6 Guilty Pleasures, or, the Johnny Cougar Post
The lovely Smiler tagged me for this meme last week and I have been struggling how to post it because the first question is actually something I have been wanting to talk about for a long time. Something that is known at my workplace as a “Johnny Cougar.” Something which came from a former coworker and friend, Mamalicious. She’s from Indiana (i.e. the birthplace of John Cougar Mellencamp), so we’ll just leave it as that as to why it’s actually called a “Johnny Cougar,” but a Johnny Cougar is “something about yourself that people who know you fairly well would be surprised to learn.”
Some examples: Mine used to be (about 10 years ago) – when I was more in the closet about my junky pop culture habits – that I avidly watched the show Dawson’s Creek… or… One former coworker who could literally be an apprentice to Martha Stewart in all things (food, decoration, making cookies – the works)… well, she used to sing backup in a reggae band… or… One coworker who can’t stand to have her photo taken (EVER) apparently flashed her goodies during a gay pride parade in New York…. And Bryan? Well, Bryan has a red blotch on his arm that is actually a hickey that he GAVE HIMSELF. Yes, he sucked on his arm for an hour when he was 9 just to see what would happen, and the damn thing never went away.
Many times, you yourself cannot decide if something is a true Johnny Cougar. Johnny Cougars invariably come out at our Holiday party, the old stories are swapped, and new people start sharing goofy things about their past. Tidbits are discarded by the group as not good enough, or accepted as the official Johnny Cougar for that person until a better one is discovered at some random time. All the while, people are laughing their ASSES off. (Seriously, try it. Major icebreaker.)
But here is my dilemma. Ever since Dawson’s Creek ended (sob), I haven’t had a proper Johnny Cougar. Probably because I share every damn detail about my life and nothing is surprising anymore – but that’s neither here nor there.
I am hoping this meme might uncover something worthy of a new Johnny Cougar. Doubt it. But you be the judge.
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Name six guilty pleasures no one would suspect you of having:
1. I drink from the 2L Diet Sprite bottle directly. Of course, I am the only Diet Sprite drinker in the house. But visitors beware.
2. I pick my teeth with business cards. Unfortunately I designed the ones for my company to be too thick for this purpose, dammit!
3. No matter how late I am up, I read for a little while before bed. I clears my head. But it’s not good books. Usually it’s crap crap crap books. Or Harry Potter. Easier to clear your head with.
4. I have a love/hate relationship with the hairs on my chin. I hate that they appear, but I love plucking them. Sometimes I act like a sword fighter and yell “en garde you leetle bastard!’ before I go in and rip them out mercilessly.
5. Sometimes I find really silly, cheesy uptempo songs and listen to them over and over and OVER. I love to find ones that just lift my mood. Right now I am stuck on Har Mar Superstar’s Transit.
6. I love to look in people’s windows when we drive around at night and their houses are all lit up. I make up stories about their lives and imagine what’s going at that moment in time for them.
Name six guilty pleasures you wish you had the courage to indulge:
1. Singing lessons.
2. Scuba lessons.
3. Cheese lessons. This sounds stupid and I will probably actually do it someday, but I want to learn more about cheese! Cheeeeese, Gromit!
4. A tattoo. But not really.
5. A book of my nature photography.
6. Learning all the names of the flowers in my book of nature photography.
Name six pleasures you once considered guilty but have now either abandoned or made peace with:
1. Overeating. Major source of trauma in my life, symptom of emotional upheaval and trying to fill myself up when other parts of my life was empty.
2. My photography habit. I take lots of photos. So what.
3. My music habit. I buy lots of music. So what.
4. My movie habit. I watch lots of movies. So what.
5. My blog habit. I read lots of blogs (not so much this past week because life was crazy). But, so what.
6. Making time for myself, i.e. #’s 2-5 plus my Thursday Nights. I get almost every Thursday night to do whatever I want (Bryan gets Tuesdays) and it makes me a better person and a better mommy.
As for who to tag next, I am supposed to tag 6 people, but I am rule-breaker.
I TAG ALL MY NEW NABLOPOMO FRIENDS!
Because it’s been lovely meeting you all. I have been a terrible blog friend (well, to EVERYBODY) this week, and I promise to try to catch up with everyone when things slow down over the holiday. I really have appreciated seeing you all here.
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P.S. 30 Days of Thanks
I am thankful for Fussy starting NaBloPoMo. It’s been really awesome!
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Thanks for playing along. I liked your answers. You were much more honest than I was, in some ways. And the hairs on the chin thing… oh yeah. Totally.
I love this. Although it’s a little overwhelming for me to think about…..Johnny Cougars – love this.
We all get busy – don’t beat yourself up too bad – you’ll make the rounds soon enough.
Have a great weekend.
I LOVE CHEESE! I want to take a class toooooo! Know any in Denver? – I’m going to be there in December. Cheese cheese cheese cheese cheese.
