three weeks later, after the kids and Jeremy and came out of the closet, I was tagged again with the same meme. I decided to tag people not in my immediate circle of bloggy friends. I thought by doing this I could somehow set this meme free and it would just float out into space to never return. I tagged Karl Rove, and strangely enough, he responded. Dang you, Turd Blossom! (Fun fact: Did you know that Mr. Rove has seen The Notebook over twelve times? True story.)

I am of the mindset that I absolutely have to answer all these memes. Sadly, I'm quite superstitious. I feel it might be bad luck if I don't answer each of them. Case in point, a few years back I broke a mirror and my hair just hasn't been quite right for some time now. Coincidence? Highly unlikely.

Also, what if I offend my tagger? It’s just not in me to not be responsive to another person. Some memers even dared me to keep the meme going, a few of them called me names. As I mentioned a few days ago, calling me names just motivates me more and even makes me like you a little better.

Which brings me to today. Today I was tagged by the awesomely irreverant C over at The Scattered Mind of a Tattooed Minivan Mom. She tagged me in a friendship meme so I absolutely could not resist. Also, she promised I would have lovely hair if I complied with her request. She then called me a name that I had to actually go look up on urbandictionary.com to find out just what it meant. I'm still not sure how to pronounce it, but it was plenty insulting, I'll give her that.

Four Questions about Friends:
1. Do you have the same friends since childhood?
Um, sort of. I keep in contact with a few of them, but we’ve all moved on. Life get’s busy and in the way, you know? Also, I’m pretty sure my parents paid the kids on our block to play with me. I don’t know for sure, but I can only assume so since I called up by best friend from the third grade a few years back and she shouted, “Listen chick, I’m no longer on the payroll!”

2. What do you value most about your friends?
Honesty, humor, time-shares in Mexico, swimming pools in their back yard, and forgiveness, especially when I break into their time-share or pee in their pool.

3. Are your friends sounding boards?
Absolutely! I call them and leave them very detailed voice mails because they seem to prefer screening their calls. If I need to talk to them immediately, I get a stranger to call them and they’ll usually pick up the phone. I then have the stranger pass me the phone and I have about 3.5 seconds to quickly tell them what I want them to hear. I’m pretty sure they get the gist of what I’m trying to say. Not one of them have ever called me back asking for any sort of clarification. Ever.

4. What is your favorite activity to share with friends?
Prank calling my bosses, prank calling your mom, deciding who we take pity on (that’s for you Julee), working on my phone skills (Rozzie), last minute deadlines (Sara) and late night pillow fights (I’ll never tell).

Now it's my turn to share the friendship love. If you've ever talked to, or thought about talking to a person with brown hair, consider yourself tagged. Copy and paste the questions and answer them on your blog. Here, take this badge too.


60 comments:

Anonymous said...

I haven't read your post yet, I just wanted to be the first to comment.

Anonymous said...

Okay, I guess there was no rush... I just wanted to see what all the fuss was about, why people always want to be the first. I've been someone's first before, and hey... it wasn't pleasant.
Where was I? Oh, the meme.
Anyway, I have a few friends I've had for years, and it's nice being friends with someone who knows everything there is to know about you and likes you anyway. Good friends are hard to find... especially ones who won't mock you when they've seen you jump off a pier wearing nothing but a life jacket or listened to you do karaoke to "Lady Marmalade". Not that that's ever happened me. Ahem.

Preston said...

Ok. You are way too much. And just so you know, I'm chillin' the martinis...

Tracy Lynn said...

No. I won't do it. And you can't make me. Well, you could, but I ain't cheap. Ok, I AM, but still.

NO.

Cameron said...

I'm sorry, I didn't have time to fully read this post, but I think it's refreshing that Jeremy finally came out of the closet.

Mary Anna said...

I hate that you live so far away ... I'd totally invite you to go to "Salsa and Shopping" with me on Thursday night.

