My Other Secret: Boy Bands

I love listening to music and pride myself on having very eclectic tastes. Ask any of my friends - if you take me out to a sing-along piano bar (such as my favorite: Howl at the Moon), I'm almost as likely to know the lyrics to oldies as I am to classic rock, hip hop, showtunes, pop, and even a smattering of country.

But my secret musical guilty pleasure? "Boy bands."

Why you may ask?

Well, I'm not really sure, but I think that if I go back to the days when my musical tastes were just beginning to develop, it all starts to make sense.

My parents, as I grew up, listened to two types of music - "oldies" (we're talking 1950s/early 60s) and showtunes. This is what I listened to, exclusively, for the first 11 or 12 years of my life. It was what we sang along to in the car or at home. In the 5th or 6th grade, when we had a talent show and my friends sang catchy current songs, I sang a song from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

There was, however, one exception to my oldies/showtunes childhood.....

Oh Joey McIntire...

I loved New Kids on the Block. I had the big picture book of the band, a tshirt and even had the (why were these ever popular) oversized Donnie Wahlberg button. I also dreamed about Jordan knight and Joey McIntire and owned the cassette tape with the cover pictured above. I used to know all of the words to all of the songs (ok, maybe I still know most of the lyrics to "Hangin' Tough" and "(You Got It) The Right Stuff" and, my personal favorite "Popsicle").

Eventually my NKOTB obsession faded in to the background and I started to listen to more current music. It was slow goings (at least two of the songs I remember being played at my Bat Mitzvah in 1994 were Beach Boys songs). I purchased the Columbia House "buy 12 cds for a penny" deal and started picking out my own music ( Pearl Jam, En Vogue, Green Day, Boyz II Men, Mariah Carey, Ugly Kid Joe and some showtunes and oldies thrown in for good measure).

But then came the one true "Boy Band Era".

I was the late 1990s and if you were a teenage girl, chances are you loved a boy band. For most, alliances fell with either NSYNC or Backstreet Boys (BSB for short). 

From an outsider's perspective, the boy bands were all the same. Four or five young, (reasonably) good looking, (moderately) talented guys who came together (read: were brought together by that creepy guy in Florida) to bust out some tunes and some sick dance moves.

They were all relatively the same when it boiled down to it. Each guy had a role to play.

The Leader: 

 

The Young (Hot) One:

The Shy Guy

The Older Brother

The Rebel

But their songs were innocent (sounding), the boys were dreamy, and they made you want to scream.

Sure, I think deep down we all knew that they were cheesy. The carefully manicured images, the overly-produced songs, it was all part of the show, but that didn't stop us from loving them any less. I saw NSYNC in concert TWICE. Once I paid for the ticket and sat in the nose bleed seats with my friend Kristina, and the second time I was given a free floor seat by my friends Ben and Robin who had won the tickets (I even skipped out on the second half of a double I was working at a restaurant to go). They were amazing concerts, and I remembered seeing Pink (before she got really big) when she opened for NSYNC at that first concert.

My sophomore year college roommate, Jamie, also shared my love. She was a HUGE fan of O-Town and we would have moments in our dorm that we would bust out singing some of the greatest hits of all of the boy bands.

In fact, my love for boy bands spilled over in to the realm of "fake" boy bands:

• Did anyone else watch/love the MTV movie/tv show "2ge+her"? I was reminded of my love for this "group" recently by Jamie, and immediately went to YouTube to watch some of the videos. They produced such great hits as "You + Me = Us (I Know My Calculus)".
• In grad school I heard about this off-Broadway musical about a fake Christian boy band Altar Boyz. I saw it once in NYC and once on tour, and both times it was amazing.

I can't help it. I have been known to rock out to some NSYNC and BSB when they come on my ipod.

I really just love boy bands. Don't Judge.

You know you had a favorite. Leave your favorite boy band or song by a boy band in the comments!

Bad (So Bad They're Funny) Dates

This is our first attempt at a co-authored post on our blog. For reference, anything written by Diana is in blue, and Emily has written in purple. Stories are just left in black.

