5 for Friday: 6 Signs I might be influenced a bit too much by "Friends."

The TV show "Friends" has been off the air now for the better part of 12 years.  But thanks to the eternity that is the home video market, I've been able to watch and re watch the series at least twice in its entirety since then. And I'm not saying I'm obsessed...I'm just saying there are parts of my life that are influenced a little too much by the show.  But you be the judge.  (And yes, I know it's five for Friday I have six points.  That's how influenced I am by this show! It's taken over my blog!)


6)  Peaches is the "Monica" in her apartment.

Sure, I can move to a completely
different apartment in an hour...all
 I have is this lamp.

Our daughter moved to her very first apartment a few months ago and I couldn't help but notice that while we rented a U-Haul and made several trips to move her stuff, her roommate only had to load her car twice.  Even her roommate's bed was supplied by us.  Fans of "Friends" will recall the argument between Monica and Rachel over a lamp left them when downstairs neighbor Mr. Heckles passes away.  Rachel wants to keep the lamp, Monica says it won't go with anything in the apartment. That's because nothing in the apartment belongs to Rachel.  Which is how Rachel is able to move to Phoebe's, to Joey's, to Ross's, and back to Joey's and almost to Paris in a blink.  She owns NOTHING.  Meanwhile in the real world, Monica...I mean, my daughter Peaches, will need a full moving crew and a big Uhaul and several weeks to pack in order to move the next time she wants to.


5)  I'm uncomfortable with men wearing loose shorts.

It never really occurred to me why loose sweats or basketball shorts on guys bothered me. And then I realized...I'm influenced by Friends! Phoebe dated this guy who wore loose shorts and every time he sat down he was...exposed.

Now I go to the gym every day where ALL the guys are wearing basketball shorts, (well, except the ones who are wearing JEANS, but that's another blog) and the way they have the machines set up, you can be on the treadmill and be face to face with someone on a weight machine.  I just know it's a matter of time before one of those muscle dudes gets too into what he's doing and his shorts shift and then suddenly I'm seeing WAY too much of him.  Unlikely in the real world, you say?  Doesn't matter. It happened on "Friends."  It could happen to me too.

4)  I refer to my daughter's land lord as Mr. Heckles.

Peaches lives upstairs from her landlord and apparently he's constantly telling the girls they need to
be more quiet.  Peaches is quite grumbly about it but all I can think is how Mr. Heckles, Monica and Rachel's downstairs neighbor, complained of the same thing.  So I advise my daughter to tell Mr. Heckles they aren't making any noise.  Peaches like Friends, but she's not as...into it...as I am. Straight faced she says, "Mom, my landlord's name is Bruce."

She doesn't get it.


3)  I always spot "Smell the fart acting."

Thanks to Joey and his explanation of different skills in acting, I have a hard time keeping a straight face while watching serious dramatic moments because I look for, and generally spot, what Joey called "smell the fart."  I try to keep it to myself, but sometimes I can't help it. I think about joey explaining "smell the fart" (which is actually pretty self explanatory if you think about it, and then I get the giggles.  


Thinking about it, Joey may be have a big part of why soap operas starting dying.  The great day time TV of my childhood, "Guiding Light" "As the World Turns" are gone. Some are still around, "Days of our Lives" and "General Hospital" but many have fallen by the wayside in the last ten years.  I can't help but wonder if Joey, in his bumble headed way, actually toppled an industry when I believe his part was more of an homage to the genre.

2)  I never move furniture without yelling, "PIVOT!"

Anyone who has seen more than ten minutes of "Friends" is almost certain to know this reference. I don't have to do too much to get a room full of people of all ages to yell this word, the word Ross pretty much destroyed while trying to move his couch upstairs.  Even my kids, especially Skippy, who is in his early 20's and therefore has helped many of his friends move, uses this more as a cuss word than anything else.  


1)  I WANT TO QUIT THE GYM!

Well I don't really...but this line runs through my head almost every morning when I drag my fluffy butt out of bed and into the cold to go to the gym.  I've quit enough gyms to know, as Ross and Chandler proved, it's just easier to go than to try and quit! (And plus, if I actually quit the gym, I wouldn't have the blog I'm going to write for you tomorrow!)  




There you have it!

As a final note, I'd like to remind all my readers that it is now February 5 and therefore past Ground hog's Day.  TAKE DOWN THE CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS!

Thank you.