No matter what you say, there's some debts you'll never pay

Despite not eating seafood, I went out for sushi with friends last night and it was so good. We shared either four or five rolls (hey, we were hungry) between us, and there was only one that I was kind of "eh" about. The one I liked the most had eel and fish eggs, and there was another one that had cream cheese involved... mmm.

Right now I am debating whether to put some mix CD's together for my birthday party. I used to do that without fail, but I got bored with it (mix CD's - not parties, ha ha. Especially if it's one for me!) I'm thinking it might be more amusing to put on a DVD - either a movie or a TV show - but then you run the risk of having half your guests getting obsessed with actually watching, and the other half with being bored.

As "research" for my new job I have been watching Food Network pretty much non-stop. Yesterday I saw this great show where Giada DiLaurentiis (sp?) went to this huge wedding that was being held in a new luxury car dealership with these fancy-ass caterers. They made everything in miniatures: macaroni and cheese tarlets, little pies, baby hamburgers, and... tiny grilled cheese sandwiches! That would be super cute, only I don't know where I'd get the tiny bread. Of course I could just cut regular pieces into quarters, but that's not as adorable.

Also, we have an oddly large amount of fruit right now, so I need to make some banana bread this weekend, and either an apple or peach tart. My main thing with the peaches is that I don't want to have to peel them, but the skin can be a pain in baked stuff.

My mom and I went to a library book sale this morning, and it was nuts! We got there about 5-10 minutes before it started and there was already a line of people with bags and even boxes, ready to haul their treasures away. I like cheap books as much as anyone, but come on now. And these sales are held in the most obnoxiously small room with narrow aisles, of course. And most of the people there seem to fall into two separate yet equally annoying groups: The crazy old women buying every romance novel in sight, and young moms with big-ass strollers (crying baby included, screaming toddlers optional).

I was hoping to find some of Stephen King's "Dark Tower" novels I haven't read yet (everything after #4) but there were none to be had. D'oh. I did get:

- "To Kill a Mockingbird" (My old copy fell apart)
- F. Scott Fitzgerald's "Tender is the Night" (not as great as "The Beautiful and Damned," but still pretty awesome)
- Dennis Lehane "Mystic River"
- Jonathan Kellerman "Self Defense" (I love me some Alex Delaware)
- Ann Rule "The Stranger Beside Me" (The 'shocking inside story' of Ted Bundy! You know, for relaxing nighttime reading - yuck, ha ha)
- Megan McCafferty "Sloppy Firsts" (I think this is more a YA novel, but it's been on my 'to-read' list forever so I picked it up)
- Two Ruth Rendell mysteries that sound intriguing ("The Crocodile Bird," "The Veiled One")
- Arthur Nersesian "Suicide Casanova" (Chosen because the cover looks like a VHS tape, which I find clever, and because some reviewer calls it "Sick and depraved" - I'm in)

All of this for five bucks! Oh, and I paid all in quarters, which I wouldn't have spent in any other way, so it's like I didn't really spend money at all. Right?

I'm supposed to be going on a walk this evening, and though I really need the exercise and enjoy the company, I'm kinda hoping it will rain. It's been mostly cloudy and there's a nice chilly breeze. I'd say I just want to have a lazy Friday, but most of my days have been lazy lately. Well, I suppose I should enjoy that because it won't last much longer!

Final note for today: I was watching "Police Academy" last week and my brother and I got into an argument about whether I'd seen the movie before (I don't know why he thinks he'd know what movies I'd seen or not, but anyway). When I was young, my parents had taped the movie off of HBO (or Showtime, or whatever - and onto a Beta tape, no less!) and watched it all the time. Thinking about this, I distinctly remembered two things: One, finding the word "dirtbag" the most hilarious thing ever; and two, having a crush on Lieutenant Harris.





I knew that he was a fool and old, but yeah, he's definitely got to be the origin of my police obsession. He's even older and grayer now (he's apparently on "The Closer" which I can't watch because whenever Kyra Sedgwick talks I want to stab myself in the eye) but I still like him better than Steve Guttenburg. Hee.

