happy friday, pants world!
today it is my absolute pleasure to present to you another fabulous pigbutt, jennifer taylor kunard.
one of jennifer’s gorgeous bridal portraits, taken by becky (rebecca root)
like many of the pigbutts, i met jennifer some time in the sixth grade, and i remember thinking that she could have been a model. she was tall, slender and beautiful, but she also had the *weirdest* sense of humor (which can be partially, but not fully, explained by our middle school immaturity). consequently, we became fast friends, although there was a brief period in sixth (or seventh?) grade when we had a falling out (memory fails on the source of our conflict, but i’m sure it was V. Serious).
jennifer was part of the “band nerd” faction in our friend group, but in spite of our differing activities (i was a drama geek, as you already know), i felt quite close to her in high school. we were involved in the same youth group, which meant countless weekend retreats together in mosquito-filled cabins and sunday school classes where i was thankful to have a recipient for my occasional eye rolls. jennifer was the kind of friend everyone really needs in high school; passionate and supremely loyal, she always took me seriously and yet never worried about making a fool out of herself. above all, jennifer was fearless, and that’s the quality i most admired about her (and still do). she sought out challenges and then rose to meet them, whether it was earning the position of drum major or joining ROTC in college. obstacles only served to make her stronger, and even when i was sitting across from her in the cy-creek cafeteria, i knew that this girl was going to blaze her own trail. rarely have i seen such drive and determination in a person, especially given that these traits are coupled with a warm, compassionate heart.
sure enough, jennifer made her own way, from studying at baylor to flourishing in the air force. after getting married last year to her wonderful husband, craig, she moved to atlanta, which is unfortunately not in texas (ahem). but i guess you can’t expect a trailblazer to stick to familiar territory, can you?
i have to give jen MAX PROPS for the photos she assembled to supplement this interview. i mean, we’re talking major gems. in fact, i’ll kick off the interview with my favorite, which features the previously mentioned “kevin schorp” ensemble i created in eighth grade with my dad’s clothes and my mom’s silver platter (in case you missed the story, kevin was briefly a kikker). but what i want to know is, what the heck were jennifer and christine?
this picture is so awesome, i can’t even think of a caption that could possibly… yeah.
so, jennifer, i’ve known you since sixth grade (i think?), but not everyone here on poshdeluxe has enjoyed that privilege. tell me a little bit about yr childhood history, yr family, you know, the real deal.
We may have known each other in 6th grade, your guess is as good as mine. My parents are still raising their kids…my older sister, Kristina, is 33, I am 29, my brother, Jeff, is 25 and Katie is 18. Yeah, big age gap between all of us so there was always multiple phases of life in our house. I was the first one to leave, go to college, move out of the state, etc. My parents are hard working, and my dad is probably the hardest working person I know. He’s humble and I look up to him in every possible way.
if i were to label people back in junior high, which, of course, is what junior high is all about, i would have labeled you as a band kid (er, nerd). where did yr passion for band begin, and how did it develop?
Yes, I am a band nerd and I even went to band camp (insert jokes here). My older sister was in band and I remember going to her concerts. I heard this one distinct sound and I told my parents I wanted to make that sound.The glorious sound was the clarinet, thus began my love for music that eventually turned into a degree.
one of the main reasons i was NOT interested in band was due to the whole “practicing in the school parking lot in the dead heat of summer” thing. but i’ve always wanted to know: how DO you guys march in those perfect formations?
Do you really want to know this??? It’s totally nerdy, but here goes…in a block formation there are 8 steps from yard line to yard line. You learn the distance between each step, use peripheral vision to stay between the people next to you. For other formations, each person is assigned a “dot” and you read the field charts to find your spot. Each person has a specific coordinate that eight step guide serves as the basis for finding your spot. We use everything on the field, hash marks, sidelines, yard lines, etc. to find our spots. There’s a little more to it, but that’s the gist. See, I told you it was nerdy!
it’s like playing battleship but with people! cool.
as all of us cy-creek cougars know, you were selected to be drum major our senior year, which is a huge honor. what was that like? did you ever get into any rumbles with other drum majors?
