Hi readers. Sorry for the lag in updates. I'm looking for some blogspiration. I've got a lot on the brain, but it's not bloggy stuff. Hard to explain, I know. I think maybe I've just been enjoying the weather and having some good conversations with people. Sometimes it's nice to bounce things off of people and not the blogosphere, I guess. I'll get back to you soon, though. You know I can't stay away for long...
Current Music: The District Sleeps Alone Tonight, by The Postal Service
Current Mood: pensive
Apr 20, 2005
Apr 14, 2005
Dave Matthews on Radiohead
So I just got my latest Rolling Stone issue in the mail the other day, and it was the second part of their 100 Immortals special. The cool thing was, they had other musicians write about the ones who made the list. Radiohead ranked #73, and this is what good ol' Mr. Matthews had to say about them:
Every time I buy a Radiohead album, I have a moment where I say to myself, "Maybe this is the one that will suck." But it never does. I wonder if it's even possible for them to be bad on record.
It belittles Radiohead to describe their music as having "hooks." Their music talks to you, in a real way. It can take you down a quiet street before it drops a beautiful musical bomb on you. It can build to where you think the whole thing will crumble beneath its own weight - and then Thom Yorke will sing some melody that just cuts your heart out of your chest.
There's a point on the album Kid A where I start feeling claustrophobic, stuck in a barbed-wire jungle - and then I suddenly fall out and I'm sitting by a pool with birds singing. Radiohead can do all of these things in a moment, and it drives me fucking crazy.
My reaction to Radiohead isn't as simple as jealousy. Jealousy just burns; Radiohead infuriate me. But if it were only that, I wouldn't go back and listen to those records again and again. Listening to Radiohead makes me fell like I'm a Salieri to their Mozart. Yorke's lyrics make me want to give up. I could never in my wildest dreams find something as beautiful as they find for a single song - let alone album after album. And every time, they raise their finger to the press and the critics and say, "Nothing we do is for you!". They followed their most critically acclaimed record, OK Computer, with their most radical change, Kid A. It's not that they're indifferent: It's just that the strength of character in their music is beyond their control.
Seeing them perform makes me even angrier. No matter how much they let go in their shows, they never lose their clarity. There's no point where Jonny Greewood or Ed O'Brien will suddenly look up and say "Where the fuck are we?" There are no train wrecks in Radiohead; every album and performance is wretching. God, these guys have suffered, or they can fake it like nobody else.
Well put, Dave. I'd have to agree.
Current Music: Forever my Friend, by Ray LaMontagne
Current Mood: very good (it's the weather)
Apr 11, 2005
Oh, Google, you've done it again
The latest ingenious thing to come out of those folks in Mountain View, CA is Google Maps. I approached my computer and saw an aerial view of my house after my dad typed in our home address. My first thought was-- freaky!! But then I thought-- wow, that's pretty amazing. (But still a little freaky, yes.) Seriously, what was life like before google (B.G.)? Can you even remember? Oh, it was a different time, kiddies, and some day we'll bounce our grandkids on our laps and tell them all about it.
If you want more info, here's a brief Washington Post blurb about Google Maps.
Current Music: Movies of Myself, by Rufus Wainwright
Current Mood: v. tired...(food coma)
If you want more info, here's a brief Washington Post blurb about Google Maps.
Current Music: Movies of Myself, by Rufus Wainwright
Current Mood: v. tired...(food coma)
Apr 10, 2005
"Time has told me not to ask for more. Someday our ocean will find its shore." -Nick Drake
I just had the most wonderful Sunday afternoon. After missing Laura out at bars last night (11 missed calls from Lo within an hour or so, to be specific), I decided to drive out to Chevy Chase today to hang out with her. She suggested that instead of the ol' played out cherry blossoms downtown, we head to Kenwood, a beautiful residential neighborhood in Chevy Chase that apparently is much less crowded and far more breathtaking than the touristy Tidal Basin.
Well, after all the talk and hype, she was right. It was incredible. The trees lined every street in the neighborhood and created this canopy effect, which is how I imagine the entrance to heaven might appear. I know, cheesy, but there's really no other way for me to convey the overwhelming sense of peace and nature that I felt while walking the streets. And the abundance of blossoms were like big snowy bushes that every now and then littered petals like flurries onto the streets below. (Never fear, photos to come as soon as Laura sends them to me...although I should say this was definitely one of those times when a photo could not do the experience justice). After each street turn I would say "Oh my god, look down this one," or "This is unbelievable!" As I passed by beautiful home upon beautiful home, each distinct in its style-- my favorite was a yellow-painted brick Victorian style with wrap-around porch-- it was like I was in a fantasy neighborhood. It had all the trappings of Wisteria Lane, but was actually more amazing for its full-blooming trees and kids with lemonade and cookie stands. (After passing by countless vendors, we finally gave in to some adorable girls whose food & beverage proceeds were going to Children's Hospital.)
Anyway, it was the perfect way to spend a surprisingly summer-like April Sunday: strolling through the streets with friends, enjoying Chocolate Eclairs and Strawberry Shortcake bars from the ice cream man, and picking out our dream homes.
Then, to top off the day, I came home to enjoy another wonderfully landscaped piece of nature-- Augusta National. Let's tip our hat to Tiger for putting together another brilliant performance. Seriously now, that chip at 16 was ridiculous. Golf is so funny. Such a wide open space, such a small ball, and for all the places for it to go, it wanders into the tiny hole. Gotta love the seeming impossibility of it. Oh, The Masters...truly a tradition unlike any other. And that, my friends, is what I consider a near-perfect Sunday.
Current Music: Time has told me, by Nick Drake
Current Mood: content
Well, after all the talk and hype, she was right. It was incredible. The trees lined every street in the neighborhood and created this canopy effect, which is how I imagine the entrance to heaven might appear. I know, cheesy, but there's really no other way for me to convey the overwhelming sense of peace and nature that I felt while walking the streets. And the abundance of blossoms were like big snowy bushes that every now and then littered petals like flurries onto the streets below. (Never fear, photos to come as soon as Laura sends them to me...although I should say this was definitely one of those times when a photo could not do the experience justice). After each street turn I would say "Oh my god, look down this one," or "This is unbelievable!" As I passed by beautiful home upon beautiful home, each distinct in its style-- my favorite was a yellow-painted brick Victorian style with wrap-around porch-- it was like I was in a fantasy neighborhood. It had all the trappings of Wisteria Lane, but was actually more amazing for its full-blooming trees and kids with lemonade and cookie stands. (After passing by countless vendors, we finally gave in to some adorable girls whose food & beverage proceeds were going to Children's Hospital.)
Anyway, it was the perfect way to spend a surprisingly summer-like April Sunday: strolling through the streets with friends, enjoying Chocolate Eclairs and Strawberry Shortcake bars from the ice cream man, and picking out our dream homes.
Then, to top off the day, I came home to enjoy another wonderfully landscaped piece of nature-- Augusta National. Let's tip our hat to Tiger for putting together another brilliant performance. Seriously now, that chip at 16 was ridiculous. Golf is so funny. Such a wide open space, such a small ball, and for all the places for it to go, it wanders into the tiny hole. Gotta love the seeming impossibility of it. Oh, The Masters...truly a tradition unlike any other. And that, my friends, is what I consider a near-perfect Sunday.
Current Music: Time has told me, by Nick Drake
Current Mood: content
Apr 8, 2005
Flashback to 1993
Since I'm currently not feeling inspired to do a "real" post, here's a tribute to my lil' sis, Auddie. I thought this could serve to remind everyone that although she is growing past me day by day--she's now taller than I am with longer legs (grr!) and bigger feet-- there was once a time when we could take advantage of her and stick small balloons on her head purely for our own amusement. Now let's take a moment and reflect on those times, shall we?...
Current Music: Daysleeper, by REM
Current Mood: positive
Current Music: Daysleeper, by REM
Current Mood: positive
Apr 3, 2005
Cherry Blossom 10 Miler!
Ah, after months of training and all that psychotic gym time, today was the big race day. I spent last week tapering my runs and the weekend just relaxing and fueling up on my carbs so I would be ready for today. Luckily, yesterday's torrential rains provided a nice excuse to sit around and be lazy. Unfortunately, the bad weather carried over and what we once expected to be a springy and clear Sunday turned out to be quite chilly and very windy. Once we got going, though, it wasn't a factor at all, and in fact I'm pretty sure all the wonderful fans and spectators (Thanks Dad, Auddie & Molly!) were more uncomfortable than we were-- at least when it came to the weather.
I started off the race rather conservatively-- after all, I had never actually achieved the ten mile mark in my training.. eight might have been my max up til today, so I wanted to be sure I didn't go out too strong. The first three miles or so didn't allow for much aggressive running anyway, as I felt like a sheep traveling in one huge flock, and it was difficult to find my pace. After the congestion let up, all that remained was a straight shot down Rock Creek Parkway and back. Things started to smooth out, and after I reached the halfway mark I knew I could turn it up a bit and push myself harder. I guess this mentality paid off because surprisingly, each of my ten individual mile times improved as the race wore on, capped off by my final mile time of 8:04! I had to pat myself on the back for this, as my usual target pace is around 9:30 and I had started off much slower than that in the crowded pack.
The good news is that I never felt any pain throughout the race and there was never a moment of misery or any sense that I could not make the distance. It was a great accomplishment to run my first 10 mile race, especially for someone who always seemed the ardent anti-runner. (There was a time when I would see people running and ask myself "Why and how do they do that? Why would you be running when you could just move slower and walk?? I just don't understand.") I was also very pleased to see the result and outcome of the training and discipline I put forth to prepare for this event.
That said, I will not be running my first marathon any time soon... at least not in the foreseeable future. I've just decided that it's not for me; the desire's not quite there. And until it is, I'm not setting my sights on 26.2 miles. When it comes to that, I'm definitely still in the "Why and how do they do that?" mindset. I think ten miles will suffice for now. Next stop: Army Ten Miler in October! But for now, a bit of rest and laziness. Off to the couch I go.
Sibs post-race:
Auddie (Yes, she is officially taller than I am now. And no, I am not over it. It's weird!), me, Huan, and Molly (Molaramy):
Current Music: Let it Ride, by Ryan Adams
Current Mood: pooped.
I started off the race rather conservatively-- after all, I had never actually achieved the ten mile mark in my training.. eight might have been my max up til today, so I wanted to be sure I didn't go out too strong. The first three miles or so didn't allow for much aggressive running anyway, as I felt like a sheep traveling in one huge flock, and it was difficult to find my pace. After the congestion let up, all that remained was a straight shot down Rock Creek Parkway and back. Things started to smooth out, and after I reached the halfway mark I knew I could turn it up a bit and push myself harder. I guess this mentality paid off because surprisingly, each of my ten individual mile times improved as the race wore on, capped off by my final mile time of 8:04! I had to pat myself on the back for this, as my usual target pace is around 9:30 and I had started off much slower than that in the crowded pack.
The good news is that I never felt any pain throughout the race and there was never a moment of misery or any sense that I could not make the distance. It was a great accomplishment to run my first 10 mile race, especially for someone who always seemed the ardent anti-runner. (There was a time when I would see people running and ask myself "Why and how do they do that? Why would you be running when you could just move slower and walk?? I just don't understand.") I was also very pleased to see the result and outcome of the training and discipline I put forth to prepare for this event.
That said, I will not be running my first marathon any time soon... at least not in the foreseeable future. I've just decided that it's not for me; the desire's not quite there. And until it is, I'm not setting my sights on 26.2 miles. When it comes to that, I'm definitely still in the "Why and how do they do that?" mindset. I think ten miles will suffice for now. Next stop: Army Ten Miler in October! But for now, a bit of rest and laziness. Off to the couch I go.
Sibs post-race:
Auddie (Yes, she is officially taller than I am now. And no, I am not over it. It's weird!), me, Huan, and Molly (Molaramy):
Current Music: Let it Ride, by Ryan Adams
Current Mood: pooped.
Apr 1, 2005
Google Gulp!
The folks at Google, while certainly some of the smartest people alive, definitely have too much time on their hands. Their latest big idea is Google Gulp! and I'm jealous of the well-paid, jean-clad people who got to sit around and think that one up... ;)
Current Music: Come Downstairs and Say Hello, by Guster
Current Mood: great!
Current Music: Come Downstairs and Say Hello, by Guster
Current Mood: great!
Mr. Ryan Adams
Ok, so he's kind of crazy and unpredictable and just plain weird, but the man is also a musical genius. And he has no qualms about releasing a ton of music at once, so much that you're completely overwhelmed, but really-- who will complain about that?
I've already posted my excitement over his three CD releases this calendar year, but I thought I'd devote another post to him because I'm currently listening to "Let it Ride" on repeat. It's the first single from Cold Roses, which will be the double album he releases in May.
If you visit the Ryan Adams website and click on the album cover to enter the site, "Let it Ride" will start playing automatically. All you have to do is just keep clicking refresh to repeat it :) Enjoy.
Let it ride
Let it ride, easy down the road
Let it ride
Let it take away all of the darkness
Let it ride
Let it rock me in the arms of strangers, angels until it brings me home
Let it ride, let it roll, let it go...
I've already posted my excitement over his three CD releases this calendar year, but I thought I'd devote another post to him because I'm currently listening to "Let it Ride" on repeat. It's the first single from Cold Roses, which will be the double album he releases in May.
