Chick Lit Cheerleader: JenJen2 the M(ax)

Introduction by Melissa Amster

A few weeks ago, my family and I met up again with our Chick Lit Cheerleader and her fabulous husband. This time around, we introduced them to laser tag. Jen is here today to tell us all about her experience!


Tag, You’re It!

I have a life list. Others might call it a Bucket List. The idea of having a Bucket List gives me heart palpitations—for reals. Hurry up and do this stuff before you croak, because, why? It’s on your Bucket List and when you kick the bucket, there goes your list. Having a Life List is easier on my ears and psyche. If I have an opportunity to complete some of my to-dos while I’m on this side of the sod, awesome. If not? Bygones.

One of the coolest things about living in Merryland (or “Maryland” for those who wouldn’t want to live in “Merryland,” which is no one I know of), is living near those I hold near and dear. Melissa Amster, our fearless leader and my editor here at Chick Lit Central, lives a Maryland hop, skip and jump away from us. This means lots of occasions to do awesome things with Melissa and her family. Our latest adventure?

Laser tag.

With Melissa and her family

Wasn’t something on my Life List, radar, or top million things to do on a Sunday. But let me tell you. Add this adventure immediately to your conquered experiences! Do not pass go, do not collect $100, just do it right this hot second—trust me.

Choosing a laser assassin name was more challenging than I thought it would be. Thankfully, Melissa’s seventh grader, E, was on it and ready to help me select a dandy. E and I are buddies, book buddies, and ridiculous joke-telling buddies. This is because of his depth of maturity and my lack thereof. “You go by Jen-Jen, so I think you should be…” he highlighted his words in the air like Spielberg uses his hands to frame a scene, “Jen-Jen 2 the max!”

Anything with my name, a number like the cool kids use, and the word “max” was a winner. The hilarity came from seeing that only part of the word “max” made the game and scorecard: the letter M. This was not lost on me, or E, and we came up with variations.

Jen-Jen 2 the Mmm…
Jen-Jen 2 the Millionth Power
Jen-Jen 2 the Money
And so on.

I had no idea what to expect. Most of my experience with lasers stems from being a Star Trek nerd and watching the 1980s comedy classic Real Genius umpteen times. I didn’t beam anyone aboard the ship’s bridge and I definitely didn’t contribute to an enormous amount of Jiffy Pop exploding in anyone’s home. I had mad skills, though.

At hiding.

That’s right, while others lasered up the joint, I didn’t. And I finished top of the heap by crouching in the dark like a coward and I’m OK with that.

And if you look at my scorecard at the bottom of this post, you’ll notice that not only did this more cloak, not so much dagger strategy serve me well, I finished fourth. That’s right, number four, baby! Top Five, honey, but I didn’t place fifth. Take note of the name, YukYuk who came in at number five. That would be my beloved, Mike.

I. beat. him!

It doesn’t matter that my Hit Ratio was a paltry 3.83%. What matters is I finished way ahead of my husband (in my mind) and that in the battle of the White Walkers versus the Night King, I was the last to turn into an ice zombie, friends. Well, that and the fact that Melissa’s daughter, Little M, was sneaky enough to make her way behind Mike in the dark and unloaded her lasers on him until he wised up and she was discovered.

I had a blast. Doing something that wasn’t even a blip on my “fun” radar; not on my Life List. I imagined running around in the dark to be something I’d rather do while catching fireflies or taking in the moon at its fullest when beachside. One my dear friends tries to live her life with an open hand: be open to opportunities that come her way and not be quick to say, “Negative, Ghostrider. The pattern is full.” But to say, “Yes!” and grab those moments with an open mind and heart. Next time (I have to decimate my twenty-year-old when he visits later this summer), I’ll ensure whoever enters my moniker into the gaming computer squishes all the letters and solo number together. I’m destined to be JenJen2theMax. You know where I’ll be in the arena—hiding and winning, friends. Hiding and winning.

Jen Tucker is the author of the funny and true stories, The Day I Wore My Panties Inside Out and The Day I Lost My Shaker of Salt. In September 2012, she had her children's book, Little Pumpkin published as an e-book. She also blogs monthly for Survival for Blondes. She currently lives in Indiana with her husband, three kids and two dogs. You can find her at Twitter, Facebook, her blog and on her website. And in case you missed them. check out her previous Chick Lit Cheerleader posts here.