Guest Bitch: Megan McCafferty talks about her guilty pleasures
I don’t know when this will be posted, but as I type this I’m into Day 8 of an nameless phlegm-hocking plague. Hopefully by the time this goes up I will have recuperated. Anyway, a few weeks ago I expressed my excitement-turned-stress regarding this guest bitching stint on my own blog, and I asked readers what I should write about. Dana B. from Pittsburgh suggested that I blog about my guilty pleasures, which is perfect because I’ve been indulging quite heavily in them whilst in my weakened, mucus-laden state. Dana B. made it even easier on my compromised immune system by asking seven specific questions:1. Reality TV show that you can watch for hours on end?
We use our TV for watching DVDs and the occasional old skool VHS tape but we don’t have it hooked up to cable. This wasn’t any sort of grand statement against the medium or anything, I just never bothered to contact the cable company when we moved here. As such, I don’t watch any reality TV shows regularly, though my husband and I have totally gotten into Lost on DVD, which means that we’re having heated debates (“WHAT’S IN THE HATCH???”) that the rest of the world was having like, two years ago.
But not having a TV at home has had an odd affect on my viewing habits. Instead of elevating my tastes, I’m seduced by the crassest, most barrel-scraping reality TV shows imaginable. My in-laws own a huge HDTV equipped with a satellite network of more than 300 stations, and when I couch in front of it, I don’t discriminate. On my last visit, I got totally sucked into an all-day marathon of Monique’s Charm School. And the other night, I stayed up past my bedtime so I could watch those skanks battle for Brett Michaels on Rock of Love. I was mad at myself for not having it in me to stay awake late enough to watch the second episode of Scott Baio is 45... and Single. (I had watched the first episode for free at home via iTunes. Oh man, Erin Moran. Time has been so very unkind. And is it me, or does Henry Winkler sound like the um... anti-Fonz?) Fortunately for me, I wasn’t around for the premiere of two Coreys trainwreck because I would have watched it and I would have loved it. 2. CD you sing to in your car?
I always play music when I’m writing. In the acknowledgments page for Fourth Comings, I thank Justin Timberlake for “brining the sexy back during the intense revisions phase.” I am not joking about this. Justin Timberlake (solo, not with *NSYNC, though occasionally with other artists like Snoop Dogg on hip-hop collaborations) got me through those rewrites. For four weeks, it was all JT all the time. I even listened to JT in the car on the way to and from picking my son up from school, and it wasn’t long before he was singing along with me. Fortunately, my four year old misheard the words and sang, “I’m bringing sexy back/(yeah!)/Those other truckers don’t know how to act...” instead of the real, X-rated lyrics. This was almost as priceless as when he decided to sing Amy Winehouse—“They tried to make me go to rehab and I said NO! NO! NO!”—at the library. Or this other time.
3. Snack food that you would eat in bed?
I don’t eat in bed. The bed is for reading, sleeping, and intimate activities with one’s partner. That said, I need chocolate every day, usually after lunch. If I don’t get my hands on some Snickers minis, or those Ghiradelli dark chocolate squares with caramel in the middle, I go mental. I can’t concentrate until I get my fix.
4. Musical that you have always wanted to star in?
I always wanted to be Rizzo in Grease.
5. Car that you ogle? I don’t ogle cars. At best, I really could care less about cars, and at worst I despise them. My husband has been driving the same tiny teal Ford Escort that he bought with his first grown-up paycheck ten years ago. I drive a dinged up Honda Accord that we bought when I found out I was pregnant. We will continue to drive these cars until the engines drop out or the wheels fall off or the motors wheeze and die when we stick the keys in the ignition. Status cars mystify me.
