Let's go to the Movies...

Oh... 3 dollar movie theater, I'm glad you exist. I always feel like I'm time-warping back to the 80's in your old school auditorium. I'll probably spend double or triple your admission on dinner before, but you always make me feel frugal. See you tonight.

Uncle

My uncle passed away this morning. He was on the other side of my grandparents estate disagreements that dragged on for years. As much of my family is filled with conflicted feelings about the news, I am as well, but probably less so. He estranged himself with help from his wife. It wasn't always this way, but in the past decade or so they became poisonous and riddled with denial. Denial about his parents mortality, denial about sickness. It's ironic that he ended like he did, karma working itself through life.

Oil Spill

Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico

Someone said, "I feel so bad for the people down there" in the comments section of a story (not the LA Times one linked above) about the oil spill.

Yes, it is sad that 11 oil rig workers lost their lives, but they signed up for a dangerous job in the middle of the sea, they knew what they were getting themselves into. Not that 'people' won't be effected, but the environmental disaster to sea life and marsh animals will devastating. We're just starting to see pictures of birds getting crude oil washed out of their eyeballs, it makes me upset and sad.

I am not a big tree hugger, but all this just makes me sick.

No Hike Friday

So it looks like Amanda is broken, so we're not going on the full moon hike tonight. (boo...)

It's just as fun to hang with Lady Manda at my place though.

Wait?!? You mean I could have not switched my work schedule and slept in?!? I guess that will have to wait till Saturday. I promise I'm not a lazy bum, the weeks have been so insanely busy (and some of the weekends too) I just don't have the little bit of down time I'd like to have to just do nothing and be a vegetable.

Hopefully the plans I have for Saturday night follow through (fingers crossed.)

Windy in LA

City of LOS ANGELE

Hey! City of LA's Trutanich and Lambert - how about fixing the GLARING TYPO on your threatening paperwork before sending it out to the entertainment industry?!? I do not live in the city of Los Angele.(I know I'm just being nit-picky, but seriously.)

Sometimes the hardest part of the day...

What's for dinner...

http://www.whatthefuckshouldimakefordinner.com

I heart Pandora Boxx

Tyra Sanchez was crowned the winner on RuPaul's Drag Race... ugg. I stopped watching after Pandora Boxx got eliminated.

But now there's "Drag U" to look forward to. The 15 year old girl in me that thinks drag queens are the BEES KNEES is very excited! Oh, and we get more of the lovely Pandora Boxx!

"Under My Bed" Meiko

"Grace Kelly" Mika - an oldie but a goodie

Lost Episodes

117/14 “The Candidate” May 4, 2010
118/15 “Across the Sea” May 11, 2010
119/16 “What They Died For” May 18, 2010
120&121/17&18 “The End” May 23, 2010 (Two hour series finale)

Story Corps on NPR

I was listening to NPR in the car today and they played this little interview. I thought it was very beautiful what he says about leaving a legacy.

"What’s your life like now, Dad?”

Priya Morganstern and Bhavani Jaroff interview their father, Ken Morganstern, who has Alzheimer’s disease.

Recorded in New York, NY

for more go to http://storycorps.org/initiatives/mli/

Outside at night.

I miss the lanai I had in Florida. I never used it much back then, but now I wish I had one at my apartment now. Just to be able to sit outside at night, breathe, and look at the moon and sky. Tha'd be nice.

Just 2 Guys

Earth Day Cupcakes

They were delish.

NFL Draft

I'm at work and Rhonda's giving us the NFL Draft play by play. Mostly about what's going on with the Steelers, but it's all good. She said the Steelers 1st round pick had a 10 inch hand and was about 6'3" and weighs 304lb. Eeek! He could pick pick me up by my head and throw me over a goalpost.

Candide at University of Tampa

I just saw that UT is doing the musical Candide this semester. It's one of my favorite shows, it's rich musically while still being smart and witty. I am envious about not doing it while I was in school, but if I lived anywhere close I would have come down to see it. "I am easily assimilated" was part of my senior recital just a 'few' years ago. Break a leg kids.

