The year's most overused words/phrases

So I guess every year Michigan's Lake Superior State University puts together a list of what they feel are the most overused words and phrases of the past 12 months. The list is based on public submissions and I agree with a couple of this year's "winners", but there are some on the list that I don't get at all (WTF are they talking about with that "monkey" stuff?)

The LSSU "overused" list entries that I totally agree with, and a few of my own:

• Wall Street/Main Street - Not only beaten into the ground during the last several months of the 2008 presidential campaign, our recent financial crisis has had the media trotting out these two over-worked phrases for more abuse.
• Maverick - just another reason I'm glad McCain/Palin didn't win. Even the jokes about this word are tired.
• Green - As a person who herself bought and is living in a "built-green" home this year, I'm guilty of perpetuating the misuse of this once innocent word. It seems that every company and item in the universe is went "green" this year which is really a load of crap in most cases. The misuse and abuse of this concept has diluted it and made it less important. Unfortunately I think it's here to stay.
• Fierce - I know people have been complaining about the overuse of this adjective for a long time, but fawk, I've heard it more this year (thanks Beyonce and Tyra!) than even the previous year when Christian from Project Runway was annoying me with it.
• Black [insert day of the week] - Traditionally we've had "Black Friday", the day after Thanksgiving where supposedly everyone in this country goes shopping and saves the nation's retailer's bank balances. But this year with everyone losing their shit and not really in the shopping mood, the powers that be felt the need to extend this label, to add new ones as the holiday season played out. So we had "Black Wednesday" (Christmas eve) and other "Black Friday" on Boxing Day. Sigh... Stop it. None of this crap is helping our economy.

RIP - Eartha Kitt

"I want to be hard, I want to drink booze, and whatever I've got, I'm willing to lose..."

This wonderful, brilliant, beautiful, ground-breaking, spectacular, over-the-top, sensational, phenomenal woman will be greatly missed.

Thank you Eartha!

Has it really come to this?

The one and only Steve Austin and Colt Seavers hawking his "Lee Majors 'Bionic' Hearing Aids"?! Say it ain't so...

(Apologies for the crappy video quality - gotta love Youtube)

On the other hand, I just listened to the song "Unknown Stuntman" for the first time in like 15 years. Still really good!

2009 Winter season TV shows that I'm looking forward to - Part 1

"Confessions of A Teen Idol" - VH1 Premieres 1/4/2009

What more can I ask for? A ridonkulous reality show putting washed-up C list celebrity former hotties from the 80s and 90s into a house to live together and try to find some of their dignity and maybe catch some of that elusive lightning in a bottle again.

Featuring Christopher Atkins (yay!), Eric Nies (boo!), Adrain Zmed (hee hee!), David Chokachi (yum!), Billy Hufsy(WTF? The dude from Fame?) and some guy from "90210" from a season that I didn't watch, and some other dude from Baywatch from a season I didn't watch.

And of course, the best part - this craptastic show will be hosted by Scott Baio! Awesome. I think I've found a new way to shake these winter doldrums.

Merry Christmas to all...

I can't believe I'm sitting here on Christmas eve night. It couldn't feel less like Christmas to me. There's a lot contributing to my holiday ennui - this past week's snow storms, my dad's health problems, the various financial responsibilities that have been weighing on my shoulders, my general depression this year - it's all added up to me not having any sort of holiday spirit whatsoever.
For the first time in almost 15 years, I didn't send holiday cards out. Probably not a big deal to many I suppose. But the realization that I even sent (and made by hand) cards last year, when I was dealing with so much grief and stress, and couldn't get up enough motivation to even buy a box of $5 cards this year is rather depressing.

December 2007 was the first Christmas without my mother. It was so hard to deal with it, but surprisingly I'm feeling her loss more this year than last. I've also been plagued these past weeks with sad thoughts about the large box of Christmas ornaments and holiday stuff that my family had collected over the decades and my mother had maintained and treasured; the box that's languishing in the overpriced storage facility in Silver Spring, MD; family treasures gathering dust and somehow losing a bit of their magic sitting unused.
That box represents Christmas to me. It always will. And I think it finally dawned on me recently that I'm never going to have "Christmas" again. Because "Christmas" means that box in storage, and it means a fresh Douglas fir, and it means my mom.

We never shake the Christmases of childhood, and we spend our lives processing the memories into adult form. For the rest of my life I'm going to miss the contentment felt spending Christmas with my family in DC. I'll miss sitting in a chair with something hot and looking at the tree and listening to all of the holiday music that specifically defined childhood Christmas - Andy Williams, and Peanuts' Guaraldi. Sure, I can get the box of memories out of storage and bring it to Seattle; I can buy a tree and decorate it and listen to the music and drink hot cider enjoying the season. It's not the same, and it never will be, and that makes me terribly sad.

So I'm looking forward to 2009. I hope that it will be the year of healing for me that I'd hoped this year would be. And I hope to continue establishing new traditions that define "Christmas" to me and create new memories to be reminisced about later.
I know things will get better.

Diary of a snowed-in stir-crazy mad woman!

• Woke up Xmas eve morning at like 4:30 AM to see that it had just started snowing...AGAIN. Went back to bed, praying that it would stop by the time I officially "woke up" at 6:30.


• Alarm goes off, I can tell it's still snowing so I hit the snooze (4x) and try to convince myself that this latest snow is not real...just a dream (or nightmare).


• 7:15 AM - finally get up to see what the damage is. It's extensive. The snow is accumulating rapidly; already another 2 inches added to the foot that's on the ground. I walk the dog in disbelief that this is f*cking Seattle not Minneapolis.


• 7:45 AM - determine that I'm not going to be driving in to work today afterall. Another vacation day wasted. Commiserate with Robert over the phone about the crappiness of this weather. Robert is out of diet soda - the world may be coming to an end.


• 8:15 AM - Finally get around to looking at the King County metro site regarding bus routes only to find out that all 4 buses around me have been suspended. FUCK! I'm totally stranded.


• 8:30 AM - KING 5 meteorologist Rich Marriot is a damn liar! He says that Seattle is getting a mix of snow and rain and that it isn't really accumulating much and that it's more slush than snow, and that it's already stopped in the city. LIAR! I only live about 4 miles away from the KING 5 studio, what the hell is he looking at?! At my house it's SNOWING not raining. It's sticking; inches of snow piling up on the sidewalk I cleared last night.


• 9:00 AM - I'm very concerned that I won't be able to get the snow chains on my tires. But I'm going to have to try - I need to be able to get around the city today and tomorrow. I can't believe this!


• It's still SNOWING! These meteorologists better be right that it's going to change to rain later today. GAWDDAM IT!

STFU

Shut up Jamie from "Top Chef" Season 4!

The Night Men

One of the funniest things I've seen or heard all year!

