I was waxing poetic about my love of ridiculous “life lesson” episodes from the TV shows of my youth (just about a year ago this month!) and how I just wanted to talk about all of the nitty gritty details of schmaltz forever. So my boyfriend suggested the title of this blog (maybe it was a subtle hint to share these thoughts with the world/not him. But I signed him up as an email subscriber so ha!) Over the past year, these has evolved into a blog not just about very special episodes but bits of entertainment, culture, and memory that are very special to me! It’s been really fun connecting with other internet-people who also remember these little bits of Americana and love to adoringly make-fun as well.
The VSB Goes Meta
Your Complete Guide to Jenny Lewis’s “She’s Not Me” Music Video
Jenny Lewis was my very first girl crush. Before I knew what girl crushes were. Or maybe even crushes. Or maybe even girls. Well, no probably not before that one. But anyway, I thought she was just fantastic in literally everything. It didn’t hurt that she had hair just like The Little Mermaid. I liked that she seemed both friendly and sad. Even in roles where she played a total jerk, she still seemed like she’d be fun to hang out with. I went to see her in college during the Jenny & Johnny tour and was so devastated when she threw her guitar pick right near me, but I couldn’t find it. But I discovered on the walk home that my boyfriend had casually slipped it into my jacket pocket.
She wasn’t the type of child actor that created all of the pandaemonium of Jonathan Taylor Thomas or the Olsen Twins, but I think that’s what made me like her even more. I liked that I could watch her in a kids movie and enjoy how unassuming she was. It made it easier to pretend that I was a member of Troop Beverly Hills and just happened to be off camera in the slumber party scene or at the back of the line as we traipsed through the woods at the Jamboree. So when I saw her music video for “She’s Not Me” it was fun because it’s a great song and because I love kitschy nostalgia.
I got a lot of these more obvious references, but I felt like everything was done very purposefully here and I couldn’t help but wonder: Why is she sitting in a pile of teddy bears? So I did a little investigating…
The Golden Girls–Okay, so the first one’s not a movie. Before she played a girl scout in Troop Beverly Hills, she played a girl scout on The Golden Girls. She was an evil girl scout who bullied troop leader, Rose. Honestly, it’s like the most horrible role if seen her in. Like I totally would have cast her in a remake of The Bad Seed based upon this performance alone.
Troop Beverly Hills–This is probably the most recognizable of all of the reference in the video. But can I just take a moment to say how perfect Vanessa Bayer is at impersonating Shelley Long? Also, Zosia Mamet’s hair is on point. I was immediately like “OMG she’s Cleo!” But did you notice that Jenny Lewis also pays tribute to her character’s gymnastics training? Seriously, such a good movie. This may need to be a Very Special Movie…
Pleasantville–I feel like the Hell Ville reference has to be a reference to Pleasantville just based on the name alone. But the priest and the Jenny’s outfit don’t really make sense with the movie.
The Wizard–The movie that introduced us the super cool yet ultimately disappointing Nintendo Power Glove. But such a cool idea though.
Toys R Us Commercial–I’m pretty sure this is the inspiration for both the teddy bear (obviously) and braids scene as well as the tricycle scene (less obviously). Also, look out for Baby Steve Urkel!
Delta Blues
I’m sorry, this post has nothing to do with very special episodes except that I really could have used a very special ending tonight.
I just spent six hours at the airport to literally go nowhere. I cried as I walked out of the terminal and found myself exactly where I started. I grimaced as I paid 10 dollars to have my car sit in the parking deck for six hours. I tried to work with the Delta gate agents who were polite and helpful, but ultimately unsuccessful. And then I left empty-handed, having spent $600 dollars to risk Athlete’s Foot and stand in a body scanner and not see my long-term turned long-distance boyfriend. I got 2 bags of chips and a bag of mini Oreos all in the name of customer service.
Now, I am on hold for a wait time of “greater than two hours” because a major airline can’t communicate about “weather.” I called in advance and stayed on hold for 90 minutes until a customer care call center attendant finally talked to me for 90 seconds. She thanked me for being “proactive” and assured me that everything had “cleared up” and that I would definitely make my connection. I was seriously feeling like Danny Tanner today. I was so detailed and on point and then all of it fell apart and I was left exasperated in the airport. But without a loving family to support me albeit I did have a better outfit on.
