Lately, I've been reading a lot of blogs & tweets starting with the phrases:
"Since so many of you have been asking me...."
&
"I always get asked...."
All of these continue on into explanations of things that, actually,
I'm betting hasn't been asked more than once
but appear to be the new way
that we ladies start taking about a topic that is a bit self-indulgent.
I mean, come on...
am I the only one noticing this trend?
I've seen it SEVEN times today
in various (slightly altered to protect the innocent) forms:
"Since so many of you have asked,
here are 152 pictures of my child from (insert any beach destination here)..."
"I always get asked how to (insert generic advancement towards career here)..."
"Since so many of you have asked,
here is my family's secret recipe for (insert random food from baby shower here)..."
"I keep getting asked where I find my outfits.
Here are some of my favorite places to shop (insert RewardStyle links here)..."
You get the idea.
I mean, the only questions I keep getting asked are where to stay in Paris
and what type of editing I use for my pictures.
Pretty exciting stuff.
Ok, your turn:
What's a question you {honestly} get asked on a daily basis?
Bonus points will be awarded for each answer that makes me laugh or spit out food.
*image via
Ha! This is so true! The only question I get asked on an almost daily basis is..."Do you know the wireless password?" For some reason, at my office, if you're under 30 "and IT Specialist" automatically gets added to your title!
ReplyDeleteWhere did I get my rug from, and or wall paint color...I know, its exciting to be me!:)
ReplyDelete"what I'm going to get for going poo poo, mommy?" -jude
ReplyDeleteanother thing that bugs me is when bloggers just post pictures that have been recycled over and over again through pinterest and make up a post.
ReplyDelete"When are you going to feed me next?" (aka "Meeeowwww! Meeowwwww!") - my cats
ReplyDelete;)
(Seriously, though, you're so right about this...)
"where is the....[insert object here]?" by my 5th graders who haven't worked out that all the drawers and tubs in the classroom are actually labelled. They're ten, its the start of the school year. They will be trained or ....
ReplyDeleteSince I work in the family waste management business, people constantly ask me if I drive the trucks and/or pump the portable toilets. Last time I checked, Human Resources is not a truck driving position, but people surely seem to think it is. Oh, the joys of working in the oh-so-glamorous family business. :)
ReplyDeleteRyann... ditto... except, oops, that's kinda what this post is. Oh well! :)
ReplyDelete"Do you smell something?" This comes from Archer after he has left me a present in his pull-up.
ReplyDeleteLove.
Deletehahaha. i get asked a lot about birth control (bahaha) - which doesn't happen anymore. may have a class action lawsuit on my hands. and what my real name is- IS IT SARAH OR SADIE? i'm guilty of lots of ridic self indulgence but this one i don't think I've done, at least not in a while. (:
ReplyDeletePreach on! I don't get a ton of questions on the blog, but people who know I used to live abroad are always asking if we miss London. Not much of a conversation starter ("Um, yes. London is awesome.")
ReplyDelete"Is (insert totally random activity here) illegal?"
ReplyDeleteFull disclosure, I work for a university police department and the freshmen are awfully creative at filling their free hours with the strangest things.
"can i come over?" haha! but really, i get a lot of where to stay in *insert italian town* questions and how can i move to italy to teach english? i too detest the "i always get asked blank, so here is blank" intros!
ReplyDelete"How did you get to be so awesome?" PSYCH it's more like my boss calling me in a mild state of panic to say, "Camille! I just erased everything I wrote- how do I fix it???" And then I work my control-z MAGIC!
ReplyDeleteThe always lovely, "how many times did the baby get up last night?", which is really my husband's nice way of saying he slept through everything. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteWell, I never ever get asked questions on the blog. So if I want to bring up a topic, I just say, "I know EVERYONE wants to know..." when in truth, no one wants to know unless they're awesome (snarky mcsnarky).
ReplyDeleteIn real life, people always ask why I'm smiling all the time. I just tell them there's a silent joke running in my head constantly. JK... I'm actually really happy.
"honestly baby, did you shower today?" - my boyfriend, the compulsive shower-er, who thinks I am disgusting that I can sit around all day Sunday (and other days....) without a shower and definitely do not wash my hair every single day. whoops.