Freakiest thing I've seen/heard in some time

So this morning at 5 AM I was startled awake by the loudest, scariest, ground-shakingest sound that I've ever heard. I quickly jumped out of bed as numerous car alarms in the neighborhood went off, put my glasses on and looked out my window to the snowy streets below.
I initially had 2 thoughts when the earthshakingly loud bang woke me - the first was that the new townhouses that are being built across the street from me somehow had some structural damage that caused them to collapse; the second thought was that a plane had crashed on the way to/from SeaTac.
But as I looked outside, besides from the heavy snow coming down and a few curtains being pulled back by neighbors to turn off car alarms and to check what the deal was, there wasn't anything amiss. I still had power so I knew it wasn't the transformer on the corner blowing out - what the hell had happened?!
I got my answer a couple of minutes later when, still looking out the window, I saw a bright flash of light hit the street shaking the ground, followed within seconds by the horrific booming clap of thunder. Thunder and lightning during a snow storm!!! The snow eerily made the lightning look like an alien space laser. I guess I've never been that close to lightning hitting the ground so I never knew how powerful and ground-shaking it could be. And as rare as thunder and lightning is out here in the Pacific NW, I've never heard of either happening during a snow storm or blizzard - that doesn't really make a lot of "Physics" sense to me, but oh well.

It scared my two pets enough for them to want to (temporarily) share the same sleeping space. I seriously think the dog thought the world was coming to an end.

Pet Peeve Commercial - "White Diamonds" Perfume

White Diamonds Commercial

Okay, this commercial was annoying back when it first premiered...in 1987! But's it's even more ridiculous to watch it now in present day.

It's so over the top and over dramatic. "These have always brought me luck." Uggh. And La Liz's hair! It's so tragically 80s. As cheesy as this ad is, it does have a pretty high production value. I've always wondered how much money was thrown down to make this schlock.

For whatever reason, this dated commercial is dusted off every year around the holidays. In the hopes that some sucker that doesn't know what to buy their grandma, mid-western mother, favorite drag queen, will be inspired to run down to the local drug store and buy a bottle of this crap. Let me tell you - it smells AWFUL. Like cat piss mixed with lemon Pledge.

Do yourself a favor folks, enjoy the commercial in an ironic way but do not waste your money on this stuff. Sorry Liz.

New York New York, a hell of a town...

After surviving one of the worse descents I've ever experienced on a plane, I arrived in NY's Penn Station yesterday evening, spit out of the NJ rail system with a mass of people. Some like me, coming from Newark Int'l airport; others on their way to the Rangers game at MSG; still others maybe on their way home from seeing relatives in Jersey.

I'm here at the start of my two week plan to "relax" and "do things for me". The plan was to go away for a week, and then spend a week at home doing a sort of stay-cation. So far I already feel more relaxed so maybe it's working. Looking forward to catching up with old friends and not having a schedule for once. Let's see if "not having a plan" works out, or drives me insane.

Danny Kaye and Fred Astaire are DIFFERENT PEOPLE

So in the past 6 hours I've experienced a very strange phenomenon -

People mistaking the movie "White Christmas" for the movie "Holiday Inn".

Now both movies star Bing Crosby; and "White Christmas" is based loosely on "Holiday Inn", but if you've seen either film it's impossible to mistake one for another.

Holiday Inn (1942) - is a black and white film that stars Fred Astaire (see: right) with Crosby and features the great music of Irving Berlin. It's basically about a famous song and dance team that breaks up when Bing's character decides to give up show business to move to a farm in Vermont and eventually comes up with an idea to open a nightclub at his farm that is only open on public holidays, hence "Holiday Inn". The movie features amazingly clever songs by Berlin for the popular holidays like Thanksgiving to the most obscure holidays like Lincoln's birthday (the performance of which in the movie, done in blackface, is considered today to be racist and un-PC).

Of course the most famous tune to come from this film is the classic, nostalgic "White Christmas" which became an enduring #1 song and propelled the film to great success. It even inspired the start of a national chain of hotels.

White Christmas (1954) - 12 years later still riding the immense success of the classic Christmas song, Paramount decided to do a full-blown technicolor musical with Crosby, Rosemary Clooney and Danny Kaye. Although featuring the titular song and also featuring a Vermont inn, that's basically where the similarities end.

That's why it's so strange that twice this evening I heard people talking about "White Christmas" the movie when they were really referencing "Holiday Inn". Once was by the emcee at a charity auction, who I sort of forgave because he was telling such a boring story about something that I just chalked it up to him being drunk and confused.

Then when I got home I turned on the tv to see an ad on NBC for an upcoming special called "The Greatest Holiday Moments" where they once again described the plot of "White Christmas" while showing clips from "Holiday Inn". Grrrrr...so frustrating.

Now I know that I'm probably the only one noticing this shit, and that it's really lame of me to get so worked up about it; but that's me. I like to keep my holiday movies separate.

Holiday Music

Happy December!

I traditionally wait until the day after Thanksgiving to start listening to my own holiday music collection. But pretty much from the day you start cooking your turkey and dressing you can count on hearing holiday music in all of the stores, malls, elevators etc. and everywhere you go you're subjected to this zombie-state inducing onslaught.
This year I inadvertently got an early start to the Christmas music exposure because the radio station that I wake up to every morning started playing holiday songs on November 13! Every year, Warm 106.9 exclusively plays only holiday songs (well they say "holiday" but it's really Christmas songs; I haven't heard a Channukah one yet) until the end of the year. In years past they've waited until a decent part of November to start this monotonous torture (I mean seriously they repeat the songs on a daily basis) but this year they turned the insanity up a notch starting so soon after Halloween.

My KRWM station has reminded me of the holiday songs that I love and the ones that I hate. And over the past few days as I've gone through my own holiday music collection I've weeded out songs that have lost the magic and encountered new music that are destined to be classics in my holiday library.

Classic Favorites:

• Pretty much anything by Andy Williams but especially "Most Wonderful Time of the Year" and "Do You Hear What I Hear" (Andy's is the only version of "Hear" that counts IMO).
• "A Charlie Brown Christmas" by Vince Guaraldi. Nothing better. Period. Guaraldi's "Greensleeves" reminds me of my mom so much that I get very verklempt listening to it.
• "Christmas Potrait" from the Carpenters. Reminds me so much of my childhood that for me it's the definition of "holiday nostaligia".
• "These Are The Special Times" by Celine Dion. I know I know...but seriously hear me out. This holiday album is amazing (except for the version of Feliz Navidad - see below). And don't give me grief for calling it a classic. It is.
• "This Christmas" by Donny Hathaway. Only his version of this please.

New stuff and Uncommon oldies that I dig and can't do the season without:

• Any and all versions of the song "Christmas Waltz". I don't know what it is about this tune but as I hear the beginning "frosted window panes..." I am immediately in a better mood.
• In that same vain, I've never heard a version of "My Favorite Things" that I don't love. But damn Barbra Streisand for putting this on her Christmas album 3o years ago and turning it into a holiday song. What would Oscar Hammerstein think?
• James Taylor's versions of "Some Children See Him" and "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas". The first is a song that I only knew from Andy Williams but Taylor's version released a couple of years ago is so wonderful. The latter is a song that has generally worn out its welcome with me and jeezus have you ever really listened to the words? Very depressing. But Taylor's version (he changes the lyrics a little) manages to be poignant and hopeful.
• Kenny Loggins's "Celebrate Me Home" and Dan Fogelberg's "Same Old Lang Syne". I lump these together because, well because in many ways, Dan and Kenny are like the same 70s bearded sensitive songwriter dude. But also because these two songs remind me of my mother.
• "Last Christmas" by Wham! and "Christmas Wrapping" by The Waitresses. 80s classics that if I don't hear? It ain't Christmas.
• "All I Want For Christmas Is You" by Mariah Carey. So infectious and awesome.
• New millenium Folk girl holiday music from the likes of Mindy Smith, Brandi Carlile, Jessie Baylin, Sara Barleilles and the like.