The one person who really made me feel taken care of was Davonte at the Best Western Plus in Atlanta. He took my reservation, was so reassuring as I called with updates of my constantly delayed departure, and ultimately canceled my reservation very graciously when it was no longer feasible for me to make the trip. Thank you, Davonte. I wish you worked for Delta and I was actually looking forward to meeting you tonight because good customer service makes you feel safe and like you’re both working to the same ultimate goal of reconciliation.
Good customer service is not stringing me along, making me sit on a Tarmac, and feeding me only Chex Mix when I haven’t had the opportunity to eat since lunch because you told me not to leave the “gate area.”
Air travel is shitty enough as it is these days. We pay high prices to sit in uncomfortable seats. We’re charged for our luggage because paying for that shitty seat didn’t cover the cost of your toothbrush, underwear, and all of the other essentials we need to live in a society. Once upon a time, airlines took care of you. Now, they don’t. Maybe they don’t have enough money, but I’m tired of paying a ton of money to be treated like shit and told that I should feel grateful.
If anyone ever does take my call off hold, I plan on trying to cancel the return flight I clearly cannot take. I’ll take a voucher because I know cash is too good to hope for. But I better not hear anything about a “change fee.” That was something that always bugged me when I had to change corporate travel at my old job. Are you so desperate to hold on to even a shred of cash that you need to charge a $200 “change fee” for a seat you have most likely already double booked? Seriously?
At least Southwest sings to you. One time I sat in an armchair for three hours at the Nashville airport because my Southwest flight was delayed. I charged my phone and watched the World Cup and they gave each and every person on that flight a $100 voucher without us having to ask. They fixed connections and they literally paid us for our time. My time is important too. Especially when I have already paid you $600 for a service that you did not deliver. I don’t blame you that the weather prevented you from doing your job, but the weather is not my fault either.
P.S. I am still on hold.
Everything Old is New Again
I understand that I’m writing a nostalgia blog, so who am I to point fingers? But can we please get some new content in Television? At first I was like hooray, Twin Peaks and then David Lynch was all like well, maybe not. But I rolled with the punches. Plus, sometimes it’s like: Who hasn’t been in The Odd Couple? It was a play that became a TV Show that became a play like 50 bazillion times and is now a TV Show again. I can deal with that. And I love Matthew Perry and that girl from Sabrina, so I could totally see myself giving the show a chance. I haven’t seen a full episode, so if it sucks don’t judge me/just pretend I never slightly endorsed it on the internet. 
And hey, I’m open minded. I even plan on watching the new Magic School Bus series because I’ve found that those episodes and Bill Nye are they ways that I learn best about science. But lately, I’ve started to feel like every time I turn around there’s another reboot in the mix and I’m starting to get pissed off about it. Maybe, it’s because I’ve been burned before. I’m looking at you Girl Meets World. But really, I can’t help but wonder is nothing sacred anymore?? Something about the Ducktales announcement has really resonated with me. Like Ducktales is coming back too? No one can think of an innovate new show for America’s youth, so we have to recycle Ducktales? It seems like everyone is looking for safe ratings, so they’re grabbing up shows they already know have done well. Instead of giving shows a chance to grow because nothing else is picking up great ratings, we live in a world where Coach gets a full series order after eighteen years. But at the same time, reboots can offer a chance to redeem a show that was once amazing and then flopped. Like maybe the new Muppet reboot can make us forget about Muppets Tonight. And wouldn’t we be all the better for it? Alas, it appears that society is telling me that reboots are in. So I’m launching a new segment of The Very Special Blog called “Reboot-o-Rama.” And yes, this is all an elaborate rouse to re-watch The Brady Brides. 
The Liebster Award
D.T. Nova has nominated my blog for the Liebster Award. Thanks!
So, here are my answers to the following very special questions:
1. What’s a subject you don’t know much about, but wish you did?
String Theory. Or maybe it’s better for my sanity that I don’t know more about that.
2. If you could have a superpower, what power would you want?
I would like to be able to turn myself into a gelatinous substance like Alex Mack and escape lame situations/eavesdrop on important conversations when necessary. I would have to become adept at avoiding vacuum cleaners.
3. What’s your favorite song?
I am not good at answering this question. I tend to go by whatever my car likes, which at the moment is anything by Michael Jackson, “I Drove All Night” by Cyndi Lauper, and “Hey Jealousy” by The Gin Blossoms.
4. What are you most likely to do on a sunny day?
I tend to do whatever I would do on any other day.
5. What are your goals for the future?
Sleep at 8-9 hours per night, afford my apartment, and have a life outside of work.