ReplyDeletehttp://itsthelittlethingsblog.blogspot.com/
Honestly, my new purse from TJMaxx has gotten more questions in the past month I've had than all other inquiries in my 30 years combined. Who knew beige leather with gold hardware was so fetching?
ReplyDeleteHahaha soo true. I get asked the most how I edit photos (still wondering that myself, ha!) and how to be a runner. Super exciting stuff.
ReplyDeleteI usually get asked - "What's for dinner Mom?" or "Where did you put my______?"
ReplyDeletepve
"When are you getting married?" All. The. Time. The answer: if you don't see a ring on my finger, then I don't know.
ReplyDeleteLOL this post made me laugh and I definitely shook my head "YES" with every one of your examples. My favorite posts are the ones that start with "Since so many of you are emailing me asking me for tips and advice on starting a blog since mine inspires you so much, here are my 10 tips" yada yada yada. For real?! Something I am asked almost daily though is "HOW MUCH DOES YOUR DOG WEIGH?!!" 83 pounds of English Bulldog love, betches. ;)
ReplyDeleteAre those your real eyes? and Is you hair natural? I sometimes want to respond it is ALL FAKE! But I usually reply--- with southern charm: Yes Ma'am, it is how the Lord made me!
ReplyDeleteThis cracked me up. I have the same thought whenever I read that term- how many people have really asked you that?! Just state what you want to share & don't pretend your inbox is flooded with people desperate to know the answers!
ReplyDeleteThe only blog question I get asked a lot of is "what is a yuppie". Which is probably not good for naming reasons :) Oops.
This is an amazing post. Thank you for putting it out there!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI ALWAYS get asked "Are your eyelashes real?" (Yes, unfortunately-- Long eyelashes make for bad eye infections) and "Are your boobs REAL? Can I touch them?!" (The second comes while I'm being groped by strangers... This happens on a weekly/bi-weekly basis.)
ReplyDeletebut on a more serious note, how DO you edit your photos? They're all so wonderful!
Yes! I think most bloggers are just making it up!
ReplyDeleteI never get asked anything.
HA. Lauren -- you've peeked into my annoyed soul. Funny because they are all TRUE.
ReplyDeleteI am totally guilty of posting a gross amount of gratuitous photos of my monsters on the blog -- not facebook though! Only 1/2 a sinner.
Anyway -- every single person that I encounter asks in genuine horror, 'how much does he WEIGH?!' about poor Sebastian.
poor guy -- let the complex begin!!!!
Haha...this is great! If you get a sec, I'd love to hear your thoughts on my latest posts.
ReplyDeletepeacelovedecor.com
Hey I asked about Paris! I'm famous! Is it bad if no one ever asks me anything? What does that mean about me? I guess people sometimes ask what kind of camera I use. Like once a year.
ReplyDeleteWe don't get asked a lot of the same questions all the time (though lately there have been a disconcerting number of questions on mixing leathers that makes me wonder whether Ben & Jerry have started turning their ice cream producers into handbags and thus flooded the market and left us with a public suddenly able to afford leather goods but bereft on how to wear them) but aside from that lately I have been itching to dole out the same response to a lot of the questions asked of me: "Let me Google that for You". Someone seriously recently asked me about a news article that I'd never read and by pasting it into google verbatim was able to find the article in less than 30 seconds.
ReplyDeleteTwo things.
ReplyDelete1. "Are you analyzing me right now?" (This is because I'm a psychology grad student that does therapy. People seem to think I can actually read their mind...)
2. "Are you two twins?" (This is when my best friend and I are both introducing ourselves to people and they find out we are both named Lauren Elizabeth. Somehow, it makes sense that if we have the EXACT same name, then we absolutely must be twins?)
Agreed. I think most blogs are super self-indulgent, I mean they're basically our own version of a reality show. :) I HATE hearing: "I know you guys have been wanting to see...(insert remodeled room here)." Or something similar.
ReplyDeleteGot news for these bloggers: Most people aren't waiting on bated breath for their next blog post! I can barely remember the names of the blogs I like much less what they keep saying they're going to post about!
Anyway, end rant. I could chat about this for hours. :) Good news is I LOVE your blog and you're not self-indulgent at all. :) Jealous of your London experience!