And now a brief list of holiday songs that I can't stand and never have to hear again:

• Feliz Navidad - Makes me homicidal.
• Silent Night - so grating. No version sounds good to me.
• Little Drummer Boy - ditto. All versions make me want to "par rum papum pum" on somebody.
• Wonderful Christmastime. I used to love this McCartney tune and I never understood what people hated about it. I don't know when that changed; now I seriously can't hear more than one measure without getting a migraine.
• I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus. Seriously? I wish I could go back in time to prevent this song from being written. See also: "All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth".
• Pretty much anything that I consider "kiddie Xmas". Like crap about Rudolph, Frosty, blah blah blah.
• Most Xmas "novelty" songs. I don't care to hear about grandmas getting run over by reindeer or chipmunks singing, or any of that other shit.

Now I'm off to listen to Lou Rawls's version of "Christmas Is". Have a great December!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Things I'm thankful for in 2008:

• At the top of the list is, and always will be, my close group of friends who continue to be so supportive as I struggle to get all of my shit together. I am truly blessed to have such beautiful people in my life.
• Speaking of friends...I'd never thought I'd say something like this, but I'm actually thankful for a stupid little networking site like Facebook for putting me back in touch with so many people that I haven't been connected with in years. It's been great getting to know folks again.
• While my dad's health hasn't been good this year, I am thankful that our relationship is improving and we're getting along better. I am also thankful that Sharon is still here to enjoy the 2008 holiday season.
• And I'm thankful that I've taken time this year to try and get my head on straight and to try and take time "for me". I know I could do better with this but at least I'm trying.
• Finally, I'm glad 2008 wasn't 2007.

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all!

This week in TV season finales

Ok, let's talk about the first season finale of HBO's True Blood. It was awesome, and yet a little upsetting.
I've read 3 of the Sookie Stackhouse mystery novels by Charlaine Harris that the show is based on, and I had been pleasantly surprised at the things the show had kept the same as books, the things they changed, and the new elements they'd added. But as the season progressed I started to figure out that they were probably going to still make (spoiler alert!) Rene the killer like in the book, even though they'd expanded his character for the show and had made him so damn likeable! It didn't hurt that the actor playing Rene, Michael Raymond-James, is so cute and likable with his (fake, yet realistic) cajun accent.
Then last night at the end of the finale they (spoiler alert!) killed my favorite character Lafayette! So sad about this. Nelsan Ellis was so amazing in this role. In the books Lafayette is a very minor character that is killed in the beginning of the second book and whose murder sets up the plot for that installment. But on the show they'd made this character the most dynamic and likeable of the supporting players, so I thought there might be a chance that they would postpone his murder for awhile; like maybe the end of the 4th season?

So now with 2 of the 5 reasons that I watch the show gone, I'm hoping that season 2 won't be a disappointment. Maybe they can make Lafayette a ghost character that Sookie or Tara can talk to in visions? It is a show by Alan Ball ("Six Feet Under") afterall.


Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders: Making The Team 3 - This show is probably my guiltiest of guilty pleasure reality shows. I. Love. It. Can't get enough of it. I wish that every episode was an hour long like the first and last eps of each season. I can't explain how caught up I get in the training candidates attempts to make it on this year's squad. I'm way too invested in some of the veterans; desperate to see if my faves like Brooke, Kandi, and Deryn make it another year.

I'm not sure whether it's the bitchiness and control-freakedness of Kelli Finglass that I love to hate or the way too bubbly goody-goodness of most of the auditioners, or my fondness for the team from the 1970s that were on two (TWO!) episodes of the "The Love Boat", that makes me so obsessed with this show, but I'm always so disappointed when the seasons end. Can't we follow the squad throughout the NFL season?! Oh well, I guess I'll have to wait for next Fall. And Yay! All 4 of my fave vets made it for 2008!

WTF Television?!

What the hell is going on with my beloved medium Television?

First ABC, my most hated network because of their track-record of killing shows that I love so damn much (see: Home Front, Miracles, Eyes, Miss Guided, Women's Murder Club, Knights of Prosperity, Jake in Progress, Men In Trees, Invasion...the list goes on for miles), decides to cancel Pushing Daisies, one of the most enchanting and charming shows ever made. ABC also cancelled "Eli Stone" and "Dirty, Sexy, Money"; but I'm not as broken-up about these because my love for them had already waned.

Then I just heard that the dumbasses over the NBC soap "Days of Our Lives" have decided to fire much-loved actors Drake Hogestyn and Deidre Hall! The hell?! I know that Drake and Deidre make a shit-load of money and their salaries alone are probably enough to cover paychecks for half of the Days staff but dayyumm, why would you fire the only reason most of the fans of your stupid show even watch?
I'm probably sounding like a hypocrite because I stopped watching DooL over a year ago, but even I will miss the spectacular overacting that Hogestyn and Hall made their trademarks over the years. What will DooL be without John (Roman) and Marlena?

And ABC you bastards, you might just have lost me as a viewer forever. For years I've taken your abuse and heart-break, coming back for more over and over as you kept giving me tastes of interesting, imaginative, smart shows that you then just yanked away without remorse or warning. While you keep horrific drivel like Extreme Nanny: Wife Swap Edition, greenlight another f*cking season of The Bachelor, and continually introduce stupid reality shows like this new turd "True Beauty". Why do you continue to give carte-blanche to failing shows like "Private Practice" just because they're connected to a more successful show (Grey's), when you could be putting an effort into promoting and scheduling "Daisies" which is critically acclaimed and Emmy/Golden Globe nominated? You suck ass ABC!!
You've still got Lost, Grey's Anatomy and Ugly Betty to tether me to your evilness, but unless these three shows start showing considerable improvement, they might not be enough to keep me and then I'll be gone forever you tools.

#1 Boyfriend is 2008's "Sexiest Man Alive"

It's nice to see my favorite hottie Hugh Jackman being recognized for the god that he is. But I need to go on record that I have been his #1 fan for years - I mean like from before the "Swordfish" years and "Oklahoma" stuff. So I'm just saying, his wife aside, I saw him first!

Sex on legs full stop.

Status of my TV show relationships - November 2008

Recent break-ups (season passes erased from Tivo):
Private Practice: Dude this show looks good on paper - spinoff of successful hit; great actors; sexy people - but it Sucks. So. Much. I tried to give it a chance because of things like Taye Diggs's hot pecs, but I can't do it anymore. I'm out.

Eli Stone: I love you Jonny Lee Miller and Victor Garber. And I love television characters randomly breaking out into song, but jeezus this show is boring. A good idea, wasted.

Life on Mars: I watched the BBC version of this and actually the American one is very well done for what it is. Again it's just sort of boring. Harvey Keitel is even boring. And Michael Imperioli's 70s 'stache is really scary.

Relationships in trouble (episodes gone unwatched/dropped off Tivo):
Dirty Sexy Money: Oh, DSM. I don't know what to do with you. There's so much I love about you...but your ridiculousness has moved from campy fun to lame triteness. And there are a couple of characters that I absolutely hate that are bringing the whole show down. I'm looking at you Karen and Simon...

