Teenagers today don’t have any sense of propriety. Ironically, I am less appropriate now than when I was a teen. Thankfully, I can share my lack of inhibitions with my friends. I once wrote of the friend who introduced me to my co-blogger in absentia, Elaine. There were items of news that would be inappropriate to share with Elaine when we first became friends. Today, however, the TMI filter is happily on the fritz.
Men like to know if women compare notes. Elaine and I do! The conversations we have would certainly be awkward with other people in attendance. At times today, we had to check behind us to make sure the people we were discussing were not, in fact, lurking nearby. And therein lies the art of juice. Gossip, dirty details, awkward descriptions, and the like–sharing is not a bad thing! Sharing with the wrong people–not so good. Graphic details of your weekend exploits on BART? Imprudent. Funny notes of comparison with an old friend on a campus bench? Pretty okay. (Provided, of course, that the people you’re comparing are not, in fact, BEHIND YOU.)
Sometimes, I’m enticing to people as a friend purely for the entertainment of being inappropriate. Still, the uninhibited Cindy can throw people off, which is why I’m particularly grateful that Elaine and I have moved beyond that awkward dance of, “Please think I’m cool, please think I’m cool,” and the things we talk about don’t embarrass each other. (They’d probably embarrass other people, though. Which is why these stories are not to be shared with my Bioethics professor.)
Someday, we’ll have many a tale to turn into a Soap Opera Sunday. *In the meantime, I leave you with the definition of TMI: too. much. information.