If you visit the Ryan Adams website and click on the album cover to enter the site, "Let it Ride" will start playing automatically. All you have to do is just keep clicking refresh to repeat it :) Enjoy.
Let it ride
Let it ride, easy down the road
Let it ride
Let it take away all of the darkness
Let it ride
Let it rock me in the arms of strangers, angels until it brings me home
Let it ride, let it roll, let it go...
Mar 31, 2005
Who doesn't love Legos?
To keep everyone distracted and/or entertained until my next post, here are some fun Lego versions of some familiar pop culture themes:
Michael Jackson's Thriller: This one is a fun lil' homemade video.
Spiderman: The Peril of Doc Ock: This one is more, how you say, Hollywood blockbuster style.
And one more thing... Here's a link to a site that tells you what kind of dog you would be based on your answers to 10 simple questions. Unfortunately, I turned out to be a Pomeranian, but I think that's because I picked "small" for my build. I should have known better and picked "medium" to avoid being chosen as a little fluffy and annoying (and oftentimes scary) yappy dog. Oh well. See for yourself.
Current Music: Lovesong, by The Cure
Current Mood: weird, uninspired
Michael Jackson's Thriller: This one is a fun lil' homemade video.
Spiderman: The Peril of Doc Ock: This one is more, how you say, Hollywood blockbuster style.
And one more thing... Here's a link to a site that tells you what kind of dog you would be based on your answers to 10 simple questions. Unfortunately, I turned out to be a Pomeranian, but I think that's because I picked "small" for my build. I should have known better and picked "medium" to avoid being chosen as a little fluffy and annoying (and oftentimes scary) yappy dog. Oh well. See for yourself.
Current Music: Lovesong, by The Cure
Current Mood: weird, uninspired
Mar 28, 2005
Mar 27, 2005
Youngins on IM
Reason 237 why the "IM generation" (Auddie-aged people) scares me and I wish kids could still play outside instead of going on their computers:
(for the sake of youngin's identity, I have replaced a portion of her screen name with 'x...')
xxxxxxxGurl6: hey-ho
xxxxxxxGurl6: pouy?
pouyster: yup
pouyster: hey
xxxxxxxGurl6: hello
pouyster: hi
xxxxxxxGurl6: ur pro is old [this is where i figure out that "pro" means profile]
pouyster: yeah
pouyster: i know
xxxxxxxGurl6: change it then
pouyster: why
xxxxxxxGurl6: why not?
pouyster: it's supposed to stay the same. it's timeless
xxxxxxxGurl6: why not?
pouyster: huh?
xxxxxxxGurl6: you asked why
xxxxxxxGurl6: i said why not
pouyster: and i said it doesn't need to keep changing b/c it's timeless
pouyster: i like what is there
xxxxxxxGurl6: i dont get this MaiTai113: he is always talking or eating paper or being weird
pouyster: yeah
pouyster: it's supposed to be funny
xxxxxxxGurl6: who is he?
pouyster: sorry if you don't get it
pouyster: some kid from our vn school class
xxxxxxxGurl6: hm.....
xxxxxxxGurl6: so.........
xxxxxxxGurl6: what do you wanna talk about
pouyster: huh? you're the one who IMed me
xxxxxxxGurl6: well....im asking you
pouyster: ok..
xxxxxxxGurl6: oh nvm
pouyster: how was your spring break
xxxxxxxGurl6: it was ok i guess
pouyster: why only ok
xxxxxxxGurl6: nothing specila
xxxxxxxGurl6: special*
xxxxxxxGurl6: im gonna go
xxxxxxxGurl6: bye
pouyster: ok, bye
xxxxxxxGurl6: bye
Oh, and a quick Reason 128:
The following is part of the screen name of one of Auddie's friends:
fOreVasQuiSheD
I saw that this person messaged her, and I went over to Auddie and said: "Who is Fa Orey Vaz Kee She Dee?" And Auddie replies, "You mean Forever Squished?"
Ummm I guess so. Maybe if it was written like the rest of the English language I might have picked up on that! Where did this concept of rAnDoM CaPs begin anyway?
Yikes! I'm thankful my childhood took place in the pre-Internet era, though I worry about what is to come for these technology-dependent kids today. Do they even know what a card catalog is? Dewey Decimal, anybody?
(for the sake of youngin's identity, I have replaced a portion of her screen name with 'x...')
xxxxxxxGurl6: hey-ho
xxxxxxxGurl6: pouy?
pouyster: yup
pouyster: hey
xxxxxxxGurl6: hello
pouyster: hi
xxxxxxxGurl6: ur pro is old [this is where i figure out that "pro" means profile]
pouyster: yeah
pouyster: i know
xxxxxxxGurl6: change it then
pouyster: why
xxxxxxxGurl6: why not?
pouyster: it's supposed to stay the same. it's timeless
xxxxxxxGurl6: why not?
pouyster: huh?
xxxxxxxGurl6: you asked why
xxxxxxxGurl6: i said why not
pouyster: and i said it doesn't need to keep changing b/c it's timeless
pouyster: i like what is there
xxxxxxxGurl6: i dont get this MaiTai113: he is always talking or eating paper or being weird
pouyster: yeah
pouyster: it's supposed to be funny
xxxxxxxGurl6: who is he?
pouyster: sorry if you don't get it
pouyster: some kid from our vn school class
xxxxxxxGurl6: hm.....
xxxxxxxGurl6: so.........
xxxxxxxGurl6: what do you wanna talk about
pouyster: huh? you're the one who IMed me
xxxxxxxGurl6: well....im asking you
pouyster: ok..
xxxxxxxGurl6: oh nvm
pouyster: how was your spring break
xxxxxxxGurl6: it was ok i guess
pouyster: why only ok
xxxxxxxGurl6: nothing specila
xxxxxxxGurl6: special*
xxxxxxxGurl6: im gonna go
xxxxxxxGurl6: bye
pouyster: ok, bye
xxxxxxxGurl6: bye
Oh, and a quick Reason 128:
The following is part of the screen name of one of Auddie's friends:
fOreVasQuiSheD
I saw that this person messaged her, and I went over to Auddie and said: "Who is Fa Orey Vaz Kee She Dee?" And Auddie replies, "You mean Forever Squished?"
Ummm I guess so. Maybe if it was written like the rest of the English language I might have picked up on that! Where did this concept of rAnDoM CaPs begin anyway?
Yikes! I'm thankful my childhood took place in the pre-Internet era, though I worry about what is to come for these technology-dependent kids today. Do they even know what a card catalog is? Dewey Decimal, anybody?
March Madness, etc.
So I have to give Nathaniel credit for making me loyal to yet another Illinois sports team (or at least dare not root for their opponent). Tonight's win over Arizona was probably the most incredible finish to a game I've ever seen. With less than 5 minutes left and the Illini down 15, I was already thinking of ways we would have to console Natty and how the rest of the night would be a total downer. But as we all saw (and still may not believe), they completed an amazing and improbable comeback to stun Arizona while almost causing my heart to jump out of my chest on multiple occasions. Amazing, really. What is it about March Madness that allows for these buzzer-beating, multiple overtime events that under any other circumstance would not occur? Whatever it is, it's some of the greatest stuff to watch--ever. I just love it.
On top of the lovely game drama, I have to thank Bac Jojo for having me over for dinner and preparing one of my favorite dishes, thit bo xao khoai tay (stir fried beef with potatoes-- simple but always so satisfying), which was only enhanced by Co Ti's delicious and spicy nuoc mam (you all should know this one is fish sauce-- much more delicious than its name implies!). It was a delightful home cooked meal which over the past week I had missed! At least Dad & Auddie return tomorrow so that should be nice. I'm starting to fail at the whole 'taking care of the house thing.' Kim was kind enough to point this out to me today when she noticed some old pomelos that needed to be thrown out, as well as the dishwasher overflowing with suds.. probably not a good sign. Well, it was good training while it lasted!
Current Music: In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, by Neutral Milk Hotel
Current Mood: pensive
On top of the lovely game drama, I have to thank Bac Jojo for having me over for dinner and preparing one of my favorite dishes, thit bo xao khoai tay (stir fried beef with potatoes-- simple but always so satisfying), which was only enhanced by Co Ti's delicious and spicy nuoc mam (you all should know this one is fish sauce-- much more delicious than its name implies!). It was a delightful home cooked meal which over the past week I had missed! At least Dad & Auddie return tomorrow so that should be nice. I'm starting to fail at the whole 'taking care of the house thing.' Kim was kind enough to point this out to me today when she noticed some old pomelos that needed to be thrown out, as well as the dishwasher overflowing with suds.. probably not a good sign. Well, it was good training while it lasted!
Current Music: In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, by Neutral Milk Hotel
Current Mood: pensive
Mar 21, 2005
New sidebar feature
I've just added a new section to my sidebar that I like to call "Current musical fixation." This is where I will be able to share with you what is getting the most airplay from me. It's the music/album/artist I'm obsessing over at the moment, what I can't get enough of, what is constantly impressing me to the point where I feel I have to tell everyone else about it. The concept may change in the future, but that's what it is for now. I welcome discussion on the matter and am always interested in your musical fixations as well, so feel free to share.
Home Alone... and cooking!
So my parents and Auddie left for London today. Dad & Aud will be gone for a week, while Mom's total time away will be about 3 weeks (yikes!) after she heads to Paris for some business. I am actually looking forward to this week to get a little independence. You know... commuting in and out of work without the luxury of the backseat HOV ride, taking care of things at the house, and of course feeding myself!
This purpose of this blog post is to pat myself on the back for cooking myself a meal tonight, and one that was not only edible, but actually very tasty and aesthetically pleasing. I prepared a nice piece of salmon with some lemon/pepper/other random marinades, stir-fried some garlic snow peas (totally random, I know), and served it all up with some insta-brown rice. Delish. And it took me less than 30 minutes, I swear! (Take that, Rachael Ray. I don't need you and your portobello mushroom burgers anymore!)
Mmm mmm mmm. I'm hoping the rest of the week lives up to tonight's standard, but somehow I'm envisioning Totino's pizza somewhere in my future...
Current Music: Steadier Footing, by Death Cab for Cutie
Current Mood: pleased with myself
This purpose of this blog post is to pat myself on the back for cooking myself a meal tonight, and one that was not only edible, but actually very tasty and aesthetically pleasing. I prepared a nice piece of salmon with some lemon/pepper/other random marinades, stir-fried some garlic snow peas (totally random, I know), and served it all up with some insta-brown rice. Delish. And it took me less than 30 minutes, I swear! (Take that, Rachael Ray. I don't need you and your portobello mushroom burgers anymore!)
Mmm mmm mmm. I'm hoping the rest of the week lives up to tonight's standard, but somehow I'm envisioning Totino's pizza somewhere in my future...
Current Music: Steadier Footing, by Death Cab for Cutie
Current Mood: pleased with myself
Mar 20, 2005
Save Toby
This is slightly old news, but still ridiculous enough to link and discuss. So this guy is running a site to "Save Toby," a cute little bunny rabbit, which he claims he will eat on June 30 unless he receives $50,000 through the website. Some sources say it's a hoax, but either way, it's kinda nuts. People are so crazy, but I guess nothing is too surprising anymore. See the Save Toby site for yourself... and if you're crazy enough, donate some dough to the cause. Believe it or not, Toby's already gotten $18k+ in his name as of today!
Current Music: The Real Thing, by Kenny Loggins
Current Mood: content
Current Music: The Real Thing, by Kenny Loggins
Current Mood: content
Mar 18, 2005
God damn right, it's a beautiful day
This weather is rejuvenating me. (Seasonal Affective Disorder, anyone?) Looks like spring is right around the bend and finally ready to rescue us from the winter misery! I'm loving it and ready for some flip flops and driving with the windows down.
Current Music: Mr. E's Beautiful Blues, by the Eels
Current Mood: great
Current Music: Mr. E's Beautiful Blues, by the Eels
Current Mood: great
Mar 16, 2005
The iPod people.
Here's a link to a great article about "the iPod people." You know who I'm talking about, you pass by them on the sidewalks everyday... they're the ones with the white strings coming out of their ears, and if you're like me you're always wondering what they're listening to. Unless you're that girl who has the volume up too loud just to prove to me that you like "rap" music. And then you've just thrown out the mystery I hold so dear. This really is an amazing phenomenon, though. I personally like to alternate my iPod sounds with the sounds of the street. On certain days it's nice to hear the cars honking and people chatting; on other days, certain songs like Interpol's "Specialist" become perfect walking music... the beat matches up with my footsteps and everything seems to be in sync--no pun intended of course.
Current Music: So Says I, by The Shins
Current Mood: same as ever these days.
Current Music: So Says I, by The Shins
Current Mood: same as ever these days.
Mar 15, 2005
"What's a Gyme?...Oh, a Gyme!"
Laura and I had a hilarious/frustrating/true to life discussion today regarding our gym habits. I was telling her how exhausted I was for some strange reason, so after already skipping yesterday's gym slot, I was also forgoing today's scheduled time and felt so bad about it. She told me she had skipped out to the gym during her lunch today just to fit it in.
It was at this point we both realized how both our lives had officially been taken over by our gym time...like an unhealthy obsession of a very healthy activity.
