Allagash White

Michelle, Tim, Adam and I hit up dinner at Silver Cloud last night. (Well, they ate dinner...I opted for a dessert of s'mores instead.) Then over to The Maproom for some good Belguim beer. I think Allagash White is my new favorite wheat beer.

For as cold as it was last night, Adam's suggestion of burning in hell was almost tempting. "Don't just go there. Burn there."
;)

What's That Smell?

On the drive in to work this morning, Carisa and I were chatting it up about perfumes (being that Valentine's Day is around the corner and all). We were talking about the scents we prefer and then we somehow got onto the topic of what scents we wore growing up. We're talking Junior High here, people. I mentioned Exclamation! Which every girl in my school wore. We also recalled the Debbie Gibson perfume, I think it was called Electric Blue or something?

So here's the question of the day: what perfume/cologne did you wear during Junior High?

Other random question: I'm due for another bottle of perfume. Do I buy Body by Victoria or Pink? Body is what i usually wear, it's a very clean scent. Pink is a spring sorta scent, light florals. Let me know your thoughts....

And a big thanks to Laine for the beautiful Valentine's Day card! I showed it to all my co-workers and they love the design! You are such an amazing artist! Love you!!!

Mix it Up

MITTELOS = LOST TIME

Random thoughts on the show:

Juliette has remarked in the past about the lack of free will. Now we understand she too is a prisoner of the island.

Perhaps not all of the Others are Good Ones nor are they all Bad Ones. There's a degree of evil in each which fluctuates depending on circumstances. (Isn't that true with all of humankind, though.)

If the two islands co-exist next to one another, there is a yin-yang relationship between the two. One brings about good, the other takes good away. Which makes me think, Juliette could have been a Good One when she came to the island, but perhaps the island has taken that from her. Perhaps being on the island will turn you into a Bad One?? Which would explain why they keep trying to recruit Good Ones.

And then there is the moral delimena of island 1: confront your inner demons (black smoke) and maintain/gain physical health. island 2: ignore those inner demons but your physical self will deteriorate. Which is more valuable: physical or emotional health? Which takes more strength and courage to confront?

And reproduction, or lack there of, is now a key role in the plot. Which explains needing a scientist who specialises in fertility. Also why they would kidnap the French woman's daughter. And Walt. And Claire's baby. It's like the force of Nature/God/etc. doesn't want these people to multiply. And we're back to the battle of Good vs. Evil (God vs. The Devil).

I love this show. :)

Missing

This is probably going to be a long post (i'm feeling very wordy right now) and it will be very random and stream-of-consciousness so bear with me and my faulty punctuation.
I just watched Sadia's video blog on YouTube. (Y'all should click over and check it out yourself.) And it is so great to see her face. And I miss watching her talk. I miss all of her fun hand gestures and how animated her face gets and how she bows her head shyly when she's talking about a great success of hers. And what an amazing, successful woman she is. How I got to be so blessed to be her friend, is beyond me.

I miss her.

And I love Chicago and it does feel like home to me. I love my job, hell it doesn't even feel like a job and the people i work with are more my friends than co-workers. I love my home. I love my friends. I love the city and how it breathes music and art and life, even on the bleakest and coldest of winter days. It feels good to love where I live. But that doesn't make me miss California any less.

The great part about moving around so much is that you meet all these really different, fascinating people. I mean, where else in the world would I have met someone like Sadia? Or Josh? Or Murry? Or Joy? Or Pete? or Laine? or all of these people that fill my life with laughter? you don't meet all those types of people in one place...moving around brings about that opportunity. But it also brings about the understanding that you will move on again. And our friendships are still strong, I'm a great pen pal. Blogging helps and so does myspace and unlimited calls after 7pm. :) But I get sad when I think about having to miss Josh's movie premiere and that fountain of cheese at the opening party (but don't worry Josh - I'll walk the red carpet on your next film). I miss my Thursday nights with karla and eating mexican food and chatting about books. I miss how Karla just knew me even when i was searching to know myself.
I'm sad that I don't get to see Murry's new son, Tex.
I wish I could call up Laine and say 'let's grab a cider for happy hour'.