6. Websites you visit every day?
Bluefly.com. I do almost all my clothes shopping online. If you see me at an event and you like my dress, I can almost guarantee I bought it at a steep discount on Bluefly. My mother taught me to never pay full price for anything, which was torture in seventh grade and I rilly, rilly wanted that Forenza sweatshirt at The Limited. But now I appreciate her shopping savvy. I love bargains. I love bargains to the point where I’m kind of tacky about it and if you tell me you love my dress at an event I’ll say, “I know! I got it on Bluefly! The suggested retail price was $300! I got it for $99! I’m awesome! High-five me!”
Gawker.com. I have a love/hate relationship with Gawker. Sometimes the snark is good for a belly laugh. Other times the snark just turns my stomach, especially if I know the target of the snark personally. And yet, I keep coming back. I have similar-yet-different love/hate relationships with Star magazine (tacky but entertaining) and the NYT Styles section (annoying but annoying in a way that sometimes amuses me).
Gofugyourself.com. I want to go out for drinks with Heather and Jessica. Hilarious. And they are as obsessed with 90210 as I am.
7. Something you’ve always wanted to do but are to embarrassed or nervous to try?While I’m very well traveled throughout the United States and have visited Mexico and the Carribbean, I’ve never been anywhere in Europe besides a three-day weekend in London. (Sidebar: My college a cappella group, the Clefhangers performed on the QEII from NY to London. We opened for BINGO. Just to clarify, that’s the game with the numbers and letters, not an obscure boy band. BINGO opened for Regis Philbin.) I was way too poor to go in college, even backpacker-style. Then I started working and didn’t have nearly enough vacation days. Then I quit my job, but was busy writing my books. Then my husband and I planned—and canceled—a trip to Spain that would have departed two weeks after 9/11. Then I had a baby, who is now a very active pre-schooler whom I can’t imagine bringing on a Trans-Atlantic flight. I am very embarrassed about my lack of international travel. It makes me feel so... uncultured or something, especially since many of our friends are the types who think nothing of hopping on a plane and jetting to say, Burma for a holiday. I’m determined to visit a friend in Norway in 2008. But I have my fifth book to write....
This brings this guest bitching to its end. Thanks for having me.
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Labels: author interview, guest bitch, i heart ya
Megan, i couldn't help but laugh about your TV dilemma. I can't believe you watch those bad reality TV shows! :P
Actually, lately i haven't been watching any TV. :/ All my shows are off-season (Greys, Supernatural, CSI...) I watch a lot of DVDs though and the other week i had a House marathon. Loved it.
Megan, your son is adorable. And yep, me too: I need chocolate every day or i'll perish--perish, i tell you! *sniff* Did i mention i love Nutella? :P
I love Bluefly and Gofugyourself. Those girls are hilarious.
As for being embarrassed with the lack of international travel, *sniff* count me in on that. I haven't even been to Italy and i've always wanted to go there to marry a good-looking, kind, rich, ohs so sexy Italian who will loooove me and only me forever. :(
8/04/2007 10:41:00 AM
What's in the hatch? LOL. Did you hear, Michael (Harold Perrineau) is coming back for the new season! I am thrilled about this! He has some explaining to do.
As for my guilty pleasure... I have to admit, I love mayonnaise. I know it's gross but it makes everything tastes better.
8/04/2007 11:02:00 AM
Megan,
Hope the 'plague' ends for you soon.
So, for fantasy shopping, on Bluefly, in new arrivals, which shoe speaks to you?
The sangria nappa triumph d'orsay pump?
Or the red nappa brilliant chunky heel sandals?
8/04/2007 11:31:00 AM
Megan,
I hope you are feeling better already. As for my guilty pleasures:
-- this blog
-- the eye candy on this blog
-- I can only think of my guilty pleasure movies: Cutting Edge with DB Sweeney and Moira Kelly, and Sweet Home Alabama with Reese Witherspoon and the very yummy Josh Lucas
8/04/2007 12:14:00 PM
Hmmm, maybe you should go into the whole Michael thing since that climax till well into season two, which it seems like they are still on.