When did our lives become work-gym-dinner-TV-sleep? That seems to be the usual routine, and if we stray from it we don't know what to do... the guilt, the voice in the back of your head. It's not even necessarily about the exercise aspect (I don't want to come off as someone with a "problem"). I don't worry that I'm going to gain five pounds, and I won't skip dinner if I miss the gym... it's more just the idea and routine so embedded in your brain that it becomes as regular as brushing your teeth. If you skip it, you feel bad/gross/lazy. It's a strange situation. Back in college, the more I skipped, the more easily I fell off the wagon and wouldn't go for weeks (and I was ok with that). Now it's like the more I go, the more I have to keep going, no matter what, when, how (Ok, now I'm starting to sound like I have a problem.)
Seriously though, it's getting to become just "what I do" because I'm so accustomed to how it fits into my day. Yesterday Kam & Cory came up into the city to do some museums and hang out, and they asked me to meet them for dinner. I agreed, but only after I went to the gym. When they were done with their agenda earlier than expected, they called me and asked me to hang out since they were just walking around the city streets. I told them I could let them into Huan's apartment to kill time while I went to the gym, then we could have dinner. I mean-- Who does that? I realized how ridiculous that idea was after replaying the conversation in my head, and that's when I decided to skip the gym and instead hang_out_with_people_that_I_don't_see_very_often. Doesn't seem like a difficult decision, right? I'm telling you, this is bad and very strange.
Oh, the days of college when I hopped on the crummy elliptical for a good 20-25 minutes just to barely work off the calories of one beer. How I yearn to be so carefree again. For now, it's back to the gym tomorrow to make up for my bad start on the week...
After all, I've only got about 2.5 weeks til the 10-miler.. gotta keep up my form!
Current Music: Born to Make You Happy, by Britney Spears
Current Mood: tired.
It was at this point we both realized how both our lives had officially been taken over by our gym time...like an unhealthy obsession of a very healthy activity.
When did our lives become work-gym-dinner-TV-sleep? That seems to be the usual routine, and if we stray from it we don't know what to do... the guilt, the voice in the back of your head. It's not even necessarily about the exercise aspect (I don't want to come off as someone with a "problem"). I don't worry that I'm going to gain five pounds, and I won't skip dinner if I miss the gym... it's more just the idea and routine so embedded in your brain that it becomes as regular as brushing your teeth. If you skip it, you feel bad/gross/lazy. It's a strange situation. Back in college, the more I skipped, the more easily I fell off the wagon and wouldn't go for weeks (and I was ok with that). Now it's like the more I go, the more I have to keep going, no matter what, when, how (Ok, now I'm starting to sound like I have a problem.)
Seriously though, it's getting to become just "what I do" because I'm so accustomed to how it fits into my day. Yesterday Kam & Cory came up into the city to do some museums and hang out, and they asked me to meet them for dinner. I agreed, but only after I went to the gym. When they were done with their agenda earlier than expected, they called me and asked me to hang out since they were just walking around the city streets. I told them I could let them into Huan's apartment to kill time while I went to the gym, then we could have dinner. I mean-- Who does that? I realized how ridiculous that idea was after replaying the conversation in my head, and that's when I decided to skip the gym and instead hang_out_with_people_that_I_don't_see_very_often. Doesn't seem like a difficult decision, right? I'm telling you, this is bad and very strange.
Oh, the days of college when I hopped on the crummy elliptical for a good 20-25 minutes just to barely work off the calories of one beer. How I yearn to be so carefree again. For now, it's back to the gym tomorrow to make up for my bad start on the week...
After all, I've only got about 2.5 weeks til the 10-miler.. gotta keep up my form!
Current Music: Born to Make You Happy, by Britney Spears
Current Mood: tired.
Mar 13, 2005
Breaking Idol News!
I'm still in shock after hearing a moment ago on Fox 10 o'clock news that my American Idol favorite, Mario Vasquez, has quit! No details yet, except to say that he withdrew from the competition for "personal reasons." So now Nikko is back, and Mario's out. This is sad.. I'm very disappointed. I think the competition has totally changed now, as it was clear Mario was a fave to win the whole thing, and he was definitely Anwar's closest competition on the guys' side. Well, bummer. Now I guess I gotta with Anwar all the way!... Why, Mario, why?
. . .
Suddenly the story has gotten fishy. The latest rumors include the following:
-Mario bailed because of poor living conditions at the Idol ranch
-he was not happy about the contract he had to sign to be in the top 12 and beyond
-he already had outside contract opportunities and just bailed once he made it to the top 12
This is all so bizarre. Somehow, it seems like he's getting exactly what he wants right now. Every Idol fan is talking about him and only him right now-- can't beat that for exposure! Guess there will only be more speculation until the truth is revealed...the rumors are getting more and more far-fetched... Stay tuned til tomorrow for more answers!
Current Music: Take Care, by Yo La Tengo
Current Mood: shocked! confused! sad.
. . .
Suddenly the story has gotten fishy. The latest rumors include the following:
-Mario bailed because of poor living conditions at the Idol ranch
-he was not happy about the contract he had to sign to be in the top 12 and beyond
-he already had outside contract opportunities and just bailed once he made it to the top 12
This is all so bizarre. Somehow, it seems like he's getting exactly what he wants right now. Every Idol fan is talking about him and only him right now-- can't beat that for exposure! Guess there will only be more speculation until the truth is revealed...the rumors are getting more and more far-fetched... Stay tuned til tomorrow for more answers!
Current Music: Take Care, by Yo La Tengo
Current Mood: shocked! confused! sad.
Mar 12, 2005
Happy St. Patty's Day (weekend)!
Huan and I started off the day by participating in the annual St. Patrick's Day 10K downtown! It was a last-minute decision, and even though cold temps and possible preciptation was forecasted, we decided to go for it anyway. Luckily, the sun was shining and there was no sign of rain/snow, so it ended up being a great morning for a run. We ran down "historic" Pennsylvania Ave. toward the Capitol, then did a bunch of other loops around the area before finishing back by Freedom Plaza/Ronald Reagan building. Quite nice.
The good news is, I finished! After a bit of a slow start and some shin pain, I ran a great second half of the race and felt great when I crossed the finish line. It was once again a very satisfying experience, and I was glad we decided to do it. There were tons of folks out there! Some were in very spirited green, and we even enjoyed some bagpipe entertainment along the way.
Anywho. I'm off to the Shamrock Fest. in the Ballston area this afternoon-- lots of food, drinks, and music. I'm glad I got my exercise out of the way before enjoying what is sure to be a gluttonous afternoon and evening! Tata...
Current Music: Everyday, by Dave Matthews Band
Current Mood: excellent
Mar 9, 2005
Another Auddie-ism
So we were just sitting and watching the Dan Rather special, and they did this little montage showing some of the most significant historical moments he covered, and they get to a clip of Nelson Mandela casting his ballot in the first election in South Africa. This is the dialogue:
"Pouy, you know that guy... the one in Million Dollar Baby..."
"Yeah..." (I'm thinking, Clint Eastwood?)
"Why was he just shown casting a ballot on TV?"
"Huh?" (still confused)... (and finally getting it)..."Auddie..That was Nelson Mandela. Not Morgan Freeman."
"Oh. Well they look alike."
(It's true, they do look alike. That's probably one of the reasons they got Morgan to play Nelson in the film adaptation of Long Walk to Freedom.)
But it was still a funny Auddie moment.
In other news, we're onto the American Idol top 12! Mario (or Anwar) all the way! And regrets to our BobbyBrown-singing and dancing wahoo, Travis Tucker. At least you have that good UVA education to fall back on!
Current Music: Pacific Theme, by Broken Social Scene
Current Mood: relaxed
"Pouy, you know that guy... the one in Million Dollar Baby..."
"Yeah..." (I'm thinking, Clint Eastwood?)
"Why was he just shown casting a ballot on TV?"
"Huh?" (still confused)... (and finally getting it)..."Auddie..That was Nelson Mandela. Not Morgan Freeman."
"Oh. Well they look alike."
(It's true, they do look alike. That's probably one of the reasons they got Morgan to play Nelson in the film adaptation of Long Walk to Freedom.)
But it was still a funny Auddie moment.
In other news, we're onto the American Idol top 12! Mario (or Anwar) all the way! And regrets to our BobbyBrown-singing and dancing wahoo, Travis Tucker. At least you have that good UVA education to fall back on!
Current Music: Pacific Theme, by Broken Social Scene
Current Mood: relaxed
Mar 7, 2005
What better place for a "celeb" sighting than CVS?
So I had my first great DC-celeb sighting today, and it was a true Washington moment. Since I had a small lunch today, I decided I wanted to stop and pick up a snack after I left work. I headed across the street to the CVS on Connecticut right by the Farragut North stop. As I'm walking in, I get a call from Gretchen, who is enjoying her first day back in the U.S. after six months or so away in Paris. We're briefly catching up when I have to stop and whisper to her, "Oh my god, I think I just passed by Jenna Bush!" Then I proceed to say "Hold on, I have to see what she's buying." So I'm being totally shady and walking the aisles, while still talking to Gretch, who is totally living vicariously and getting extremely excited with me. I spot Jenna picking up some Vaseline Intensive Care lotion (Who would have thought? She seemed like a Kiehl's girl to me.) Then, just as I spin around to tell Gretch, I brush shoulders (ok, perhaps a slight exaggeration, but you weren't there, how do you know?) with Barbara, who is also shopping at this CVS! So clearly I become awkward as I'm talking to Gretch about the Bushes and they are in very close proximity to me. I keep trying to get away-- I think I headed for the wart-treatment aisle, and I'm blabbering on like "Oh my god! They're both here! This is wild!" and then Barbara appears at the end of the aisle, apparently looking around for Jenna. So of course, I just start laughing and trying to change the subject on the phone, but cannot, this is all too funny. As soon as Barb disappears, it seems I run into Jenna going the other direction. (Yes, the Bush twins were stalking me in CVS.) So I decide I have to call Gretch back, "acting natural" with her on the phone is not working well. Just then, I make a quick run to grab my bag of Funyuns, then I dart for the cash register to catch the twins on their way out.
I'm looking around, and it seems no one else in the place has noticed, nor acknowledged the Bush gals at the front counter, even though they are very recognizable standing next to one another. Jenna pulls out her checkbook to pay for her things (looked like she was also buying some school supplies... for her teaching job?), and the clerk asks for her ID. I'm thinking, this should be good. She glances at her ID, then back up at Jenna's face, kind of scrunches her eyebrows, starts to say something, but then holds back. Then Barbara darts out of the store, perhaps anticipating that she was about to be called out, or maybe because of the slow transaction time. Anyway, when Jenna finishes checking out, I quickly move up in line to jump up to the same clerk. She turns to her friend at the next register and says, "I swear that name looked familiar... Jenna Bush?..." Her friend is distant, not really paying attention, so I chime in, "Yeah, those girls were the President's daughters." The lady goes "Are you for real? No way!" And I'm like "Yeah, I'm positive!" Then she's like "I knew that name was familiar! She looked like her dad, actually, now that I think of it..." (one of those classic "after the fact" observances). Then she turns to her friend and tells her about it, and the girl who was out of it a moment ago suddenly gets excited and says "Are you serious?? We just waited on the President's daughters right here in front of us? Those two girls??" It was priceless. It felt like that moment in "The American President" when Michael Douglas walks into the florist and the woman faints.
So that was the highlight of my day! I ran out of the store to see if I could figure out where they were headed, but they had disappeared. Strangely, I never noticed any Secret Service dudes hanging around in CVS, but maybe they were "undercover" (do they do that??)... or standing outside the door? Don't know. But I think that's just enough excitement for one Monday afternoon, wouldn't you say?
Current Music: Ship of Fools, by Erasure
Current Mood: excited but strangely v. tired at the same time
I'm looking around, and it seems no one else in the place has noticed, nor acknowledged the Bush gals at the front counter, even though they are very recognizable standing next to one another. Jenna pulls out her checkbook to pay for her things (looked like she was also buying some school supplies... for her teaching job?), and the clerk asks for her ID. I'm thinking, this should be good. She glances at her ID, then back up at Jenna's face, kind of scrunches her eyebrows, starts to say something, but then holds back. Then Barbara darts out of the store, perhaps anticipating that she was about to be called out, or maybe because of the slow transaction time. Anyway, when Jenna finishes checking out, I quickly move up in line to jump up to the same clerk. She turns to her friend at the next register and says, "I swear that name looked familiar... Jenna Bush?..." Her friend is distant, not really paying attention, so I chime in, "Yeah, those girls were the President's daughters." The lady goes "Are you for real? No way!" And I'm like "Yeah, I'm positive!" Then she's like "I knew that name was familiar! She looked like her dad, actually, now that I think of it..." (one of those classic "after the fact" observances). Then she turns to her friend and tells her about it, and the girl who was out of it a moment ago suddenly gets excited and says "Are you serious?? We just waited on the President's daughters right here in front of us? Those two girls??" It was priceless. It felt like that moment in "The American President" when Michael Douglas walks into the florist and the woman faints.
So that was the highlight of my day! I ran out of the store to see if I could figure out where they were headed, but they had disappeared. Strangely, I never noticed any Secret Service dudes hanging around in CVS, but maybe they were "undercover" (do they do that??)... or standing outside the door? Don't know. But I think that's just enough excitement for one Monday afternoon, wouldn't you say?
