Ryan's Shows

v.

v.

For the most part Ryan and I watch the same TV shows, but there are a few shows that are just mine or just his. For example, I watch Say Yes to the Dress, 90210 and Cake Boss. Ryan watches Barrett Jackson car auctions (that go on for eons), Sports Center, Around the Horn and PTI. We often groan when the other's show starts up. (These groans are seriously lessened thanks to DVR.) Then, one watches TV and the other usually gets on a computer or finds something else to do... sort of.

I fight it, but I actually like some of Ryan's shows. I find myself wondering how much that car is really worth and laughing along with Tony and Wilbon. I really like PTI - it's hilarious. My favorite of Ryan's shows is definitely Top Gear. He downloads the episodes on the day it airs in Britain and watches them on his computer. I can't help but lean over his shoulder to watch too. Yesterday's episode was hilarious - a must see. SPOILER ALERT: Rupert Grint was on, and Jeremy Clarkson actually used the phrase "nursing a semi." Gotta love British TV.

I like Ryan's shows, but I act like I'm doing him a favor when he watches them. I don't do it completely on purpose, but I must be doing it to gain some points toward watching some of my shows. I realize I've revealed myself to Ryan in this blog, but maybe it's about time that I own up to actually liking his shows.

This is not a one way street though. When I watch some sort of wedding/model/Heidi Klum/cake decorating show, Ryan sighs, comments on my show's ridiculousness and retreats to his desk to go on the computer, which faces away from the TV. I start to watch my show, and before I know it I hear comments like, 'Why do the ugliest girls become models?' or 'How could someone wear such a slutty dress at their wedding!?!'

He may not like my shows as much as I like his, but he is at least mildly entertained by them. I think I have more "my shows" than Ryan does, but this is all evened out by one thing...football! Even when it is not football season, I am forfeiting the TV to football! Today Ryan is expecting to receive NCAA Football 11. When Ryan and I first started dating in 2005, he warned me that I should make plans by myself for about two weeks in the summer when that years game came out. I am currently thinking about where I should go when the UPS man gets here.

v.

As I'm writing this I am reminding myself of my nephews, who are 3.5 years apart - they used to beg for "my show, my show" when one wanted Pokemon and the other wanted Bob the Builder, little boy v. baby show for those of you not in tune with children's television. (Now I think they both want Pokemon.) Much like Ryan and me, when Kal won and the TV was flipped to Thomas or Mickey or Oswald, after the groaning was over, Aden would happily watch the "baby" show, or at least sneak peaks.

Oh no, the UPS man just called and is almost  here. That's right, Ryan made friends with him, so he calls Ryan when he is about 5 minutes away because our buzzers don't work. His name is Vince.

Boys will be boys

For privacy purposes, these are my nephews Miis.

My nephews came to Philadelphia to visit last week.  Aden is 7 (and 3/4) and Kalan is 4 (and 1/4). I quickly came to realize that little boys and little girls can be very different from each other. For 4 straight days I heard fart jokes, butt jokes and poop jokes NONSTOP. And, they explained a game - no more like a tradition - that apparently all little boys take part in, the Safety Game. The rules are very easy - when you fart, you say 'safety' before someone else calls 'doorknob.' (My nephews use 'pancake' instead of 'doorknob.') This is as far as the boys take the game, probably because they are not supposed to hit. But, I did a little research and found out on Urban Dictionary that if someone says 'doorknob' before the farter says 'safety,' everyone can punch the farter until he touches a doorknob. 

(They also play a variation of this game - when you burp you say the color of your shirt. I don't know what happens after that.)

My initial reaction to this was GROSS! I do not like to talk about poop or farts, and really think all that ought to stay in the restroom. Upon figuring out why they were saying safety so often, I immediately encouraged the boys to say 'excuse me' before they say 'safety.' (I mean, I didn't want to ruin the fun.) Of course they just ignored me, but I went on wondering why they played this gross game. Then, my brother-in-law Mike heard them playing it (so gross because that means they were farting - I think they try to fart just to play the game), and he said he used to play this game when he was a kid. When Ryan heard about it, he said that he also used to play this game. They told me this is a game that all little boys play.

Eww! I realized then that little boys and little girls are so so different. I have never even heard of this game. I'm pretty sure that boys have probably never had 'personal friend days' either. For those of you that don't know, it is an evil thing that some little girls do where one girl says that another girl is only her friend for the day and can't play with the other little girls. I never took part in this, but I am pretty sure this was used against me when I was in 1st or 2nd grade. (This one girl was jealous my of friendship with another girl, so then she made that girl stop playing with me and called it a game.) I'm pretty sure boys don't get Miss Mary Mack and similar hand clapping games.

Boys and girls are just so different sometimes. We experience and learn different things. The other day I was singing 'I Am Woman,' and I was flabbergasted when Ryan said he had never heard the song before. Flabbergasted!!! It feels a little wrong to be generalizing differences between boys and girls and then talk about the song which was the theme for International Women's Year. But, I don't really feel bad about it because I believe in women being equal, empowered and on a level playing field. I also believe in embracing out differences, and I'm not blind to see that overall, there are some differences in how boys and girls act, even if it is society's fault. Well, I guess I feel a little bad because I am perpetuating these generalization about boys and girls. I can live with feeling a little bad.