Oh, my former childhood closest friend is now my step-sister. How's that for a weird world? We're closer than ever because we have plenty of fodder, making fun of my mom/her dad. Seriously - while visiting one weekend, my mom offered to cut her dad's toenails in my living room. No lie. I told them to pack up their crap and hit the road. No one cuts toenails in my living room, let alone someone else's. Stef kinda sobbed - they spent that much time at your house? (I live 4 hours away, she's 5 minutes away from them.)

Other than that, I have no connections with anyone from my childhood, except for Christmas cards and overpriced gifts for their kids' baby showers and first birthdays. That's what happens when you leave the small town in which you grew up for the chance to be a real grown up in a real city somewhere else.

Anonymous said...

So I have a swimming pool, can I be your friend? I haven't called you a skan in at least twelve hours. My mom said someone's been prank calling her, was that YOU? If so, kudos for asking her if her refrigerator was running and then telling her she'd better go catch it. Good one. Skan.

Tabitha Blue said...

Haha, this is a great post about meme's because I'm not sure where I stand on the issue either, pro or con. Look at me sounding all political, and really I'm so tired of politics right now.. why am I even still talking about this or mentioning the word politics... Ahhh, make it stop, make it stop! Ok, enough of a rant, cute blog and cute post. Just found ya and thought I'd say hi! I was drawn to your pic... not sure if you have naturally curly hair, but I'm guessing you do.. me too! Well, it's chemically treated to a relaxed state now, but I still know it when I see it!!

:)
~Tabitha~

for a different kind of girl said...

So you posted this, like, 17 minutes ago, and I was all "HELL YES!! I FINALLY GET TO TYPE FIIIRRRRRRRRSSSSSSSSTTTTTTTTT!!!"

But sheesh! I get here and I am now 8th in line, and by the time this gets posted, I'll probably be, like 23! Damn, girl!

I had a friend call me today, before she even called her husband, to tell me she got a job. I guess that means I'm a good friend. Who knew!

You realize, don't you, that Jeremy being in the closet now (again?) means our unholy union can take place much sooner, don't you? I just need to figure out what to do with my husband now, though....

for a different kind of girl said...

Good. I was ninth.

NINNNNNNNNTTTTTTTTTTTTHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Jamie said...

I love that your husband finally came out of the closet. Good for him.

Fun Post - Might have steal it.

Pamela said...

Dang. I am totally tagged. Because I am someone with brown hair and I talk to myself all the damn time.

Last week I wrote a post about my MIL walking in on me F-bombing. This week I could write one about her walking in on me having a serious discussion with me about how nutty a three year-old is.

Forget about how nutty women in their thirties are.

Anonymous said...

Twelfth. Unless someone cuts me off, like at Starbucks when I pause to to turn right and the guy in the BMW 335i cuts me off. Every. Single. Day.

You don't waterboard your sounding boards after you pee in their pools, do you? Because I would totally sign up for the job if you don't. Actually, I don't have a pool. And I'm not a very good listener. Nice meme treatment! I'm conflicted too. I'm not tagged because I've never talked to anyone with brown hair.

Anonymous said...

Hey, Pamela, I like your 335i! It's sporty. :D

Unknown said...

Oh, the horror. Here I was ready to follow you into memeless bliss and...and...I find a meme. I may have go lay down. Well, it is bed time, but you know what I mean.

I'm going to claim color blindness to brown here too. Your hair looks totally black to me. It DOES look lovely by the way so I guess the meme thing worked for you. I guess the hair thing is what's important here though. Not the crushing blow to my psyche.

Anonymous said...

I hate brown-haired people so I'm not tagged--yaya! I feel guilty when I'm tagged like I HAVE to do it! I'm a people pleasure. But I will never, EVER tag anyone. It's my burden to bear!

Anonymous said...

Crap, I have brown hair--I forgot. And so does my husband and my dog. CRAP CRAP CRAP!

Anonymous said...

I heart you. I heart you more because you DON'T tag me. (Us Jens need to stick together!)

Bee said...

I wish I had kept in touch with my childhood friends. The stories we would remember and the new ones I could tell...