Current Music: Ship of Fools, by Erasure
Current Mood: excited but strangely v. tired at the same time
Mar 6, 2005
Google Fight
Here's a fun little site I found (not affiliated with Google) that pits two different google searches against one another and tells you who has more google results. There's really nothing else to it, just a fun thing to check out if you're curious. After all, aren't we all wondering who wins the battle between Britney/Christina, or Brad/Jen, etc...?
Current Music: Interstate Love Song, by Stone Temple Pilots
Current Mood: mellow
Current Music: Interstate Love Song, by Stone Temple Pilots
Current Mood: mellow
Mar 4, 2005
This is what I get for trying to be "social"...
So it seems I'm currently in a "Gay Bar" phase, thanks to Kam who twice in a week has invited me out with her to gay bars. (Is she trying to tell us something? Jk... we were out meeting some of her friends from Mary Wash.) The first incident was a surprise to me as I suddenly found myself standing beneath a large awning and a big rainbow flag. When Kam called me and asked me to go out, I was reluctant as usual, being the homebody that I am, but then I convinced myself that I had to be more social, and hey, maybe I'll even meet somebody. After all, one cannot meet a future husband if one is at home on couch. So upon discovering we'd be spending the evening at a gay establishment, I said some expletives to myself as I realized tonight wasn't going to be that night of love at first sight (at least not mutual). If I was going to meet my future husband (ok, let's settle for future boyfriend for now, how bout that), it was not going to be here.
But I did know that the night could still be a ton of fun and good story telling at the least. I was definitely right. Among other things, there were the shirtless bartender sightings on the dancefloor level of the bar and nice chats with some random friendly guys about their Oscar parties. The highlight of the evening, however, was when a friend of Kam's was talking to some guy who turned to me and said, "Oh, you're single? My brother's here, he's straight, we should introduce you!!" This could be interesting and/or funny, I thought to myself... let's see what happens. Onward we go, through the crowded bar until suddenly we run into this guy's brother, and we're all standing around in an awkward circle, shaking hands, exchanging names. Then, quickly, almost in a whisper, the guy turns to me and says "Oh there's just one thing! My brother doesn't speak English." From here, the whole situation kind of slowed down in my mind and became kind of like a dream sequence (you know, when nothing really makes sense and new characters arrive out of nowhere and the next thing you know you're in a completely different place). All I know is that Kam, buzzed off her 3/4 of a beer, comes up with "I don't like the white car" (apparently the one line of Spanish she knows), and I'm just blank. I don't even remember what happens next except that we acknowledge that the guy was actually pretty good looking (not sure if it was the vodka talking though) and it could be hilarious to try and have a "Love Actually" Colin Firth moment with him. Well, that never happened, because like I said, weird dream sequence, and suddenly we were back where we started and I have no idea what happened to the Spanish guy. Such is my luck, I suppose. The one straight guy in the establishment and he doesn't speak a lick of English! Whoo!
So I guess it should come as some surprise that after that night I would consider going back to a gay bar, let alone less than a week later (!). Last night, I was forewarned about the venue but was enticed by the prospect of playing Family Feud hosted by a drag queen. What I didn't actually understand was that we would actually be on stage, like, as the entertainment for the bar. I thought it'd just be good ol' trivia style that involved everyone at their booths and tables, but noo, it was actually real game show style, and we'd been pre-registered as one of this week's teams.
In a strange turn of events, Kam's gay friend who was supposed to be out with us backed out last minute, leaving 4 straight girls on a Family Feud team named "The Asians." Luckily, this bar was slightly less crowded than the previous one, and it seemed to be just a few regulars hanging around, and we didn't have to worry about being laughed off the stage or anything. Once I settled into my free drink, I was actually excited about playing the Feud!! After all, isn't it everyone's dream to actually participate in one of the best game shows ever? The sad part was "The Asians" were terrible and we were embarassed by our opponents. That also meant I didn't get a chance to play the speed round, one of my favorite parts of the game. It was still a great time, though, and probably the closest I'll get to real game show fame, unless I decide to go out to Cali again to play the Price is Right before Bob Barker turns 150 years old.
Let me ask you this, though. If you were to name a character from "Sesame Street" and you were up at the podium playing the Feud, who would you pick? (That is, which character would you expect to be the #1 answer?) I said Big Bird and I thought we would own the board. BAAAAA (wrong!!), Big Bird was the #5 answer! Robbery!! (Oscar was #1) I'm not sure who was polled in this survey but I guess it made sense after hearing some of the previous questions. "Monkey" and "Tarzan" appeared as the top answers to the question "Name something that you see in a tree," while "Cat" did not (Cat was Kam's answer, which was a bad face-off answer, but still a somewhat sensible choice).
Anyway, that's my gay bar update. Although Lavenia, the beautiful drag queen host, insisted we come back to play the Feud again, I'm not sure that I should begin to become a regular just yet. I've already told Kam and her friends that the next time we go out it will have to be at a place where the good looking men we see are actually potentially interested. I didn't mind not waiting in line for the ladies' room, though...
Current Music: Across the Universe, by Rufus Wainwright
Current Mood: tired, weird
But I did know that the night could still be a ton of fun and good story telling at the least. I was definitely right. Among other things, there were the shirtless bartender sightings on the dancefloor level of the bar and nice chats with some random friendly guys about their Oscar parties. The highlight of the evening, however, was when a friend of Kam's was talking to some guy who turned to me and said, "Oh, you're single? My brother's here, he's straight, we should introduce you!!" This could be interesting and/or funny, I thought to myself... let's see what happens. Onward we go, through the crowded bar until suddenly we run into this guy's brother, and we're all standing around in an awkward circle, shaking hands, exchanging names. Then, quickly, almost in a whisper, the guy turns to me and says "Oh there's just one thing! My brother doesn't speak English." From here, the whole situation kind of slowed down in my mind and became kind of like a dream sequence (you know, when nothing really makes sense and new characters arrive out of nowhere and the next thing you know you're in a completely different place). All I know is that Kam, buzzed off her 3/4 of a beer, comes up with "I don't like the white car" (apparently the one line of Spanish she knows), and I'm just blank. I don't even remember what happens next except that we acknowledge that the guy was actually pretty good looking (not sure if it was the vodka talking though) and it could be hilarious to try and have a "Love Actually" Colin Firth moment with him. Well, that never happened, because like I said, weird dream sequence, and suddenly we were back where we started and I have no idea what happened to the Spanish guy. Such is my luck, I suppose. The one straight guy in the establishment and he doesn't speak a lick of English! Whoo!
So I guess it should come as some surprise that after that night I would consider going back to a gay bar, let alone less than a week later (!). Last night, I was forewarned about the venue but was enticed by the prospect of playing Family Feud hosted by a drag queen. What I didn't actually understand was that we would actually be on stage, like, as the entertainment for the bar. I thought it'd just be good ol' trivia style that involved everyone at their booths and tables, but noo, it was actually real game show style, and we'd been pre-registered as one of this week's teams.
In a strange turn of events, Kam's gay friend who was supposed to be out with us backed out last minute, leaving 4 straight girls on a Family Feud team named "The Asians." Luckily, this bar was slightly less crowded than the previous one, and it seemed to be just a few regulars hanging around, and we didn't have to worry about being laughed off the stage or anything. Once I settled into my free drink, I was actually excited about playing the Feud!! After all, isn't it everyone's dream to actually participate in one of the best game shows ever? The sad part was "The Asians" were terrible and we were embarassed by our opponents. That also meant I didn't get a chance to play the speed round, one of my favorite parts of the game. It was still a great time, though, and probably the closest I'll get to real game show fame, unless I decide to go out to Cali again to play the Price is Right before Bob Barker turns 150 years old.
Let me ask you this, though. If you were to name a character from "Sesame Street" and you were up at the podium playing the Feud, who would you pick? (That is, which character would you expect to be the #1 answer?) I said Big Bird and I thought we would own the board. BAAAAA (wrong!!), Big Bird was the #5 answer! Robbery!! (Oscar was #1) I'm not sure who was polled in this survey but I guess it made sense after hearing some of the previous questions. "Monkey" and "Tarzan" appeared as the top answers to the question "Name something that you see in a tree," while "Cat" did not (Cat was Kam's answer, which was a bad face-off answer, but still a somewhat sensible choice).
Anyway, that's my gay bar update. Although Lavenia, the beautiful drag queen host, insisted we come back to play the Feud again, I'm not sure that I should begin to become a regular just yet. I've already told Kam and her friends that the next time we go out it will have to be at a place where the good looking men we see are actually potentially interested. I didn't mind not waiting in line for the ladies' room, though...
Current Music: Across the Universe, by Rufus Wainwright
Current Mood: tired, weird
Another Gmail pitch...
Gmail rules. This pitch is courtesy of the Onion. It's pretty funny, though it might be a "You have to have gmail to understand" thing... But since I'm on the subject, for those of you who have yet to join the Gmail club, I have 50 invitations waiting to be given out (this is the closest I'll ever get to being a frat boy), and I promise you won't be disappointed!! Join the Gmail revolution. It's the best. Inquire within.
Feb 28, 2005
Preppy Pup
At last, here are some photos of Billie in his new sweater, knitted by the talented and craftsy Kam:
He could make the Abercrombie/Ralph Lauren catalog with this sporty prepster shot:
He could make the Abercrombie/Ralph Lauren catalog with this sporty prepster shot:
Feb 27, 2005
Oscar rant
I'm so over "Million Dollar Baby." As you may have remembered, I'd already boycotted the movie based on its title alone, which means I still have not seen it. A few days ago I started to actually gain some interest in viewing it if only to figure out what the hell everyone was so hyped up over. After tonight, though, I may be back on the boycott wagon. I feel like I, along with maybe two others I've conversed with on the topic, may be the only one to see through this Hilary Swank best actress crap. It's like, hello, why isn't anyone talking about the fact that she won the Oscar in 2000 for playing a boy ("Boys Don't Cry"), and here she is again winning for a "boy" role. And need I remind you that we first heard of Hilary Swank because of her lead in "The Next Karate Kid"?? Seriously now, I don't mean to say she's a bad actress at all, I'm actually giving her tons of credit... for being good at playing a (tom)boy. Way to pigeonhole yourself, Hilary!! Now I know I may get slack for this about how I shouldn't crap on her for challenging typical gender roles and all that, blah blah, but really now, I'm just over it and over her. Thumbs down to the academy for giving her the "OK" to exclusively seek out "boy" roles for the rest of her career, knowing she will continue to get acknowledged for them and win praise as some refreshing rise-to-the-challenge young star with artistic merit. Boo. I think I'm more frustrated about the fact that it seems no one in the mass media has even really discussed this. They just go on touting her and how amazing she was in this movie. Even an extensive google search found very few anti-Hilary sentiments and even less on how she is the premiere tomboy actress in Hollywood. I'm starting to wonder if no one else feels this way. Clearly I'm fired up about it. Bizarre I tell you.
Other anti-MDB feelings were harbored after Clint Eastwood took best director, and the disappointment from the Martin Scorsese camp just came seeping through the TV. I was like, how is ol' Marty gonna sleep tonight? I actually pictured him standing up, throwing down his hanky and walking out of there, screaming "What do you all want from me??" Maybe the academy just isn't all about the furry brows. Bummer for him.
On the bright side, I'm so so glad Jamie Foxx won the best actor Oscar. I actually just watched "Ray" this afternoon and was blown away by his performance. It might have actually been the best movie I've seen all year. The honor was previously given to "Hotel Rwanda," which is still incredible and powerful for the story alone, but in terms of overall performance and actually being moved by the acting, "Ray" takes the cake. Kudos to Jamie Foxx, and double kudos for the best acceptance speech of the night.
Other anti-MDB feelings were harbored after Clint Eastwood took best director, and the disappointment from the Martin Scorsese camp just came seeping through the TV. I was like, how is ol' Marty gonna sleep tonight? I actually pictured him standing up, throwing down his hanky and walking out of there, screaming "What do you all want from me??" Maybe the academy just isn't all about the furry brows. Bummer for him.
On the bright side, I'm so so glad Jamie Foxx won the best actor Oscar. I actually just watched "Ray" this afternoon and was blown away by his performance. It might have actually been the best movie I've seen all year. The honor was previously given to "Hotel Rwanda," which is still incredible and powerful for the story alone, but in terms of overall performance and actually being moved by the acting, "Ray" takes the cake. Kudos to Jamie Foxx, and double kudos for the best acceptance speech of the night.
Feb 24, 2005
Speechless
Well, I contemplated using one of many clever song titles as the subject of this post (e.g. "Are You Happy Now?"), but in the end it was too mean and I felt bad.
Michelle Branch is pregnant!
Yikes. I thought I heard it last night on the radio, so I awoke this morning curious to find out if it was true. Sure enough, it appears Michelle posted a letter on The Wreckers website announcing it. Strangely, the letter has since been removed but can be found elsewhere... bizarro. I was looking at her bio and my jaw just about dropped when I saw that she was born in 1983. I was like, can people born in 1983 even have babies? How scary. To make matters more interesting (worse), I found out her husband was born in 1964!! That's right, she married her bassist who is almost twice her age and now she's preggers with their child at the ripe age of 21. Fabulous, Michelle. Sounds like an oops to me. Here is the excerpt from her letter...seems to be dripping with nerves/awkwardness and a feeling of "Holy crap, how did this happen!!!" but maybe that's just me:
So at the beginning of this project everyone at Maverick kept reiterating that they wanted this project to feel young and fun. (Come on people! We all know that Jess and I are a barrel of freaking monkeys!!) Well now it seems that they are getting exactly what they asked for! Teddy and I are expecting our first child in five months!!! Can you believe it!? That's definitely young and fun for ya! We are so excited and thrilled about starting this new chapter in our lives.
