Ch-Ch-Changes!

If you're a Weekend Fatty and keep up with this blog on a regular basis, you've probably noticed we have some repeat offenders, er, bloggers. I think it's time to introduce them and to let you know about a few changes here at Weekend Fat.

Amber (For those of you who don't know, that's me.)

I started this blog back in May for a few reasons:

1. I am living in China this year and found myself with a MASSIVE amount of free time. 

2. I am a pop-culture junkie and found myself wanting to start conversations about things I was reading. 3. I noticed that the things I wanted to talk about were being written about on other blogs, sometimes with the exact same angles I had in mind. I didn't want to stand on the sidelines anymore.

4. I have another blog that's more personal, more about me and my life. I noticed when I blogged about Glee or music or Helen Mirren, the readers for those posts were TOTALLY different than the ones who normally read. Market discovered.

5. My friend Meredith gave me a boost of encouragement one weekend that inspired me to stop talking about it and just do it.

It's been 6 months and I gotta say, I am very pleased with the results so far. The average post gets about 90 readers. The most read (my friend Julie's rebuttal/defense to me about Jennifer Aniston) has over 400 hits. The next few most popular (ringing in at over 300 hits) were the ones about Magic Mike and Honey Boo Boo. The total number of individual readers that have come into contact with the blog and stayed for at least a minute, is around 12,000 from what I can tell, though I think it's safe to say that we have a steady following of about 250. Considering I only have about 750 Facebook friends, I think it's safe to say that the Google machine is putting Weekend Fat "on the map." Of course, the world of pop-culture is big, and while I will never run out of topics, I know (hope) that my schedule will change once I go back to America. 

In preparation for that, I will be cutting down to 3 posts a week. But my friends will be contributing, and you, are more than welcomed to do the same. Just email me your post (or ideas!) at catidwell222@gmail.com and we will go from there.

Now...here's who you might see blogging in the future:

Vicky

Vicky-Timing is everything, and I met Vicky through an awesome organization back in Auburn, Alabama that we both got to be a part of, The Layman Group, before it disbanded. We hit it off. Vicky is a theater junkie and super talented with all things related to it. She and her husband now live in Tallahassee, Florida. In my mind, Vicky likes pretty things and laughing a lot. 

Julie

Julie-I met Julie through The Layman Group too, though when I was working at Starbucks in Auburn, she was a regular, so it's hard to know how we actually became friends. In all honesty, she reminded me of someone (no clue who) so it felt like we'd been friends for a while. Julie is a brilliant event planner who has an appreciation for all things Jennifer Aniston, fashion, and Greyhounds. The dogs, not the bus. I cannot imagine Julie on a bus. You can find her blog here.

Sandi

Sandi-I met Sandi in New Orleans when she was 12, but now she lives in Boone, North Carolina and works as a nanny while finishing her degree in Child Development. Sandi devours a lot of really thick books and TV, her greatest fault is that she doesn't like scary things. Her take on pop-culture is fresh and transparent. She is just as likely to be seen watching Game of Thrones as she is Ina Garten. I'm not sure how she'd do in a sword fight, but I know she's a great cook.

Carmen

Carmen-I met Carmen while working at a camp in my teenage years, and though we might be as opposite in personality as two people can be, I liked her snark, her honesty, and the way her hair was always perfect. Now she lives in North Alabama and we have shared pop-culture interests for well over 10 years, including the summer we spent in Montana speaking in movie quotes over long distance calls across the state. She is quite possibly the biggest Veronica Mars fan on the planet, but I have heard her perfectly quote entire episodes of Friends. I pick on her about liking Kristen Stewart, but she does make a convincing case. And that's the thing about Carmen, she can always defend, justify, and explain in detail her reason for liking whatever is that she likes. 

Romelle

Romelle-Romelle is a fellow blogger/wanna be writer who lives in North Carolina. She would want you to know that she has 6 children (one who was married in May and one who will be married in a few weeks) leaving her 4 at home that she Home Schools. She errs on the conservative side of life, loves British drama, hates Anne Hathaway and other shallow ridiculous things, and is probably one of the most quickly clever people I have ever met. We are currently in a stand off about my never having watched Freaks and Geeks. (I will get to it!) You can find her blog here.

Vanessa

Vanessa-Vanessa lives in Fresno, California and is the youngest contributor to Weekend Fat. Since graduating from high school last year, she has been working like crazy on her photography. She has a brilliant eye, and I am convinced she has potential to be the next Annie Leibovitz or National Geographic photographer. You can find her photography on her Facebook page, Vanessa D. Photography. Her pop-culture tastes are black and white, meaning she either loves things or hates them. She is a huge HIMYM fan, and recently called me crying at 2am because she finally finished Six Feet Under. 

