Best New Way to Waste Time

This one's courtesy of Kam:

http://www.isketch.net/isketch.shtml

It's totally awesome and addicting, of course. If you're too lazy to click, it's like online pictionary. You can either play with random strangers, each of you taking a turn to draw, or you can create your own private room and play with friends. Last night Kam and I got hooked. We found out the key is to make your private room but to limit the number of players who can join, because in the middle of our game we were joined by a few random strangers which took the fun out of it. "Gl@mourG!rl$$" (or some otherwise annoying teenybopper variation) came into our room and just started guessing away at our drawings and then skipping all of her drawing turns (I don't think she was too bright). In any case, it's a super fun game. Click away and see for yourself!


Current Music: The Ascent of Stan, by Ben Folds
Current Mood: delightful

Simply having a wonderful Christmas time...

(One must sing it aloud for proper effect)

Christmas was a good ol' time. We had a low-key, mostly uneventful gathering here at my house. It felt basically like Thanksgiving again. The usual difference when I was a kid was the heaping pile of presents I had waiting for me under the tree, but as it seems those days are long gone, it was just a big family get together with more delicious food-- hence, Thanksgiving all over again. Not that I mind, as Thanksgiving is the greatest of holidays. Highlights were Sonya's tomato-crab soup number, delicious rack of lamb, and a good glass of Merlot ("Did I NOT ask for Merlot???" -- my Martha Stewart shout-out for the Holidays). I also enjoyed breaking in Auddie's new DDR (Dance Dance Revolution) game, which was part of my X-mas gift to her.

Today was an unusual day-after-Christmas for me. After initially declining, I decided last moment that I would help Three Way & Co. (Three Way=Bac Diep=my aunt who owns a florist) with the flowers for a wedding today. Ok, to be fair, it was the offer of "make some money" that enticed me most. Surely, the waking up at 7 am was not what convinced me to do this. Auddie decided to join in (not knowing what she was getting into!) and we headed out to a hotel somewhere in Chantilly/Centreville/who really knows or cares? where the wedding was. For the first hour or so I got my hands dirty by cleaning dozens of dozens of roses. Then when the real flower crew got there (Kam [Tuti], Three Way [Bac Diep], Sonya [Co Huong], and Bac Anh) I actually started to learn some things.

As this was a completely last-minute wedding and the always wonderful Great Falls Florist was pulling a "lifesaver" task by covering for another florist who bailed on the wedding, time was short and perfection was not in the cards. Thus, they let me handle some flowers and even arrange them, too! By the end of the day, I was creating centerpieces of my own without supervision. Word of this probably shouldn't get out for the sake of the florist, but it's actually okay to talk about because I wasn't totally horrible. (Awaiting Kam's blog comment...) In fact, I was quite proud to be junior designer of the day and express my creative self through flora. The important part was, we got all the arrangements done by 6 pm for the reception and I was happy to have contributed. It was totally exhausting and stressful at times, but it was a fun experience and I learned a lot. A future in flower design? Perhaps, after some more instruction (some of the centerpieces were a wee lopsided...). If nothing else, I have totally newfound respect for wedding flowers and all the work and people that are behind them. Whew!

Oh, as for the wedding. It was a traditional arranged Indian wedding. Whoa! I know, right. Even crazier, the bride was a girl who had gone to Langley and graduated in '97. Whoda thunk it? You always hear about these things, but to know of people who could be your friend participating in an arranged marriage-- it's like, some type of weird culture shock, really. It was particularly interesting after having recently finished reading The Namesake, this really incredible novel by Jhumpa Lahiri about an Indian family and their experiences about immigration and subsequent acculturation in America. Quite a good read-- I recommend it (It was especially relevant to me because the theme of the whole book was centered around one character and his struggle with identity through his name... sound familiar?) Anyway, seeing the whole wedding thing unfold today was just really eye-opening. It always provokes some thought about your world view when you see how culture and traditions that seem so dated, at least to you, are still very relevant and significant for some people.

