Jen Horton: An Examined Life (Part 1 of 2)

Jen is a good friend from Greensboro who's on her way up to grad school in Michigan! She agreed to sit down and talk with us about Gene Wilder, reality shows, Gin Blossoms, and making your own products. Be sure to check Hi Fever later this week for Part Two, when we return to one of our favorite topics: music!

And please excuse the typos--some things are unavoidable on gchat!

me: are you excited to leave greensboro and find out what michigan's all about? Jen: it depends on when I am bored, Winnie. Let me explain...I get really wrapped up in moments. For instance, ifthe tree blows a certain way in GSO or there is a fun event that doesn't get rained out, I get sad about leaving this city.me: ahhi'm the same wayi get very sentimental about places where i live

Jen: I still haven't been able to think about what it will be like in the Midwest.

I like the south...I also like listening to people sing about the south.

me: yaeh

it's nice to live in a place that's so culturally rich

Jen: but I'm assuming people sing about the South in Michigan as well.me: but they're faking

like The Band

i really like the Band, but it's annoying sometimes when they sing about the "southland"

Jen: yes, Neil Young is a good example of understanding that you can sing ABOUT southern men, but a Toronto native cannot BE one.

but nevertheless...Ann Arbor is nice I think...

me: yes

so you've been out to visit?

Jen: I didn't meet a lot of people that were depressed about living there.

I stayed with a graduate student that did not like me (or my style)

me: Ann Arbor seems like a college town from movies

ah

really?

I imagine everyone there is fratty

i know that's not true, but that's how it seems from movies and stuff

Jen: no, there are a lot of hippies and scene kids too.

she just reminded me that it gets cold in Michigan and I should have worn jeans instead of leggings.

I told her they were insulated and not from american apparel. It didn't help.

me: ok

if you had to go on a reality show, which one would you pick?

and how do you think you'd do?

Jen: okay this is hard

can I just say....I've always known I'm not as smart as a 5th grader...

but I've always secretly wanted to be on the set of that show.

that isn't my answer.

In Search of the Partridge Family

me: ohhhhh

ahaha

i haven't even heard of that one!

Jen: it was on VH1 essentially it was casting calls to find the next Partridge Fam

brilliant!

me: oh man

that's such a good idea

so you think you'd make it?

Jen: also, is GUTS a reality show?

me: yeah!

i think that counts

Jen: I know the agro crag isn't extrememly realistic....but I want that to count.

me: game shows, if you think about it, were the first reality shows

Jen: and COPSJen: that's because they chose the f-ing state athletes to do that show and one girl who was athletically challenged was always falling off into the pool of water...

every show

I wanted to be on the show to prove that people who's favorite passtime is WATCHING Guts could also WIN GUTS

now that I am older, I'm slowly realizing that it just isn't that easy to climb a mountain of neon lights and flying confetti.

my bad...

me: ahahahah

Jen: I'd like to meet Moura Kourk though...all the boys had a crush on her...

me: i know!

it was weird

even weirder was the girl at my middle school who had a crush on Mike O'Malley

she was in special ed, but that's the thing i remember about her

she was crushed out on Mike O'Malley???

Jen: whatever, I feel her...sometimes he wore a backwards baseball cap....

me: buttttt...

ok

the cap was cute

but his face!

blech

ok, moving on

susan has a question about the View

do you watch The View?

Jen: only when Barbara Walters talks about Joy Behar's vibrator....

does that count?

me: ahaha

yes

ok

i think the question is actually Susan: which "view" co-host do you most identify with

Jen: okay...

I personally think don't hold a firm connection with any of them...

however, who was that ditz replaced by Lisa Ling?

I felt bad for her...she was really stupid...

Debbie something

me: umm

not elizabeth hasselbeck?

Jen: no, equally as stupid though

she wasn't on long....

it doesn't matter...

How would you describe your approach to makeup and hair products?