It ain't over till it's over

I heard that song yesterday - I think on a commercial - and I have had it in my head since then. Grr...

I had a busy little Sunday that started with a lecture that wasn't exactly as I imagined it would be. It was held in the auditorium of a local high school... an auditorium which, on Sunday mornings, is also the meeting place of a church. Do you see where I'm going with this? So, this lecture that was supposed to be "The AIDS Crisis in Africa" turned out to be, "Let's Go Over in Great Detail the Ways the Bible Tells Us We Should Give to Charity." I mean, that's nice and all, but it wasn't what I was expecting, and I'm not sure if they ever got to the point because it went on so long that I had to leave before it was over.

To be fair, the few people I spoke to there were really nice and welcoming - not unlike the people at the church I've been going to on purpose. And I think it was pretty rockin' how they had a live band and a non-stop PowerPoint presentation going on. But, I'm just not comfortable in a church that has so much God and Jesus in it (which, I imagine, most churches do, but whatev).

After that, I was home for approximately ten minutes to wolf* down a sandwich and pack my purse for this peace march/rally going on in Antioch. It was so wonderful to see people of many different religions (Muslim, Jews, Catholics, other Christians, me) getting together. LT told me the day after that he saw me in the background on a news story about the march. Eek! I hoped I looked un-stupid (seriously, cameras lower my IQ by way too many points).

*That reminds me of a quote from my favorite episode of "Malcolm in the Middle" that was on yesterday. It's the one where Francis gets to Alaska and he and his friend are roommates with this weird old guy who's talking about women. "Women are like the woods. Mysterious. Full of wolves." So true!

So, I've found out when my new job starts: The day after my birthday! I'm totally jazzed about it. Really, that entire weekend will be awesome because EC will be here and I'm in the middle of trying to plan what we're gonna do. I'm in the middle of trying to do a few too many projects right now, actually, and not making much headway on any of them. Maybe all those naysayers have a point about multi-tasking not actually being efficient.

One thing I did do this week: Went through all my beauty products (lotions, perfumes, soaps, body washes, etc.) and found a bunch that I am never going to use, and am just trying to figure out the best way to get rid of them. Besides pawning them off on friends and family, I mean. There's nothing wrong with them in the slightest, but I am trying to declutter.

My mom and I watched the pilot episode of "Cane" last night. I already knew from the commercials (No, Jimmy Smits, sugar is NOT the new oil and all your hotness** won't make it so) that I woulndn't take it seriously, but man, I had so much fun mocking it. Especially by mispronouncing the Duque (do-kay) family name as "dookie." Harsh, but hilarious! Or at least I thought so.

**He needs to get rid of the mustache and goatee, PRONTO, and then maybe I'll watch another episode of "Cane." But probably not.

Retraction!

Last night, while apparently under the influence of crack, I reported that "Good Luck Chuck" is the funniest movie I've seen this year. Somehow I completely forgot the untoppable brilliance that is "Blades of Glory."

Still - "Good Luck Chuck" definitely has its moments. I don't think I will ever recover after seeing what happens once the end credits start rolling. I'm not going to tell you, but you'll know it when you see it.

I fit in a little dedication with one eye on the clock

I've had a busy couple days, and tomorrow is going to be nuts! In the good way, hopefully.

Yesterday I went to Fashion Bug and found two shirts for my new job* and found this year's birthday top! Every year, I have to wear a brand new shirt for my birthday. This year's is really cute:





Mine is red, but you get the idea - cute fakey halter top underneath, and who doesn't love polka dots?

*By the way, I still have no idea when it starts. All I know is I haven't worked in two weeks and I'm starting to get antsy.

To interrupt my usual chronological posting, I'm watching this new-ish episode of "Law and Order: Criminal Intent" with Mike Logan (Chris Noth) and some female detective who I've never seen before in my life, but I don't think I like her. Really, all of the female characters in all three L&O series' are hit-or-miss. I've always loved Lt. Van Buren (S. Epatha Merkeson), Olivia Benson (Mariska Hargitay) and Alex Eames (Kathryn Erbe) but I HATE Abbie Carmichael (Angie Harmon), the chick who plays Dr. Olivet (Dr. Skoda is way better!) and... well, all of the other women except for the medical examiners and the black lady who was in like the first season of SVU.