In other unrelated news, I cannot BELIEVE the earthquake/tsunami madness in Asia. It's just totally unbelievable. I can't even begin to comprehend the amount of death and devastation that took place over such an unexpected event. It freaked me out even more because it would not be uncommon for my family to be over in Asia, even in Thailand, at this time of the year. To see some of the photos of the damage and the people-- no words for it at all. What's worse, as my mom and I were discussing, is the fact that many of these countries and areas that were wiped out were already some of the poorest places in the world, and now this. Wow oh wow. Some Christmas for those folks. Must once again figure out a way to be grateful and thankful for my health and good fortune.

On that note, hope everyone had a holly jolly Christmas/Holiday. Many cheers.


Current Music: Chin Up, Cheer Up, by Ryan Adams
Current Mood: simply pooped

Merry Christmas!

Auddie and I just finished up our first sib Gingerbread house! Not bad for a first try, eh? After posting this I must lie down though because I think I have a sugar headache. Too much licking the frosting off my fingers. (And to think, I don't even have a sweet tooth...!)








Current Music: Faded From the Winter, by Iron & Wine
Current Mood: tired

Good Holiday Fun.

Happy winter everybody!! It's official, although judging by the weather yesterday we didn't need the official "ok." Let's hope yesterday was as cold as it will get. We DC-metro area folks can't handle anything much worse.

I can't believe X-mas is only 4 days away. It always seems to creep up like that, but this year in particular it seemed to just happen. Tis been nice actually catching up with the folks I missed over Thanksgiving, though. So far, so good!

Here's a fun and cute little number to keep you busy and get you in the spirit!

SnowCraft


Current Music: Pipe Dreams, by Travis
Current Mood: "Harry!! your hands are freeeezing!!"

VN school, etc...

So we just wrapped our first semester today. I crushed the final exam, but likely because I'm probably the only student who freaks out about it the night before and actually studies. The youngins probably think I'm crazy for it, but I can't let them show me up! I was so proud that I was able to memorize a poem to recite for the oral portion of the exam. (I'm such a fob!!) Anyway, after the exam came the "party" in the auditorium, where thank goodness Kam (Tuti/Sao Mai) and I managed to get out of the group presentations on front and center stage. (Phew! My group was really terrible. Our restaurant skit, which we briefly rehearsed, was the worst thing I've ever seen. No insult to the kids-- they all agreed that it was just bad.)

I was mildly disappointed that when certain kids in each grade were picked to go up to the stage and receive a gift, my name wasn't called. Kam was called up, and so was another kid who is a total misfit. Maybe they just... made a mistake... I felt a bit better after Kam opened her gift and it was some weird combination of items surely purchased from the dollar store or a similar venue. She even got some '80s style hair ties (you know which kind I'm talking about-- not scrunchies, but the kind that are kind of wooly and can thread apart if you pull on one piece... classic!) Another redeeming part of the day was when the older sister of a girl in my group came up to me, for no particular reason, and quietly said, "My sister thinks you're nice!" and then proceeded to walk away. It was so the awesomest moment of my day. It felt good to get a small dose of popularity from the kids, especially since Kam is usually the kiddies' favorite (boo!).

During the party, Kam, Auddie, and I kind of stood around and ate the weird combination of food available (cheese puffs, pate-chaud, fried chicken, banh bao, etc...) and talked about all the VN school characters. This one 8th grade girl in Auddie's class who was clearly in her glamour-shot phase (she always looked like she was posing for something, even when she was just standing there!) asked auddie for her "Cell," so she could call her. Doubt it!! Girl's only 11 years old. And then there was another girl in Kam and my class, who actually was in her glamour-shot phase, because apparently she and her friends "hang out" at Springfield Mall and go to Hollywood Shots (or something?) and take portraits together all the time (weird.).


Anyway. I just got back from the gym and as I was massaging/rolling my leg out on the big styrofoam roll thing, I got into another "gym" convo with some guy. He was like "Oh, you've got the IT band thing too?" and I said, "Yeah" (not really knowing if I did, just assuming he must know). Then he came over to me, said something about how rolling it out is only going to do so much... then the next thing I know he says, "Mind if I try this actually?" And he steals the tool I'm using and starts using it and making "ooh" and "aah" stretching sounds. I'm thinking, "ooook, give it back, there are others.." But then he continued to talk my ear off (most of it actually helpful in diagnosing what's wrong with my leg), and even admitted to me that he's usually not this "garrulous," but he knows what I'm going through because he did the same.
So yeah, I'm just becoming friendly with everyone at the gym, I suppose. I think I've got a problem with my IT band. I hope I can fix it. Maybe my new shoes, which Huan is supplying me for Christmas, will do the trick. I sure hope they do, because this week I signed up for the Cherry Blossom 10-miler in April (gasp! Am I crazy?), and I'll need all the time I can get to prepare. Updates on that to follow. Happy pre-xmas weekend to all!