Heroes: We've already had this conversation babe. And again, I haven't given up on you yet. But on the other hand your last 3 episodes are just sitting on my Tivo hard drive. Just sitting there. Waiting. I don't want the same thing that happened with "Lost" to happen to you.

Grey’s Anatomy/Ugly Betty: Ok, you Thursday night ABC guys get lumped together. You both disappointed me greatly last season. So much so that I almost ended it with both of you. But with the writer's srtike and everything I thought that I'd give you both another chance to win my love back. Betty, you started off a little weak but with last week's ep you got a firmer foothold on my heart. But I'm still on the fence about you taking up recording time that I could be using for my brilliant "30 Rock". Grey's you had redeemed yourself, what with the Mer being less annoying, and the getting together of Iz and Alex (squee!). But then you had to go all weird and fire Brooke Smith who played Dr. Hahn. Now on one hand, I kind of hated her character, but on the other hand, I'm concerned that you might have gotten rid of the character because she's now a lesbian? That would make you a real douche, Grey's.

Shows that still have my love and devotion (season passes bumped up on the priority list):
True Blood: Only 2 eps left this season and I'm just as entranced as I was from the first taste. I think I've even figured out who the killer is! Although I hope I'm wrong. But as long as you keep giving me Lafayette, Rene, and Sam I'll be in this for the long haul.

Pushing Daisies: I've waxed poetic about how much I love you. I'm not going to say anything more except to reiterate that Emerson Cod is one of the greatest television characters of all time. And I wish there was a Pie Shoppe in my town.

Gossip Girl: GG, you make me feel like a 14 year-old girl again. But in the best possible way!

30 Rock: You know I love you when I'm willing to watch you on Hulu.com (that little screen!). But seriously, you are so brilliant I can't even take it.

Top Chef: You've been away for too long. And sometimes you annoy me with the cheftestants that you choose (fucking Ilan?! Assy Lisa? Really?!) but generally the foodie in me can't keep away. And Tom and Padma are just so damn sexy.

A work haiku for November 12

Read the damn resource
All you need to know, right there
Stop asking dumb things

Coming around on "Twilight" the movie

I have been hesitant to talk or get excited about the upcoming Twilight movie. Although I was aware of the fanatical popularity of the Stephenie Meyer YA vampire book series before this year, I only started reading the “Twilight” books after first reading Meyer’s first entrée into “adult” fiction, 2008’s “Host”. I enjoyed this book enough to check out what all the fuss was about regarding Meyer’s vampire books. I’ve only gotten through the first two (Twilight and New Moon).
I admit that if I was 13, I would LOVE these books. If Meyer had been writing these in the early 80s I would gladly have abandoned the trite Rice novels and gotten swept up with the Cullen family of vampires and the love story between Edward and Bella. I can totally see what all of the tweens have been freaking out about.
That said, the books and the story are just... alright. I haven’t been super impressed by the first two that I’ve read and I’ve heard that the third and fourth books are the more disappointing of the series so I’m not really looking forward to finishing them.

Anyway, the upcoming film has been hyped and promoted to within an inch of its life. And I’ve been avoiding all of the media crap as much as possible. A couple of weeks ago I overheard a conversation between two teens in a Magnolia Starbucks dissecting every aspect of the upcoming film from the choice of actors (thumbs up for Robert Pattinson and his wacky-ass hair as Edward, concern about “nobody” Kristen Stewart (who?) as Bella), to the concern that not enough of the book will be included in the movie blah blah blah.
Besides Pattinson and Stewart the only actors in the cast that I had heard about was that Billy Burke was playing Bella’s dad the sheriff (I immediately got depressed that one of my long-time crushes was playing the main character’s dad – I’m OLD!) and that the insufferable Elizabeth Reaser, who I have an irrational hatred of, was playing the Cullen family matriarch. So I knew that I was probably going to see the movie eventually but I wasn’t really that keen on seeing it in the theater.
That all changed this morning when I found out that Peter f*cking Facinelli is playing Carlisle Cullen, the vampire patriarch. “The Fatch”! Woohoo! I love Peter Facinelli so much and am so happy that perhaps this movie will mark a resurgence (surge?)in his stalled career. But I love that he doesn’t seem to care about said career dips. And I love his marriage to Jennie Garth; he’s a Brad Pitt-level DILF.
I don't even care that his hair seems to have been dyed a hideous lemon yellow for the role. I'm just super-psyched about seeing Facinelli on the big screen. Yay!

Pie!

I love pie. Besides the occasional cookie, pie is hands down my favorite dessert. If I never had a slice of cake again I'd be okay, but I could never give up pie.
I like all kinds - apple, berry, cherry, citrus based, any and all kinds of cream pie; double crust, blind-baked single crust, cobbler, crumb-topped...diabetic coma here I come.

So I recorded the 2008 National Pie Championship that was on the food network last night. I am a sucker for these Food Network "Challenge" shows for some reason. That Keegan Gerhard guy is strangely sexy, so maybe that's it? Or maybe it's because I always thought it would be great if my mom had entered some - she would've blown the competition away! Can you imagine being a judge for this particular competition? Getting to taste over 100 pies? Did I mention the diabetic coma?

Anyway, this year's pie contest was surprisingly thrill-packed; at least that was what they led us to believe. Who knew there could be so much drama in a pie making competition? There was the tension of several of past years winners trying to go after the defending champion. Then said 2007 champion was entering a pie in all 7 categories! Had she spread herself too thin? Would it be her downfall?! The pressure!
Other nail-biting traumas - Linda forgot to add the cornstarch to her chocolate mixture; Terry didn't let his crust rest enough so it shrunk in the oven, and his pastry tip got clogged!; John-Michael's apple corer broke! What. Will. Happen?
Eh, some lady with her Bananas Foster Cream Pie won. They didn't show her once during the show, so evidently she didn't have any of the manufactured drama that everyone else had. Boring.
Okay, I think I'm off to get some pie.

Change is A’Comin’

In a way this post feels totally unnecessary; thousands of people all around the world have discussed the election results and how they think it will affect our country, and expressed their joy, apprehension etc. over what it all means. But it’s taken me a full 36 hours to just process the enormity of it all; partly because I was exhausted from my election inspector duties, and partly because my feelings are just too BIG for me to really get a handle on. So indulge me a little as I ramble.

Driving home from the King Cty election depot Tuesday night, I encountered the thousands of people partying, dancing, and celebrating in the streets of downtown. Since I was kind of stuck because the street that I was driving on was blocked, I parked on a side street and got out to join the crowd. It was overwhelming. I was immediately reminded of WTO; but this time there was no malice, nothing scary; just pure happiness rolling off people. People smiling and crying with joy. It was surreal. I was exhausted because I’d been up since 4am so I made my way back to my car and drove home; encountering the tail of the huge crowd of similar revelers in Capitol Hill as well. And the next day to find out that similar celebrations had happened in streets all over the world really made the importance of this election outcome hit home.
My body wanted to sleep but when I got home Tuesday I had to tune in to all of the news channels to see results etc. I finally got to hear Obama’s acceptance speech. Glorious, but my reaction was muted because of fatigue.


