He likes girls with names like Ashley.

At some point, YM collected the “best” of their “Say Anything” column.*
Of course I bought the book for my library! Yeesh, how could you think otherwise!?
Occasionally, I copy things out of books and tape them to the heater in my meager YA area. Display space is tight ‘round these parts, and I like the extra book-pushing this gives me. I figured I’d take some choice embarrassing bits from the book.
Um, what does it say about me that the choicest bits, the ones I keep laughing at, out loud, by myself in my office** are about farting?
Or losing control of your bladder while under a pile-up of friends, with your crush directly on top of you?
You know what’s weird, though? One of the chapters delves deep into the history of “Say Anything” for old embarrassing moments. In every single one of them the phrase “my face was red” or “was my face red” is used. Whether from 1967, 1987, or 1991.
But then, I’ve always suspected that these things were made up by the writers, designed to make spazzy teen girls feel better about their freakouts and/or less-than-confident teen girls feel better about themselves when they think, Hey, I wouldn’t be embarrassed by that. It’s similar to the women’s magazine phenomenon, which I’ve decided is not that women’s magazine readers are especially stupid because they don’t know the nipples are an erogenous zone. It’s that these magazines think their readers are so lacking in self-assurance that, upon reading sex “tips”, they think, Hey, I’m not that bad—I knew that.

*For the boys: “Say Anything” was a column of embarrassing stories. I changed out of my sweater and my tshirt came with it, flashing the whole school; I got my period unexpectedly during a ride in a hot boy’s white-interiored car; my date was all, what’s your dog chewing on, and it was a used tampon; my boobs fell out of my swimsuit; etc.

**Although, if I wasn’t by myself, I’d have to explain it to my officemate, so that’s probably a blessing. “Uh, I’m laughing at fart and period jokes, OfficeMate. Yes, I am 27.”