Anyway - Lee Tergesen is in this particular "Criminal Intent" episode as a journalist who is dying from radiation poisoning. Seriously, it's freaking me out to where I don't even want to go use the microwave! He started out the episode as pretty hot and then got gross and eventually dead. Um, ew.

To return to "Real Stuff" blogging: I also went to Planned Parenthood yesterday and, happily, got my first dose of the HPV vaccine. All it cost me was 1 hour and 45 minutes of waiting forever, filling out a form for 2 minutes, waiting forever again, and getting the shot. Though I did get do so some catching up on pop culture... kinda... with some old issues of Entertainment Weekly. Remind me to subscribe to that magazine - it was seriously cracking me up! Like: "Olsen twins turn 21, are now old enough to drink; no word on when they'll be old enough to eat." Word.

I came home and we had Pick Up Stix for dinner and it was so great. My mom got these weird crunchy wonton appetizers with this cream cheese filling inside and they are my newest addiction. Besides those, there was cashew chicken, broccoli beef, fried rice and these little meat dumplings that were annoying me because I couldn't identify a certain spice in them. Similar to cinnamon but not quite - nutmeg, maybe? And to celebrate my being (99%) un-sick, I had a pomegranate raspberry wine cooler... I couldn't taste the alcohol at all, it was so good!

Today I woke up early-ish (which was painful as I went to bed quite late), took my grandmother to Target, came back, and left again right away to meet up with MB and a few more of the girls to see "Good Luck Chuck." We missed the very beginning, but oh my god - most hilarious movie I've seen in awhile, and definitely much funnier than "Knocked Up," the only other comedy I've seen in the theater so far this year. Also: Why is Dane Cook so hot? I'm just saying.

After the movie we had lunch at Uno's, which was delicious as always. This time I tried the "Roasted Toasted Veggie Panini" which had zucchini, yellow squash, peppers and (I think) goat cheese... mmm.

I'm waking up early-ish again tomorrow, so I'm going to bed now. Besides not sleeping enough last night, I also just didn't sleep well. The only dream I remember is where there was a small fire in my room, and every time I would "put out" one item (I was just using my hand, or maybe a dustrag to smother the flames?) something else would alight. An edge of my Skyy Vodka poster got all charred, and I was really annoyed because it's such a great poster. I wonder what that's about - it's been too long since I have done a proper dream interpretation.

I don't wanna remember falling for your lies

Just a few days away from the official start of fall, and I think the weather has finally turned! It's supposed to be "cold" today (like, 65 degrees) which is just fine by me. This is certainly not the end of warm weather, but hopefully we won't get any more of those ew 95+ days.

What have I been up to? Not a whole lot. Mostly playing the waiting game: When will my new job start? (Maybe next week, maybe not.) Will the temp agency find me something temporary before that? (Probably not.) Will I qualify to get the HPV vaccine for free? (I'll find that out Friday, and am hoping the answer is YES.)

The second meeting of my speech class is tonight, and we're having rehearsal in small groups for our first real speech next week. Ugh. I hate talking. Also, though I'm 98% better health-wise, my voice still sounds not great. Anyway, I spent about 3 hours yesterday working on the outline for said speech... I forgot how much time is needed to invest in being a good student. I don't know how the hell I did this full-time for three years (and half-time in the summers).

I have been faithfully doing my morning pages, and the Dream Machinery is working overtime, but as far as actual writing goes... not much has been done. It should be, since I am home with nothing to do, but it's just a bit trickier than that.

Really, though, I haven't left the house since Monday night and that was only for a walk around the neighborhood. There are so many things I want to, and could, go buy, but I'm worried about the "rainy days" before the tea room opens. I could go shop for fun at the dollar store or something, but if you don't watch it (and god knows I never do), it can seriously add up! I have also restrained myself from buying anything online even though it would be so much fun. I keep debating on whether to give in and buy some more Hollywood Fashion Tape now instead of later; I have like five or six tops that I can't (or rather just won't) wear without it.

