I'm not as cool as you think

I had a fun evening last night. My friend Darcy came over, and we had lots of laughs. Towards the end of the evening, however, we were noting that while we had a ton of fun and lots of laughs, the nature of our fun was a perfect example of why it's so hard to answer the question, "So what do you do for fun?" I was thinking about this, and I just think that maybe it's time for me to let everyone in on a little secret: I'm not as cool as you think I am. Don't get me wrong, I am pretty cool, but I'm also not. Here's the story of how dorky we really are.......

The evening started with Darcy asking to look at my dog book. I have a book that has pictures and information about all of the different breeds of dogs, and for awhile now, it's been one of our "things" that Darcy always looks at the book when she comes over. We have passed countless hours looking at and commenting on the pictures in that dog book, not that cool.

We had some serious conversation about this and that, and the other thing, but the real story here picks up after the serious stuff. We decided to take a crack at learning the dance from Napoleon Dynamite. You know, the one he does at the school assembly in support of Pedro. We've been wanting to learn that dance for awhile. The thing is, it's kinda cool if the song comes on and you "spontaneously" bust out with the moves, but the process of learning the dance, that's just not so cool.

Well, we got the first three eight counts down, and then the moves got a little harder, so we decided we'd done enough for one night. I decided I should download the song so that we have it to practice to, thus I opened iTunes and we move into the next dorky phase of the evening. We were listening to clips of songs and singing along. Initially, we were pretty cool cuz it was really cool songs, oldies but goodies, I like to call them. Then we took a turn for the worst. I really don't know how she came up, but we started singing along with Celine Dion. Yes, I have her on my playlist, yes I know all the words, yes, not so cool. Darcy made the really good point that we know a lot of songs that they play on "96.5, KOIT, Light Rock, Less Talk". (Yes, it is necessary to refer to that radio station with the place on the dial, the call letters, AND the slogan.)

For those of you not familiar with this gem, let's take a trip back, oh, 15 or 18 years, when my mom used to drive me to and from school every day, as well as to anywhere we needed to go. What station was number one on my mom's pre-sets? Yes, it was Light Rock, Less Talk. This is the crap that your mom listens to that you are embarrassed to hear, let alone know the words to the songs because you've heard them so many times. I trust you all know this experience. Here's the thing: I am now a dorky adult because apparently, I like 96.5m KOIT, Light Rock, Less Talk now!!!!! I know all the songs, and I have them on my iTunes playlist. So yeah, not so cool.

If you think you have a taste of just how dorky I am, here is the kicker. After singing along to Light Rock, Less Talk, Darcy and I began discussing Disney songs. It was getting late, and we were tired, so lying down to continue our chatting and singing seemed like a good idea. We laid down nice and cozy, my laptop in my lap, and I found the Disney songs that I have on my playlist. Yes, they are on my playlist. We then proceeded to sing along, quite loudly, and with just the right theatrical flair and intonation to match the tracks (thus, you might infer that we have heard and sung along with these songs many a time). A Whole New World, Beauty and the Beast, Can You Feel the Love Tonight?, and the grand finale, everyone's favorite, Part of Your World. The Little Mermaid was out in theaters when I was 9 years old. I wasn't going to be a doctor or lawyer when I grew up, oh no. I was going to be Ariel. Now you can stop wondering about the pic I've attached.

So there you have it. Let me remind you, I AM pretty cool. But just so you know that even the coolest among us are not perfect, I chose to let you in on the real story. This narrative might be featured on VH1's Kate Newlin: Behind the Music, but I wanted you all to have the scoop first.