Today at work I (Diana) logged on to Twitter and saw a conversation happening between Emily and a mutual friend from college. They were sharing "war stories" about some of the dates that they've been on, and I found myself laughing out loud at some of the ridiculousness of people out there in the dating game.

So Emily and I have decided to poll some of the people we know for some of their best/worst bad date stories.

All names have been changed to protect the "victims" and "perpetrators" of these dating disasters!

"Ok, so I was out on a date with this guy (maybe a second date?), and I thought it was going well. I made a joke. He looks at me completely seriously, and says 'Do you think you're funny? Because you're not...' I waited for him to laugh, like he was making a joke. He didn't laugh. He was COMPLETELY serious. I mean, what do you say to that? I said 'F--k you, I AM funny' and then after a few awkward moments, the date continued. I should have walked out! How can you be so rude?"

"I had known this guy, T, for a few years. We had an off and on again thing, nothing serious - just fun times together. We went to college in different states, and would hang out when we were both in the same town. Well, we're chatting online one night, being flirty back and forth, and out of nowhere he tells me that I'm just like candy corn: Me: What does that mean? T: Well, you know how candy corn is only around for part of the year around Halloween? Me: Yeah.... T: Well, when it's not around you have really great memories of how good it is. You almost start to crave it. Me: Ok... (at this point I think I'm flattered) T: But then when you have it, it's really good at first, and then the more you have of it, the less awesome it becomes. In fact, you have so much of it, it starts to make you sick and you don't want to have it again. Until you get some distance, and then you start to want it again? Me: ....

That was pretty much the end of that situation"

Much like dear Diana, I have been on my fair share of bad dates.(much like EVERYONE!) Hell, I once went on a bad romantic getaway (a story for another time). I've been dating since I was about 12, and I am extremely talented at dating the wrong guy. This conversation between Diana and I started when I tweeted about a recent date I had with a fella I refer to as "The Russian" (this is because he is from Russia).

The Russian was cute, and we had talked on the phone prior to the date and save hardly being able to get a word in (he was very talkative) I thought we had good potential for an excellent first date. Well, apparently we didn't. He didn't seem terribly talkative when he arrived. After we sat down, he reminded me that he was a new vegetarian and I could instantly tell that he wouldn't appreciate me eating meat. Right. There was seriously only about 4 non-meat meals on this menu. (I went with grilled cheese). He finally got talking, but the subjects were terribly serious and weighty for a first date. When I asked why he gave up meat, he launched in a diatribe about how wrong it is to kill animals. Ok, I can totally dig that. But then he started bombarding me with questions about why I are meat? Why? Because I find it delicious. Do I feel guilty about killing cows? No, that's why we raise them (sorry to any vegetarians out there). I am normally ok with defending my meat lovin' ways, but he was persistent, and tried very hard to make me hate meat. Then we started talking about religion (he's an atheist raised Jewish). Yeah, THAT was fun. Then he started a discussion about why I wasn't special. You read that right - I was not special. Me. In particular. I actually thought he was joking. He kept saying "It's not like your Einstein..." At the end of the meal he revealed that he left his credit card in his car, and though he did go get it (and I sat there thinking I was being stiffed with the bill), I new that that was a little suspicious. When we left the restaurant, he actually argued with me about how I should get home (seriously dude, I know where I live). So... needless to say, there was not a second date.

Some responses to my facebook post about looking for bad date stories:

"Jesse had been asking me out for several weeks now and finally I said yes. I got a babysitter for my daughter who was about 3 at the time. Jesse went all out for the first date. He was on my doorstep at exactly 7pm. When I opened the door he had flowers for me and a toy for my daughter. Kinda weird but was a nice thought. He brought me to the Melting Pot. After dinner we were heading back to the car. Jesse ended up puking all over the hood of the car. It was gross. He apologized and then got into the car where he puked again. I ended up getting splashed with vomit cause it bounced off the dashboard. I asked if he was ok and he said yes and he apologized again. I said it was no biggie and then told him I would prefer to take a cab home. Jesse gave me some cash for the cab ride and we parted ways."

