A funny story

I thought this was funny, and also demonstrative of my life (i.e. it’s embarrassing)-

Okay, some background information. When I was learning to play tennis, I had a knack for hitting balls with the frame of my racquet rather than, say, the strings–a skill that I still possess. One day after I finished a private lesson with my friend, a lesson in which I discovered this uncanny ability, I decided to stay another hour for group lessons. (I did group lessons with, um, kids by the way.) So anyway, we were doing a warm-up drill and I approached the net to hit a volley and *PING* I –shockingly– shanked it off the frame. So my friend/coach said, “Hi. This is Jenny, and she doesn’t use the strings.” Ha ha. Ha. He made a joke, and okay, I thought it was funny.

Fast-forward in time. A few months later I started playing tennis with a really awesome partner, and she happened to use HER frame to hit the ball as well. So I shared my little anecdote about, “Hi, my name is Jenny and I don’t use the strings,” and we had a good laugh, and it became one of our inside jokes. Every time we’d mis-hit, we’d say (with guilt), “Hi, my name is ____(Jenny/Holly) and I don’t use the strings…” **

**if you are a Friends fan, it’s like Joey saying, “Hi. I’m Joey. I’m disgusting. I make low-budget adult films.”

 OR (same episode) Monica: “I’m Monica. I’m disgusting. I stalk guys and keep their underpants.”**

Allll righty then. Fast-forward again to last October. There was a tennis tournament in Roswell, and I scheduled my visit for that weekend just so I could play in it. It was the first tournament Holly were able to play doubles together. For a year and a half, we talked about being the “Dream Team,” minus the potential for success, and it was the first time we were going to have the opportunity to do it! I said, “I’ll make T-shirts!!” and Holly said, “Excellent!” and we decided to put all of our sayings and inside jokes on it. But we needed an overall theme. Well, DUH. No strings!! Holly coined the “No Strings Club” and I made us matching shirts that declared us as Proud Members of the No Strings Club!! 

Ahem. The shirt was a big hit on the tennis court (haha, big. hit.) and we were certainly amused, even though no one but us and our tennis coach really understood it. I drew a tennis racquet on there to point out the strings. It was clever. A fun momento. A nice shirt to hang onto and wear to the gym. Right??

WRONG.

I went to the gym yesterday sporting my No Strings Club shirt, did a couple classes…weight lifting, zumba…and then played tennis afterwards. Well, it was the oddest thing. I had people coming up to me at the gym commenting on my shirt, saying weird things that I didn’t really understand. But it’s a homemade shirt, I thought they were just making reference to my handiwork. Then someone asked if I made it for/because of the movie. HUH? What movie? What are they talking about?

So I’m at tennis, proudly showing Holly that I’m wearing my shirt, and then I tell her the story of people’s reactions to it. And as I say the one about the movie, instead of saying “No Strings Club,” I say, “No Strings Attached,” and then it clicks.

THAT’s the movie that chic was referring to–No Strings Attached! Aha!! OOoh, wait. You mean, the movie about a girl who wants to have a strictly sexual relationship, no commitment, no promises…you know, just sex with NO STRINGS ATTACHED? 

Oh dear God. I have just worn a shirt that proclaims myself as a PROUD MEMBER of the No Strings Club!! Not only that, all my little sayings all over the sides of the shirt are things like “No worries!” and “Do Less!” and “Aim for in” OH MY GOD.

The back of the shirt says, “Hi, My name is Jenny and I don’t use the Strings” –so really, I’m a big, walking personal add for casual sex.

Awesome.