Wednesday morning the first thing I noticed was that it was bright and clear and sunny. It was supposed to be rainy and gray – coincidence? Or was the atmosphere even excited about our new President-elect?


I was glad that I had the day off because I was strangely emotional. I thought about my beautiful mother a lot, and how much she would’ve LOVED what was happening. I cried tears of regret. I cried tears of envy watching the people stopping by the Lincoln memorial to celebrate. God, to be in DC on this day would have been great. I cried tears of relief for the end of the Bush era.
I cried on my way to meet friends for dinner when I heard on NPR of the thousands of people in cities like DC, NYC, and Philly who waited in line at newsstands to get a newspaper (any newspaper!) that would commemorate this important event. “Obama Wins!” proclaimed headlines, that people wanted to save as pieces of history for their children and grandchildren. My friend Andrea saved her and Al’s “I voted” stickers to place in their sons’ baby books.
It’s such a big deal!
So I find myself two days later with a heart that’s still leaping with joy and anxious for the changes that are sure to come. On a sour note, the bright light of hope has diminished somewhat with the passing of Proposition 8 in California. Seriously? I’m shocked that there are that many close-minded assholes out there. I still don’t think that it will go much further, but the fact that the state has already stopped issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples is totally depressing.
I guess I wouldn’t recognize my country if it wasn’t disappointing me at least a little bit.

Say goodbye to those voting booths Washington!

11/4/08 marked the last time that WA state voters, specifically in King and Pierce counties, would be voting at actual polling places with voting booths and Accuvote machines etc.

I have volunteered as an election official judge and inspector for the past 8 years and it has been a totally rewarding, if sometimes trying experience. Our state will still have drop box locations and AVU machines (electronic voting machines) and therefore there will most likely still be volunteer opportunities for me in the future, but it won’t be the same.

Some things that I'll miss -

• George. Elderly, sweet, quiet, loyal George. Precinct 43-1358, thank you very much.


• The commraderie of the poll judges. Every voting day, rain or shine we would be there at dawn getting things set up,working together throughout the day, solving problems before King county even had a chance to send a troubleshooter our way. I'll miss the coffee/donut/pizza runs too. And the good laughs we had and some voters' expense.


• The voters. From the committed neighborhood folk who always made a point to vote no matter how obscure the ballot initiative, to the folks just trying to save postage by dropping off their absentee ballots, I'll miss each and every voter. Yes, even annoying-as-hell "7:45 guy".


• The process. From the oath of judges at 6AM to the laborious process of giving Accuvote, Provisional, and Absentee voter totals in the evening tally. Democracy at work. A beautiful thing.

They picked a good election to go out on - we had 2,000 people vote in our polling place on 11/4/08. And that's not counting the hundreds of people that came through to drop off their absentee ballots. The energy was magnetic. Awesome way to end things.

Is it Wednesday yet?

This election stuff is likely to drive me to drink. I'm sitting here on the eve before undoubtedly the most historic election in my lifetime and I'm so anxious I'm nauseous.
Tomorrow I will again be volunteering as a King county election inspector. The 2008 election day promises to be horribly exhausting. I have to be out of the house by 4:30 AM and over to one of the largest polling places in the county, to be greated by people already in line to vote at 7:00AM. Every election day is trying but tomorrow is going to be a doozy. I kind of want to take a Xanax to get through it all. Too bad I don't have any of those.

By the way, this "vote by phone" scam that's been happening over the last few days? SUCKS ASS! Why are some Americans such f*cking assholes? Don't let these assholes steal your right to vote!

Go Obama/Biden!

Your NOT welcome!

What's wrong with the subject title of this post? That's right, I incorrectly used a modifier as a second-person verb-phrase.
Except that I did it on purpose as a joke to prove a point, and every day I see people making this error multiple times without knowing they're doing it. Today in fact, a co-worker made this error in emails sent to me, not once, not twice, but four times! "Your welcome Kat". ARggghhh... It took all of my willpower not to go running down the hall to her office to throttle her.

"You're" is a verb phrase that is a contraction of "you are". "Your" is a modifier adjective. Easy!
Do not use "you're" to modify nouns. "Your keys."
Do not use "your" as a second-person verb phrase. "You're up early." Here's a phrase with both: "You're moving your car, right?" In other words, you are moving the car that belongs to you.

I know I am a grammar snob. I can't help it. I also know that everyone makes mistakes like this once in awhile. I do it too! It pains me to admit it, but it's true. So I'm not about to bust out the Word Police grammar error citation cards but please people just think about what you're typing (See? Not hard at all) before you hit that send button.

See also: They're/Their

Obama-mania

Over the past several weeks/months, I have been cautiously optimistic about Barack Obama's chances of becoming our next President. But last night I've got to tell you that for the first time I finally got super excited about this election and potential outcome.

The Obama-mercial was the most well produced piece of I-don't-know-what that I've ever seen. I actually got chills CHILLS at least 5 times during the 30 minute piece. And then afterword his interview on "The Daily Show" was equally brilliant. So here I am, the world's worst cynic actually feeling hope. It's strange.

On the other hand, as Obama himself has said, Democrats have an uncanny ability of "snatching defeat from the jaws of victory", so I'm not going to feel completely fine until November 5.

You annoy me!

Today, I encountered a bunch of things that bug me to no end. My list of pet peeves continues:

• Short-sleeved dress shirts on men - I suppose occasionally it's okay for a guy to wear one of these (without a tie please!) on a casual Friday at work, but for the most part short-sleeve dress shirts are totally fugly. And wearing a tie with one like my co-worker sported today is unforgivable. You end up looking like Andy Sipowicz from "NYPD Blue". That's not a look you should be striving for.

• Yellow cars - I'm sorry. No matter what the model, yellow cars look ridiculous. They just do.

• Tasseled loafers on men - eh, I don't want to keep excluding the ladies; these are bad on anybody. Loafers with tassels make people's feet look weird and twee. And I've never seen a pair that wasn't horribly unfashionable looking. Just gross. Guess who was wearing a pair of these today at work? Yep, you guessed it - the fashion plate above in the short sleeves and tie! He's special.

• Made-up words in Business - In the past 10 years the professional sector seems to have gone crazy making up words and phrases; changing verbs into nouns and vice versa. It's really annoying how so many of these have been adopted into everyday usage. A harmless example is a word like "networking". But others send me right off the ledge. The one I saw in an email sent from our executive director today was "on-boarding". The hell? Stop it right now.

Pet Peeves List cont'd

• The click-click sound of nail clippers - I hate the sound of clipping nails. I don't even like clipping my own nails. I file them down instead or save the clipping for the beauty salon where I can try to drown the sound out with the whirlpool jets that my feet are soaking in. That metallic clicking goes right through me and sends me into irrational fits of rage if someone is clipping their nails around me. Like what's happening right this minute in the office cubicle across from mine where my coworker is clipping her fingernails while she talks on the phone! I just yelled "STOP IT!" and then quickly looked down and away hoping that she doesn't know it was me. That's the thing - I get super angry about stuff like this but I find a hard time actually approaching people in a constructive way to get them to stop. Grrr...she's still doing it! How many fingers does she f*cking have anyway? Wait, I hope she hasn't moved on to her toenails...am I going to have to do another post here about inappropriate grooming in public? Sigh...