AND

"At a friend's wedding one of her new husband's friends, Mike, wanted my number so he gave it to him. Mike called and we spoke several time. He seemed nice so I agreed to go out for drinks. Mike picked me up. After I got into the car, Mike leaned over and said 'This is the date rape car since the passenger side door handle is broken and you cant get out'. Holy crap! Who had my friend and her husband set me up with?! The date went down hill from there. Nothing happened, apparently Mike was nervous and he is known to say some stupid things but seriously! Calling you car a "date rape car" is not a good idea!"

A winning clip from another experience of mine:

First date with Chris (senior year of college): He showed up at my apartment 30 mins late. I asked if I should eat something before we go to the movie, or if we were getting dinner. He said "Oh, we'll get dinner first." So I didn't eat. When we get close to the movie theater, we're low on time, so he asks if Taco Bell is ok. I said sure, even though I was hoping for a nice meal. He said, "well it's up to you, you're the only one eating." Excuse me? I thought I didn't eat cause you wanted to. So I grab some Taco Bell (omg at least it was good) and we head to the theater. At least he paid for my movie. After the movie he comes over to my apartment, and I decided that even though the night was eh, I'd invite him up. So we were kissing on my couch when he went for more. I said "no, not tonight," and he screams "MY SISTER WAS RAPED IN HIGH SCHOOL!" Then stomps off to the bathroom. When he came out he yelled some more about knowing that no means no and then left still screaming about rape. Two months later he was my barista at Starbucks. I IMed him later about why he didn't say hi. His response "What? Emily, you were just a bar in the music of my life." Craz-Zy.
OH! Guess who had ANOTHER bad date last night? This girl!!

He picked me up from work (nice!) and we ended up going to play Candle Pin bowling, since I had never been. We played three games, and I almost won twice. While sitting there chatting afterward, his phone rang twice. He picked up both times without an "excuse me" and had full and lengthy conversations. (And when the person on the other end obviously asked what he was doing he said "Nothing, just finished bowling" - NOTHING??) I figured that would be the end of the evening, because he was all talking, but then we got in the car and just started driving. He asked what I wanted to do, and since it was almost 8 and I hadn't eaten since noon, I said food. He wasn't that hungry, so he suggested just a snack... um ok? We ended up at this random Irish pub in Brighton/Lower Allston that we drove by and he thought he would check out for his ski club meetings. We ended up there for a few hours, I had three drinks, but he never suggested food. A good hour of the time he spent talking to the owner, but when we did talk we actually had a nice time. Then he drove me home. And I never had dinner.

One last story for the books:

"I had gone out with this guy a couple of times, and he was nice enough. We got along fairly well, and always had fun when we went out. At that point I was living about 20 minutes from him (he was still in school), and one weekend night he sends me a text message that he wants to hang out with me. It's late. He'd been at a Frat party. I could put together the puzzle pieces. Well, he tells me that he's going to come over, and I say "sure" - no big deal. He texts me that he's leaving his house, and he'll be there in about 20 minutes. The time passes, and it's now been about an hour. He's not at my place, and I assume that he decided not to come, so I get ready for bed. At about 1:30 AM I get a phone call from him. He's at the police station. Turns out he was a little intoxicated when he headed over to me, headed off the road, got stuck in a ditch, and when he tried to get out a cop came by to help him. The cop smelled alcohol on his breath so gave him a breathalyzer. He was right around the limit, so they towed his car to an impound lot and took him to the police station. He was calling to ask if I could come and pick him up. I do. He's stone sober at this point, but he still asks to come over. I find out in the morning that the reason he wanted to come to my place instead of taking him home was so that I could take him back to the impound lot in the morning to pick up his car. That was pretty much the last time I saw him, as the next time I spoke to him he blamed me for making him come over."