Jen: Well, Winnie....when it comes to beauty productsthere is no other part of my life, except for purchasing cycling gear, that I am more into quality....

I try to only use organic products. starting with hair, I swear by this product called phyto.

it is plant based and my good friend Cara sells it at the salon she works at. I have very dry, thick hair that is unmanagable until now.

Ive used the product for over a year, although it is pretty expensive, it has cut down on time for blow drying, straightening, all that stuff that is boring and bad for your hair.

this morning I woke up and all I did was run a comb through it.

as for makeup, I have sensitive skin and my dermatologist told me I can only use clinique or organic makeup....

I am really into bare escentuals...it works really well for me.

further, I have gotten really into organic material as facewash and toner

me: i have a question about toner

Jen: recently, as a gift, I received some face wash and a facial mask by Collective. It was just rosemary sage and peas in the product...I could make it at my house...that is what I love.

me: how/why do you use it?

i have one that i use basically as a light perfume in summer

but i don't know what its real function is

Jen: okay, so toner does well at evening out and purifying your skin.

I mainly use toner after I wash my face to make sure I have gotten everything off my face. then I apply a light moisturizer.

sometimes toner can be too harsh for certain skin types though

me: ah wow

Jen: that is why I stick with burt's bees, collective or clinique

me: that makes a lot of sense

yeahhhh, the one i have is the garden tomato

it smells so good

Jen: yeah! it is good!

me: and i'm glad to know it has a function

Jen: Ive also gotten really into making my own lotions and soaps recently.

it hasnt worked out as well as I imagined, but I am slowly learning.

I recently made a lotion with spearmint and lavendar oil.
me: whoa

with lye?

or how do you do this?

Jen: I also have enough homemade rosemary hand soap to serve a small hotel.

me: ahaha

Jen: no, it was really easy....I just used coconut oil and various other oils for the lotion

and actually used a moisturizing fragance free lotion as the base

me: wow

how did you get the soap to be solid?

or it's liquid?

Jen: liquid

I boiled hot water and grated bar soap

me:Do you wear makeup every day?Jen: hahaaha

this IS a hard one!

today, I am NOT wearing makeup. Mainly because I've been more preoccupied with cooking eccentric lunches to pack for work instead of putting on makeup.

time management, you know?

me: oooh

yes.

Jen: but usually, I wear bare escentuals on my face that has SPF 15 in it, along with mascara.

I'm pretty low maintenance. Sometimes I wear eyeliner when I feel saucy or it's the weekend.

I actually like eyeliner...I just haven't found the best kind that stays on when I am riding my bike or playing a sport...

me: what's your favorite movie and why?

Jen: My favorite movie would have to be Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971 version)

As a small child I adored the movie, watching it more than once a week. I know all the words, all the songs, all the twists and turns.

This is a Jen Horton "best kept secret" but I've always had a crush on Gene Wilder.

I know that is irrational, but it is very true.

Seth Fisher let me borrow a book he wrote once, he is so witty and personable. What a man! (actually referring to Wilder and Fisher)

me: oh man!

ahaha

i saw something on tv about his wife gilda radner

and it broke my heart

he seemed like a really good partner to her

Jen: EEEk I know.

Jen: One time Gilda Radner said "I base my fashion on what doesn't itch"

I live by that quote. I have a magnet of it on my refrigerator.

me:follow-up (not really!): what's your favorite Gin Blossoms song?Jen: Favorite Gin Blossoms song is "Cajun Song" (because of its depth, content, and beat) off 1992's New Miserable Experience

me: holy cow

i am blown away by this answer!

i was expecting "til i hear it from you" or "hey jealousy"

Jen: naw girl

I was a fan, for real.

I only had two compact discs of theirs though.

me: man, that's 2 more than me

i taped their songs off the radio though!

Jen: on cassette?

me: yes.

:(

Jen: I used to tape the top ten songs of the day that came on every night at 9pm on cassette.

I would hate it when N Sync beat Hanson for #1

...TO BE CONTINUED!