And Sadia, in her video blog, mentioned doing crafts at home. Every Tuesday night she and I (along with about 6 other friends) got together and cooked an elaborate, delicious meal along with a decadent dessert and many bottles of wine. After dinner we would work on different projects. My leather cuffs were made on Jim's dining table after splitting 3 bottles of 2 Buck Chuck. We ripped apart shirts just to sew them back together. Before Sadia went to Japan, she and I shopped stores for funky, modern fabrics. We were paneling her suitcase with interesting fabric so she wouldn't have trouble spotting it in Osaka.
I miss doing that with Sadia. I miss having a creative outlet with her.

and i'm proud of my friends and how they've grown into incredible people. i mean Laine is traveling the world every time i talk to her. karla's chopped her hair, got a dog (which looks more like a bear), changed jobs, etc. she now meets BJ at Poquito Mas for mexican. and i love BJ and her hubby, Matt. i just wish i could slide into the booth next to them with an enchilada and margarita.

i mean, Murry and Grey are parents! Murry's a dad! That's amazing! Let's all cross our fingers that Old 97s come through Chicago this summer. I want to sit around after sound check and tell ghost stories with Murry. :)

Josh - i don't even know where to begin with josh. gone are the days of working in a warehouse and writing scripts at starbucks every afternoon. (i can distinctly remember the first moment I met Josh and how he walked up to me and asked where Karla was...ha ha ha) now he's off doing shoots and walking the red carpet and living his dream. i wish i could be there to see live bands, like The National!!, with him and have a pint of cider in celebration. (Seriously Josh, you need to schedule more press junkets in chicago...maybe we could even catch a Cubs game!)

alrighty, i've rambled quite a bit. i'm going to take my homesick heart and get ready for bed. But really, everyone...check out my best friend Sadia on YouTube.

and know that right now i am thinking about all of you and i am missing you terribly.

Electronics Confuse Me

Alrighty, I got a question for any of my readers who understand how electronics hook up and work and stuff.
So I got a new t.v. and it's hooked up to my dvd player and when I had cable installed this weekend that cable installer-dude removed my dvd player cord and put in a cable cord instead. So if I want to watch t.v. I leave it as is. If I want to watch a movie, I have to remove the cable cord and hook up the dvd cord.

That's going to get old really fast.

So. Who out there can tell me how to fix this so I don't have to swap cords in order to go from t.v. to movie?

Your help is much appreciated.

Sligo!

Last night, Joy, Pete and I booked our tickets to Ireland/Scotland! We'll be travelling across the pond in late April into early May. We'll be meeting up with Molly and Scott in Aberdeen, hanging with the locals throughout Scotland and then living up our last weekend in Dublin (aka Publin).
80 days!!!

Purple Rain

I snapped some photos of the half time show.

Da Bears

Not by the hair of my...

Is it just me or are these otherwise stunning women, cursed with very oddly shaped chins?
I want to look at and admire their pretty hair (looooove the bangs, Reese) or fantastic eyes (great smoky eye, Alyssa) but like a horrific accident on 94 during rush hour, I can't turn my eyes away. From their jabby, pointy chins.
It's like they've gotten to thin for their chin.

Table for One

It's been too long since I've cooked a full-on meal. Eating for one makes it difficult to prepare and eat a great meal without wasting most of it.

I had plans to prepare the following for Valentine's Day (I was torn between these two):
Eggplant parmeasan
Bruchetta
Steamed green beans
Creme brulee with fresh berries
Cabernet savingon

or

Peeled shrimp
Angel hair pasta with a garlic, white wine sauce and diced plum tomato
Steamed green beans
Molten chocolate cake with sliced strawberries
Prosecco (Italian Sparking Wine)

that second one sounds good and I can just see how I would plate it.

humph. I just may have to spring a meal on a friend. y'all should consider yourself warned.

Terror Alert

People - a fancy Lite Brite is not a terrorist.




Now this, on the other hand, evokes Terror. (Tara - Terror, coincidence...I think not)








*I'm not a big fan of cartoons but I do love me some Aqua Teen Hunger Force!*

Stalkers, Stalkers, Where are the Stalkers?

50 cool points to whomever can name the movie that this quote comes from:
Stalkers, stalkers...where are all the stalkers?
Who? You mean Robbie?
Yeah, Robbie.

Here's one more from the same film:
What are you puttin' that tape on your nose for?
Exactly!

So if you're reading this blog it means that I've given you special permission to check this website. That's right folks, I'm tired of beating off the crazies so I've placed a privacy block on this website. (Take that, Bob Saget!) Go ahead, puff your chest with pride 'cause not just anyone can view this blog! No siree! I've hand picked a select few and you, my friend, are a chosen one.

More blogs to come... :)

ps) my mom is sitting at her desk right now really, really, really, really happy that I've added a blocker to this website. now no one will hunt me down and kill me. although, i'm having Comcast cable installed on Saturday and a couple months ago a Comcast cable installer-dude murdered 2 ladies while installing in their apartment.
This would be a good time to have a boyfriend, you know to sit with me and make sure I don't get killed. Dammit, my timing is always off!
Well, if anyone wants to come hang out on Sat. from 1-3pm, to help beat off the Comcast crazies...just let me know.