6. Is the glass half-full or half-empty?
Ahhhh I hate this question. I want to answer “it’s just half.” But I’m aware that is not really a sentenceeeee. “half capacity” which I guess is really just “half-full” fineeee, I’m an optimist.
7. What’s your favorite quote of all time? It can be from a famous person, a movie, a song, anything.
“You know you don’t have to act with me, Steve. You don’t have to say anything, and you don’t have to do anything. Not a thing. Oh, maybe just whistle. You know how to whistle, don’t you, Steve? You just put your lips together and… blow.” –Slim, To Have and Have Not
8. Is there a word that’s not really common but you use a lot?
I wish my vocabulary was more interesting, but it’s not. So. No.
9. If your name appeared in the Guinness Book of World Records, what record would it be for?
Most hours spent lying in bed while awake but “resting.”
10. If you could change one thing about the world, what would it be?
The Midnight Special would still be on television and I would be the Chief Talent Officer.
11. Do you think you can come up with 11 questions more easily than I did?
No.
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Eleven random facts about me:
1. I avoided watching Home Alone for the first nine years of my life because I thought it was a horror film.
2. I can’t reread books, but I have managed to read A Wrinkle in Time thrice because it is the best thing ever.
3. Last time I filled out one of these blog award question things, I was on a coffee cleanse. I’m now back on coffee. I love it. Why did I ever stop??
4. Oh yeah, it was my out of control acid reflux. That’s okay, I’ve purchased a lot of Tums since the coffee cleanse. I’m probably drinking less overall though because I no longer live in New York. I’m actually having trouble finding a Starbucks, which is a big problem because I have a reward on my gold card!
5. Yesterday, I didn’t have time to take a shower before work and I don’t think anyone could tell. I’m afraid this will negatively affect my personal hygiene now that I know I can get away with this shenanigan.
6. I stopped eating all pig-products after seeing the movie Babe when I was five. I’ve since made an exception for bacon and pulled pork barbecue, but I still feel wrong about it and avoid all other products. In fact, I’m feeling like I should switch to turkey bacon and give up barbecue right now as I’m typing this.
7. I stayed with my cousin in Germany for a while when I was three. I learned how to speak German without an accent, but my boyfriend has somehow twisted this into I came back to America speaking English with a German accent. I have since forgotten all of the German because no one spoke it with me when I returned and it’s been over twenty years. So much for being bilingual. It turns out three year-olds don’t have a great memory. But I can sing you a fun song about your mother accidentally chopping off all of your fingers while chopping speck.
8. I cannot be seen publicly wearing sweatpants. My friends once harassed me into going to the dining hall in my PJ pants in college (a time when everyone is wearing some variation of PJ pants everywhere) and I felt wrong about it the entire time.
9. I had the opportunity to meet BB King when I was in the first grade, but I opted not to do so because my friend told me he was a “rock star.” I immediately envisioned Axl Rose and at 7 found that image to be incredibly frightening. Then we went to his concert and I realized he was a middle-aged man in a suit playing a guitar alone on stage. I’ve always regretted not meeting him. He seemed so nice when I was 7 that I’ve always thought we could have been friends.
10. I don’t like tomatoes, but I like tomato-based things.
11. I considered buying a Kindle during the President’s Day Sale, but I realized that no price could allow me to compromise my morals. Then I had a really hard time finding a bookshelf for my new apartment. I’m worried about what that means for the future.
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Blogs I’m nominating:
1. JH Mae
2. Sleepoverz
3. PickleJinx
4. Casey Kay B
5. E.A. Douglas
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The questions I’m asking:
1. What is your guilty pleasure TV show?
2. What’s the weirdest, most random thing you’ve ever found in your pocket?
3. Are you a coffee person, tea person, or both?
4. Who is your favorite member of The Baby-Sitters’ Club?
5. What is the farthest place you’ve ever traveled from home?
6. What is your favorite thing about blogging?
7. If you could go to any concert at any time, anywhere in the world, what would you see and why?
8. If you absolutely had to change your hair into the style of one of the original Charlie’s Angels would you pick The Farrah, The Jaclyn, or The Kate?
9. What is the worst movie you have ever seen?
10. What is your favorite book that you’ve read in the past year?
11. If you could only write with one item for the rest of your life, would you chose a pen or a pencil?
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And here are the Official Rules of the Liebster Award:
If you have been nominated for The Liebster Award AND YOU CHOOSE TO ACCEPT IT, write a blog post about the Liebster award in which you:
- Thank the person who nominated you, and post a link to their blog on your blog.