• Magazine subscription postcards - Seriously, has anyone ever actually taken one of these from their US Weekly or Vanity Fair, filled it out and mailed it in? I hate these damn wastes of paper! It's hard enough to find the article I'm looking for without these things getting in my way and falling out all over the place. And why so many of them? I'm not kidding, I was looking through my TV Guide last night and no less than 6, SIX, of these cards fell out as I was trying to figure out what I needed to Tivo for the week. F*ck you TV Guide. And that leads me to another annoying aspect - when they're in magazines that I already have subscriptions for. I don't need these stupid cards! I already got a subscription to your damn magazine using a more efficient method. But you're starting to make me regret this decision, so I'm definitely not going to pass one of these lame cards onto a friend or loved one. I can't imagine that these companies make enough money in subscription sales to offset the production of these cards each month/week etc.

Kat's Pet Peeves

It's time to once again publish my list (my LOOOONNNNGG list) of pet peeves. I'll be doing it a little at a time and adding to it frequently I'm sure. There are other people out there that have done similar lists, and done them better I'm sure, but putting the things that annoy me on here makes me feel better, and is a form of anger management! Here we go...

• People who talk on their cell phones in the bathroom - And I mean any bathroom; public or the one in your bedroom. But of course it's horrifying public restroom cell phone talkers who are the worst! First of all, public restrooms in general have strange acoustics; they are tinny and echoey and people are usually self-conciously trying to pee or poop etc as quietly as possible, so when someone is talking on the phone in there the conversation seems really loud. Second, people (cell phone talker included) are PEEING AND POOPING ETC.! Do you know how uncomfortable it is to be taking care of business while someone in the stall next to you is having a conversation about what they did over the weekend or about the problems they're having with their child's daycare provider? And there's the flushing! Flushing toilets are loud things; especially public toilets. Inevitably the bathroom cellphone talker just ends up yelling over the flush and making things worse. And what must it be like for the person on the other end of the phone? Can you imagine talking to one of your friends hearing maybe the faint sound of urine streaming but ignoring it and then hearing the tell-tale flush sound and knowing - you've been talking to someone who's been using the toilet! YUCK! You gross motherf*cker! People of the world I beg of you - stop doing this!

Monday, Monday

I have had a headache all day and am feeling super nauseous. Uggh
I think I'm staying home tomorrow nestled in my bed with the 12 library books I currently have out (the pend status on my library holds isn't working!).

Just finished watching that movie that Jodie Foster did last year called "The Brave One". It was very disturbing. And not very good.
Must be my Jodie week - watched the classic "The Little Girl Who Lives Down The Lane" a few days ago. Loved it just as much as I did when I was a teen.

Brolin sandwich!

I've loved Josh Brolin since his Goonies and "Young Riders"days. I've stuck with him all this time - through the lean "Bed of Roses" and "Mod Squad" years, and it's great to see him getting the recognition he deserves recently with his performances in No Country For Old Men and now "W".
I also love his dad James - I think I'm the only person who's seen all 27 episodes of the show "Pensacola: Wings of Gold".
I've loved Jim Brolin since the man was rockin the Barry Gibb hair and the beard in the Amityville Horror and then was the true essence of hot during the run of the awesome series "Hotel". I mean seriously was there anything hotter in the 80s than Peter McDermott on "Hotel"? The stuff of dreams people! And now he fawkin' married to Barbra freakin' Streisand! That rules! It's a little disheartening to realize that Jim is pushing 70 though.

Anyway, Josh was totally brilliant on SNL tonight. Sign me up for a Brolin manwich!

Random Reality TV Thoughts

Just finished watching the season finale of Rachel Zoe's reality show. It was "baaahnanaaahs". I didn't watch the entire season but one thing that bugged me every time I did was Rachel's husband Rodger's hair. It's ridiculous. Seriously. I can't even describe it. So I'll link a picture of it. He's the douche in the zip up jacket a few pictures down. Fugly!

One of my guilty pleasures is "The Girls Next Door". Hef is an old dottering weirdo shuffling around in his pjs; Holly's the desperate bitch; Kendra's a dumb lovable-ish retard; and Bridget, my fave is the well-meaning "eater". Anyway, season after season of this show has been like cotton candy - fluffy, airy and sometimes grossly sweet. But what is up with this season's timline and the episodes that have aired so far?
First ep of the season? Celebrating Hef's 870th birthday in April. Next ep? Superbowl party! Wait, huh? That was January. Next week's ep? Halloween party! Which is appropriate for this time of year but why aren't they showing these fucking things in any kind of order?! It's weird.

My sweet little southern big boobed Natalie got kicked off "Top Design" this week. Boo. But sexy sexington Preston won a challenge finally - yay! Suck on that Eddie!

Finally, thank you Lord for not letting fucking Kenley win Project Runway. I'm already this close to giving up on this show because of it's move to Lifetime, and if she had won I would have flipped out.

Minnesota!

Some things that happened in Minnesota -

• I got harrassed/stalked/propositioned by this dude named Kevin the first night I stayed in my hotel in Sartell, MN. While it was completely terrifying at the time, it's now a very funny anecdote that I can tell people at parties.
• Got to go to a St. Cloud State Univ hockey game, their first of the season. They played against University of Bristish Columbia and lost but it was great to watch some Division 1 college hockey.
• Got to drive north into Mille Lac county to the Ojibwe Indian reservation. The lake was so beautiful.

Some things I saw in Minnesota -

• Snowmobile crossing signs on the highway. Random!
• You haven't seen a hockey mom until you've seen a SCSU hockey mom. Scary.
• A bumbersticker that said "Deer Hunters for Obama". Hee!

Bay Area trip 2008

Just returned from a nice trip down in San Francisco with my friend Robert. A little taste of what we did:

Friday -

• Rented a car and did a day trip north into Marin county. Our first stop was the Muir Woods. Really cool. I know that I was there when I was 10 but I didn't remember or appreciate it like I do now. Those are some f*cking cool ass trees!
• After a stop at the "nut man" on the side of the road, we decided to head to Bodega Bay but got a little turned around and ended up driving through Marin county and into Sonoma before getting back west.
• On our detour we stopped in a little quaint (read RICH) Marin town called Larkspur and had lunch at a tres chic French restaurant. Yummy food. I had the richest truffled egg salad sandwich on buttered toasted brioche slices. Decadent!
• Finally got to Bodega Bay which was kind of disappointing actually. I mean "The Birds" was filmed there for crissakes! I expected to feel at least a little creeped out. But the real winner was the little town on Route 1 on the way back south that we drove through called Stinson Beach. It was so adorable - I could totally live there or at least have a vacation home there.

Saturday -

• We decided to do another day-trip, this time South. It was so damn foggy that morning that it was a little frustrating on our way down the PCH towards Santa Cruz.
• By the time we got to Santa Cruz the fog had burned away and it was actually hot. We saw cute beach volleyball boys and cuter sea lions which was our goal.
• We then headed back north but went inland to San Jose to go to the Winchester House! Let me tell you, it was not as good as I thought it was back when I was 13. We had the cheesiest tour guide named Chris whose voice had such an annoying CAdence and WEIRD inFLECtions that it was hard to not laugh out loud numerous times during the very scripted 65 min tour. I was glad that we went but I certainly never have to go there again.
• Ended the day by driving through Berkeley and hitting horrific traffic over the Bay Bridge back into the city. Do people have to deal with that shit all the time? uggh
• Finished the evening by having Italian in North Beach and then some kick-ass gelato.