Current Music: Magic in the Air, by Badly Drawn Boy
Current Mood: spirited

A mish-mash of things

This post will be a bit all over the place, but that's what you all get when you get pushy! It's funny how I kind of forget about my blog when things aren't terribly interesting, and then suddenly, as if all on the same day, I'll get some clear reminder than other people are counting on my consistent posts and that it allows people to pass the time wherever they may be. ("Dude what's the deal, it's been like 3 days.")

I'm starting to love the voicemails/e-mails/conversations that go something like this (today's was courtesy of Lo): "Hey, how are you? What's going on with you? I mean, I read your blog so I kind of know, but I thought I'd call anyway..." It's like as long as I have this blog going you don't feel so bad about not really contacting me. I'm not bitter either; I completely understand how it goes. The whole concept is just very amusing to me. How you don't really know how far your blog goes and who reads it, and then you find out about some really random person who does, and you're like, "weird." But it's cool. It's nice to have readership. That's why people do these things at all, isn't it? Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying.



I will now post about my daily gym experiences. It is not difficult for my day to revolve around my gym time, as this is the one and only thing that is fairly routine for me these days. I usually like to go around 11 am, and before I do, I'll turn on our TV at home and check the guide to see what the lineup is for both Ellen DeGeneres and The View. If both of them look terrible, I can always fall back on the Price is Right. Then I'll have a solid hour to keep me entertained on the treadmill or other cardio machine. It really does make the time go by quickly, especially when it's a good show. Eleven o'clock is prime time, you see. It also falls under "unemployment hour" at the gym, when it is more or less deserted, save a few regular folks who come to work out on their lunch break. Even better is 2-3 pm, but rarely do I make that time. Ideally I would like to go at 4 pm, because I could count on Oprah to get me through the workout, but unfortunately I like to get it out of the way in the morning.

Today was an Ellen day. She's taking lessons from Oprah and doing "12 days of giveaway," which is kind of cool, and tomorrow she is revealing which celebrity has been disguising him/herself for 12 days as the giant gingerbread man. Must tune in for that one. Lindsay Lohan performed today on the show. She was awful. I think all these new school teenybopper chicks want to prove they can really sing (especially after the Ashlee Simpson fiasco), but Lindsay was just downright bad. Oh well, at least she tried and at least she sang live. Though to be truthful, I'd rather hear you lip-synch to a studio cut than make my ears bleed (That was way harsh, Tai!). On second thought, just stick to acting.

[In other quasi-teenybopper news, did anyone knows Mandy Moore is dating Zach Braff? Zach Braff (of "Garden State" fame) is like your prototypical popular geek. You know the type (think Adam Brody as another example)-- in a "normal" world he would be a skinny geek who got picked on by the "jocks," but in today's celebrity world this translates to total coolness, because everyone knows chicks dig the scrawny underdog. So now these guys are completely idolized and it's all because they're like "Me? girls? no way!" which is totally attractive in their modest, I-definitely-don't-consider-myself-cool-which-makes-me-very-cool way. But now they know they're cool for being geekish, so it's kind of annoying. Both "The OC" and "Scrubs" are excellent television shows, however, and "Garden State" was equally mesmerizing (as was its soundtrack, which everyone has undoubtedly heard by now).]

This is turning into a very bad and lengthy post.

Back to the gym... We've got our series of characters at the gym, ranging from the new young personal trainer (former gym goer turned employee), to the lady who comes in during lunch hour, and of course the older Spanish-speaking woman with a 6-pack.