I was drum major my junior and senior year J I LOVED having 180 people in front of me blasting their instruments in my face, it was a rush, had momentum and fantastic to be front and center. I really loved it. I think it was well known that Allison Moseman and I didn’t exactly get along since she was my assistant. Ha ha - such drama, right?
she makes it look so easy.
ok but seriously, did you ever get tired of wearing that cowboy hat? or think about submitting alternate designs for yr costume? cos, i mean, you know. just look at it.
I thought I was totally cool in my uniform, I mean, really, totally cool. I didn’t exactly like the hat, but when you paired it up with my boots (with tassels), I totally sported it. And we actually got to design the tops – they were custom made each year from fabulous shiny lame and satin materials. When you think about it, at least I didn’t have to wear the HOT wool uniform everyone else had to wear.
ok, i admit, the silver fabric is winning me over.
since we went to junior high and high school together, it’s pretty much required that i ask you to share a story or two from that time in our lives, since i need to supplement (read: recreate) my memory.
I am actually the worst person to ask about memories because I need prodding to remember what happened last week. Here’s what I can remember. You had the most fabulous parties at your house. There was this one where we had a shaving cream fight in your backyard that really stands out to me. I also remember making movies at your place. Weren’t we super heroes once? I believe I used my fabulous drum major saluting skills to “morph” into my character. I also was the maid (with a limp) during one of our detective adventures. Do you still have these embarrassing videos??? Oh, and there was a party at Rachel Tittle’s house and her neighbor offered up his car for us to drive. None of us had a license, we must have been like 14 or 15 at the time. Looking back, he was probably some crazy guy trying to do something bad to a bunch of innocent girls. There was also the time when I tried to race Trey Townsend and I think Talena decided it would be a good idea to give me a “boost” at the start of the race. That little boost made me skid my knees on the pavement and Trey carried my bloodied, embarrassed self back to the house. I still have a scar.
you better believe i still have all of those videos! if only i had been recording that night trey had to carry you home… even *i* remember that, cos it was so awesome.
dressed up for talena’s halloween party our… freshman year? note: i still own that suit.
when you went off to college at baylor, you joined the air force ROTC. what was THAT like?!!!
ROTC was the best thing I could have done. I learned to appreciate the military and its past. I even got a scholarship, which is why I am debt-free from both my undergraduate and graduate degrees (I took advantage of the master’s programs while on active duty). But the money was secondary to the whole process – preparing for active duty, going to boot camp, learning discipline, true camaraderie and team work. It was difficult to balance ROTC and school, but it was totally worth it when I got my commission. I was less than eight months from entering the service when 9/11 happened and the Air Force I had anticipated on entering had changed in about an hour. It was at that moment that I knew I wanted to serve this amazing country, no matter what it was going to bring.
jennifer, receiving her commission and looking badass in the process.
in the air force, what was yr position? and by that i mean, what did you do?
I was a public affairs officer. Seriously good times. I figured out early on that a camera was like a ticket anywhere on base and I totally took advantage of it. I got to ride on a KC-135 (gas station in the sky) and watch it refuel the Thunderbirds. I took some amazing pictures that day! I would climb all over the aircraft’s scaffolding to get in the strangest places to “get the best shot” or “I need it for the magazine” or “I need to go on this mission so it’s properly documented…” Gratefully, I never got jacked up by the MP while taking pictures on the flight line.
I was also an assistant professor of aerospace studies (taught ROTC) for a year. Made for a very cool business card!
jennifer risked her life for this amazing photograph of a thunderbird refueling. everybody now: “hiiiighway to the DANGER ZONE.”
did you ever have a moment where you were like, “this is SO ‘top gun’”? cos that would be awesome.