"Mom, where's the milk?" from my teenage son when he opens the fridge and does not look past the O.J. You didn't say that the question had to be blog-related!
ReplyDeletexxoo
C
I'm always asked if I'm ever going to actually move back to the US. I always say yes, but truth be told there's no certainty there and for now I'm ok with it.
ReplyDeleteIn the blog world, no one asks me anything...I must be pretty lame ;)
ReplyDeleteIn the real world, the only thing I get asked is in reference to my children: "are they twins?" And they will say, "oh a boy and a girl!!!" And then they ask "are they identical?" and I sort of want to remind them that boys and girls have different parts...therefor, they can't be identical...but, usually I just smile and say no.
I also get asked about my 4 year old's hair...do I curl it, have I ever cut it, etc.
But me...no...no one asks anything about little ole me. And I quite like it that way!
I look after a lot of children, so the questions I get asked most often are completely random and I don't know whether to laugh or cry. I've been asked several times 'what was life like in the olden days, when you were little?' (er, I'm 29), 'were you born in the Victorian times?' (ditto), and 'why aren't you married?' (good question). The 'why aren't you married?' question is, sadly, not restricted to coming from little people, but I guess when you've been in a relationship for 9 years it's quite legitimate to ask! (Still haven't figured out a good response, though).
ReplyDeleteThe only blog question I've ever been asked was what my Ph.D. was on.
That's how exciting I am...
I get asked almost daily how I travel with my dog or is it expensive. I also get asked whether I'm meeting cute guys abroad. My parents ask fairly daily whether I'm going to church and if they are going to ever have grandkids.
ReplyDeleteOh, I got this! My daughter asks daily about her girlie bits...why is mine different, will she have to get hair, has so-and-so seen hers, how does a baby come out of it....you get the picture. What makes it even better is she calls it a ba-gina. you know, her b's and v's get a little swapped :)
ReplyDeletebut on a blog note, i really get asked every week where my blue sofa is from and can I share my contractor. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
what kind of camera do i use....always
ReplyDelete"When are you having kids?" I live in a small foreign town where it's rare to go past six months of marriage without a baby bump
ReplyDeleteThe question I get asked all of the time lately?
ReplyDelete"So how far along are you?" -random lady in Target
"Me? Oh, I'm not pregant." -spoken by the girl who has a basketball (or two) where her waistline used to be
... oh yeah, I'm mean. but it's hilarious!
I love your honesty here. I've been feeling the same way for a while. I really have wondered sometimes if people are getting asked the same questions from multiple readers or if it's just their clever way to segway into a topic that they want to post about but don't want to seem like they have an ulterior motive or as you said, to be a bit self-indulgent.
ReplyDeleteI don't really get asked a particular question daily on my blog or in real life, although on the blog I have received several requests via e-mail & sometimes comments from readers wanting to see more of certain types of posts in future-I seem to get the same two requests which I'm glad to know because I want to post about things people want to read. ;) My hubby and I share one car so while we try to keep them in the one place, sometimes they end up in my handbag so hubby will ask, "Where are the keys?"
"try to keep them" is supposed to say "try to keep the keys" ;) oops.
ReplyDeleteI am laughing so hard right now, because it's so very true. Maybe some people have redefined "a lot". ;-)
ReplyDeleteIt is safe to say that my husband does all the cooking, so without fail, the question I hear on a daily basis is: "What do you want for dinner?" Nothing fancy like all of these other bloggers!
So funny but true. Blogs by nature are self-indulgent so unless a blog promotes someone's business/product/service most of us crazypants oversharers are probably oversharing one too many pictures of our kids/dogs/messy closet/burned dinner/opinion of whacko real housewife of ___. I am guilty of all the above I am sure. No one asks me questions on my blog so I just spout off about whatever is happening in my orbit which works out for me since the only two people who read my blog happen to be my sister and my best friend. In real life I get a lot of 'how do you do ____?' and 'what color should I paint my ____?' and 'what should I serve for _____ party?' In pretend life where I feign being someone of note, I make up questions and answer them. But I tend to start off such posts with an admission of delusional grandeur. Love reading your blog!
ReplyDelete