I've had interesting run-ins with all of them. First was the lunch break lady. She comes in and puts in some good cardio time and then some weights, on occasion. She's kind of like this Shania Twain type, but a bit larger (by that I mean taller, more muscular). My run-in with her unfortunately was of the locker-room type. Yeah, you betcha, she was one of those "free" and "comfortable" locker room types. Very bizarre, I tell you. So unexpected, too. Honestly, would you think Shania Twain would be that type? (See, this is what you get when you demand I update. Most sincere apologies.)

Yesterday was the Spanish-speaking woman who is almost always there, and always there before I get there and still there when I leave. She kinda just hangs around, working on her guns and her six-pack. She must be in her mid-to-late 40's, maybe even 50, who knows. I guess every gym has one of those types, though. Kinda badass. She's like totally intimidating but also the nicest person ever. She started talking to me in the locker room about the weather, and how I was underdressed for it. I usually don't like to (actually, I hate it) socialize with people at the gym, particularly strangers, so I usually avoid eye contact if at all possible. But I was caught! Then she asked me about UVa, and what I was studying, and after I told her I had graduated she said she thought I was 18. That was about all. Oh, I almost forgot. She thought I was Korean, too, and then I corrected her.

Today's run-in completely initiated by me. I've had this nagging injury in my leg for the past few weeks, and I didn't know how the heck to stretch it properly, so after my short run today I decided I had to ask this new personal trainer guy. I'd seen him for a while just as a regular guy at the gym, except he was pretty hardcore-- always doing those really fancy exercises that only people who know what they're doing do. And once when he was doing this thing that made his shirt come up, I saw that he had one of those ridiculous John Basedow 6-packs. Anyway, I got to thinking he kind of knew what was going on. Next thing I know he has a job there and is a personal trainer. I think he's kind of popular with the 30+ type ladies, because he's a young guy, he's alright looking, and he's got a good body and whatever. Today one of his clients was all into him; she had burned some CDs for him and was very excited about it. I saw her drop them into his treadmill cubby thing. One of them was Maroon 5, which was totally amusing to me. But what always bothered me was that it appears his legs are shaved! Now I know if you've even gotten this far in the post, you already think I'm crazy, but really-- his legs always look smooth as silk, I can't ever spot a single hair, so it's not like he has the random Asian spotting or thin leg-hair thing happening. And he's dark-haired and light skinned, too, so it's not like I'm missing it. Could be a swimmer? Possibly, but doubtful. Even swimmers let it grow back, unless they're Michael Phelps or something. Anyway, this always made me a little wary of the guy.

Today I was desperate, though. After my run he was over on the mats reading up on his WSC manual. I was like "Excuse me, can I ask you a question?" which had to totally massage his newfound personal trainer ego. And then I proceeded to tell him where my leg hurt, and then he was totally responsive and helpful, and showed me what I should do (after throwing a bunch of technical personal trainer jargon at me, of course). So then it was cool, and I finally met him, but now it'll be one of those things where every time I see him he'll have to be like "Hey! How's the leg?!" And I'll tell him "Oh, better, great, thanks!" This should continue for some time, I figure. It already happened twice during the same gym trip today. Again, why I try to avoid conversations with strangers at the gym. I really ought to work on this antisocial thing. Maybe today was a start.

Well, on that note, I'm wrapping this one up. Look for more interesting and enlightening experiences to come. As always, thanks for reading.


Current Music: What Katie Did, by The Libertines
Current Mood: sleepy and off to bed

Springfield Sunset

It's no National Geographic exotic location shot (I'll save that one for another post--haha), but it's not bad for stepping outside my front door on a Thursday evening.




Current Music: Jesus on the Radio, by Guster
Current Mood: achy (that doesn't quite describe a mood so much as a physical state, though, huh?)

Good Fortune

Yesterday we celebrated the wedding of Bao Ngoc and her husband, Chris. Let's just say it was a memorable experience all-around. I was up around 7 am (earlier than if I'd shown up for our Vietnamese school presentations! Tuti and I skipped out on those; I hope the 7-10 year olds didn't blow it for our group, because they'll probably blame me.) and at Bao Ngoc's house for the morning part of the ceremony. I was one of five bridesmaid-cousins, all dolled up in our yellow ao dais for this uber-traditional Vietnamese wedding.