Sunday -

• This was the day that we'd really come down to SF for in the first place. The 25th annual Folsom Street Fair. All of the fetishes and freaks in the world represented in one 5 block square space. The "community festival" was definitely SENSORY OVERLOAD. I'm a very open-minded and non-judgemental person, but even I had to draw the line at the dude that was the Human Urinal. No. Just no. I saw a lot of penises and boobs. I spanked someone for charity. I got to watch gay porn live in the Titan video tent. I saw enough to say that I saw too much. There was awesome music though - The English Beat (squee!), Berlin, Shiny Toy Guns...awesome.
• Before the fair, I met up with Kate and her boyfriend who were in town for a wedding the night before. We had breakfast at Cafe Mason and got to catch up. It was a great way to start the day.

By Monday, Robert and I were both kind of ready to go home. We had the car for another day so drove to places in the city that we couldn't really get to on MUNI like Twin Peaks, Golden Gate Park, and the Castro. We also went to the Haight-Ashbury district and walked by the old apt that Kate and Sarah used to live in. Happy memories.

I got to have lunch with JK (Janice) who came in from Oakland to see me. It was great catching up. She suggested that Robert and I go to the bar that she and her partner Irene own in the Mission because it was karaoke night. We happily went that night after a mediterranean dinner across the street. They had big, strong, and cheap drinks (good) but no karaoke because the guy was sick (bad). It was a little hipster local hangout bar that reminded me of Seattle like the Tin Hat.

I was craving gelato again so we tried to find a place in the Mission and thanks to the wonder of phones with internet we discovered a place in the nearby neighborhood of Bernell Heights. I have to say, I was totally unfamiliar with this section of the city and WOW was it the cutest damn neighborhood I've ever seen! I can't believe I've never been there or heard of it before. I loved it. If I lived in San Francisco I would want to live there. Sure, it's a little far away from stuff but who cares when the area is so cool.

Tuesday brought migraines and sickness for me. What a way to make my way home to the Emerald City. I've had a headache ever since. Shit.

"Heroes" is still on my "good" list

A lot of people I know are kind of fed up with Heroes and are taking it off their DVR to-do lists faster than Clay Aiken can come out of the closet.
But last night's Season 3 premier actually redeemed the show in my eyes. So show? You're back on the good list!
For now.
Don't fuck it up.

Random thoughts for a Wednesday

• David Boreanaz looked so f*cking HOT on the Bonnie Hunt Show today. He was seriously rocking a beautiful suit and looking fine!
• My brother-dog Sport looks very fetching with the new blue leash that I bought him today.
• As we enter the fall tv season, I am starting to get that "I watch too much tv" anxiety because there are a ton of shows that I want to watch that are on at the same times/days - CONFLICTS!
• I can't get enough of this season's six (6!!!) Bryant Park collections from the Project Runway finalists. Especially Korto and Leanne's.
• Seattle drivers still continue to suck (some more).
• I am very stressed out.

Million Dollar Listing

I came late to the party with the 2nd season of this show on Bravo. I started watching several weeks after it started and only recently caught up on the last few eps including last week's season finale.
I can't tell you why I love the show or the 3 tools that are profiled in it but I do. They're all ridiculous in their own way. Anyway, I find myself kind of sad that the season is over and actually hoping that we get to see more of Chad, Madison, and Josh in the future.

I did play the show's "Realtor Compatibility" quiz on the Bravo site. They said that I am best matched with Chad! Boo...

Dr. Mehmet Oz - Douchetastic!

Okay, I've complained about this before but I gotta do it again.

Oprah's medical guru, Dr. Oz is a smart guy. He's always dispensing really good advice and is very affable and, although somewhat cocky (what doctor isn't?) he's interesting to listen to.

That said, he's also really annoying because he's always on Oprah dressed in scrubs(!) and his damn Dankso clogs or Nikes as if he's just rushed to the HARPO set straight from surgery to share his great knowledge with us lowly retards. With his beeper attached to the scrub waistband like he's going to be paged to rush off again to some crazy important heart transplant. Give me a break!
I guess I should be glad that he at least isn't wearing a stethoscope when he's on the show, but please, Dr. Mehmet Oz does not have the kind of active practice that involves the need to wear scrubs. Between his Oprah gigs (both the tv show and his daily radio show on her Sirius channel), his book tours and speaking engagements, I seriously doubt that he has the time to meet with little ol' Joan Smith for her consultation.
Even if he did have an active, thriving practice, there's no reason for him to wear the scrubs on Oprah. Unless he's purposely wearing them to irk me; if so - MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

What the hell is wrong with this country?

I swear to f*cking God, if McCain and Palin win the election I'm leaving this hell-hole for good!

Bumbershoot 2008

This was one of the few years where I actually attended at least a little part of each day of Bumbershoot.

Here's who I saw and what I did:

Saturday 8/30 -

• Beck and Band of Horses were the mainstage acts that day and I totally wasn't interested in going so while my friends all stood in the huge line to get the night passes, I went to the north comedy stage to see what was what. I was told incorrectly by a staff person that I didn't need a comedy pass for all shows.
• My group and I headed towards Neko Case but the line was so long to get in that half way through I realized that the set was almost over so I took off to see some comedy and then found out that I DID in fact need a comedy pass, which at that point were all passed out for all shows that day. Grrr. So plan C was catching the last bit of The New Faces set. Very good.
• Next I caught the first 20 min of this local hip hop guy named Grynch. Then I went over to see a little Ian Moore who was amazing. I wish I could have seen his whole set but I had to run and catch the literary essay readings from Kevin Sessums and David Schmaeder. Their peformance was so awesome.
• My friend Kathy and I grabbed something to eat and then I went to wait for Estelle to come on. She was so so great. "American Boy" didn't sound as sharp live, but "Just A Touch" was smokin'. This ended up being the last show of the day for me because I had a party to go to.

Sunday 8/31 -

I spent most of this day away from the festival. As my friends know, I totally hate people, so the crowds at Bumbershoot can be very trying.

After seeing a funny movie with Robert ("Tropic Thunder"!) and grabbing a quick bite of sushi with my dad, I did end up heading over to Bumbershoot in the evening. My friend had procured both a comedy pass and mainstage pass for me, so the first thing I did was head over to the south comedy stage to see "The MySpace Show" which was hilarious. Basically they took 2 random people from the audience with MySpace pages and improv'd a whole comedy sketch around them. Soooo funny.

Ended the evening by heading over to catch the return of Stone Temple Pilots. They...kinda sucked. I didn't stay for the whole thing. Scott Weiland seemed sober though.