So, without all my not-working, not-writing and not-shopping, what have I been doing? Watching the telly! TV Notes:

"The 4400" I swear each season is better than the last one, and last year's was really hard to top. My fave storyline this time is definitely Tom's being mentally abducted by The Marked (conspiracy thing - too long to explain to someone who doesn't watch the show, but trust me that it was awesome and scary). I definitely dig some members of the NTAC staff (Rachel, Marco - why is he so cute??) getting abilities of their own. And - is Isabelle really dead? I'm kind of hoping so. Sure, it was fun having her around for awhile, but the whole "she has unstoppable powers of destruction" gets boring after endless displays of such.

"Weeds" Every time I watch this, I think, "They can't possibly make another episode that is funnier or more offensive than that." And then they do, and I laugh until I cry. But I don't think anything is ever going to top Doug (Kevin Nealon) and Dean (Andy Wilder) trying to find out who is more well-endowed, but being unable to because they are completely stoned. Did I mention their faces are covered with seaweed spa mask-looking stuff at the time?

"Prison Break" Okay, so some people are starting to roll their eyes at the fact that we're getting on into the third season here, but I'm still having a great time! Sure, it's almost unbelieveable at moments, but that's what makes it such great escapism (pardon the pun). Now Michael (Wentworth Miller) is the brother behind bars, with Lincoln (Dominic Purcell)on the other side trying to get him out. And we're not in Illinois anymore; now we're in a nightmare-ish, scary as hell Panama prison. No joke, I'm seriously nervous!

I'm definitely glad that they didn't kill off Mahone (William Fichtner) last season and that they've got him (and Bellick, and T-Bag) stuck in Sona with Michael. Other thoughts:

- It scares me that good old Bunny Colvin from "The Wire" (Robert Wisdom) is the evil inmate running the prison.

- Sneaking a whore into Sona by dressing her up as a nun: sacreligious, ingenious, and funny!

- Re the one skinny dude who tried to help Bellick: Is there some kind of gang there made up entirely of malnourished guys wearing tighty-whities?

- I wish it wasn't already completely obvious that Sarah Wayne Callies isn't there this season. Taking time off with her baby, I guess? Good for her! (That looks sarcastic, but I actually mean it.)

- I know they have to hide the fact that Wentworth Miller isn't actually tattooed, but watching him constantly wear that hoodie in hot "Panamanian" weather makes me physically uncomfortable. (Plus side to the weather is that the hotties are walking around all sweaty. Tee hee!)

- While I really am happy that we've got a third season, I still hope the show gets out while the getting's good. Sometimes a show goes on for so long that by the end it just kind of sucks.

"Dirty Sexy Money" This show premieres next week, and while I can't tell you exactly what it's about, I can tell you I'm going to be watching it. It stars Peter Krause, best known to me (and possibly you) as Nate from "Six Feet Under." I figure, we're watching "David's" (Michael C. Hall) new show ("Dexter") so we have to watch this one. My only question: When is Claire (Lauren Ambrose) getting her own show? Because she was awesome, if for no other thing than for putting a foot in a guy's locker. Am I right?

I guess I'm under the weather since no one else belongs here with me

For the past few days I've been fighting a cold that I think I've finally got under control - no thanks to the various OTC products I've been using. Tylenol Cold Daytime does nothing, but Nighttime makes me too drowsy, so I've been taking one of each to get through the days (is that bad?) Last night, I took NyQuil and had one of the worst nights of sleep in my life! NyQuil generally gives me messed up dreams, but at least I sleep. Last night I mostly tossed and turned, and was sweating a lot. It was as gross as it sounds, believe me. I don't know if they changed their formula or what, but I'm pissed.

I went out yesterday before I was really ready, and it totally kicked my butt. I got up early to go this "Beauty Cravings" event at Bath and Body Works. They promised and delivered refreshments (coffee, pastries) and free samples, but it was way too crowded. I probably bought a bit more than I should have, but I've been good and it's nice to splurge once in awhile. At JH's recommendation I picked up some of the B&BW brand shampoo/conditioner (Black Raspberry Vanilla - smells like Kool Aid, yum!) but haven't used it yet, a new sleep mask, moisturizing anti-bacterial soaps, a Wallflower plug-in scent dealy (my room now smells like fresh apples, yum!), some lip glosses, and a cute Green Goldie tote that had a bunch of stuff inside it. In defense of my spendifying, among all this stuff is a few gifts. So there!