Throughout the day, we all remembered to thank Bao Ngoc and Chris for "taking one for the team," knowing (or at least hoping) that the rest of us might not have to go through the traditional experience like they so bravely did. But as the eldest daughter to the eldest son in the family, she let Ông run away with this one and throw a big bash for some 220 people, most of whom Bao Ngoc had never seen before. The newlyweds told us today that some of the checks were written out "Bao Ngoc & Husband," and even some others to Ông (my grandpa)!

The morning ceremony was rather brief and low-key, and we all enjoyed some downtime before the evening festivities at Fortune in Reston. For those of you who don't know, Fortune is a chinese restaurant that represents whatever kind of tackiness you might be able to imagine. Only a week ago Bao Ngoc let us in on her fear of dancing the Cha-Cha in front of the lobster tank as her first wedding dance. (We weren't far off. She managed to avoid this, although the tank was there in all its glory.) All the kids had a laugh, though, as we seated the many guests of our very popular grandfather and waited to be introduced as members of the bridal party. One of Bao Ngoc and Chris's fondest memories undoubtedly had to be the blasting Polka music through the speakers as the new couple was introduced to all the guests to kick off the night. This was only a hint of things to come. We had to ask management to remove the special wedding archway they usually had setup (imagine the backdrop for all those studio prom photos... the white garden archway with fake flowers and ivy hanging all over it). When they said they didn't have room to put it away (we wanted it out of sight), they told us, almost in disbelief: "Everyone usually wants it, so we don't know where to put it!"

After a very heartfelt and genuine speech from my gramps, we were finally seated and began the dinner portion of the night. You know how it goes-- 7 dishes or so, each spaced out at intervals of about 10 minutes. So you're eating some jellyfish and cucumbers . . . then a big shrimp ball . . . then a piece of chicken . . . etc. By the end of it, it's taken you a couple hours and you can't even remember what you've eaten and aren't sure if you're supposed to be full. The dessert oranges are always consistent, though, and for that you cannot help but be pleased. During dinner, we were also treated to the vocal stylings of some of the best, most-sequined Vietnamese singers around, as well as my grandpa's good friend who is very passionate about his harmonica. (A few of us were lucky enough to have seen him perform last weekend, at the Falls Church fortune, for a different event hosted by my grandpa.)

After dinner & cake, they set the stage for dancing by sprinkling baby powder all over it. I guess I don't go out enough to know that this is the appropriate way to prepare a dancefloor...
Anyhow, there were more Karaoke-style performances that we enjoyed, ranging from waltzes to the tango to the cha-cha (My dad dragged me on the dancefloor for this one. I guess that's what I get for asking him how to dance.). The one-man band (a guy on a keyboard) even did a great version of "I Just Called to say I Love you," which we all know is "my song," so I pleased all the parents by smiling and singing along. (The story goes that when I was a small tot, I gave many a moving performance of this song to any and all who would listen.) The personal highlight for the kids was when they played (CD versions, thank goodness) of "(Everything I Do) I Do it For You," a Bryan Adams classic, as well as the moving "Power of Love," by Celine Dion. No sarcasm here-- we were all singing along, it was a great moment.

All in all, a long but memorable day and night, amusing and entertaining us in so many different ways. Again, my congratulations to Bao Ngoc and Chris, not only for surviving the experience, but on their marriage. My conclusion after last night (and after Kim's wedding a couple months ago) is that I'm definitely leaning toward a barefoot wedding. This 4" heel thing is just not for me.


Current Music: Greensleeves, by Kenny G
(I'm serious- my mom is blasting Kenny G Christmas music throughout the house)
Current Mood: relaxed

Season's Greetings

Here are some fun pics of the 4 ft. tall tree and more over-the-top holiday decor! For a bunch of Buddhists, we sure know how to get into the Christmas spirit!


If I recall, Huan actually put 0 to maybe 1 ornament on his own tree. He was taking a nice little nap on his couch while his new Sinatra CD played in the background. I had to remind him that as much as he wanted it to be so, we were not actually characters in a Pottery Barn catalog.





And just for some perspective, I made Huan pose with the mini tree after it was all done!!





Last night we finished decorating the inside of our house, complete with items from the Hallmark window display that my mom entirely bought out a few years ago(seriously).