I didn’t have a “top gun” moment, but I did have many “movie” moments. The biggest one that stands out was when I deployed. My office got notification that a public affairs officer in my unit (there were only two) needed to deploy with the 960th squadron on a POTUS (President of the United States) mission and that check in was at 3 a.m. – like 15 hours away. My boss, the only other officer, decided he was sick and told me to pack my bags (he was such a draft dodger, he pulled me aside and told me his deployment paperwork was not in order and that he didn’t want to get in trouble. Such a dork.). Anyway, the next 15 hours were filled with security processing, paperwork, deployment lines and a ton of other crazy stuff. Here’s the big movie moment: I went to OSI (the Air Force’s version of the FBI) and told them my coded mission.. I was locked inside a small room with no windows and two chairs, and told to read over the terrorist activity paperwork coded to the region I was deploying to. I was told that everything was confidential and could not be spoken about outside of the little room. I was given time to read it over and told to buzz the agent when I was finished. The agent returned and communicated other verbal instructions and answered any questions I had. I also could not tell people where I was going or how long I was going to be gone. I called my parents and told them to watch the news if they were curious where I could be, but that was all I could say. That particular mission ended up being one of the most exciting things I did while in the military. Everything I had trained for became an actual realization! I coordinated a LIVE press conference with foreign media on foreign soil. Everything from screening media through OSI, to securing the aircraft, to answering questions on live TV…It was a really cool experience. Plus, one of the engines on our E-3 AWACS broke on the way back so we had to divert in Germany…Awww, shucks!
DUDE!!! that is some serious jason bourne action!!!! talk about hard core. you were like, jennifer taylor by day, sydney bristow by night! i am totes impressed.
this is how hardcore super military agents take naps.
what would you say are the main lessons you learned in the air force? did it change you as a person?
Serving in the Air Force was a wonderful job and I would love to still be doing it. I have never worked with such devoted people as my fellow military members. Respect, dignity, taking care of each other, pride, ethics, hard work…I can’t think of enough great things to say. Being an officer, I was catapulted into leading people from the get go. In order to lead people, you must be the example to follow – and there is a delicate balance of being someone’s friend and their boss. It was a lot of fun, but there were the serious times, too. I was recalled at 2 a.m. once because there were reports of two Middle Eastern looking men with what appeared to be shoulder-launched missiles aimed at the flight line. Everyone just worked together and nothing serious happened. You can’t experience times like this without some change…So yes, I guess it did change me.
which is better: yr air force uniform or yr drum major uniform?
Military uniform. I totally got hit on in my uniform (I guess guys like a gal in uniform) and I got free stuff when I was in uniform: meals, tickets, someone even paid for my gas once. People liked to show their support of the military and there were many times I got my meal paid for without ever knowing who had done it…just because they appreciated service members.
do you keep yr band nerd roots alive? by that i mean, are you still playing the clarinet?
I really should play more, but I keep my nerdy music ways alive by playing my guitar a little every day.
so now you’re married and living in atlanta. is being married like what you thought it would be?
Marriage is the biggest blessing to me – it’s more wonderful than I thought it would be. I cannot say enough good things about my darling husband. I love him more every day.
jen and craig, totally in lurve (fabulous picture by becky (rebecca root))
i’ve never been to atlanta, so tell me about it. what are yr favorite/least favorite parts?
Favorite: weather is not nearly as bad as humid Texas (but I miss Texas), and there are hills and mountains! Downtown is really cool and so is the GA aquarium!
Not so favorite: Beware of the drivers!!! People here are MEAN on the roads and I get very scared sometimes.
if i come to visit you, will i have to sleep on an air mattress?
In the apartment, yes L. We have a cabin on the river in the north Georgia mountains in a little town called Ellijay. We have spare beds up there and you might even get to see deer or a fox! You are more than welcome to visit any time!
what is yr secret power?