Update: This just in from a male reader:

"I don’t tend to talk about bad dates unless someone else brings up their bad date stories, but recently that happened. My most recent bad date (and by recent I mean 6 months ago) was with a girl I thought seemed pretty cool. We had somethings in common, yada, yada and then we were chatting and she said “so when are you going to ask me out?” ... I didn’t think much of it because maybe I was taking a long time to ask her out, but I didn’t think a week was THAT long. Anyways, we went out for sushi and while we were waiting for our food and such I noticed she started picking her nose. I didn’t say anything because maybe she had an itch. But after she kept doing it and doing it I was like this is 1. disgusting 2. such a turn off! It was one pick after another pick onto the next pick! I’m like (to myself) “Is there anything else up there to pick?”. I don’t really remember if it was an actually good date because this is all that I remembered, this girl picking her nose for an hour!

My next story was years ago when I first joined JDate... I’ve learned a LOT since then. We met up at a bar in Brighton to get drinks. Had drinks, had a conversation but all I could pay attention to was her ugly mole on her face. I know you’re suppose to pay attention to the girls eyes but I couldn't. My eyes kept wondering to this mole on her face. It was horrible. Disgusting. You mean the bad word, that was it! So after having a horrible time that lasted 60 minutes, she asked the waitress for a hot coffee... who gets a coffee when you just had an alcoholic drink? So she got coffee which meant I was going to star at this awful mole for another 15 minutes!!! I was in pure hell.

Some online dating advice. Don’t go out with everyone you speak with. If you connect right away online, there is usually a chance it might be a good and/or decent first date... of course no guarantee... sorry! I don’t know what non-Jewish dating is like, but the Jewish community is actually pretty small. If you’re JDate, the chances you see JDaters around town are VERY HIGH."

Nail-ed It!

Ok girls.

It's that time of the year when we start hitting up the salon for manis and pedis (or doing it yourself if you're anything like me), and each year it seems as if the nail polish names are getting crazier and crazier.



About a year ago, I tried to convince my friends that I should get a job naming nail polish colors. I came up with names a whole Star Wars line of colors (with one for each of the six movies):

A PhanPlum Menace
Attack of the Turqlones
ReveOrange of the Sith
A Blue Hope
The Empire Strikes Black
Return of the Jet-i

A bit of a stretch, I know, but there are some crazy nail polish names out there.

I'm partial to Essie (no particular reason, it's just what I usually buy) and my favorite colors to wear are "Steel-ing the Scene" and "Thigh High":

Perusing some of the other current colors on Essie's website I found such winners as Chips No Potatoes (russet brown), Starter Wife (pale pink), Big Bag Theory (brick red), and Red-y Set Ex (orangy-red).

Opi is also excellent for color names. I really like Suzi Sells Sushi by the Seashore and I'm Not Really A Waitress. To which I respond "well, then what are you?"


And if you want some really dirty polish names check out Naughty Nailz. Some of these color names are a bit more than PG-13, so I'll just let you look them up yourselves.

Sometimes I wonder if there are people that just sit around and name the nail polish colors.

I would like that job, so if someone out there works for a nail polish company, let me know. I am excellent at bad puns.

Right now, I think I would come up with some sort of "recessionista" line (I hate the word, but in the current economic climate it is used more and more often). Some color names could be:

In the Red/In the Black (either as individual colors or as a combo pack)
Raise-ing the Green
Unemployment Check
COBRA
Downsized
Maybe MBA 
Housing Bubble-Gum Pink
Gas Hike
Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac

Ok, so now my ideas are out in the public domain. If you work for a nail polish company and decide to use them, just let me know!
 

Spring = Flowers!

Well, it would if the grass wasn't buried under feet of snow still.

Ahh March. You're here, and even though spring isn't officially (who decides these things?) due to arrive for another 18 days,  I'm looking forward to seeing green grass instead of dirty snow.


I know that the adage is that "April showers bring May flowers*" but my favorite flower is one that starts to rear its head (bulb) in mid-February.... the lovely daffodil.

Also known as narcissus, the name of the flower comes from the myth of Narcissus (you know, the guy who was the original narcissist) who happened to catch his reflection by the lake, fell in love with it and stared at it so intently that he (depending  who you hear it from) fell in and drowned OR couldn't tear himself away so he just starved to death. And the very first narcissus flower bloomed on that very spot.

The original narcissist. 

Narcissus by Michelangelo Caravaggio

For nerds - Narcissus, the person, is also closely tied to the story of Echo.