These elves dangle over the upstairs catwalk and greet you as you walk into the house. Now tell me, scary or not? I finally compromised with my mom and decided that these guys were "cute in the daytime, scary at night."




Here is the staircase crew:



And a close-up because they are so cute:




This is my favorite guy, the wise old sage of Christmastime (or some random wizard, not sure):




Enjoy! Happy Holidays.

Announcements and Observations

-First of all, let's celebrate this amazing unseasonal weather. It's almost mid-December and today I was outside in shorts and driving with the windows down! It feels more like early fall, which we all know is perfectly ideal. It looks like weather.com is showing me a dip in temps coming up soon, though. I guess it's just too much to ask for 60°+ days for the Holidays, huh? Well, at least it's not blustery yet. Let's hope for a comfortable winter.

-Gas prices are dropping, which is a pleasant holiday treat. I've seen it as low as $2.01 for premium around here. As an aside, does anyone else ever get bothered by the inconsistency in the arrangement of the fuel types? Some places it's Regular, Plus, Premium, from left to right, then the next place is Regular, Super (or even V-Power!!! or some other name), Plus. I can't keep it straight. One of these days I'm going to grab and pump the wrong one and then we'll all be in big trouble, won't we? (Clearly no, there will be no trouble at all. It isn't rocket science to read the labels for your proper octane preference, but in any case, this bothers me anyway.)

-Cinnamon Toast Crunch is on sale at Giant for half price. They also have Honey Nut Cheerios (It's a General Mills sale). Since we all know cereal is one of those oddly expensive items (regular price for this particular box was $6.50!), half price is a huge deal. In fact, I think I must go back and stock up. I hadn't eaten CTC in ages, and I'm kicking myself for it right now because it really is the best cereal around. You can get any kid to drink milk if you just dunk a handful of Cinnamon Toast Crunchies in there and get it all sugared up!

-And for an actual significant news update (for a change), I got an internship! Ah, non-rejection feels nice. I'll start working in January for the Public Education Center, which is an organization that researches and investigates news stories (either National Security News or Natural Resources News) and tries to break them into commercial media (20/20, 60 Minutes, Dateline, Post, Times, etc.) It should be a great way to get my journalistic feet wet again and possibly see if this is what I want to do with my life.


Current Music: Blame it on the Tetons, by Modest Mouse
Current Mood: weird, distracted

Think on the Bright Side

A friend of mine forwarded this to me today, and I enjoyed it quite a bit. It was compiled by a UVa professor, too, so that's a nice little bonus. Read on, fellow citizens.

THINK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE

With the Blue States in hand, the Democrats have firm control of 80% of the country's fresh water, over 90% of our pineapple and lettuce, 92% of all fresh fruit production, 93% of the artichoke production, 95% of America's export quality wines, 90% of all cheese production, 90% of the high tech industry, most of the US low-sulfur coal, all living redwoods, sequoias and condors, all the Ivy and Seven Sister schools, plus Harvard, Yale, Amherst, Stanford, Berkeley, CalTech and MIT. We can live simply but well.

The Red States, on the other hand, now have to cope with 88% of all obese Americans (and their projected health care cost spike), 92% of all US mosquitoes, 90+% of all tornadoes (sorry about that, you'all in Kansas), 90% of all hurricanes, 99% of all Southern Baptists, 100% of all Televangelists, Rush Limbaugh, and Bob Jones University, Clemson, and the University of Georgia. A high price to pay for controlling the presidency.

Additionally, 38% of those in the Red states believe Jonah was actually eaten by a whale, 62% believe life is sacred unless we're discussing the death penalty or gun laws, 44% believe that evolution is just a theory, 53% that Saddam Hussein was involved in 9/11, and 61% believe that Bush is a person of moral conviction.


G. Carleton Ray, Research Professor
Department of Environmental Sciences
University of Virginia
291 McCormick Road
Charlottesville, VA 22904 USA
Tel: (1-434) 924-0551
Fax: (1-434) 982-2137
Email: cr@virginia.edu

Laguna Beach finale...