- Display the award on your blog — by including it in your post and/or displaying it using a “widget” or a “gadget”. (Note that the best way to do this is to save the image to your own computer and then upload it to your blog post.)
- Answer 11 questions about yourself, which will be provided to you by the person who nominated you.
- Provide 11 random facts about yourself.
- Nominate 5 – 11 blogs that you feel deserve the award, who have a less than 1000 followers. (Note that you can always ask the blog owner this since not all blogs display a widget that lets the readers know this information!)
- Create a new list of questions for the blogger to answer.
- List these rules in your post (You can copy and paste from here.) Once you have written and published it, you then have to:
- Inform the people/blogs that you nominated that they have been nominated for the Liebster award and provide a link for them to your post so that they can learn about it (they might not have ever heard of it!).
Bye, New York!
Gothamist recently published a list of all the redundant departure from New York City essays. All in all, I’ve spent more time living upstate than in the city, so I don’t even know if I have much authority to give you my two cents on the matter. I also didn’t move to New York intending to stay forever, so maybe that has some bearing on my decision as well. That said, I think the reasons I’m leaving New York are pretty obvious. They are the same reasons as everyone else before me.
(You’ve definitely heard it all before so go ahead and skip this section if you’re sick of hearing about common reasons for leaving New York.)
I’m tired of working fifty hours a week and only being able to save fifty dollars every few months if I scrimp and save even more so than usual. And it is hard to justify living in the same place as my friends if I never have time or energy time to see them. This is not the place for me long-term, and I totally see that now. I needed to live here and lose my mind a little bit in order to find what’s right for me. And of course, I’m still figuring that out.
But I do know that I am tired of little errands taking an hour. I love public transportation, but I really would love a five-minute car trip to the pharmacy. The thought of that actually seems like Heaven. And I think that’s a pretty sad commentary on the state of my brain. I can feel myself becoming more and more neurotic each day. The noise pollution, which I used to be able to handle has finally taken its toll on me. I would like to go an entire night without having my fight/flight response system triggered by tractor-trailers or seventy-five emergency service vehicles.
There are also more personal reasons why I’m moving. Mostly, it’s that I’ve become really career-frustrated, and my family doesn’t live here. I’m getting older. They’re getting older. Babies are being born and becoming adults without knowing me except for by name and a few faded photographs, if I’m lucky.
Clearly, I wouldn’t be moving and airing my personal grievances if I was happy here. And that reason alone is probably why essays like this tend to sound obnoxious. You should be willing to put up with a certain level of bullshit if you plan on living in New York, and you should always assume that you’ve underestimated that level of bullshit. But the reason I’m writing this is not to complain. I wanted to explain all of my reasons for leaving because I also want to list everyone and every thing I am thankful for in New York. And that felt weird to do without a context–because without a context then there’s no reason for my departure.
I’m going to start off with a little love for the oft maligned MTA:
Shout outs to-
*The B Train conductor who wished us a Happy Friday every morning and a blessed weekend. Then she sincerely thanked us for riding the MTA as if we had a choice. But hey, thank you for being so wonderful that I made myself take that train every morning not so that I was on time but rather because you made me smile. This incidentally made me on time every Friday.
*The N Train conductor who sounded vaguely like Cliff Claven from Cheers and wanted so badly to talk to all of us like a Midway Booth operator that he overrode the automated system at every stop in order to remind us to take all of our belongings before departing the train. This is a very mundane message, but he really did sound like he worked at a Fair and this made the inner child in my giddy every time I heard his voice over the loudspeaker.
*The 3 Train conductor who made “this is a Harlem Bound 3 train” sound like a late night slow jam DJ asking callers to dial in for the request line.
*The N Train conductor who sounded genuinely concerned about the fact that we might not notice the N was running express, and was legitimately concerned even though she made the announcement every week at the same exact time. I know she memorized a script, but I know the conductors look out for you too. Which brings me to my final conductor thanks.
*The other N Train conductor coming off of his shift, who found me jet lagged and cold at the Astoria-Ditmars station, waiting on a Q train that wasn’t running. He asked me if I was waiting on the Q and I lied because I could tell that I shouldn’t be waiting for the Q. He may have known that I lied. Oh well.
*The booth worker who smoothed out my MTA card for me because I sat down on it and messed it up, but not enough to realize that was what I had done. And every motorman who got me safely to my destination.
To the people of New York–
*Everyone who reached out to grab me when I lost my footing (usually while running up a flight of stairs).