Funny Questions

My job is silly. I love it when I have to ask guys about their 'nether-regions' or, like today, when I have to ask a girl if she's comfortable being Cameron Diaz's 'slow-motion jumping up and down boob photo double' - there's no better way I could figure out to say it.

...or Monday when I had to ask someone about the color and texture his arm hair at length.

...or that time I had to ask a girl if she was comfortable getting tied up and blindfolded in her underwear.

It's all strange, but those are usually the fun days at work.

Oh Drunky.

(via Perez)

Body Talk

A gift from the laundry room to me. In near mint condition. *high five*

For further perusal... AXO Houses Blog

http://alphachiomegahouses.blogspot.com/

Photo Hike 4/18/10

Ham

Today I had the pleasure of explaining the word 'ham'.

No, not the edible kind, but the kind as in, "you're such a ham."

Day at the Beach

Sweet Jazmin and some marshmallows

there's also this...

Wednesday Lunch

(nom, nom, nom...)

Fonts and Mad Men

http://www.marksimonson.com/article/236/mad-men-mad-props

Here's a neat post about fonts and the TV show Madmen.

Poster Mark Simonson is right that some of the modern fonts don't look right in the shows time and place context, but I can't help to giggle though when he gets all fired up about the wrong fonts.

Ohhh... that's why volcanoes are bad for planes.

http://jalopnik.com/5517775/how-volcanic-ash-can-kill-an-airplane

Lancaster - you make me want to hit my head against a wall!

http://www.aclu-sc.org/releases/view/102985

In short, the Lancaster City Council (just North of LA) likes to begin their meetings with christian prayer. I don't care if the citizens of Lancaster voted to keep the prayer in their meetings, it's still unconstitutional and makes my head hurt.

“In a constitutional democracy such as the United States of America, some basic rights are protected by the Constitution and cannot be determined by a vote,” said Peter Eliasberg, ACLU/SC.

Similar to my feelings about Prop 8 here in CA, some things are just wrong and should never be decided by a popular vote. This is my America too.

Stuff of Life

Not that I live a very cluttered life to begin, but I've been trying to pare down the amount of things that I have.

Actually my friends usually tease me for keeping a super clean house. I don't mind. Part of it is a point of pride for me, and I guess if I'm going to be know for something I'd rather have that than be the messy friend. I just don't like living in a place that has stuff all strewn around, and it's my apartment, so that's just how it is. I also have the cats, so the place can get hairy fast if I don't keep up with vacuuming, dusting, etc. I feel like I'm rationalizing, I'll stop.

My trunk is currently filled with donation items. It's mostly clothing, but I have some other random stuff... anyone want a vice? Amanda says we'll go down to skid row and pass the stuff out, which sounds fun and sort of scary. Hopefully it happens soon so I can get my trunk back, if it doesn't I'll just drop the bags off at Out Of The Closet on my way home from work one day.

Maybe it's the fact every time I watch Hoarders, I stare at my bookshelves and think of what more I can get rid of. It's hard though, I really like that I have a "Rocky Horror Picture Show" trivia game, but I've never found someone to play with (and I've probably lost all the facts I once knew, probably for the better.) I like that I have a bin of all my dance shoes from college, but am I really using them? no.

Other than the little pile I have started already, there are a bunch of blue baskets and pretty little storage bins that I have in my kitchen on top of the cabinets that I'm thinking about getting rid of. One time I did need the extra storage, but now there's nothing in them, so maybe someone could find a better use for them. I probably won't get rid of them though, my kitchen would look awfully bare without them. But, you get the idea.

There is a website, http://www.guynameddave.com/100-thing-challenge.html, that I was reading the other day that I got interested in. I know I could never do 100 things without getting rid of many of my little hobbies. I was thinking that I could possibly do 200 things, but on the guys website he had a family and didn't count anything communal, it was just his things. I thought of just making an inventory of all my things to see how many I had, but I have a life and things to do. Maybe if I'm ever quarantined in my own apartment, that'll be the first best activity to fill my time. I don't want to get quarantined.