After leaving the craziness, I headed back to this little cafe in Brentwood where a friend from my writer's club was selling and signing copies of her recently published novel. She wrote me such a great, sweet note on the inside of mine: "You are such a delightful writer - I look forward to having you sign your book for me." Aw! I am having a blast reading her book, in part because it is a fictionalized memoir and I'm just nosy like that.

Before going home, I stopped and got the car washed. Hand washed, no less, by some kids at the high school who were doing a fundraiser. Not a spotless job, but I'd rather students profit than those obnoxious drive-through carwashes at various gas stations. (Though, if you pointed a gun to my head and asked me to tell you which student club/event the fundraiser was for, I wouldn't be able to tell you.)

So yeah, after all that, I was definitely wiped out. I came home and totally crashed, doing nothing very productive with my day. I did a bit of work on the outline for my next speech, which I'm not really looking forward to.

Despite last night's bad sleep, I can tell I'm much better today. I was out and about early (well, 9:30) and did okay until about 2:00, then came home. Oh, it was funny; I was on my way to my last stop (grocery store) when MB calls me on my cell phone. "I'm driving right next to you!" she said, and it was true! I can't explain why, but it was hilarious. It reminded me of "The Simpsons" episode where Lenny is driving and talking on his cell to Carl: "There's some yuppie jerkoff barreling down on me!" And of course it turns out to be Carl himself, also talking on the phone while driving. I don't remember anything else about the episode, but that amused me.

Tonight: I'm going to work more on my outline, and then it's all about the season finale of "The 4400." Man, how did that happen so fast? Oh, today in Raley's I saw a guy who looked a lot like Joel Gretsch. Naturally, he was with his wife or girlfriend-type person. Grr...

Like no one before, you stay on my mind

In doing some research on the autumnal equinox this evening, I saw the obnoxious ad below:





Seriously, what's up with that? "Don't even attempt to get a date until your body resembles this unrealistic ideal!" At the very least, they need an equivalent for guys that shows some abs and says "Don't ask her out until you lose that beer belly!" (To be fair, there probably is that ad somewhere.)

Okay, now that I'm done attacking the advertising industry, I will go attack my speech homework.

Oh! And: today I caught up on and finished the most recent season (number four) of "Rescue Me." I think it's been the best one so far, though as my parents pointed out, there weren't as many "big" incidents as usual. Almost non-stop hilarity (Four words: Gavin family AA meetings) and some great guest stars* - Susan Sarandon, Jennifer Esposito and, in the last couple eps, Gina Gershon. Hotter than Janet and crazier than Sheila, she's definitely going to be causing some trouble in season five. I can't wait!

*My only complaint: Not enough Hot Dead Johnny Gavin (Dean Winters) and Hot Dead Jimmy Keefe (uh... the actor who plays Jimmy Keefe, my bad).

Burning brighter than the sun, it's all or nothing

This morning we brought back a bunch of stuff that we had in storage back to the house, and since then I have had a constant feeling of needing to sneeze. Once in awhile, I actually do; but mostly, I just have to suffer with that itchy feeling.

I had a pretty nice weekend. I nixed some tentative plans I had for Saturday and stayed home to work on some assignments for speech class, and went for a walk in the evening. On Sunday I went to an ice cream social that was way too much fun, and also stopped by Trader Joe's before going home. Damn, that place was crowded! And there was this woman with two obnoxious little boys, one of whom kept saying, over and over again in a different voice each time, "Not the lima beans! Not the lima beans! NOT THE LIMA BEANS!" Yeah, I don't understand it either.