UMMM, Michelle, I think they were talking about YOU being young and fun, not suggesting you get pregnant. Honestly though, I hope it all works out for her and that she doesn't have a meltdown. And for those of you wondering, she was not the one dating the lead singer of Third Eye Blind, that's Vanessa Carlton.
Current Music: Long Way Down, by Pete Yorn
Michelle Branch is pregnant!
Yikes. I thought I heard it last night on the radio, so I awoke this morning curious to find out if it was true. Sure enough, it appears Michelle posted a letter on The Wreckers website announcing it. Strangely, the letter has since been removed but can be found elsewhere... bizarro. I was looking at her bio and my jaw just about dropped when I saw that she was born in 1983. I was like, can people born in 1983 even have babies? How scary. To make matters more interesting (worse), I found out her husband was born in 1964!! That's right, she married her bassist who is almost twice her age and now she's preggers with their child at the ripe age of 21. Fabulous, Michelle. Sounds like an oops to me. Here is the excerpt from her letter...seems to be dripping with nerves/awkwardness and a feeling of "Holy crap, how did this happen!!!" but maybe that's just me:
So at the beginning of this project everyone at Maverick kept reiterating that they wanted this project to feel young and fun. (Come on people! We all know that Jess and I are a barrel of freaking monkeys!!) Well now it seems that they are getting exactly what they asked for! Teddy and I are expecting our first child in five months!!! Can you believe it!? That's definitely young and fun for ya! We are so excited and thrilled about starting this new chapter in our lives.
UMMM, Michelle, I think they were talking about YOU being young and fun, not suggesting you get pregnant. Honestly though, I hope it all works out for her and that she doesn't have a meltdown. And for those of you wondering, she was not the one dating the lead singer of Third Eye Blind, that's Vanessa Carlton.
Current Music: Long Way Down, by Pete Yorn
Still California Dreamin'
Mostly for my own sake, here's a quick list of places I wanted to visit/things I wanted to do that I didn't get to over the weekend:
-The Apple Store (FYI: just announced new iPod models and price drops)
-Anchor Brewing Company, home of Anchor Steam Beer (which apparently is in a "seedy" part of town, and which only offers tours on a limited basis)
-Amoeba Records (Indie music heaven!!)
-Alamo Square Park (I can't turn my back on Full House!)
-Ride on a Cable Car
-find the French Laundry waiter and get his phone number (unfortunately no link available)
Current Music: Overjoyed, by Stevie Wonder
Current Mood: v. tired
-The Apple Store (FYI: just announced new iPod models and price drops)
-Anchor Brewing Company, home of Anchor Steam Beer (which apparently is in a "seedy" part of town, and which only offers tours on a limited basis)
-Amoeba Records (Indie music heaven!!)
-Alamo Square Park (I can't turn my back on Full House!)
-Ride on a Cable Car
-find the French Laundry waiter and get his phone number (unfortunately no link available)
Current Music: Overjoyed, by Stevie Wonder
Current Mood: v. tired
Feb 23, 2005
I Left My Heart in San Francisco
I have returned for the mega update on what was a wonderfully amazing and memorable weekend out West. Huan and I arrived in San Francisco on Thursday night and stayed with the always-fun Katie Kuhn at her very cute apartment. We didn't have high expectations for the weather all weekend, as the usually trusty weather.com indicated that Friday would have an 80% chance of showers and the rest of the weekend would be a washout as well. We woke up to some brief showers Friday morning, but by the time we headed out of the apartment for a day of exploring, the skies were blue and temps felt close to 70° (in other words, absolutely perfect).
We met up with Katie for lunch down by where she works, which happens to be the most amazing workspace I have ever seen, just about a block down from the Ferry Building and right along the water. I guess that can be expected for Gap, Inc., though.
(The Ferry Building)
Her building was this extremely hip space flocking with even more hip, young, and fashionable employees coming in and out. Katie's office was a not-shabby-at-all room with floor-to-ceiling windows offering a panoramic view of the Bay Bridge and surrounding areas.
Yeah, pretty incredible. Anyway, we enjoyed a nice lunch outside while we basked in the sun and caught up with an old friend.
Next Huan and I began our walking adventure which would lead us to ultimately conquer the city of San Francisco by foot (well, not quite, but I like to think so). We walked from the Ferry Building along the Embarcadero (which is basically just the waterside) toward Fisherman's Wharf, which is much junkier and touristy than I remember, then we proceeded to stop at Patagonia for a little shopping break. (Funny random story, I thought I recognized one of the guys who was there, but it seemed too bizarre for me to actually know him, but it turns out he used to work at the DC Patagonia.. crazy, huh?) Anyway, we proceeded to climb what felt like the biggest hill in the history of hills-- Hyde Street (though not the steepest, as I've found out that honor is bestowed upon the nearby Filbert Street, at a 31.5% grade, or 17.7° slope-- I think that math is right).
(View up Hyde Street)
I vaguely remember the hilliness of SF from my previous trip, but I guess back then I wouldn't have dared walk any of it with my parents, so this time I realized the true extent of the rollercoaster topography of the city. It's outrageous, really. I can't imagine being like 80 years and old and walking home, or trying to push a baby in a stroller (What if you got distracted and let go for a split second! Runaway baby!)
From there we stopped atop Lombard Street and watched fun tourists descend the "crooked" road in their cars and also admired the amazing view over the city.
(View from the top of Lombard Street)
We made our way down Union Street, a cute little area with small boutiques and shops, which led us directly to the middle of Pacific Heights, this upscale neighborhood with beautiful Victorian homes. It was no coincidence that we'd ended up here, as I was on a mission to see Mrs. Doubtfire's digs as well as that of the Salingers. Lucky enough for me, they were practically neighbors! When I got there I felt a bit awkward, since people actually lived inside, but after a little prodding Huan got me to sit on the stoop and pose for a picture (I'm such a tool!!). My reactions are that Mrs. Doubtfire's house (now when I say that I actually mean the Hillards house, but I don't have to explain that...) is smaller than I thought it would be (though still beautiful and I'd live there in a second), and the Salinger family's house is much bigger than it ever should have been for a bunch of orphaned kids. Again, still beautiful.
(2640 Steiner Street, aka Mrs. Doubtfire's house)
(The Salinger residence.. just around the bend)
On our walk back toward the east side of town, we passed by more ridiculous homes and of course a few very ridiculous private schools. It looked like something out of The O.C., with views overlooking the Bay and all these preppy kids outside. Kinda crazy.
(Other cool homes)
We checked into the Ritz that afternoon (this is the beginning of the bling-bling portion of the trip-- gotta love a corporate hotel discount, though) and headed down to some more shops nearby to end the long day. We went to the hugest Banana Republic ever, it was like museum-sized, and I wanted a small map so I could check off which rooms I had entered. Unfortunately, I missed checking out the Apple store this go-round, and everyone knows that's my "thing." (Just as Huan's "thing" is Niketown.) We passed by it on the way out to the airport though, and it looked pretty awesome.
Out to dinner that night and then to "the Mission" for drinks... apparently that's the fun, hot spot of the city. Finally back to the hotel where Kim & Natty showed up and we had the fab 4 intact.
Saturday the weather was paying us back for the clear blue skies of the previous day. It was cloudy and overcast, and we battled downpours all day, but it didn't dampen our spirits! We enjoyed delicious Californian dim sum and headed down to the Ferry Building to check out the Farmer's Market set up outside. Ok, so it wasn't a great business day for those folks, but we did pick up a delicious bag of California oranges which we enjoyed over the rest of the trip.
(Chinese New Year Parade starting outside the Ferry Building)
We headed back to the hotel for a break to change socks and blowdry our pants, then headed out for another city adventure on foot. We walked through Chinatown, through the North Beach area, which was packed with cool bars that all seemed to serve Fat Tire, one of our favorite beers from Colorado. We stopped briefly again around the Fisherman's Wharf area to catch an ominous view of the Golden Gate Bridge, then after it started pouring again, we headed back to homebase. Luckily the rain didn't last long, and we again found ourselves climbing up Hyde Street and turning around to the amazing view of the entire Bay, the GG Bridge, and Alcatraz.
(Look! Tourists caught in the rain!)
We headed back to get ready for an exciting dinner at the Slanted Door, a restaurant we had read much about and which has been hyped as one of the best Vietnamese restaurants in the country. I was skeptical, however, because from what I'd heard it had a "modern" take (combination of traditional Vietnamese using U.S. based ingredients), and I feared a "fusion" disaster. It turned out to be quite a different experience, though. The food was actually really good, but that definitely does not mean it was the best Vietnamese restaurant ever. I could probably find the same quality of food at Eden here in VA at one of my fave local places (say, Huong Viet), but I guess part of the idea behind the "best" mentality is the fact that at Huong Viet you don't get the breathtaking Panoramic view of the Bay Bridge through huge windows as you're dipping into that nuoc mam. (Funny side story: we had to ask them for rice bowls, and as most of the diners were eating like civilized people with forks off the fancy plates, I noticed all of us were eating like we do at home, chopsticks in hand literally shoveling the rice into our mouths with our bowls up at our face!) On top of the amazing view, the atmosphere was just very nice, and there was a super trendy bar area and the food presentation was of the highest quality. I guess that's where the whole "modern" take comes. Modern/Fusion sometimes just refers to things other than the food, I guess. The good part was, we enjoyed the meal immensely and the food itself wasn't "fusion" or whatever other term you want to use. It was excellent, and with the exception of a couple of dishes that were clearly a bit altered to American tastes or otherwise a clear departure from Vietnamese as indicated on the menu, it was spot on. It was about halfway through dinner that I realized what the hype was about, though. Most people don't eat that kind of food on a regular basis, and you'd be hard pressed to find it anywhere else in SF. I guess I take for granted that in a 20 minute drive to Eden, or at home on a regular basis, I can eat "authentic" Vietnamese every day. For the average diner who has a different experience, though, I can see why it's a novelty and worth all the hype. They need to add some real Vietnamese desserts to the menu, though! I mean geez, throw me a bone with some Che Ba Mau or something. That could be a hit served up in a trendy little martini glass type thing!
After dinner Huan, Natty, and I had the bright idea of tracking down some Fat Tire Ale after we had spotted it earlier in the day. After sensible Kim went back to the hotel room to her pajamas, we ventured out of the hotel and basically looked for "BAR" signs. At this point I was in boots for the first time all weekend, and we had made the wise decision to leave our umbrellas behind for this excursion. It was probably after we entered our third bar to check for Fat Tire that it really started to pour, and we kept trekking, searching for that elusive pint of beer. Finally, after we were dripping from head to toe and standing under an awning, we decided to hop in a cab and head to a bar where we knew we'd seen the Fat Tire logo at an intersection we had remembered from earlier in the day. Success! The first sip tasted so good and though I'm not sure I'd do the rainy-walk-in-boots adventure again, I didn't regret it. We chatted cable car mechanism theories over a round of beer... How very San Franciscan of us.
Onto Sunday, probably my favorite day if I had to pick one... likely for the over-indulgent aspects which I will immediately get into. We hopped into our rental car, which was also the ugliest car ever (Pontiac Aztec), to get a head start out to Napa. En route, we were trying to find a place to grab a quick "breakfast," and had come up a bit short on our way out via the Golden Gate Bridge.
We finally told ourselves we'd only stop if we saw an In-N-Out burger, and as if by magic, at that very moment one appeared at the side of the road just before we hit the highway. It was like a good food karma experience. Knowing about all the In-N-Out hype, the burger, fries, and strawberry milkshake was still everything I could have asked for to start the day. Quite delicious for a fast food burger joint, and they pay their employees starting at $10/hr! Might have to pack up and move out West for fast food wages like that.
So, to Napa we carried on... driving through beautifully bright green rolling hills and rows and rows of grape vines everywhere we looked.
After all was said and done, we'd visited and tasted at five different wineries...V. Sattui (bottles sold only at the source), Niebaum-Coppola (Had no idea about this one. They had the Coppola family tree up and everything... was a little too Hollywood for even me, but still set in a beautiful mansion on some 1500 acres), Domaine Chandon (where our fave Newlyweds Nick & Jessica visited), Goosecross (relatively tiny and homey family-owned place), and finally St. Supery (where I picked up a delicious Sauvignon Blanc that tasted like Guava... mm mmm). I will say, after having watched "Sideways" just before this trip, I tried to actually make an effort with the tasting (it's tough to be discriminating after you've been in college drinking wine out of a box) and by the end I was talking about tannins and smelling everything before I drank it and sucking it in my mouth and all that.
(The whole gang in front of the Niebaum-Coppola mansion)
To "kill time" before dinner, we headed to the Napa Valley Health Spa where I was pampered with an amazing massage that put me in a lull and definitely felt great after two days of walking the hills of SF. God, I really sound ridiculous right now. Anyhow. To dinner we go... (If you thought I was ridiculous before... here we really go!)