Seriously Brenda said...

When Jeremy comes out of the closet again can you just let him know that I ADORE your hair? Broken mirror, schmoken mirror. Those curls rock!

Anonymous said...

I was about to get pissed because you called me irreverent but then I googled it and found out it meant disrespectful and profane. I'm good with that. You can piss in my pool anytime!

See ya Puta!

Anonymous said...

Well...half my my hair IS brown (until tomorrow's root job anyway) and I talk to myself quiet a bit. I'll have to do this meme later. I just posted about being a school-age kid and popularity. So depressing.

Jennifer said...

Congratulations on your husband coming out of the closet!

Momma Trish said...

I may do this, just so I can get the cool badge. Then again, maybe not.

PAPATV said...

A sister cousin to Promeme is Proactiv which I used back in the 90's and which abets, ironically enough, to solid, lasting friendships.

Mc Allen said...

yeah, umm,, ya had me at pee in their pool. I reallllly get you jen.... Errrrr, I can honestly say I have never been taged, never given an award, and havnt ever done a meme. And, did I see where you breifly mentioned and then skim over that you locked Jeremy in the trunk of your car? Leah
5girls1boy.blogspot.com

Lola said...

Ah, yes, the endless memes. I got tagged today and just finished the damn thing. I was always afraid to get my first one, flew under the radar for a long time, and now they just keep on coming. They're like homework.

Good job, girl.

Tiffany T said...

Crank calls, paid friends, detailed voice messages - you really should try "imaginary" friends first. If you love your friends set them free. If they come back to you, set them free again before they beat you with the giant stick.
I just found your blog, and I loved it... so I'm going to act like I didn't read the part where I was tagge...

Captain Dumbass said...

I'm going for last now and anybody who leaves a message after me is a total poser.

Memes...meh. I don't mind doing them so much, but I really hate passing them on. And I'm not afraid of breaking the chain.

Jeremy? Wow! Did not see that one coming. More power to ya, brother. Just want you to know that for me, you are still the same large and intimidating man you were yesterday.

I couldn't even do this meme if I wanted. I lost touch with all my friends once witness protection started and really, after testifying against them I don't think they really want to be my friend anymore.

I'm going now because...well, I haven't started rambling because since I always do there's no real start or end... Thanks for being my brown haired cyber-friend. If you even have brown hair. Or two children and a gay husband. Or if your name is really Jen. Thank you for being my cyber-friend even if you're a fat bald prisoner with nothing else to do except make up a fake blog to pass the time of your double life sentence.

Anonymous said...

Look at it this way, at least now you have someone who will go shopping with you and help you decorate the house and will have better hair products that you can borrow. So you know, there's an upside.

You are a freaking Meme champion. If you want, I will take my jump rope blue ribbon down from over the fireplace, scan it and fax you a copy. To ackowledge your Meme prowess.

Or I could just say, hilariously stellar post. As usual.

And yes, C.D., I'm a total poser.

Tricia said...

You're just too good at the meme thing to give it up. Really!

DeeMarie said...

I have been waiting for your "Only You Can Prevent Ridiculous Memeing" post all week! And you turn it into a meme??? I haven't decided if I'm going to follow the tag (but if I do, does that mean I get to talk to you? Cuz if so, I'm so there), but I may steal the award, because you said I could.

Khadra said...

I am so never going to be first. You post at night! Maybe I can aim for last?

Anonymous said...

Well, because you are so freaking adorable I will do it with you but don't expect me to pass it on!!!

(also, I like the cute little graphic! LOL)

Me, You, or Ellie said...

Who gets tagged more than you? Nobody, that's who. You must be tired. And bruised.

Ellie

Elle Charlie said...

My dog has a white hair-like substance covering his body and I'm currently unemployed so really he's the only other creature with a pulse I tend to run into all day, so I'm not considering myself tagged. Sometimes I don't even run into him - I hide and he cries and I just laugh.

Mama Dawg said...

What if you have brown hair? Does that count? Cause I only talk to blondes. It's a rule sorry.