As I mentioned last post, I had no job to go to on Monday. Or yesterday. Or today, and, apparently, tomorrow. My "time off" is not as great and productive as I thought it would be. I attempted to find some new clothes for work on Monday, but nothing good was to be had. Target had some cute shirts in one of those weird stiff fabrics that never fit me right in the shoulders/chest, so I got nothing there; and Mervyn's was just a disaster zone, so I ran away. Oh, correction: I did find a brown top with this neat sparkly design that matches the fleur-de-lis jeans* I got at Fashion Bug a few weeks ago. I'll probably have to go to FB to find work clothes; they're just more expensive. Not the most ideal situation for someone who is temporarily out of work, even if it's for only (knock on wood) one or two weeks.

*I wore these jeans on Sunday and this older woman I'm friends with told me, "That's some fancy stuff you've got on your butt, there!" So true, and hilarious!

The UPN, I mean WB, I mean CW, has moved "The Simpsons" to 6:30 and 7:00... I don't care for that move at all. They've also ditched the 10:00 episode for an hour of "Family Guy." Argh!

Being in a cooking mood, I went to the grocery store today for some stuff. Being on a budget, I shopped wisely - that is, looked at what we have at home and tried to base recipes around them; and bought some store brand stuff instead of name brand. My temporary resignation from my usual brand snobbery worked well, and I only spent $20 for stuff that will make two main dishes, one generous side, and a dessert. I wouldn't even have spent that much except I saw some pomegranate-raspberry wine coolers and had to have them... but they were on sale, too!

For dinner tonight, I made hot sandwiches using refrigerated biscuits, garlic sausage, bell pepper, and onion. Tomorrow, I'm going to do a BLT salad (I'm not a fan of the sandwich, but I envision yummy things happening with this salad), scalloped corn, and peach cobbler. Chomp!

Besides feeling sneezy, I'm incredibly sleepy right now. I don't know what's up with that, but I've been drowsy ever since waking up this morning. I went to bed right at ten last night, passed out, and woke up this morning at seven, but apparently that's just not enough.

Happiness came in DVD form this week, when season two of "Prison Break" arrived at my doorstep! (Actually, mailbox, which is a couple houses down; I hate not having a real mail slot anymore.) It came with a little promo DVD that has the premiere episode of "K-Ville" and the 17-minute preview clip of PB season 3 that I saw on the web. My thoughts on "K-Ville": Interesting... I like Anthony Anderson a lot, but it's weird to see him as a good guy after seeing him as Antwon Mitchell on "The Shield." This is definitely a show with potential, but my fall TV schedule is already overflowing. Social life, what's that?

"Milk is from cows, but cheese is from people."

Out of all the slogans they could have written with to sell Kraft cheese, they came up with that? Blech. Also, I think the guy in the commercial is the host of some Food Network show that I see sometimes on the weekend, and I have no idea what it is.

Another amusing commercial (notice that all of my blogs mention more commercials than actual shows now? I do watch too much TV) right now: one of the "dropped call" ones, with the guy who played Agent Hale on "Prison Break" as a butcher (hot!) who thinks he's massively insulted one of his friend's wives by implying that she's overweight. He starts stuttering, "I mean, look at me!" That makes me laugh every time because of how Caroline Reynolds (Patricia Wettig's character on "Prison Break") once referred to Hale as Kellerman's "little fat friend." So funny!

I had some good news recently that I have been waiting to share, and now I can: I'm getting a new job! Specifically, the top-secret job I interviewed for way back in July (HTF is it September already??) I will be working in the kitchen of a nice new place here in town, just minutes from my house. I'm nervous, but totally in the good way.

I hadn't mentioned it yet here due to the unlikely possibility that my recent employers were reading my blog* - I mean, it wouldn't exactly be a suitable way for them to find out. They actually found out today when my contact at the temp agency called to tell them they were getting a new person on Monday. This was surprising not only to them, but to me; I thought I'd be at the office through the end of next week.

*Kind of silly, now that I think about it; I'm surprised anyone reads the blog, especially lately. It's definitely not been up to par.

Besides the new job, there's not much big news. I guess I've been keeping busy, in between actually having a semblance of a social life, working, and trying to stay on top of my speech class. Man, I had a big scare earlier when the instructor (incorrectly) sent an e-mail earlier that we'd be meeting this coming Wednesday, instead of the 19th. We're supposed to be working on an outline of a speech that I haven't exactly started yet (I know, I know).