We dined that evening at French Laundry, one of the finest restaurants in the country. The restaurant is set in an old historic house (once used as a "French Steam Laundry"), seating only about 60 people, which makes for a very cozy and warm ambiance, but still very elegant. The service staff was like I've never seen before, absolutely professional, not to mention young and attractive (haha- ok, I had a dinner crush on a waiter, so sue me! He was a dreamboat.) We enjoyed a delicious and supreme quality 9-course tasting menu that was probably the best meal I've ever eaten and likely the nicest meal I'll eat until I'm 50 or something. Highlights for me were the oysters and Russian caviar served over this incredible tapioca concoction that tasted heavenly. That and this rare Australian beef cooked to absolute perfection. The meal was mostly indescribable, but one I won't forget for some time. Last night I came home and immediately fixed myself a serving of MAMA ramen noodles just to have utter contrast to the night before. Those were also delicious, however.
That concluded our trip, and it was not a bad way to go out. We headed back to SF, packed our bags, and after a couple hours of sleep, Huan and I were up and out around 5 AM to catch our flight back home. It was a mere "long weekend," but we packed in a lot of punch and it felt like much longer. For those of you who have actually made it this far through the update, I highly suggest visiting California. It's a great place, even in the rain, and in obvious and not-so-obvious ways that are hard to immediately describe, it's very different from the East coast. Just remember to pack your sneaks (and an umbrella just in case) if you head to SF!
Current Music: Angels of the Silences, by Counting Crows
Current Mood: pooped (this blog is really like work sometimes!)
We met up with Katie for lunch down by where she works, which happens to be the most amazing workspace I have ever seen, just about a block down from the Ferry Building and right along the water. I guess that can be expected for Gap, Inc., though.
(The Ferry Building)
Her building was this extremely hip space flocking with even more hip, young, and fashionable employees coming in and out. Katie's office was a not-shabby-at-all room with floor-to-ceiling windows offering a panoramic view of the Bay Bridge and surrounding areas.
Yeah, pretty incredible. Anyway, we enjoyed a nice lunch outside while we basked in the sun and caught up with an old friend.
Next Huan and I began our walking adventure which would lead us to ultimately conquer the city of San Francisco by foot (well, not quite, but I like to think so). We walked from the Ferry Building along the Embarcadero (which is basically just the waterside) toward Fisherman's Wharf, which is much junkier and touristy than I remember, then we proceeded to stop at Patagonia for a little shopping break. (Funny random story, I thought I recognized one of the guys who was there, but it seemed too bizarre for me to actually know him, but it turns out he used to work at the DC Patagonia.. crazy, huh?) Anyway, we proceeded to climb what felt like the biggest hill in the history of hills-- Hyde Street (though not the steepest, as I've found out that honor is bestowed upon the nearby Filbert Street, at a 31.5% grade, or 17.7° slope-- I think that math is right).
(View up Hyde Street)
I vaguely remember the hilliness of SF from my previous trip, but I guess back then I wouldn't have dared walk any of it with my parents, so this time I realized the true extent of the rollercoaster topography of the city. It's outrageous, really. I can't imagine being like 80 years and old and walking home, or trying to push a baby in a stroller (What if you got distracted and let go for a split second! Runaway baby!)
From there we stopped atop Lombard Street and watched fun tourists descend the "crooked" road in their cars and also admired the amazing view over the city.
(View from the top of Lombard Street)
We made our way down Union Street, a cute little area with small boutiques and shops, which led us directly to the middle of Pacific Heights, this upscale neighborhood with beautiful Victorian homes. It was no coincidence that we'd ended up here, as I was on a mission to see Mrs. Doubtfire's digs as well as that of the Salingers. Lucky enough for me, they were practically neighbors! When I got there I felt a bit awkward, since people actually lived inside, but after a little prodding Huan got me to sit on the stoop and pose for a picture (I'm such a tool!!). My reactions are that Mrs. Doubtfire's house (now when I say that I actually mean the Hillards house, but I don't have to explain that...) is smaller than I thought it would be (though still beautiful and I'd live there in a second), and the Salinger family's house is much bigger than it ever should have been for a bunch of orphaned kids. Again, still beautiful.
(2640 Steiner Street, aka Mrs. Doubtfire's house)
(The Salinger residence.. just around the bend)
On our walk back toward the east side of town, we passed by more ridiculous homes and of course a few very ridiculous private schools. It looked like something out of The O.C., with views overlooking the Bay and all these preppy kids outside. Kinda crazy.
(Other cool homes)
We checked into the Ritz that afternoon (this is the beginning of the bling-bling portion of the trip-- gotta love a corporate hotel discount, though) and headed down to some more shops nearby to end the long day. We went to the hugest Banana Republic ever, it was like museum-sized, and I wanted a small map so I could check off which rooms I had entered. Unfortunately, I missed checking out the Apple store this go-round, and everyone knows that's my "thing." (Just as Huan's "thing" is Niketown.) We passed by it on the way out to the airport though, and it looked pretty awesome.
Out to dinner that night and then to "the Mission" for drinks... apparently that's the fun, hot spot of the city. Finally back to the hotel where Kim & Natty showed up and we had the fab 4 intact.
Saturday the weather was paying us back for the clear blue skies of the previous day. It was cloudy and overcast, and we battled downpours all day, but it didn't dampen our spirits! We enjoyed delicious Californian dim sum and headed down to the Ferry Building to check out the Farmer's Market set up outside. Ok, so it wasn't a great business day for those folks, but we did pick up a delicious bag of California oranges which we enjoyed over the rest of the trip.
(Chinese New Year Parade starting outside the Ferry Building)
We headed back to the hotel for a break to change socks and blowdry our pants, then headed out for another city adventure on foot. We walked through Chinatown, through the North Beach area, which was packed with cool bars that all seemed to serve Fat Tire, one of our favorite beers from Colorado. We stopped briefly again around the Fisherman's Wharf area to catch an ominous view of the Golden Gate Bridge, then after it started pouring again, we headed back to homebase. Luckily the rain didn't last long, and we again found ourselves climbing up Hyde Street and turning around to the amazing view of the entire Bay, the GG Bridge, and Alcatraz.
(Look! Tourists caught in the rain!)
We headed back to get ready for an exciting dinner at the Slanted Door, a restaurant we had read much about and which has been hyped as one of the best Vietnamese restaurants in the country. I was skeptical, however, because from what I'd heard it had a "modern" take (combination of traditional Vietnamese using U.S. based ingredients), and I feared a "fusion" disaster. It turned out to be quite a different experience, though. The food was actually really good, but that definitely does not mean it was the best Vietnamese restaurant ever. I could probably find the same quality of food at Eden here in VA at one of my fave local places (say, Huong Viet), but I guess part of the idea behind the "best" mentality is the fact that at Huong Viet you don't get the breathtaking Panoramic view of the Bay Bridge through huge windows as you're dipping into that nuoc mam. (Funny side story: we had to ask them for rice bowls, and as most of the diners were eating like civilized people with forks off the fancy plates, I noticed all of us were eating like we do at home, chopsticks in hand literally shoveling the rice into our mouths with our bowls up at our face!) On top of the amazing view, the atmosphere was just very nice, and there was a super trendy bar area and the food presentation was of the highest quality. I guess that's where the whole "modern" take comes. Modern/Fusion sometimes just refers to things other than the food, I guess. The good part was, we enjoyed the meal immensely and the food itself wasn't "fusion" or whatever other term you want to use. It was excellent, and with the exception of a couple of dishes that were clearly a bit altered to American tastes or otherwise a clear departure from Vietnamese as indicated on the menu, it was spot on. It was about halfway through dinner that I realized what the hype was about, though. Most people don't eat that kind of food on a regular basis, and you'd be hard pressed to find it anywhere else in SF. I guess I take for granted that in a 20 minute drive to Eden, or at home on a regular basis, I can eat "authentic" Vietnamese every day. For the average diner who has a different experience, though, I can see why it's a novelty and worth all the hype. They need to add some real Vietnamese desserts to the menu, though! I mean geez, throw me a bone with some Che Ba Mau or something. That could be a hit served up in a trendy little martini glass type thing!
After dinner Huan, Natty, and I had the bright idea of tracking down some Fat Tire Ale after we had spotted it earlier in the day. After sensible Kim went back to the hotel room to her pajamas, we ventured out of the hotel and basically looked for "BAR" signs. At this point I was in boots for the first time all weekend, and we had made the wise decision to leave our umbrellas behind for this excursion. It was probably after we entered our third bar to check for Fat Tire that it really started to pour, and we kept trekking, searching for that elusive pint of beer. Finally, after we were dripping from head to toe and standing under an awning, we decided to hop in a cab and head to a bar where we knew we'd seen the Fat Tire logo at an intersection we had remembered from earlier in the day. Success! The first sip tasted so good and though I'm not sure I'd do the rainy-walk-in-boots adventure again, I didn't regret it. We chatted cable car mechanism theories over a round of beer... How very San Franciscan of us.
Onto Sunday, probably my favorite day if I had to pick one... likely for the over-indulgent aspects which I will immediately get into. We hopped into our rental car, which was also the ugliest car ever (Pontiac Aztec), to get a head start out to Napa. En route, we were trying to find a place to grab a quick "breakfast," and had come up a bit short on our way out via the Golden Gate Bridge.
We finally told ourselves we'd only stop if we saw an In-N-Out burger, and as if by magic, at that very moment one appeared at the side of the road just before we hit the highway. It was like a good food karma experience. Knowing about all the In-N-Out hype, the burger, fries, and strawberry milkshake was still everything I could have asked for to start the day. Quite delicious for a fast food burger joint, and they pay their employees starting at $10/hr! Might have to pack up and move out West for fast food wages like that.
So, to Napa we carried on... driving through beautifully bright green rolling hills and rows and rows of grape vines everywhere we looked.
After all was said and done, we'd visited and tasted at five different wineries...V. Sattui (bottles sold only at the source), Niebaum-Coppola (Had no idea about this one. They had the Coppola family tree up and everything... was a little too Hollywood for even me, but still set in a beautiful mansion on some 1500 acres), Domaine Chandon (where our fave Newlyweds Nick & Jessica visited), Goosecross (relatively tiny and homey family-owned place), and finally St. Supery (where I picked up a delicious Sauvignon Blanc that tasted like Guava... mm mmm). I will say, after having watched "Sideways" just before this trip, I tried to actually make an effort with the tasting (it's tough to be discriminating after you've been in college drinking wine out of a box) and by the end I was talking about tannins and smelling everything before I drank it and sucking it in my mouth and all that.
(The whole gang in front of the Niebaum-Coppola mansion)
To "kill time" before dinner, we headed to the Napa Valley Health Spa where I was pampered with an amazing massage that put me in a lull and definitely felt great after two days of walking the hills of SF. God, I really sound ridiculous right now. Anyhow. To dinner we go... (If you thought I was ridiculous before... here we really go!)
We dined that evening at French Laundry, one of the finest restaurants in the country. The restaurant is set in an old historic house (once used as a "French Steam Laundry"), seating only about 60 people, which makes for a very cozy and warm ambiance, but still very elegant. The service staff was like I've never seen before, absolutely professional, not to mention young and attractive (haha- ok, I had a dinner crush on a waiter, so sue me! He was a dreamboat.) We enjoyed a delicious and supreme quality 9-course tasting menu that was probably the best meal I've ever eaten and likely the nicest meal I'll eat until I'm 50 or something. Highlights for me were the oysters and Russian caviar served over this incredible tapioca concoction that tasted heavenly. That and this rare Australian beef cooked to absolute perfection. The meal was mostly indescribable, but one I won't forget for some time. Last night I came home and immediately fixed myself a serving of MAMA ramen noodles just to have utter contrast to the night before. Those were also delicious, however.
That concluded our trip, and it was not a bad way to go out. We headed back to SF, packed our bags, and after a couple hours of sleep, Huan and I were up and out around 5 AM to catch our flight back home. It was a mere "long weekend," but we packed in a lot of punch and it felt like much longer. For those of you who have actually made it this far through the update, I highly suggest visiting California. It's a great place, even in the rain, and in obvious and not-so-obvious ways that are hard to immediately describe, it's very different from the East coast. Just remember to pack your sneaks (and an umbrella just in case) if you head to SF!
Current Music: Angels of the Silences, by Counting Crows
Current Mood: pooped (this blog is really like work sometimes!)
Feb 16, 2005
California, here we come...
I just wanted to give advance warning to all my loyal readers (you know who you are) about an upcoming break in blogging, due to my travels to the lovely west coast. That's right, tomorrow I'm off to San Francisco, California for a nice long weekend. The occasion is Huan's 25th birthday, which he has deemed extremely worthy and important, and thus, we are celebrating in style. I'm pretty psyched! I haven't been to SF since I was about 10 and even then I think I was all about Alcatraz keychains and the weird street people painted in gold. This time I'm looking forward to soaking in as much as I can of this fabulous city and all the food and fun it has to offer. If I have time, I'd also love to check out the Full House street as well as Mrs. Doubtfire's house and the Salinger residence (Party of Five), but we'll see what happens...because let's face it, when it comes down to it I'm all about being a tourist. Updates and photos to come upon my return. Cheers!
