This entry was posted on Thursday, April 3rd, 2008 at 5:11 pm and is filed under Internetting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Blogging memes are like recommendation letters: I’m flattered when someone asks me to write one, but the execution of said assignment is usually more difficult — and often more tedious — than it at first seems. Which is why I never do them. Memes, at least. I’ll still write a recommendation letter, and take a horrifying amount of time making sure that every phrase is perfect and every comma is in its proper position. If you don’t get the job or the college admission, I’d rather not have that on my conscience. A meme, though? I usually just read everybody else’s answers and hope the person who assigned it soon forgets that they tagged me. If I can’t make it interesting, I don’t address it.
Because of this I’ve gained a reputation for lack of follow-through when it comes to blogging memes and email forwards. My friend Katie recently sent around an internet questionnaire in which she answered the question “Which of the recipients of this message is least likely to pass it on?” with, of course, my name. And she was right, because while I read all her answers and even intended to answer them, I never actually brought myself to follow the rules and send it on. Soon it was buried under all the new fodder in my inbox — and, until this very moment, it was buried in my memory, too. (Sorry, Katie.)
This is why when my friend Natalie tagged me for the meme in which I describe my life in six words, it’s no surprise that I vowed to do it and then promptly (almost) forgot about it. But when thoughts of it floated into my mind this afternoon as I was driving home from work, and I realized that the following sentence had exactly six words, I knew I had to follow through. It was too easy not to. Plus, I also don’t like to break promises, even though I knew Natalie was too nice to keep score. So here you go. My life in six words:
Memes and forwards end with me.
And, yes, for such a short meme, I managed to write a lot of words about it. But my task is officially almost over. I’ve done it. And if I can, you can, too. If you’re lucky, maybe you already have. And if you’re unlucky, you’re one of the following people, and have now been given the task of defining your life in six or fewer words: Katie (it’s only fair), Robin, Christa, Emily, Mel. If I didn’t tag you, it’s not because I don’t love you. I do. But I had to stop before I got tag-happy.
Okay, go to it, ladies! If you want. After all, who am I to retaliate if you don’t? Here are the guidelines:
1. Write your own six-word memoir.
2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like.
3. Link to the person that tagged you in your post and to this original post if possible so we can track it as it travels across the blogosphere.
4. Tag five more blogs with links.
5. And don’t forget to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play. (This last step is optional.)
By the way, if you enjoy six-word memoirs, you check out the book Not Quite What I Had in Mind. It’s a collection of six-word memoirs by some famous — and some not-so-famous — people. I haven’t read it yet, but it sounds intriguing.
April 3rd, 2008 at 6:39 pm
THAT is the best six word memoir I’ve ever seen!
Bravo– well done!
April 3rd, 2008 at 7:24 pm
[...] friend Caryn made me do this. Her most recent ‘blog entry (HERE) tells me I must do (not sure if that is the right word) a [...]
April 4th, 2008 at 5:30 am
Memes are welcome at Yoga Korunta. That man tries to write succinctly. A six word memoir is difficult. I’ll need some time to think. Warm weather has returned to Ohio. How are contractions counted in meme?
April 4th, 2008 at 6:44 am
David, I used one and I’m counting it as one word. My reasoning: if you type it in Word it’s counted as one word.
Anyway, I waxed poetic about my life and I think my readers will walk away thinking, “Wow, she’s thwacked.”
April 4th, 2008 at 7:36 am
Thanks, Alyson! I think the topic of the memoir depends on what is on our minds at the time. That’s what was on mine.
Wow, Katie! That was fast. And I love the sentence you came up with.
I’ll have to remember that, David. If anyone assigns another one to me and if I get around to doing it… As for word count, I’m with Melissa.
And Melissa, I loved what you came up with. It was a hilarious — though painful — image.
April 4th, 2008 at 8:53 am
Yeah, Caryn, I know. I sometimes think I’m trying to make up for being a cheerleader in a past life. All that dang chipperness…
April 4th, 2008 at 11:33 am
Funny memoir, so glad you did the meme I started
April 5th, 2008 at 5:55 pm
I usually feel like these requests are like the old fashioned chain letters–which I gave up doing umpteen years ago. I don’t like the time required mostly. There are few enough hours in the day as it is!
April 6th, 2008 at 12:42 am
LOL – Funny, I usually happily, or grudgingly, do memes – but having been tagged this one I’ve successfully managed to avoid it! Love your pithy response!
April 6th, 2008 at 7:34 am
Chipper’s not so bad, Mel. Better than morose. Anyway, humor almost always in order.
Thanks, Bookbabie and Aboslute!
Kristie, that’s why I usually don’t do them. Also, if I don’t find it interesting, I know my readers won’t, either! And I don’t want to put up something just to have something up on the blog.
April 8th, 2008 at 8:06 am
This is my first tagging! Thanks! Really. I’m going to think on it today and post it tomorrow. You’ve got me needing to make it interesting. Hmm…
April 15th, 2008 at 12:23 pm
The book is fantastic, although my husband calls it a “bathroom book” because you can just pick it up at any time and read a random page. And thus, it ended up in our bathroom. Make a mental note to never borrow my copy!
April 19th, 2008 at 7:45 pm
Glad to hear it, Robin! I never know if people will be pleased or annoyed when I tag them, so I do so with great caution.
Airing, that’s good to hear. I’ve been wondering about it. I do love the premise.