I can read Craig’s mind about 90% of the time. It absolutely drives him nuts because he can’t read my mind at all. It’s actually become quite fun!
do you sleep in jimjams? what kind?
No, but I have to sleep in a tank top. Sleeves, of any length, drive me nuts when I am trying to sleep!
this picture was taken in our senior english class on the last day of school. and yes, i mean we were seniors IN HIGH SCHOOL.
what is yr #1 favorite food?
Hands-down, Tex-Mex. I could eat it everyday.
what is yr top restaurant recommendation in atlanta? what’s the best thing on the menu?
There is this circa 1800 house that’s been turned into a restaurant called Vinings Inn that is DIVINE. The have the best pecan crusted trout with butternut squash…OMG!
tell me about yr top area of expertise.
I am totally right-brained…music, crafts, etc. Because I’ve studied and performed music for more than 18 years, I also don’t hear one line of music at a time, even if there is only one line of music. I can see the melodies that don’t exist floating around in my head. It’s so much fun to me (and probably geeky to everyone else!). I am also addicted to making cards, it’s become more of an obsession than an expertise.
what was yr favorite item of clothing as a child?
My yellow and white Coca-Cola long sleeve T-shirt. My older sister got a red one and I had to be just like her so I get one for myself. I loved that T-shirt because I thought it made me cool.
WOW do i love this photo– becky and jennifer, posing before the eighth grade dance.
what was yr favorite toy as a child? (the moody bonus question)
The swing set in the back yard. My older sister and I would pretend the swing set was an airplane that wrecked on a deserted island. We basically turned it into our own Swiss Family Robinson dream world. There was a large magnolia tree that would drop leaves on our side of the yard and we would collect them and turn them into shoes and clothes – because we were wrecked and had no clothes. Our dog would turn into a wild animal that would eat us if we stayed on the ground too long. There was usually a volcano that spewed lava and swamp land with alligators and other swampy creatures. We spent hours playing shipwrecked.
what do you plan on doing when you’re 80?
As cheesy as it sounds, going to bed and waking up next to my husband. Waking up next to him starts my days out wonderfully and if I can still be doing that in 51 years, then I’ll be happy.
if you could assemble yr own ocean’s 11, who would you pick and why?
Well, my brother, Jeff because he’s the funniest person I know and would entertain everyone else. My sister Katie, because she reads more than anyone I know and is very smart. Craig because he’s got such an engineering mind that it would come in handy. Se, because the BFF has to come along (and she’s also smart, as in PhD smart). And since it’s a fictitious question, I’d also bring along Wonder Woman (aka: my child hero). I know it’s not 11, but seeing as Wonder Woman is part of the team, I don’t think we’d need 11.
jen and one of her oceans 11 crew, se, at her wedding.
what is yr best karaoke song?
I don’t really karaoke, but I do sing in the shower…somehow TV theme songs (with and without lyrics) pop in my head.
do people ever tell you that you look like someone famous? who?
When I was younger, people said I looked like Drew Barrymore. I never saw it, but maybe it was because it took forever for me to grow out of my fat face. I did go as the fire starter one year for Halloween because it was cold outside and I wanted to layer up. I ended up sticking matches through the button holes in my jacket and that was my costume.
tell me something scandalous!
My older sister and I literally tore the towel bar out of the wall while playing – sheetrock and all. We’d swing from the countertop to the bathtub and using the bar as our hinge. We placed the bar back and covered it with a towel and got away with it for like a year. Then, my mom went to the bathroom to collect towels and she thought SHE broke the towel bar. It wasn’t until a few years ago that my sister and I came clean on the whole thing. It was really, really funny when we told her.
me and jennifer at a church xmas party in 2001 (i think).
thanks for letting me interview you, jennifer! i’ve really enjoyed reminding myself why i like to keep you around– because you’re truly, truly amazing.
not to mention the fact that you’re an excellent source for pictures.
p.s. don’t forget, guys, you can ask jen questions in the comments!
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