Anyway, I really like daffodils. One of my favorite things is that they're always the first flower to pop up, usually in early February and though they typically come in three colors (yellow, white, orange, and the combination thereof), there are a million different varieties. Some are closed buds, some are double layers, and some are just simple flowers - the bell and the petals.

I think part of the reason why I love daffodils is that when my family moved when I was ten, I went to the store and picked out bulbs and planted a bunch of daffodils around the light post. Even though I didn't pay much attention, this hearty flower bloomed regularly every February.

In college and grad school, I always noticed the flowers peeking out from the soil on campus. 

When I was living in Alabama, I noticed that one of my co-workers had a daffodil tote bag. I commented on it and the next day she brought be a whole bouquet of flowers for my desk.

They herald the spring like little flower trumpets.

And now, a poem by Wadsworth:

 

 

I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

*bad joke alert - If April showers bring May flowers, what do May flowers bring? PILGRIMS!! (get it? May flowers...the Mayflower....)

No. Seriously. Dresses/skirts with pockets are AWESOME.

I know I mentioned this before, but I needed to share again. 

On Feb 13th, I spent the evening celebrating one of my friend's 30th b-day (Happy Birthday again, Sarah!). We played games, ate food, drank some sangria, and just hung out.

It was a mixed crowd, but more girls than boys, so of course the topic turned to fashion.

Now, I've never considered myself to be someone who cared much for the latest styles or trends, but I can't tell you enough how I feel about dresses and skirts with pockets. I mean seriously these are the greatest things since sliced bread. So when someone (I don't think I was the one that brought it up, but it's possible) started talking about pockets I may have gotten a bit over-enthusiastic about them.

 Even Cameron Diaz rocks them!

(I'm not alone. A quick search led me to an entire Flickr pool of dresses and skirts with pockets)

One of the guys in the group piped up: "what is the point of pockets? What would you keep in there? Isn't that what a purse is for?" so of course I had to defend the awesomeness of pockets.

Here is the short version of my list of why pockets are awesome:

1. Men always have pockets. I have yet to see a pair of pants or shorts for men that lack pockets. As any man knows, you never have to worry about flailing your arms around. When in doubt, your hands go in your pockets. I dislike having to figure out what to do with my hands sometimes.

2. I don't LIKE carrying a purse all the time. I'm one of those people that tends to fill whatever space I have with stuff. I would MUCH rather be able to slip an ID, a credit card, some cash, and my keys in to a pocket.

3. It's a natural comfortable thing to just stick your hands in your pocket.What girl doesn't love the fact that her jean skirt (you know we all have one) has pockets?

4. It's kind of trendy, but not a weird crazy trend (you won't see Lady Gaga rocking body suits with pockets). Just something young and hip and fun. Something that everyone can get in on.

Formal Dress? Casual Pockets? YES Please!

Woohoo!!! Valentine's Day!!!

Forgive me, but this entry is just a slightly edited version of an editorial I wrote in college for the school paper.

Maybe I'm a big weirdo, but I really like Valentine's Day. Scratch that, I LOVE Valentine's Day. It's definitely my favorite holiday.


I haven't always liked Valentines Day either. Until I started dating my boyfriend, I had spent every Valentine's Day alone. Every February 14th, I would "celebrate" another holiday - Singles Awareness Day (S. A. D.) - by wearing all black or wearing grubby clothes, and then watching horror movies where the couple dies. I'd sit in my room, either with friends or alone, and eat ice cream. I would have my own personal pity party, bemoaning the fact that I was single and cursing at all the couples of the world.

Since college though, I've developed this strange love for V-Day. Seriously! Look at it this way . . .If you're in a relationship, or have a date, you get to spend this day with someone you really care about. It's a day full of potential romance. Public Displays of Affection can occur with out people making gagging noises or telling you to "get a room."

As great as it is to be in a relationship for this holiday, being single on Valentines is a lot of tun too. Who doesn't enjoy the candy? Think about all the chocolate or the little conversation hearts - "fax me," "email me," "page me." Then there is my personal favorite candy that emerges this time of year - SweetTart Hearts.