Anyways, just thinking about stuff. When 'someone' moves back to LA, I have some of his boxes under my bed. It's fine, they just need to be gone before I move!

I need to return a stationary trainer I borrowed from my dad's house and some other stuff like that. It'll help clear a little stuff that doesn't REALLY need to be in my apartment.

Guilty.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_Jesus_theft

We Are Here: The Pale Blue Dot

Christian Bale vs Tiger Woods

Netflix my Wii

It's about darn tootin' time!
Netflix says it's sending out Wii streaming disc's today.

I've been waiting for this for years.
(Just watched, mine'll be cracked or sumthin.)

http://blog.netflix.com/2010/04/netflix-now-available-on-wii-console.html

Saturday we climbed a mountain

Manda and I joined a meetup.com hiking group. This Saturday we climbed a mountain.

...and the Streamys

I have a bunch of 'new media' friends. Tonight was the Streamy Awards, aka. the Streamys. It's an award show for everything web. I admit I was a little jealous that everyone got to go and I didn't, but not because I wanted to go to the award show, I just wanted to hang out. I really love spending time with the 'new media' group of friends. They are all smart and interesting people. Everyone's always doing something neat that I'm curious about and, above everything else, they're just fun people. People without a bunch of baggage and issues. I have some really amazing people in my life, people that I can rely on for anything, but this is a group that I just genuinely like hanging out with. I always look forward to the next party or get-together.

Tonight I missed the fun. Not that I'm sitting at home moping. Well... I am sitting. I just hope they post lots of pictures.

update: apparently the show was sort of a mess...
http://brianlerner.tumblr.com/post/516252335/since-you-didnt-ask-my-thoughts-on-the-streamys

AXO in April.

Today I lived in sorority world. First down to USC for the Hall of Commitment ceremony for the graduating seniors of Alpha Chi Omega. And then later this afternoon off to UCLA for 2 meetings for the chapter there. A busy day with lots of driving around, nothing crazy, just more than my normal Sunday.

I love my sorority. If I didn't I wouldn't put so much time and effort into it. The UCLA chapter is new, but made of the same types of strong, bright, and wonderful women that makes Alpha Chi different. (I'm biased... clearly.)

I'm one of the younger volunteers and, though I am clearly past college, I'm not an adult either. It's more about my perception of where I fit than reality. I always feel a little awkward telling the ladies, "no food in the living room" and enforcing other rules like that when I'm just a few years older. Maybe when I hit the 3-0 things will magically change. Probably not, but again, it's more about me being comfortable in the new roles that I'm finding myself in this year.

I am very glad that I was asked to be on the advisory board for UCLA's chapter. I was thinking that more people just need to be asked to help, just be given that opportunity. I think more alumnae would contribute their time and resources if just asked. It's hard getting a new chapter off the ground, completely worth it, but we have our bumps in the road nonetheless.

I have some of the same emotions with this experience that I did when I brought back my honors fraternity to my university. Time and effort made me have intense feelings of ownership, responsibility, and pride. I help for many reasons, but a major one is knowing that after this chapter is established, these women can do great things. Changing themselves for the better, becoming even stronger women, continuing to grow up, spreading awareness about our philanthropy (the fight against domestic violence), and contributing to the greek community at UCLA in their charities and general do-goodery. Greek life, if left un-reigned, can have many pitfalls, as with any college experience, but I know that this chapter of AXO can thrive and do wonderful things.

Don't get me wrong, my personal collegiate experience had many bumps and trials, but in the end, much of my personal growth and love for what it means to be an Alpha Chi came out of my Gamma Pi chapter at U Tampa. My greek experience made me an enhanced version of the strong undergraduate that I was.

I just needed to get some of that written down.

Crass, but still funny.

Cuz no one can tell you to "eat a hot bowl of dicks" like Ice T.

http://twitter.com/FINALLEVEL/status/11830397783

Antenna

I've been using a program at work called Antenna. It's a nice lookin' program for listening to streaming radio stations that Lifehacker talked about this week. At the office we like to spice it up with some Greek talk radio every once in a while or some African music... from, well... Africa.