Current Music: Tables and Chairs, by Andrew Bird
Current Mood: excited
Current Music: Tables and Chairs, by Andrew Bird
Current Mood: excited
Feb 15, 2005
My Girl
So yesterday, on the 5th day of the flu and my first "sick day" at home, I was couch-bound and lucky enough to catch "My Girl" and "My Girl 2" back to back on HBO! Oh, how I love this movie! (Mostly the first one, though the sequel is decent I guess.) It reminds me of when I was about 10 years old and Co Dung took me and some of the other cousins to see this in the theater. We figured, "Oh, lighthearted fun kids movie!" Boy were we wrong. But it ended up being such a fun experience and an early lesson on life, though I'm not sure I understood it at the time. I think the lesson we actually came away with was to stay far far away from beehives. Now when I watch the movie, I think about the relationship between Vada and Thomas J. and how well it is portrayed by such young actors, and how easily you become emotionally attached to them. And I think about how I, too, want a friend named Thomas J. just like in the movie. (As an aside, that was definitely Macaulay Culkin's peak moment as an actor... when he's in those glasses! Too cute.) I was watching the movie with Max and wondering where his 7-year-old thoughts were taking him. How funny, that his mom was the one who introduced me to the movie, and here I was sharing it with him. Anyway, just wanted to plug this movie since I had long forgotten about how very poignant and truly enjoyable it is. Great song, too.
Current Music: My Girl, by the Temptations
Current Mood: good
Current Music: My Girl, by the Temptations
Current Mood: good
Feb 13, 2005
Jumping the Shark
In my multiple conversations about TV this weekend, the phrase "Jump the Shark" came up on more than one occasion. First I was talking to Meevs, someone else who watches as much TV as I do, and she casually dropped it into our chat after I started ranting about the impending doom of The O.C. Then again last night, Kim and I were talking about the same thing (the defining moment of a TV show that sets the stage for its decline) and she says "What's the phrase to describe that?"... and I was like, "Oh, I don't know, but I think Meevs used it this morning and I didn't realize it." Through the simple magic of google, we found out the phrase is indeed, "Jump the Shark," taken from a "Happy Days" episode in which Fonzie literally jumped over a shark on water skis. Interesting, eh? This was all news to me! And of course there is a website devoted to this subject and the moment viewers think TV shows have taken the plunge. It's kind of neat to see how everyone has a different opinion on every show. But yes, to sum, The O.C. may have jumped the shark with Sandy-Rebecca/Marisa-Alex kiss last week. Other moments for me include: Joey & Rachel on friends, Carter & Susan on ER (eew!), Tori and the disappearance of Kelly on Saved by the Bell, and Mikhail Barishnikov on Sex & The City. I could go on forever, but thankfully, I won't.
Current Music: Shanty for the Arethusa, by the Decemberists
Current Music: Shanty for the Arethusa, by the Decemberists
Feb 11, 2005
Illin'
Well, being sick is no fun. It doesn't happen very often but when it does you're like, wow, this is really terrible and I will never take a healthy day for granted again (yet you do). I'd kind of been in denial the first day or two about it, which ended up kicking me in the butt as today I woke up feeling like crap, having that mucas-y feeling in my chest. The worst is when you trigger a coughing spell and you kind of go halfway and it sounds like this purring in your throat, and you have to get the rest out by hacking up your lung. Just great.
Anyhow, this post simply an excuse for why I have not been on top of my blogging. Today was a good chance for me to catch up on a lot of my TV, though. Quick roundup: The OC is going down the tubes, but at least it still has good music... American Idol is wonderfully entertaining, and I'm predicting Mario Vasquez as the winner as of today. He reminds of me Justin Timberlake, ok?...and I'm loving Abby's new flame on ER-- his name is Eion Bailey, and I finally placed him as the boyfriend to the anorexic girl in Center Stage! Quite a catch...Oh, and I guess it's with serious disappointment that I report Kris & Jon's loss on The Amazing Race. I really thought the good karma couple would win out in the end, but seems I was wrong. And with this next season featuring reality TV has-beens and other quasi-celebs, this will only increase the difficulty of my chances of being cast...Matthew Fox is looking good on Lost; he's really come quite a long way since his Party of Five days. Then again I was always distracted by Scott Wolf, so I don't know. They really do need to release that entire series on DVD, though. Talk about underrated.
Ok, now that I've officially fried my brains for the day in front of the telly, I think I'll head back to the couch to recuperate. Cheerio.
Current Music: Each Coming Night, by Iron and Wine
Current Mood: blech, but actually improving
Anyhow, this post simply an excuse for why I have not been on top of my blogging. Today was a good chance for me to catch up on a lot of my TV, though. Quick roundup: The OC is going down the tubes, but at least it still has good music... American Idol is wonderfully entertaining, and I'm predicting Mario Vasquez as the winner as of today. He reminds of me Justin Timberlake, ok?...and I'm loving Abby's new flame on ER-- his name is Eion Bailey, and I finally placed him as the boyfriend to the anorexic girl in Center Stage! Quite a catch...Oh, and I guess it's with serious disappointment that I report Kris & Jon's loss on The Amazing Race. I really thought the good karma couple would win out in the end, but seems I was wrong. And with this next season featuring reality TV has-beens and other quasi-celebs, this will only increase the difficulty of my chances of being cast...Matthew Fox is looking good on Lost; he's really come quite a long way since his Party of Five days. Then again I was always distracted by Scott Wolf, so I don't know. They really do need to release that entire series on DVD, though. Talk about underrated.
Ok, now that I've officially fried my brains for the day in front of the telly, I think I'll head back to the couch to recuperate. Cheerio.
Current Music: Each Coming Night, by Iron and Wine
Current Mood: blech, but actually improving
Feb 9, 2005
Happy Tet/Lunar/Vietnamese New Year!
Happy lunar new year! (Nam Moi!) It's the year of the Rooster, so for all of you born in 1993, 1981, 1969, 1957... etc... it's your year and it only comes once every 12 years, so be proud and wear all your roosterisms on your sleeve. I'm not actually sure if the significance of one's year-- either it's good and lucky, or you have to be extra careful all the time... all the details and explanations are pretty confusing.
Never one to spare interesting facts, here are some bits of trivia I dug up about the new year:
-"The rooster is generally regarded as a good symbol but with one flaw. For the superstitious, the Rooster year is an ominous time to tie the wedding knots as it features a lunar anomaly. The Chinese newspapers have been reporting the tales of couples rushing to get married before the so-called 'widow year' begins."
-"Legend has it that the Lord Buddha summoned all the animals to come to him before he departed from earth. Only twelve came to bid him farewell and as a reward he named a year after each one in the order they arrived. The Chinese believe the animal ruling the year in which a person is born has a profound influence on personality, saying 'This is the animal that hides in your heart.'"
-
-"A common Vietnamese belief is that the first person to enter a house at New Year will bring either good or bad luck. The Vietnamese also believe that there is a [Kitchen] god in every home who travels to heaven at the New Year. In heaven, this god will reveal how good or bad each member of the family has been in the past year."
Every year since I can remember, on the eve of the new year around 11:55 PM, my parents will leave the house and drive around the neighborhood for a little while, then come back and ring the doorbell to be the first official people to enter our home in the New Year. Same thing happened last night, but I had to drag myself out of half-sleep to greet them with a smile and a new year's greeting.
Wishing everyone health, happiness, and good fortune in the coming year!
Never one to spare interesting facts, here are some bits of trivia I dug up about the new year:
-"The rooster is generally regarded as a good symbol but with one flaw. For the superstitious, the Rooster year is an ominous time to tie the wedding knots as it features a lunar anomaly. The Chinese newspapers have been reporting the tales of couples rushing to get married before the so-called 'widow year' begins."
-"Legend has it that the Lord Buddha summoned all the animals to come to him before he departed from earth. Only twelve came to bid him farewell and as a reward he named a year after each one in the order they arrived. The Chinese believe the animal ruling the year in which a person is born has a profound influence on personality, saying 'This is the animal that hides in your heart.'"
-
-"A common Vietnamese belief is that the first person to enter a house at New Year will bring either good or bad luck. The Vietnamese also believe that there is a [Kitchen] god in every home who travels to heaven at the New Year. In heaven, this god will reveal how good or bad each member of the family has been in the past year."
Every year since I can remember, on the eve of the new year around 11:55 PM, my parents will leave the house and drive around the neighborhood for a little while, then come back and ring the doorbell to be the first official people to enter our home in the New Year. Same thing happened last night, but I had to drag myself out of half-sleep to greet them with a smile and a new year's greeting.
Wishing everyone health, happiness, and good fortune in the coming year!
Feb 7, 2005
Runner's High
Huan and I went for our longest run ever downtown Saturday, starting out along the mall toward the Capitol, swinging back around and cutting over to the Tidal Basin and around the Jefferson Memorial, along the river toward the Lincoln, across Memorial Bridge and back, then finally past the Lincoln and back up to finish right by the Washington Monument ("pencil") and WWII memorial. It was somewhere right around a 7-miler, a distance I once would never have considered let alone actually complete. It was really amazing, though, and for the first time I experienced what I believe they call "Runner's High." Somewhere right around the 6-mile mark when I was on the Memorial Bridge, I felt this sudden feeling of euphoria and this amazing jolt of adrenaline. It was kind of out-of-body; my legs felt like they were moving on their own, the movement was natural and easy, and I felt better then than I had at any other point on the run. It was like I had to remind myself where I was and what I was doing. I finally, if only for a moment, figured out why it is that runners really love to run. The feeling during that runner's high and the feeling after you've finished a run is one of such undescribable satisfaction. It's really incredible to push your body and mind to a limit you never thought you could achieve. Pretty cool feeling.
Current Music: Across the Universe, by The Beatles
Current Mood: great
Current Music: Across the Universe, by The Beatles
Current Mood: great
"But I can't stop listening to the sound...
...of two soft voices blended in perfection, from the reels of this record that I've found..."
-"Homesick," Kings of Convenience
Last night I ventured back to the Iota Club (am I a "regular" yet?) with Kelly Alm and Pepper to see the Kings of Convenience put on a wonderful show. These Kings are two guys from Norway who for the sake of comparison resemble Simon & Garfunkel with some sweet finger-picking acoustic guitar stylings and beautiful harmonies with a kind of Nick Drake-y hush and whisper. Their music is incredibly calming and soothing, and to see them perform it live so naturally made me appreciate it that much more. The dynamic between the two guys was pretty interesting-- one was a crazy/outgoing/clownish redhead, the other a more subdued/quiet/handsome model-type (and if you must know, absolutely and completely my "type" of guy... quite the European dreamboat, really). They would clown around a lot on stage, joke with the audience and chat/bicker amongst themselves (in Norwegian even!), but as soon as they quit that act and started playing their music, it was like a hush fell over the room and everyone was completely entranced. It was a great experience and I'm glad I got to seem them because word has it they don't come to the U.S. too much to tour. And when I showed up at the club (2 hours ahead of time!) there was already a line streaming outside. For a while it was very reminiscent of the Ray LaMontagne evening of heartbreak, except that we actually made it in this time and they cut off the line shortly after us. Good call. This Iota club is creating lots of unnecessary drama, though!! I really wish there was a website called "Band Popularity Meter" where one could go and effectively gauge a band's current status to know how many people to expect to line up outside a tiny show. Anyway, it was another great night of music with good company. Glad I got to see Kel again as it has been more than a few months since we've enjoyed any quality time.
Photos from the evening...
Kings of Convenience, Erland Oye (left) and Eirik Glambek Boeand:
Eirik Glambek Boeand (the hottie):
Two thumbs up:
Current Music: Love is No Big Truth, by Kings of Convenience
Current Mood: most excellent
-"Homesick," Kings of Convenience
Last night I ventured back to the Iota Club (am I a "regular" yet?) with Kelly Alm and Pepper to see the Kings of Convenience put on a wonderful show. These Kings are two guys from Norway who for the sake of comparison resemble Simon & Garfunkel with some sweet finger-picking acoustic guitar stylings and beautiful harmonies with a kind of Nick Drake-y hush and whisper. Their music is incredibly calming and soothing, and to see them perform it live so naturally made me appreciate it that much more. The dynamic between the two guys was pretty interesting-- one was a crazy/outgoing/clownish redhead, the other a more subdued/quiet/handsome model-type (and if you must know, absolutely and completely my "type" of guy... quite the European dreamboat, really). They would clown around a lot on stage, joke with the audience and chat/bicker amongst themselves (in Norwegian even!), but as soon as they quit that act and started playing their music, it was like a hush fell over the room and everyone was completely entranced. It was a great experience and I'm glad I got to seem them because word has it they don't come to the U.S. too much to tour. And when I showed up at the club (2 hours ahead of time!) there was already a line streaming outside. For a while it was very reminiscent of the Ray LaMontagne evening of heartbreak, except that we actually made it in this time and they cut off the line shortly after us. Good call. This Iota club is creating lots of unnecessary drama, though!! I really wish there was a website called "Band Popularity Meter" where one could go and effectively gauge a band's current status to know how many people to expect to line up outside a tiny show. Anyway, it was another great night of music with good company. Glad I got to see Kel again as it has been more than a few months since we've enjoyed any quality time.
Photos from the evening...