If you feel like being bitter that you're single on the 14th, go ahead! BE bitter! This is the one day a year where people who aren't bitter can't give you a hard time, or tell you to "get over it."

Here's the recipe for a great Valentines Day: if you want to get valentines, send them to your friends. Go to CVS or Target, and buy Harry Potter or Barbie, and give it to your friends, believe me, they'll appreciate it.
Take V-Day and literally a "pity party" into a real party. Spend time with your boys. Spend time with the girls. Revel in the name of all that is red and pink!

If you feel that Valentines Day isn't complete without flowers, there is a simple solution. GO BUY YOURSELF SOME. There is no rule that says that you can't treat yourself to some roses and be your own valentine.

People always say that Valentines Day is just a waste of time and that it's a holiday created by Hallmark or the flower industry.

I don't know.

All I do know is that on February 14th, if you see me, come wish me a Happy Valentines Day - maybe I'll give you a valentine!

Me, My Stories, and a little thing I call Geek.

Ah yes, television. I love TV. I love being able to cuddle up on my big armchair, wrapped in my 1970s era crocheted throw, snacks piled on the table before me, without a care in the world except what I have waiting for me on my DVR. (I especially love it when it's cold and rainy outside.)

I hate saying it, but I REALLY love watching TV alone. It sounds silly to say I enjoy watching TV alone, because I love sharing everything with my friends and family. I am constantly laughing out loud when reading books or articles, with the hope that whoever is around will ask, "What's so funny?" (This rarely happens.) But the thing about watching TV alone is that I never have to be concerned about whether the person I am with is also enjoying the show. I can laugh when I think it's funny. I can turn it off if I don't like it. I can have it as loud as I want, or as quiet. I can make a mess of the table in front of me, or I can eat my perfectly cut cheese with crackers and no one asks for a bite. I can fall asleep in the chair without a moment of awkwardness. Watching my stories is my time.

That all said there are certain shows I like to watch with people. Ghost Hunters, for example, is best enjoyed in a dark room, with my sister, and no food. When you are eating, you are not giving the show your full attention. And GH needs your full attention. I also enjoy sharing Lost with my sister. But let's be honest, you have to watch Lost with someone – every one has a theory and these theories must be voiced. Lifetime movies are best watched with another person – then you don’t feel quite as lame.

There are two shows that I absolutely adore sharing with others – Top Chef and How I Met Your Mother. Top Chef began as an hour that I could spend with my former roommate Beth, then turned into my alone time, and recently has begun resurfacing as a show I can enjoy with my friend Michelle. Beth and I bonded over the show when we met a contestant from the second season as a food demonstration. Ever since then, I’ve been addicted. When Beth moved back to Philly, I found myself lacking a cooking partner, and a fellow Top Chef fan. It wasn’t until a season or two ago that Michelle and I realized our mutual interest, and began watching together when we could. I also text my sister’s ex-boyfriend, Josh, while I watch, as we tend to like the same contestants.

Now. How I Met Your Mother might just be my current favorite show. I enjoy it most while with my friend Leyla, who helped feed my addiction after my friend Jenna showed me an episode from season two. I was instantly hooked. After spending countless hours on the Internet scouring for free episodes, Leyla (who I had only recently met) invited me over to watch her DVD copy of the third season. Not only was a wonderful friendship born, but a viewing partner was born as well. Yes, I enjoy the show alone, but gosh darn it, it’s much more enjoyable when I have Leyla, with her adorable laugh and excellent taste in wine, by my side.

Of course, you’re now asking, well what the heck does Emily like to watch alone? Oh, you know, those horribly girly shows: Grey’s Anatomy, Ugly Betty, Greek -to name a few. I also watch Glee with my sister and roommate. That is a show you should not watch alone.

I don’t watch nearly as much TV as I used to. Now I find myself watching a whole lot of movies with the boyfriend, or episodes of Family Guy and South Park (not complaining, I love both these shows). But I really enjoy few things more than a few hours in an empty apartment, just me, my TV, and a pile of cheddar cheese.