Sponsored by PBR

This night was sponsored by PBR
Carisa and I checked out Devil in the Woodpile at The Hideout tonight. (It's way past my bedtime right now.)
We ran into Richie there, had a few drinks to toast the evening and tried our best to finish The Redeye crossword puzzle. Thanks for loaning me your scarf, Richie! I was freezing!

PS) Everyone! The Bakelite 78 is at The Horeshoe on Friday night. Be there or be square.

Steagle Colbeagle the Eagle

Now this is guy is Nerd Hot! He's not only smart, he's flippin hilarious!!

The Associated Press

OSHAWA, Ontario -- After losing a hockey bet with Stephen Colbert, the mayor of Oshawa, John Gray, now must pay up — by declaring his own birthday, March 20, to be "Stephen Colbert Day" in his city, just east of Toronto.

"Mr. Mayor, let me ask you something: How are you planning to spend your `Stephen Colbert Day?'" the host of Comedy Central's "The Colbert Report" asked Gray over the telephone on Monday's show as a graphic of a moose wearing a "mayor" sash appeared in lieu of a headshot.

"Oh that's right, it's your birthday. How old are you going to be? Old enough to know better than to take on Stephen Colbert?"

Gray responded: "Hopefully in the future, yes."

In recent months, Colbert has been rooting for the Ontario Hockey League's Saginaw Spirit after finding out the Michigan team had named its mascot Steagle Colbeagle the Eagle as a tribute to him.

On Friday night, the Spirit beat the Oshawa Generals 5-4. Gray was among the 5,527 fans who attended the game.

Before his brief interview with Gray, Colbert reminded his viewers about the terms of the wager.

"If Oshawa wins, I will wear an Oshawa jersey on my show. But when the Spirit kicks Oshawa's moose haunches, I don't want to declare `Stephen Colbert Day' on my birthday, I want to declare it on your birthday," Colbert said to cheers and applause.

I Used to be Like California

Michelle and I saw M. Ward tonight at Park West. I thought it was a really good show (reminded me a lot of Ray LaMontagne) but Michelle says he sounds really different on his albums.
Best part of the night was the encore when he asked someone to jump up from the crowd and play the piano. The guy, Stephan, ended up being a really good piano player and just went to town on the song! M. Ward walked off stage and just let Stephan play by himself for awhile. The whole crowd was cheering this guy on! It was pretty incredible. Josh - you should check this guy out, he's at the El Rey Theater in L.A. on Feb 2nd. Also, Josh, sorry I missed your call. :)

Team O'Malley

I just read that T.R. Knight might leave Grey's Anatomy because he's so upset about how Isaiah Washington's comment was handled (or not-handled, as the case may be).

Noooooo!!!!

I love T.R.'s character and I love his acting and I will be so pissed off if the homophobic keeps his job and T.R. doesn't.

And why is Isaiah allowed to keep his job anyway? If anyone in my office said a comment like that to a co-worker, and then repeated the comment again...he would be fired so fast!

I am Team O'Malley all the way.

YouTube

Great news! My best friend, Sadia, lives in San Fran and for the past year was really unhappy in her job. So she called up an old high school and college friend, Steve, to see if he could hook her up with some work. (Steve is the guy who invented/founded YouTube.) Steve said "Sure!" and now Sadia is very happily employed as an Editor for YouTube.
What's even better news is that you can see video of Sadia as the Editors post video blogs online every few days. If you click on the YouTube link to the right of this page, it will bring you to YouTube's homepage. Scroll down to the bottom and there is a section titled "YouTube" and a link in that section titled "Blog". Click it.
Mia's video is up now but if you listen to it she mentions Sadia in the video. :) That is SO exciting!
Next week Sadia's first video blog will be posted. I will now be checking YouTube everyday and when Sadia's blogs are up I will alert all of you.

Yeah Sadia!!

Approved!

I took Carisa, Michi and Tim out to a couple new bars last night: Danny's and Club Foot. We had a lot of fun listening to the kick ass DJ at Danny's and people watching at Club Foot. :)

Blonde

Yeah! I was in need of a little blonde.

Quantum Leap

In college, my roommate Debbie and I would skip science class, eat dill pickles, and watch Quantum Leap reruns. I loved this show and I wish I could still watch it.
Luckily I have Battlestar Galactica to keep me happy. People...you should be watching Battlestar Galactica! It's brilliant!

Sara Ramirez

I'm watching Grey's Anatomy right now and I gotta say, I think Sara Ramirez is the hottest woman on this show. I love her whole character. I love that she's taller than George. I love that she is a rock-n-roll lady who is also a kick ass doctor. And she can sing, to boot!
I feel a girl crush coming on. :)