Monday 9/1 -

• I headed over much earlier than I had intended considering that most of the acts that I cared about weren't until later.
• Caught a little of Joshua Morrison which was good. Then I headed over to comedy to see Greg Behrendt (y'know the "He's Just Not That Into You" guy) who was actually hysterical. On Saturday I had actually had a "F" list celebrity sighting when I ran into Craig from this season's Mole. He was very nice and gave me a hug. Then I kept on running into him including at the comedy venue on Monday so we ended up sitting together. He's very nice and a cutie!
• After comedy caught some Bedouin Soundclash from the beer garden and then ate a salmon sandwich (and a funnel cake...shhh...don't judge me) while watching this blues dude named Langhorne Slim.
• Met up with Kathy and we went back to the beer garden to watch a little world music from Cheb I Sabbah. Finally we headed over for one of the main reasons that I attended the festival this year - The Old 97s. I gotta say, as much as I love them, their energy seemed a little off tonight. Although it could entirely have been me - I was exhausted at that point.
• My celebrity sighting quotient went up notches when I saw not only comedian David Cross but the actress Amber Tamblyn whose hand he was holding. Are they an item? What a strange yet intriguing couple. Amber was actually luminously beautiful in person. I confess that I've never thought that she was pretty. At all. When she was that kid on General Hospital (Emily?) I thought she was so ugly and awkward, and she didn't really improve in my eyes as she got older and more famous. Even in the Traveling Pants movies where all 4 of those girls look so scrubbed-face and pretty, Amber just seems dulled. ANYWAY, girl is gorgeous, and was wearing a fab outfit and shoes. And I guess is getting it from David Cross of all people. Go figure.
• I finished the night by seeing about 6 min of Sondre Lerche. I was so tired by that point that I had to get to my car and drive home for fear of not making it at all. It seemed like it was going to be a great show, oh well.

Now it's all over and it's time to begin one of the busiest, most hectic months of my life. Good times.

Why does Chinese food always smell so much better than it tastes?

Some person(s) at my office today ordered Chinese food from I assume one of the numerous restaurants in the Southcenter area that deliver. Once the food arrived, the delicious smell permeated every corner of our office floor literally making my mouth water. The smell of garlic deliciousness is almost too much to handle.
But here's the deal - if I actually take the time to order chinese food of my own I know I'll be disappointed as I almost always am when eating Chinese food.

Which a couple of rare exceptions, I've really never had Chinese food that I would consider great. I am almost ALWAYS let down by the flat taste of dishes that smell heavenly. Why doesn't that amazing aroma translate into taste? Does the flavor of the food evaporate in the steam rising off of it?

Inquiring minds...

I guess I'll go try to appease my hunger with a sandwich. Boring, but at least there won't be any high expectations that it won't live up to, to worry about.

Did I say I hate packing? Well, I meant UNpacking

I am finally (mostly) moved into my new place. But besides my bedroom and some of my clothes, I haven't really unpacked anything since the movers left all of the boxes on Saturday.

First and foremost I have to finish putting up the window treatments on my weirdly sized windows so that I can actually walk around my house without worrying about being fully dressed. But after the trying experience of putting up the drapes in my bedroom on my own, I'm considering getting a professional to do the rest.
My walls would certainly appreciate having more talented hands putting things up.

Still not finished packing...

But at least I'm doing it. I've also had to move my dad this week from one apt in Courtland Place to another so I haven't had any time for myself.
Sometimes I hate my life. Seriously.

But I'm enjoying the HELL out of the SYTYCD finale tonight. Totally awesome routines.

Go Twitch and Katee!

ARRRRGGGHHH! I hate moving!

clarification - I hate PACKING.

Why has it been such a f*cking struggle for me to pack my goddamm house up to move into my fabulous new one?! This week is it! I have to have everything done by Saturday morning when my movers are coming. And yet here I sit, actively procrastinating and avoiding packing.

Posting blog entries and uploading photos from my recent trip to Mexico instead of packing my kitchen is not what I should be doing. But I'm powerless. No motivation whatsoever. It's a sickness.
What am I going to do? I'm kind of on the verge of getting hysterical here. I'm so mad at myself for putting this off to the last minute but still I'm not doing anything to make a difference. I need someone to give me a good ol' slap and say "SNAP THE FUCK OUT OF IT!"

Things I've Pondered in Mejico

These are some of the questions I've been asking myself since arriving at the Moon Palace Resort in Cancun -

• Why are there so many people from Great Britain vacationing here? Seriously, don't these people have cooler places to travel to like Majorca?
• Why is it that the only handicap stall in any of the public restrooms at the resort is located in the restroom that has 3 stairs leading to the row of stalls?
• Why is my hair so FUGLY here? I look like an electrocuted poodle.
• Why is Mexican TV so random?
• Why don't they sell lemon flavored Fritos is the States?
  
• How am I ever going to live without free/unlimited pina coladas?
  

I Don't Like Fawking Mondays

Mondays for me at work suck so damn much. On top of the usual drudgery, I also had to deal with the nazi regime that is the property managers at my dad's senior care facility.
And then my dad fell (AGAIN!) this morning. And didn't tell me. And won't tell me anything that led to the fall or answer any of my questions - did you trip?, were you dizzy? did you bruise anything (besides your ego)?
So damn frustrating.

I was able to do something for myself today at least - I got my eyebrows waxed and a much needed pedicure. I could have stayed in that chair with that little Vietnamese lady massaging my legs and feet all night.

Now I face the daunting task of packing more of my shit up. At least I'm doing it with a fucking cocktail - Sprite Zero, coconut rum, and pineapple juice. Bliss.

The Brillance of "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog

I'm totally obsessed with the latest genius creation from Joss Whedon. You can go and view all 3 acts at the Dr. Horrible web site until Sunday, July 20, otherwise spend the money and download the acts from iTunes. Seriously brilliant, even if there is a character named Moist (which...GROSS). And Neil Patrick Harris rules!

Take your freeze ray and STOP THE WORLD.

So You Think You Can Dance Round-up - top 10

This was definitely a bittersweet week for me SYTYCD-wise. On one hand, 3 of my all-time favorite dance performances in the history of this show were nominated for Emmys this week:
Outstanding Choreography
So You Think You Can Dance • Routine: Hummingbird and Flower / 'The Chairman's Waltz' • Wade Robson, Choreographer
So You Think You Can Dance • Routine: Transformers / 'Fuego' • Shane Sparks, Choreographer
So You Think You Can Dance • Routine: Table / 'Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)' • Mandy Moore, Choreographer

On the other hand, one of my favorite male dancers from this season got eliminated. I knew that Gev wasn't going to win this competition. And there are definitely two other guys that I like better (Joshua and Twitch). So although I knew Gev's time was coming up, it was still a blow to see him leave because I absolutely adored the contemporary routine that he did with Chelsea this week.
Oh and speaking of the Emmy nominations, another travesty - Cat Deeley not being nominated for reality show host! I love me some Tom Bergeron so I don't begrudge his nom, but Seacrest the anti-Christ? F*cking Probst again? REALLY?

Anyway, in general this season of SYTYCD has not excited me that much. Maybe it's because the last two seasons, especially last year's, were so amazing. I don't know what it is, but there haven't been nearly as many stand-out performances for me this season. And the competition seems to be moving much quicker yet simultaneously dragging for me for some reason. Wednesday night I was like, "wow top 10 already", but at the same time I find myself wishing it was the final 4 already.

All I know is that Comfort better go home next week. I'm so over her!

Bad week

I'm having a crap-ass week so far and I thought - when better to start a new blog?! We'll see how diligent I am...