Kings of Convenience, Erland Oye (left) and Eirik Glambek Boeand:
Eirik Glambek Boeand (the hottie):
Two thumbs up:
Current Music: Love is No Big Truth, by Kings of Convenience
Current Mood: most excellent
Feb 4, 2005
Virtual tour
Live out your NYC tourist dreams vicariously through these photos from last weekend... I've even offered you drippings of historical facts that you are sure to enjoy.
View from Lo's "temporary" office in the Flatiron. Overlooking Madison Square Park with the Chrysler Building in the background:
Next is the MetLife building, built in 1909 as the headquarters of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. It was modeled after the "campanile" (not sure what that means-- belltower perhaps?) at St. Mark's Square in Venice... all my little Italy lovers (you know who you are) will have to confirm this one. At 51 stories, it was the tallest building in the world when it was built until surpassed by the Woolworth Building in 1913.
And now, for the sweetest and also most bizarre building in the city.. The Flatiron. Built in 1902, this 22-story (Or 21? It's up for debate.) building was modeled after a Greek column, employing three distinct parts. It was one of the earliest buildings to use a steel frame and is considered one of NYC's first skyscrapers. At its most narrow point, it is only 6 feet wide!
I'll spare you a more detailed architectural analysis for fear of embarassing myself or giving you false information. It's pretty amazing, though... Looks like a wall from this angle (What a beautiful and clear blue sky day!):
Here is the view from the Central Park ice skating rink, owned by none other than "The Donald." That was the definitely the high point of tourism for the weekend. Kim's building is in the background-- the tall one with the black/tinted windows outlined in white brick.
Last photo... View of Lo's "Cosby Show" street in the Upper West Side:
That concludes the tour. Hope you enjoyed it... Happy Friday to all!
Current Music: Landlocked Blues, by Bright Eyes
Current Mood: relaxed and in my homebody element
View from Lo's "temporary" office in the Flatiron. Overlooking Madison Square Park with the Chrysler Building in the background:
Next is the MetLife building, built in 1909 as the headquarters of the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. It was modeled after the "campanile" (not sure what that means-- belltower perhaps?) at St. Mark's Square in Venice... all my little Italy lovers (you know who you are) will have to confirm this one. At 51 stories, it was the tallest building in the world when it was built until surpassed by the Woolworth Building in 1913.
And now, for the sweetest and also most bizarre building in the city.. The Flatiron. Built in 1902, this 22-story (Or 21? It's up for debate.) building was modeled after a Greek column, employing three distinct parts. It was one of the earliest buildings to use a steel frame and is considered one of NYC's first skyscrapers. At its most narrow point, it is only 6 feet wide!
I'll spare you a more detailed architectural analysis for fear of embarassing myself or giving you false information. It's pretty amazing, though... Looks like a wall from this angle (What a beautiful and clear blue sky day!):
Here is the view from the Central Park ice skating rink, owned by none other than "The Donald." That was the definitely the high point of tourism for the weekend. Kim's building is in the background-- the tall one with the black/tinted windows outlined in white brick.
Last photo... View of Lo's "Cosby Show" street in the Upper West Side:
That concludes the tour. Hope you enjoyed it... Happy Friday to all!
Current Music: Landlocked Blues, by Bright Eyes
Current Mood: relaxed and in my homebody element
Feb 3, 2005
Chicks and sports (cont'd)
So Auddie has a SUPERBOWL PARTY to go to on Sunday. First of all, who throws co-ed Superbowl parties in 6th grade? Really now. These kids...
Yes, that means it's a boy who invited this other girl, and she was allowed to invite two other friends, and Auddie is one of them. We were sitting at dinner when she tells me this, so immediately I'm like "What are you guys going to do? Because clearly you aren't going to watch that game for 3 hours..." And she's all "Eat! Play!!" And I kind of give her an eye roll or something, so she insists that "she'll learn" as she watches it (again). So I go straight into trivia mode and am like, "Do you even know who's playing?" (She did.) And then she shares with me that a touchdown is worth 6, the kick after that is 1, and a kick by itself is 3, and if you get tackled in your own endzone it's 2. I quickly reminded her that knowing how the scoring works doesn't do much in terms of overall knowledge of the game.
Sigh... well, we'll see what comes of this "Superbowl party." I guess I'll be happy at all if they are watching the game and not up to some freaky spin the bottle or whatever the kiddies are doing these days. On another note, I'm kinda feeling like a reject because my 11 year old sister has Superbowl plans and as of yet, I do not. Man oh man... she's going to be a handful.
Current Music: All at Once, by Pete Yorn
Current Mood: quite good
Yes, that means it's a boy who invited this other girl, and she was allowed to invite two other friends, and Auddie is one of them. We were sitting at dinner when she tells me this, so immediately I'm like "What are you guys going to do? Because clearly you aren't going to watch that game for 3 hours..." And she's all "Eat! Play!!" And I kind of give her an eye roll or something, so she insists that "she'll learn" as she watches it (again). So I go straight into trivia mode and am like, "Do you even know who's playing?" (She did.) And then she shares with me that a touchdown is worth 6, the kick after that is 1, and a kick by itself is 3, and if you get tackled in your own endzone it's 2. I quickly reminded her that knowing how the scoring works doesn't do much in terms of overall knowledge of the game.
Sigh... well, we'll see what comes of this "Superbowl party." I guess I'll be happy at all if they are watching the game and not up to some freaky spin the bottle or whatever the kiddies are doing these days. On another note, I'm kinda feeling like a reject because my 11 year old sister has Superbowl plans and as of yet, I do not. Man oh man... she's going to be a handful.
Current Music: All at Once, by Pete Yorn
Current Mood: quite good
Feb 2, 2005
This is what you get...
A few (or 10) random observations...
1) When I'm in the car trying to make a turn and there are pedestrians who have the "OK" signal, I'm always cursing under my breath and slowly inching to run them over because they all seem to take their sweet time. But I noticed today that when I'm the ped and I have the walk signal, I am totally in my own world and not paying a damn bit of attention to the cars who are trying to turn. Not at all! Very occasionally I might do the speed walk if they look like they're gonna run me over, but most of the time I think I just stroll. So this is me as a pedestrian apologizing to the cars, and me as a driver understanding the slow pedestrians. All better now.
2) Let's talk for a moment about the homeless man who wants to squeegee my windshield. Once I was about third in line at a light when I noticed him squeegeeing the first car in line. I thought to myself, "Now why did you let him start squeegeeing halfway through the light cycle? You're gonna hold up the line and people are gonna get pissed!" But then a few weeks later I was first in line and I realized how it happens. You're just there, stopped, and the guy just walks right over and starts up with his squeegee on your windshield. It kind of freaks you out for a minute. You have the panic about what you'll do if/when the light turns green, and at the same time you scramble for your wallet because you gotta give him a tip, right? Now I don't mean for this to sound condescending or whatever, I'm just trying to seriously address this dilemma. What if you were caught without any cash? The guy would probably think you're an ungrateful and rude a-hole. It does seem a bit forward to just approach someone's vehicle and start spraying water all over it while they're en route, though. So anyway, when this happened to me, the guy walks over to the window and I give him some cash, but he still has half the window to wipe down when the light turns green! EEEEE. People behind me are getting antsy, I'm slowly trying to inch away but he walks in front of the car to finish the job, and I'm somehow trying to indicate, "It's ok!! Just go!" Finally he gets it and I drive away, but one of my windshield wipers is still propped up! Man, I'm stressed out. I drive a little ways wondering if it will somehow fall down by itself (clearly there's no way), and eventually I have to pull over and put it down myself. I respect this guy for wanting to earn his spare change instead of shaking a cup on the corner, but we have to work on the green light/windshield problem. Make the lights longer?
3) There's a random little Vietnamese restaurant downtown on L street. I guess it serves Pho and some other things. It claimed to serve authentic Vietnamese "cousin" (as opposed to cuisine) which I'll actually take as a good sign because if you can't get the English on the sign right, chances are the food is decent. I really thought I only saw this around Eden or actually in VN, but sure enough, right in the heart of the city there are folks who make the same mistakes. Gotta love it.
4) Did W dye his hair for the State of the Union or was it just the bad lighting on my TV?
5) Very excited about potential warm(er) weather as I'll be able to resume some outdoor runs. Who's comin' with me?
6) Huan sent this bizarro link to me. Somehow they are able to "read your mind" (by asking a trillion questions) and guess which dictator of sitcom character you are thinking of. Not too amazing, but still worth a few clicks if you're bored.
7) I just noticed that the same guy is in the Capital One ("Marco, Po-No"), Jetta, and Enterprise commercial. Weird, huh. "Commercial" actors are very strange. You usually associate them with their one gig, but for this guy I guess he's trying to advertise for everything. I'm sure that'll come back to bite him in the butt when he becomes a big time actor and they show these old embarassing films of his career start. Or maybe not since he's making good moolah. Just did some googling and found this article about him. Turns out he's done about a dozen more. Crazy.
8) "Million Dollar Baby" is probably the worst title for a movie that exists in my brain's movie database.
9) Did "Finding Neverland" really get nominated for Best Picture? I haven't even seen it, but come on now...The best? Take this bullet point with a grain of salt, because apparently I have an aversion to Peter Pan-themed experiences which I only recently discovered.
10) Vietnamese TV (I'm sure that's the technical name) was here tonight filming my gramps in the living room. It was kinda cool. I wonder if they wanted his autograph or what. Apparently he was doing a little "Happy New Year" greeting since Têt is coming up. Gotta love the VN celebs.
Current Music: Karma Police, by Radiohead
Current Mood: content
1) When I'm in the car trying to make a turn and there are pedestrians who have the "OK" signal, I'm always cursing under my breath and slowly inching to run them over because they all seem to take their sweet time. But I noticed today that when I'm the ped and I have the walk signal, I am totally in my own world and not paying a damn bit of attention to the cars who are trying to turn. Not at all! Very occasionally I might do the speed walk if they look like they're gonna run me over, but most of the time I think I just stroll. So this is me as a pedestrian apologizing to the cars, and me as a driver understanding the slow pedestrians. All better now.
2) Let's talk for a moment about the homeless man who wants to squeegee my windshield. Once I was about third in line at a light when I noticed him squeegeeing the first car in line. I thought to myself, "Now why did you let him start squeegeeing halfway through the light cycle? You're gonna hold up the line and people are gonna get pissed!" But then a few weeks later I was first in line and I realized how it happens. You're just there, stopped, and the guy just walks right over and starts up with his squeegee on your windshield. It kind of freaks you out for a minute. You have the panic about what you'll do if/when the light turns green, and at the same time you scramble for your wallet because you gotta give him a tip, right? Now I don't mean for this to sound condescending or whatever, I'm just trying to seriously address this dilemma. What if you were caught without any cash? The guy would probably think you're an ungrateful and rude a-hole. It does seem a bit forward to just approach someone's vehicle and start spraying water all over it while they're en route, though. So anyway, when this happened to me, the guy walks over to the window and I give him some cash, but he still has half the window to wipe down when the light turns green! EEEEE. People behind me are getting antsy, I'm slowly trying to inch away but he walks in front of the car to finish the job, and I'm somehow trying to indicate, "It's ok!! Just go!" Finally he gets it and I drive away, but one of my windshield wipers is still propped up! Man, I'm stressed out. I drive a little ways wondering if it will somehow fall down by itself (clearly there's no way), and eventually I have to pull over and put it down myself. I respect this guy for wanting to earn his spare change instead of shaking a cup on the corner, but we have to work on the green light/windshield problem. Make the lights longer?
3) There's a random little Vietnamese restaurant downtown on L street. I guess it serves Pho and some other things. It claimed to serve authentic Vietnamese "cousin" (as opposed to cuisine) which I'll actually take as a good sign because if you can't get the English on the sign right, chances are the food is decent. I really thought I only saw this around Eden or actually in VN, but sure enough, right in the heart of the city there are folks who make the same mistakes. Gotta love it.
4) Did W dye his hair for the State of the Union or was it just the bad lighting on my TV?
5) Very excited about potential warm(er) weather as I'll be able to resume some outdoor runs. Who's comin' with me?
6) Huan sent this bizarro link to me. Somehow they are able to "read your mind" (by asking a trillion questions) and guess which dictator of sitcom character you are thinking of. Not too amazing, but still worth a few clicks if you're bored.
7) I just noticed that the same guy is in the Capital One ("Marco, Po-No"), Jetta, and Enterprise commercial. Weird, huh. "Commercial" actors are very strange. You usually associate them with their one gig, but for this guy I guess he's trying to advertise for everything. I'm sure that'll come back to bite him in the butt when he becomes a big time actor and they show these old embarassing films of his career start. Or maybe not since he's making good moolah. Just did some googling and found this article about him. Turns out he's done about a dozen more. Crazy.
8) "Million Dollar Baby" is probably the worst title for a movie that exists in my brain's movie database.
9) Did "Finding Neverland" really get nominated for Best Picture? I haven't even seen it, but come on now...The best? Take this bullet point with a grain of salt, because apparently I have an aversion to Peter Pan-themed experiences which I only recently discovered.
10) Vietnamese TV (I'm sure that's the technical name) was here tonight filming my gramps in the living room. It was kinda cool. I wonder if they wanted his autograph or what. Apparently he was doing a little "Happy New Year" greeting since Têt is coming up. Gotta love the VN celebs.
Current Music: Karma Police, by Radiohead
Current Mood: content
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