Well, I must say, I was disappointed by the absence of Trey in the last episode, as he had become one of my favorite Laguna Beach boys by the end of the season. But I guess he was already in New York trying to get used to rude and fast-moving east coasters. Otherwise, it was actually cute/sad to see all our hottie Laguna Beach friends pack up for college and say their goodbyes. It was hard to watch this episode and not reminisce about that time in our life between high school and college. If only for a short time, it kind of made me want to be 18 again. There's nothing like feeling old when you're only 22.

The uplifting part about all this is that there will be a second season! I actually had no idea it was coming; I assumed there was no way they could stalk/pseudo-script these kids' lives for another year. But I guess it is so! And apparently Kristin is now a celebrity, or so it appeared when she walked into the MTV studio. It's so bizarre that these kids are/will be idolized in the same way the actors of, say, "The OC" are. I can't quite wrap my brain around it. It's kind of a strange phenomenon all-around. (Clearly I have partially bought into it...)

One final observation: Why didn't the parents escort their kids to college? Is that the way in Laguna Beach, to just drop them off at the airport or send them off in their pick-up? Why didn't LC have more stuff with her? I'm just guessing that MTV whispered to them, "Parents aren't cool for the show, why don't you just come up to visit in a few weeks?" Silly MTV, if they learned anything from "The OC," they would know that parents are very cool indeed.

Current Music: Nightswimming, by R.E.M.
Current Mood: a bit nostalgic

Nightswimming deserves a quiet night.
The photograph on the dashboard, taken years ago,
Turned around backwards so the windshield shows.
Every streetlight reveals the picture in reverse.
Still, it’s so much clearer.
I forgot my shirt at the water’s edge.
The moon is low tonight.

Nightswimming deserves a quiet night.
I’m not sure all these people understand.
It’s not like years ago,
The fear of getting caught,
Of recklessness and water.
They cannot see me naked.
These things, they go away,
Replaced by everyday.

Nightswimming, remembering that night.
September’s coming soon,
I’m pining for the moon.
And what if there were two
Side by side in orbit
Around the fairest sun?
That bright, tight forever drum
Could not describe nightswimming.

You, I thought I knew you.
You I cannot judge.
You, I thought you knew me,
This one laughing quietly underneath my breath.
Nightswimming.

The photograph reflects,
Every streetlight a reminder.
Nightswimming deserves a quiet night, deserves a quiet night.

Adorable Pic

Here is a pic of my pops, grandma, and aunt taken on Thanksgiving. Too cute! No one can resist Bà's love!

Top 10 Albums of 2004

Suddenly and without warning, December is upon us, so I find no better time than now to post my top 10 albums of 2004 (all released within the year). Now that I look at the list, there should be something for almost everyone in there, so these are great ideas for stocking stuffers!! (I actually don't know anybody who "stuffs stockings," but it's fun to say and puts me in the holiday spirit).


1. Elliott Smith :: From a Basement on the Hill



2. Rufus Wainwright :: Want Two



3. Interpol :: Antics



4. Ambulance, Ltd :: LP



5. A.C. Newman :: Slow Wonder



6. Arcade Fire :: Funeral



7. The Killers :: Hot Fuss



8. Ray LaMontagne :: Trouble



9. Patty Griffin :: Impossible Dream



10. Keane :: Hopes and Fears





And because ten just isn't enough, the honorable mentions are:



U2 :: How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb



The Libertines :: The Libertines



Iron & Wine :: Our Endless Numbered Days




Time to iTune in, people (ha-ha-ha)! And to all my loyal readers, Happy Holidays!

Because of Winn-Dixie

As a little tribute to the man who planted so many important musical-loving seeds in me (Dave Matthews), here is a trailer to the upcoming movie he's starring in, coming to a theater near you in February '05.

Because of Winn-Dixie

What a big goof, eh?


While I'm at it, a tribute to the Wainwright family (Rufus, Martha and Loudon), who will all star alongside Leo, Kate Beckinsale, Gwen Stefani, and so many others. Should be a great one!

The Aviator

And let's face it, you have to love Leo. He's done some really great films. He's like Justin Timberlake, having successfully enjoyed cheesy teenybopper status but then ascending the ranks to become truly respected in his field.


Current Music: Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own, by U2
Current Mood: quite good