Yes! Just when I was wondering what to post. Thanks you. I was going to comment on how much we have in common…but now you’ll just have to go and read my meme:)
Thank God! I have been dying for something interesting to blog!
Anyone who quotes Wallace and Gromit is cool with me.
And in our house, I get Friday nights and my husband gets Tuesdays. We’ve done this, gosh, for YEARS now and I’m convinced it’s the secret to our success.
Yeah, baby. JOHNNY COUGAR! I’m thinking about starting a SLEEVE of tattoos on my left arm. Is that Johnny Cougar-ish enough? Of course, there’s the thing about being prom queen…
OMG! A tag! I’m pretty bad about tags, so I can’t promise I’ll do it. My favorite part here was the Johnny Cougars. It seems so fitting. I think we could also have “non-Cougars” to sort of match with how the guy decided to SUDDENLY drop his famed nick name.
#4. Totally. I also feel the same way about pulling off those Ponds nose strips… ewwww, gross, but ohhh sooo satisfying to see those friggin’ *%($&% yanked out.
cheese totally rocks!! And I look into windows while walking or driving by as well. I tell myself it’s just to get decorating ideas. One of my former roommates used be to driven nuts by my comments until he realized his other female friend did it as well – at which point he shrugged it off as a chick thing
Wahoo – a fellow chin hair love/hater. I love to pluck as well…
I think I will consider myself tagged and save this for later in the week!
Smiler, you are welcome! Thanks for tagging me!
Angie – Johnny Cougars really are totally fun!!!
Flower Child, I haven’t done any investigating but a great place to start looking would be the Truffle. Best cheese chop in Denver! Be sure to stop by there if you have time while here. They are great at recommending wonderful cheeses to fit your mood. They supply cheese to most of the fancy restauarnts in town too!
MB- are you REALLY???????? And nothing beats prom queen.
Alida – looking forward to it! 🙂
Phil – I am pretty sure the record company forced the Cougar thing on Mellencamp because his name was so weird and John always hated it (the Cougar thing)… so as soon as he had the power, he went back to his real name. But people in Indiana still call him Johnny Cougar. 😉
Regina – I have stayed away from those Ponds things because I have a feeling I would become utterly addicted.
K – they are making a new Wallace & Gromit movie!!!
And have fun with the tags, the rest of you all! 🙂
I have to admit these memes are fun. It is interesting to see what people come up with. I was looking for something to write about anyway, so I am in.
U have been tagged for another Meme Aimee!
-Siri
I peer in people’s windows too! (NOT in a pervey way but in the same make-up-a-story-about-their-cozy-lives way)
Tell me, how do you get such excellent lighting for your photos? Always outdoors? Your photos floor me. You should go professional…
Siri, dangit, I already did that one a few weeks ago!
Alpha Dogma, I was mostly kidding about the tattoo. I think they are cool, but I know I would never get one. For so many reasons.
LA RN, thanks so much! I *kind of* am pro, in that I do it as part of my job sometimes and I also do freelance portraits… but as for the lighting – I am always on the prowl for good light, I ABHOR the flash, and I prefer lenses with small # fstops (2.8 and 1.8), which allows for more light and more blurry backgrounds which is more attractive for portraits. I should do some more posts about that, huh?
The term “Johnny Cougar” is a great one and so NEEDED in the workplace!
i think you may be the only blog I read that is unequivocably enthusiastic about NaBloPoMo
😉
Thanks for adding me as a NaBloPoMo friend. I took you up on your open meme tag – found we have some strange things in common. LOL That was fun…and made me feel a little less weird. Thanks for that!
Thanks for the tag.
About that tattoo: 32% of Gen-X mothers have a tattoo. As a symbol of their individuality. Yeah. 1 in 3. “Lets all be unique in the exact same way. SQUEEEEE!”
I have GOT to yell “en guarde” to my chin hairs!!
And we saw the Wallace and Gromit exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts. Even sat in a life size version of their motorcycle with passanger car.
You are so totally weird…
j/k. 🙂
I, too, like to look in windows at night… and um… some of that other stuff… oh, yes… the reading. Must. Read.
Good list!
this is fun. I actually like to try and get a peek into people’s homes in my neighborhood as well, especially when I walk the dog. Like you, I try to imagine what the family is like, etc.
I often try to picture a type of family when I look at house listings with interior pictures on realtor.com
oh, and you CAN make a book of your nature photography.
http://www.blurb.com 🙂
i’m planning on making a blurb book of my blog for this year, I think. 🙂
and I took a mozzarella cheese making class for free at my public library last year. Check out your library for fun, free classes like that! You’d be surprised!!! (that’ my librarian-wanna-be PSA for the day)
Cheese making (mozzarella) is really fun, actually. you get to roll your hands in warm water with the cheese curds and stuff. lol
I’ll do this in my blog today! 🙂
I totally drink from the soda bottle. Who needs classes?
Oops, I mean glasses.