Meredith

Meredith-I met Meredith when I worked at Starbucks in Auburn, Alabama, she was a fellow Barista, relocated from New York. She was also heavily involved in The Layman Group. I knew instantly that we would be friends, but she was slower on the uptake. Eventually we found ourselves making the shifts at the 'Bucks' fly, by talking non-stop about pop-culture. She's got a unique perspective on pop-culture, usually laser focused on what she likes, but unpredictable all the same. Though she hasn't written an actual guest post yet, she promises me that there's one (or more) coming. Even if it never materializes, she gives me lots of my ideas for posts and positive feedback that keep this blog going. You can read some of her insights at Verge Pipe Media's blog.

Um, first of all, aren't my friends supermodels? Yeah, I think so too.

Ok, so from here on out, you'll be hearing from me, mixed in a little more with these gals (and possibly even my mother!). I will put a "By" line in the subject when anyone other than me writes, and they will also be tagged in the labels so you can find more of their writing if you like what you see. And trust me, you WILL like what you see.

Thanks for reading, it's been a super fun 6 months. I'm looking forward to many more!

Amber

Coming Out Of The Nerd Closet--A Guest Post

But I wasn't ready for everyone else to know it!

I never had any intentions of coming out of the nerd closet. I was raised in a family steeped in a Star Wars/Star Trek/Lord of the Rings tradition. I watch Dr. Who, I want to be the mother of Ted Mosby's children. I get all of the Big Bang Theory references, and I spot all the easter eggs in Community. My nerd-dom has been a closely guarded secret...until I heard about HBO’s Game of Thrones.

My best friend was really into it. I had seen her tweets about the Starks and Lannisters. Dragon eggs, you say? What are horse lords? Kingdoms and sword fighting! This was just a rip off of Lord of the Rings. Clearly, a copycat, not worth my time. But I promised her I would watch the first episode when she sent me a link. 

Dragons and Kingdoms and Horse Lords..OH MY!

I watched all ten episodes in TWO days. Hour long episodes. Then I bought the books. There are five of them available so far. They are all around 900 pages. I just started the fifth one. I have developed my own theories about characters and their futures. If Daenerys Targaryen does not take the Kingdoms with fire and blood, I might start writing fan fiction. Admittedly, I am completely sucked into George R. R. Martin’s realm of “The Song of Ice and Fire.”

So what...I thought...I can keep this contained. Nobody knows how into Star Wars I am. Only those closest to me know that I would rather watch the trilogy than a chick flick. I don't want people to see me as the Manic Pixie Dream Girl. I don't want to be the quirky, bubbly girl that nerds-out to attract nerdy boys and then turns them into men, only to eventually lose them to sexy, non-nerd, women. I had no intentions to reveal my true colors. 

Until they recently came shining through. There I was at a bar: wearing a high-waisted skirt, stylish top, side-braid, and drink in hand. And I see it from across the room. Some guy is wearing a crimson shirt 
with the Lannister lion on it. I cannot get to him fast enough.

Like this...only not.

“You watch Game of Thrones?” I asked. He looked at me like I was speaking Klingon. “Your shirt,” I tried again, “Lannisters are the lions.” He smiled politely, and it hit me: he had no idea what I was talking about. In less than a minute, I stood there alone, now educated on how his shirt had to do with a soccer team. Oh God! It was too late! I came out in a bar! 

Suddenly, standing next to me was this baby-faced guy, who explained that he overheard my Lannister conversation, and that Tyrion is his favorite character. My nerd-dom outburst had pinged his nerdy girl/MPDG radar. We ended the night exchanging only names to Facebook each other and vague plans to perhaps watch Game of Thrones together sometime. 

I went home, washed off my “Hot Girl Disguise,” crawled into bed with my black rimmed glasses on, and read some more of "A Dance with Dragons."



(This Guest Post is brought to you by my friend, Sandi. Sandi is currently a Nanny in the High Country of North Carolina, aspiring to be the perfect combination of Ina Garten, April Ludgate, and Belle. She has dreams of meeting a man who can carry on conversations using only lines from NBC's comedy block. Aside from wanting to be Lena Dunham's best friend, she is a TV addict currently focused on GoT, Girls, Once Upon A Time, and Revenge. You can follow her on Twitter--@joybyrd)   

Guest Post is Coming...

Some of the best moments in television are when there's a guest on the show. It only makes sense that since Weekend Fat is all about television, that we would also have a few guests from time to time.

Stay tuned on Monday for an AMAZING guest post by my friend Sandi. Due to her love for Game of Thrones, she's recently come out of the nerd closet and wants to share her experience with the readers of Weekend Fat! 

If you have an idea you want to share with Weekend Fat, or are interested in writing a guest post, you can find us on Facebook or Twitter @weekendfat. You can also email us at: catidwell222@gmail.com.

Have a great weekend!