Gold!

Today someone said to me --- "You're like a bar of shiny gold." I heart them.

Strange Dreams

Before I dive into another set, I had the craziest dreams last night. Vivid, and I remembered most of them in the morning. Real places and real people, but times and places were mixed up. Bits of jealousy and anger with confusion and uncertainty.

I remember lots of my dreams and sometimes they spill into reality. I find myself being upset with someone just because of a dream, though I would never say anything or act any differently because of them. Most of the time they involve people in my everyday life. Last nights had some old friends and some people I met on my recent travels.

Sometimes they leave me restless and exhausted, even though I probably had plenty of deep sleep.

Off to bed. Here's to some good restful dreams.

Without further comment

http://thedailywh.at/post/489793655/lolpalin-of-the-day-ill-just-leave-this-here

Quintessential Pittsburgh

(Walking around Lawrenceville in Pittsburgh, PA ... note the parking chair.)

Glory Be! KFC!

I'd like to live a long time, but...

KFC Has A Bacon Sandwich That Uses Fried Chicken As "Bread" ... before it was a myth, now it has a release date.

via Consumerist, via Gizmodo

Prom

What's wrong with prom!?!

This year's the first year that I've seen so many stories about self-righteous principals and administrators meddling in the Senior Prom. Leave the kids alone.

Unless they are doing something seriously illegal or strapping guns to their legs at a school dance (which I can imagine is probably legal in certain states!), leave the kids alone! You're about to get rid of them. Leave them the fuck alone. Seriously.

Get over yourself (your racisim, sexisim, your fear, and boring lives), stop it with the power trip, and just let them be.

(Let it be noted that both of these stories come out of the deep south. All the young lesbians and cute dressing, cleavage showing youth are welcome in my part of California any day.)

Lesbian invites female date to prom, prom gets canceled (USA Today)

Very cute prom dress gets girl suspended (CNN - video)

ps: I loved my gay prom date. He was super cute.

The Vatican, beautiful, but creepy.

Pre-Occupato

I like this song.

Sweet Disposition. I know Amanda would say the song is really old and she and Mike used the song for something for Pedal forever ago. I know the song from the movie 500 Days of Summer. Good movie, but it makes my heart hurt.

My cable box broke (again) today. I'd like to think it's just Time Warner's little April Fools joke for just me, but probably not. I actually don't mind the cable box breaking, it's not like I have a love affair with a piece of used electronics that I don't even own, it's the DVR that irks me. I'm not a big TV person, but the few shows that I like, I love. Guilty pleasures like Hoarders and RuPaul's Drag Race, and the normal stuff like Lost and the Daily Show. But I lost all my saved shows since I had to go trade in my box this morning. I hope the new box sitting in my trunk works. Inevitably it'll have someone elses favorite shows saved on it, a little TV viewing habits voyeurism from one complete stranger to another.

I wish Arrested Development was still on...

Just thinking... I had a LOT of wine in Rome. Jessica just offered me a glass (at work... shhh!) and Rome just popped into my head. I hope every glass of wine reminds me of my trip. (Where to next? Some place tropical?)

It's Thursday evening at work and I'm just waiting on the last few details from the casting directors before I get out of here for a long weekend. I like it here, but it's been really nice to ease back into life with some short work weeks. I love that I only worked 10 days in all of March. Of course I used up all of my vacation hours, but it would be great if I could do that every month.

Sigh...

But it's ok, without traveling for a bit I did make a big payment on my credit card. It's totally under control, but it's good to pay it down even more. I did put my airfare to Rome on the card, so that MUST be paid off asap.

Someone just called our work phone and tried to order food. There is a Thai restaurant that has a similar number (I think it's just the area code) and we get food orders sometimes. Jessica sometimes pretends to write the order down, it's funny.

We finished our 100 day scrabble game today. I started it before Christmas and I'll take all the blame for it lasting this long. I'm a slacker. --- Or busy working. --- Or out of the country. (I like the latter best.)

Hopefully I'll be able to write more over the long weekend. Still catching up.