Anyway! I just wanted to say that i got my boyfriend totally addicated to Lost as well. He is going crazy that he can't see season three till december and even more crazy that season four doesn't start until Jan or Feb. I've also made him promise not to look anything up on line!
Guilty pleasures are what make the world go round. Without them I think we would go crazy. Great questions and great answers :D
8/04/2007 02:59:00 PM
Megan, good answers. I especially like the part of loving reality tv shows. I remember watching For Love or Money (1 *AND* 2) and my husband would be like, "why are you watching that?" I keep telling myself I should stop but then I would just keep watching them. And most of them are actually crappy!
8/04/2007 06:11:00 PM
LOL I remember those "what's in the hatch" times.
I love Justin Timberlake! Oh man, very, very sexy. Too bad he is now dating perfect Jessica. How can I have a chance of winning his heart? BOO HOO
8/04/2007 06:56:00 PM
Megan, I hope you feel well soon.
Anyway, I totally love Lost. I can't even explain how addicted I am on this show. As for JT, luv him!
8/04/2007 08:21:00 PM
I have too many guilty pleasures to list, most of them TV related. Some of them though, I don't feel guilty at all about, which is likely a bigger problem. lol
8/04/2007 08:30:00 PM
Ha ha to gofugyourself!
I read that site regularly and didn't really know anyone else who did. Good job.
And LOST is rather addictive, isn't it? I started with the DVDs (i don't have cable either) and HAD to subscribe to the latest season on iTunes. I'm helpless.
8/04/2007 08:59:00 PM
I'm back! And I must thank you all for not pointing out what I can only assume was a typographical error on my part, unless the meds are indeed having a numbing effect on me, thereby affecting my ability to discern the crucial difference between "effect" and "affect" in the answer to number one.
Forgive me.
Okay. I'll now respond to some of your great comments:
1. SEASON 3 ISN'T OUT UNTIL DECEMBER????
2. I'm not so into shoes. I've got a growth between the third and fourth toes of my right foot called a Morton's Neuroma which causes searing pain whenever I wear shoes that are even remotely sexy. (TMI? FYI: I'm not 85 years old, though with my chest cold and foot ailments you might think otherwise.)
3. I'm feeling much better today, thank you. I should be almost 100 percent for pub week.
8/04/2007 10:01:00 PM
Ms. McCafferty, I am glad to hear you are feeling better. I hope you don't think I am intruding, but I'm just wondering about Kaavya Viswanathan. Have you talked to her? I understand if you don't want to talk about this and please, I apologize in advance if my question is offensive to anyone (that is not my intention).
8/04/2007 10:38:00 PM
I just want to say I love Megan McCafferty's books! Megan, please write more Jessica books!
8/04/2007 10:55:00 PM
Ms McCafferty,
I haven't read your books but I like your answers. I will get Sloppy Firsts on my next trip to the bookstore.
PS: Lost season 3 just ended. I believe season 4 will begin airing in February :)
8/04/2007 11:12:00 PM
Thanks Megan for telling us about Bluefly.com. I love bargain shopping!
Chocolate is like food for me, a necessity. If you want a guilty pleasure go for a cheese cake, I challenge you to stop eating after the first slice. I can't! It’s heaven, all that creamy sweetness! OMG!
8/05/2007 03:09:00 AM
OMG Aradia, I love cheesecake. One of the moist delicious things this world has to offer. I particularly like blueberry cheesecake and cookies and cream cheesecake. Ah... sinful. Not that THAT would make you stop from eating!
8/06/2007 03:21:00 AM
I meant "most" not "moist". I swear I was not thinking of anything sexual of any kind.
8/06/2007 03:24:00 AM
I just ordered Sloppy Firsts from Amazon. This will be my first YA.
I too love cheesecake!
8/06/2007 12:55:00 PM
Ah, dear Jordis; I swear we didn’t have one X-rated thought what so ever!! *wink*
8/06/2007 01:30:00 PM
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