*The entirety of Penn Station who did not pickpocket me even though I forgot to zip up my overnight bag when I got off the train and my wallet was sitting precariously on top.
*Thank you to the younger train break dancers for not kicking me in the face. No thank you to the older train dancers who did nothing but pull ups on the bars and sexually harass the ladies.
*Thank you to every Seamless delivery person. I think I’ll miss you most of all, Scarecrow.
*To every coworker I ever had (except for the mean ones).
*To the stranger who saw me sobbing (big heaving gaspy sobs) on the train and told me “Whatever it is. I hope it gets better for you real soon.” You probably thought I was depressed or drunk or both, but I was having an asthma attack for the first time and I was crying because I thought I was slowly suffocating but I didn’t have enough oxygen in my brain to figure out what to do about it. It made me feel better to know that someone was looking out for me instead of taking advantage of me in a very vulnerable time. I have an inhaler now, so I suppose it did get better.
*To everyone who gave me a compassionate look, a colluding smile, and a helping hand. Thanks.
To the places of New York
*The Strand Bookstore and The Union Square Barnes and Noble provided me with an affordable and tangible book selection. Thank you for letting me be a person who was living hand-to-mouth but still got to read things. I cannot even begin to describe to you the wonders of the Union Square Barnes and Noble bargain book selection. These are books that wouldn’t ever be Bargain Books outside of New York and yet I got them all for five dollars! (I rate every expense in terms of Sandwiches, so this is less than the cost of half a sandwich.)
*To the lovely cafe in my neighborhood, which may be the only thing I will miss more than the Seamless delivery people. I’ve never gotten to be a regular at a restaurant until now. It’s a really cool feeling.
*To Ikea for always providing me with an affordable meal and the best view of the Statue of Liberty
*Uncle Louie Gee’s for making summer awesome.
*To every place that sells rainbow cookies and Mallowmars. Also, I’ll probably never be able to eat a bagel outside of this city ever again.
*All of my friends who have been so amazing and supportive with this move.
Okay. That about covers it! Bye, New York!
Throw Back Thursday!
How could The Very Special Blog have a Throwback Thursday when this block throws it back everyday? Well, I may a bit behind here, but I recently discovered a website that makes any website look like a Geocities page. Here’s a screen shot of The VSB Geocities-Style:
Check out the full website here and see what your blog would look like in all of this ridiculousness.
Also please continue to vote for the Very Special Disney Episode Showdown Winner! There’s currently a tie in the Vacation Attire category! I’ll make the official announcement later today. I know you’re all just dying to find out! Unless, you’re still too pissed about The Golden Girls.
A Very Special New Year
I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays and has successfully recovered from food-drink-merryment-hangovers. I’ve been very busy! I’m about to move and start a new job. It’s all exciting and horrible at the same time. I’m not sure how much time I’ll have to post with all of the moving related crap I’m dealing with, but I do have some lofty very special goals for 2015.
I’d finally like to roll out the long awaited second bracket challenge: The Very Best Disney Vacation. Obviously, this will be emotionally challenging for me because I usually cannot handle visual representations of Disney World without wanting to immediately shirk all of my duties and run away to Central Florida a.k.a. Morocco/Fantasy Land/Future World. However, my journalistic integrity requires that I throughly and accurately cover all your favorite Disney episodes and then pick the most awesome one in a throughly objective manner. I’m hoping to have all of that ready to go by February (or hopefully sooner). We shall see! 
There will be more to come from the Very Special Blog in 2015 but right now I’m visiting with the dust bunnies under my bed while I try to talk myself out of keeping 3 boxes of art supplies and clothes I haven’t worn in over a year.
A Very Special Holiday Season
It’s the most very special time of the year! Break out your cocoa and cozy sweaters and celebrate the holidays very special style! There will be sappy speeches, charitable cloying, and hopefully lots and lots of tacky holiday wear. Grab your cocoa and footy pajamas, and let’s get started!
NaBloPoMo: A Retrospective
With this post I will have officially completed NaBloPoMo! Hooray! I posted every day of the month (and sometimes twice a day). I do think I could have been better about cross-posting to Blogher. I started off really well with cross-posting each day, but by the end of the month I seemed to be doing a lot of catch-up, which kinda ruins the point of cross-posting each day. For the most part, this was a pretty fun challenge, but I am so glad that it’s over. Sometimes it felt like a chore and I do not ever want The Very Special Blog to feel like a chore! I am very happy not to have to post everyday, even though I will still post probably most days. But it’s different when you have to.
The Very Special Blog 