Wait, you're not blonde are you?

Uh, oh. Time to rethink my stance on talking to blondes only.

What about the Capt? He has NO hair (at least that's visible in his pics...no nudies have popped up on him yet).

HeatherPride said...

One time I tried to lock myself in the closet to get away from my kid. True story. But then he kept trying to barge in on me and that's when I realized that I will never have peace in my life again. Ever. Ah, motherhood.

I do have one friend who I can't remember life without. We have known each other 4-eva. Our oldest children are both crazy. Weird.

Kat said...

On the grounds that I am now a conscientious objector to memes I refuse to do said meme. Just disregard the fact that I was the first to tag you with a meme...

Oh and you are totally welcome.

Ali said...

Someone tagged my for this meme a while back but who on earth has time to make IRL friends since the internet was invented?

Jenny Grace said...

My policy (since isn't that clearly what you were asking for) is to do a meme once, if I like it, never if I don't and I don't repeat. Although if I get tagged in a repeat MeMe or I just feel like I'm getting tagged in too many, I will let the person know why I'm not doing it.

Ringleader said...

SO, just to clarify, I can have the badge, but NOT do the meme? Yeah- there IS such a thing as a free lunch! (or is it puppy?) I've been tagged twice and was so excited because I'd never been tagged before, but the pressure to come up with something funny has driven me to run off with Dee Snyder. Sorry- He saw my post about halloween costumes and wants me to come be his new costume designer- apparently he googles himself every day to find out if anybody said anything about him-

Rhea said...

You had me at honesty and time-shares in Mexico.

zipbagofbones said...

I don't really understand what this meme thing is all about. Is it like the travelling survey from hell? Because I might be totally down with that.

GreenJello said...

What's brown hair?

Tabitha Blue said...

Yay, I knew it... I used to have an identical head of hair... long, dark and curly!!! Isn't it just loads of fun! :)

Angie said...

You have way too many comments for me to ever be noticed by you. Where you this popular in school? Did kids want to sit with you at lunchtime? 'Cause I would have totally been one of your lacky's. :)

Unknown said...

Peeing in swimming pools doesn't require forgiveness. It requires discretion ;-)

jerlyn said...

Hi Steenky Bee, enjoyed your latest blog. Tell Jeremy is ok
to come out of closet!
The question on friends, i have
a friend who has been close to me
for 50 some odd years! I'm very lucky.
ps if ya wanta see Cpt. Dumbass before he got his Cpts. bar, check out my blog
l

Jenni said...

I have no official statement regarding memes at this time. I am waiting to see what McCain and Obama say about the issue before I make up my mind.

The Stiletto Mom said...

Oh hey now! I posted a comment earlier! Where did it go? I mean, I wasn't first of course....because to be first around here I'd have to like stay up 24 hours and hit refresh, refresh, refresh...
Wait, what was I saying? Sigh...
Oh well...FIFTY FIRST!!!!!

Dr Zibbs said...

The only thing I have against a meme is the name.

Anonymous said...

I would have been first if I weren't playing on Facebook yesterday. So, it's not my fault.

Brown hair? Damn it.

Ron said...

Poor Jeremy. The closet treatment is not cool. Poor guy

Ali said...

i am, by far, the place where memes go to die. and awards too. it's totally not my fault. i have a very foggy brain.

Red Cup Mom said...

I know! How come everyone always wants to post first!!!

So, yeah, nice to hear he came out of the closet. Hahaha.

Laufa said...

http://morganrnl.blogspot.com/2008/10/friendsy.html

Ok I will be friendly too.
My hubby doesn't like it when I say he came out of the closet either...I'm going to have to sneek it into one of my future posts - haha!!

Dr Zibbs said...

Would love to hear some of those prank phone calls! I love prankin on people.

LiteralDan said...

I would say I'm Con Meme, but I also don't usually dare risk offending nice people who tag me. I'm weak like that.

JuleeSLC said...

A shout out from a brown haired girl (and brown eyed too).