But this scare definitely reminded me I need to keep up with the class! I'm going to read another chapter tonight, take the quiz tomorrow, and do the homework over the weekend and on my unexpected Monday off. I have been getting great grades on all assignments so far and I aim to keep it that way.

More good news: I think the Writing & Dream Machinery in my head is working again! I've been dragging myself out of sleep at 6:00 A.M.** to do morning pages (evening pages were just not happening), and yesterday I worked on a story for the first time in a month. I don't think it was at all a coincidence that, last night, I had the first dream I could remember clearly in about the same time period.

**It's actually dark now at six in the morning! Like, as dark as it was when I was waking up at 4:00 A.M. for the weekend job I had just awhile back. It's also getting dark annoyingly early in the evenings, which is somewhat complicating the walks I've been going on. Hey, this week I discovered that there's a trail practically right next to my neighborhood... a really long trail. My feet were not feeling good at the end of it, mostly due to the stupid shoes I wore. Note to self: Throw those away.

Right now on KRON 4, some lame "Love on the Side" movie is starting. I haven't seen it, but I figure it has to be bad because... well, it's on KRON 4, and because it stars Jennifer Tilly and Marla Sokoloff. Jennifer Tilly is definitely a babe, but not exactly known for starring in high quality films. And I still think of Marla Sokoloff as Stephanie's bitchy friend Gia on "Full House" (speaking of bad, ha ha).

One last note: Sometimes it doesn't pay to try new things. Today I got two food items from Raley's I am totally disappointed with: An Odwalla Soy Smart chai (tastes like flavored water, and not even a great flavor at that) and some Onion and Garlic Terra Chips, which taste like stale croutons. Oh! And don't me started on a rant about the Kashi "Good Friends" cereal I bought a couple weeks ago, and couldn't finish the bowl even with the assistance of Very Vanilla Silk. Kashi does a good frozen meal and some interesting granola bars, but I'm staying away from the cereal aisle.

We sing for our lives, these are dangerous times

I just got over a coughing fit from choking on water. I hate that.

Another Disturbing Commercial Alert: There's now a Geico one with this giant Cabbage Patch Kid. Um, that's evil? Only because it's huge, though. I still have the CP I got from my godmother when I was two. Her name is Patch (the doll - not my godmother) and she has long dark hair, like me! She's in storage, I think.

I had two scary dreams last night, which I don't really appreciate. On the plus side, I don't accurately recall the details of either of them.

Saturday night I had a great dinner with LS and JH. Besides that, we watched "Blades of Glory" (funniest movie ever) and had this awesome coma-inducing cake. Caramel explosion indeed!

Yesterday LT and I went to see "Halloween," and I pretty much officially hate Rob Zombie now. With the exception of having Malcolm McDowell as Dr. Loomis, and Brad Dourif as the sheriff, I disliked everything about this movie. They gave it this really lame backstory about the Myers family being this total white trash family, complete with drunk stepdad, stripper mom and slutty sister. I'd say John Carpenter and Debra Hill are spinning in their graves, but they're not dead. Oh, wait (checks IMDB) Debra Hill is dead. On the plus side, she never had to sit through this piece of crap. Definitely #2 on my "Worst Remakes Ever" list (number one: remake of "Black Christmas," which interestingly enough had an even worse white trash backstory).

Right now I'm watching a "Law and Order: SVU" marathon on USA. Ah, I do love the holidays so. I should be catching up with stuff I've recorded over the last month, but I'm kind of burnt out after a weekend of already doing that. The only shows I'm not current with now are "Rescue Me" (which I think is ending soon) and "Damages" (probably also ending soon, but even I can only tolerate so many hours of TV per week).

I watched two episodes of "The 4400" this morning, and I officially want to marry Joel Gretsch. He's always been a pretty attractive guy (with a KILLER bod*) but now he's also got the bad/creepy/sexy thing going on. Alas, Mr. Gretsch is already married... to one of William Shatner's daughters. Guh?

*I searched endlessly on Yahoo and Google, but they refuse to produce a shirtless Joel Gretsch - even though Yahoo suggested that I search for it. What pervs.