TV Rocks My Face

Y'all, I cannot remember TV ever being so good all at the same time.

First up: The Unscripteds. American Idol? Even the sucky ones are really good. Survivor? Interesting! Amazing Race? Phenomenal! I think that last season was sub-par for all three of those shows. I mean... Jasmine Trias, y'all. And Survivor was so predictable and lame (Goal #1: Vote off pretty people. Goal #2: Vote off men. Goal #3: Bitch and backstab. Yadda yadda yadda). And The Amazing Race featured some of the ugliest Americans ever displayed on national television (politicians notwithstanding). But this year! Everything is shiny and new! American Idol is actually still a mystery! Survivor is new and unbalanced!

The Amazing Race has some of the most interesting and unpredictable cast members in all of unscripted history (or the parts that I've seen anyway). And last night's two-hour special totally blew me away. I am serious. It didn't even feel like two hours (would've felt like four if Patrick was still there with his bitching and nyah nyah nyah). Exciting in good and bad ways what with the head injury and the rollover being the bad, obviously. I cringed when Rob and Amber drove past the wreck. They could've slowed down and asked if everyone was OK at the very least. Now, it's easy to say this knowing everyone is OK, but in their (very weak) defense, most of the other teams hate them anyway so it wouldn't matter if they stopped or not... they will still be hated, good deeds or no. And honestly, Lynn and Alex weren't really doing anything except getting in the way especially after the brothers told them to leave. Like I said, easy to say knowing no one was seriously hurt. But that foot race at the end??? Hoo-doggy! I was up off the couch holding my breath! I sooooo wanted Ray off the show. Deana seemed OK if not a little beaten down by her "on again off again" "boyfriend." (And by "boyfriend" I really mean "mean assface jerk.") I'd be a lot beaten down if all I ever heard was that I'm not trying hard enough, I'm not good enough, I don't want it bad enough. How about a little positive feedback every once in a while, hm? He's a jerk and I hope she dumps him. Buttface. So... go Brothers! And go GnM! Man, for them to pull through from last place with no money and no backpacks up to fifth? Amazing indeed. Go Old People! Woo! Gretchen is my new hero even though she's kinda squeaky. =)

Next up: The Scripteds. OK, you all know that 24 is my favorite. It's hard to guage this season against the other three since, you know, this season isn't finished yet. It will be hard to top Season Two. But here's what I think is so awesome about this season: there was no pre-season spoiler. Season One, we knew it was all about an assassination attempt on a Presidential candidate. Season Two, we knew it was all about a nuc-yoo-ler B-O-M-B. Season Three, it was all about biological warfare. Season Four is about..... um...... well, we don't really know what it's about yet. Terrorists on our soil? Welcome to Seasons One through Three. They're all about terrorists (hence the Counter-TERRORIST Unit?). But we don't know the motivation behind this attack. And if I were to speculate (and you know I will), I would say that Marwan is not the "real" boss. They always take us topsy-turvy and who we think is the boss is really someone else's bitch.... but whose? But on the other hand, the season's already over halfway done and still no sign of a bigger boss than Marwan. So maybe the writers are totally effing with us... as they love to do. And do we love them for it? Oh, I think we do.

And Veronica Mars? The mystery! The intrigue! Whodunnit??? It's starting to look like Celeste killed Lilly what with the showing up at the hotel all messed up right after (or before, depending on whose story you believe) Lilly was murdered, but.... Seriously, would a show like this give away the solution to the main, season-long murder mystery with six episodes to go? I think not! I want to put the puzzle together, but honestly, I don't think we have all the pieces yet. And I don't think that Duncan and Veronica are half-siblings because that would be uber-creepy. But it's probably a vital plot device as evidenced by last night's episode (i.e. Veronica's mom threatening Jake with a paternity test). Man. I need a diagram or a flow chart or a nap or something.

OK, and Lost... the Island giveth and the Island taketh away. I think that is the best way to sum up tonight's episode. Although.... did we get any real clues tonight? I mean, there was the Nigerian "priest" and his heroin (Charlie is going to be pissed when he finds out he didn't really have to give it up) and of course, the airplane with the freakin WORKING RADIO! I mean, the stupid previews gave that away, but still. Do you guys think that Boone is the major cast character to bite it? I hope not. He's F-I-N-E! But hey, someone's gotta go and I doubt it'll be any of the ugly castaways. Are there any ugly castaways? Anyway. I didn't get a good look at his massive chest wound, but apparently, we'll get more info on that next week. But man, was Locke's dream creepy as hell or what? The way everything kept coming true what with the plane and Theresa and bloody Boone? Man, what is with that guy? And at the end when he was seriously pissed at the Island (as he should be... he put his faith into it and it took his son-figure... possibly) and he was yelling into the hatch thingy and then THE FREAKIN LIGHT CAME ON!!!!! My apartment just became totally still and silent except for one little word that eeked out... "Pardon?" What a way to end the show. Total freakin cliffhanger and three quarters. I am totally blown away.

Oh, and I caught the series premier of Eyes tonight. Tim Daly really is getting hotter as he gets older. And man, they really pulled you in in the first episode, did they not? Set you up for a multi-episode arc (arcs possibly?) as well as solved a single episode arc. It's all about the arcs, y'all. Looks good from first view. What with all the murder and sex and intrigue. Wordup. I diggit.

This really is one of the best parts of the TV viewing season. Right when everyone is coming off of reruns after February sweeps and setting up for the big May sweeps. And they're also cutting the crappy shows or putting some that they thought would get crappy ratings on hiatus to test out some new shows for mid-season replacements.

Oh, and American Idol finale is up against the Lost finale. Both two hours long. May 25th. Set your alarms and VCR and/or DVRs and take your meds.

Goooooooooooood Night!

Monday Pish Posh

OK, serious stuff first. This situation with Terri Schiavo has brought about some strong opinions in this country, and maybe the world. This to me, makes me kind of angry. When you narrow it down to the number of people who have the proper legal or medical training to form a valid opinion and then you weed out all the people who don't have all the facts, do you know how many people you have left? Probably.... zero. All that I know is that I would not want to live like that and I most assuredly would not want to die like that. My heart goes out to Terri and may peace be with her. All that I really hope and pray for (and you guys know that I don't play the prayer card very often) is that she does not suffer.

And you know what else I hate? Protesters. Go home, people! Tend to your own lives and families and let these poor people have the last few days with their daughter in peace. Gah!

*Moving On!*

Let's see... where shall I begin? Where I left off at the last blog? Ah yes, I was leaving for the party. The party was good times. Even more so since I was wearing pants. Well... now come to think of it.... Anyway! There was a ton of brisket and these divine casseroles and so much more that my head was swimming and my belly was definitely full. And there were about twenty (maybe?) people there with which we had fun times. It was at Sheva's house which was massively cool and right on the lake. The weather was kind of cold and windy and rainy at times, so of course, a fire was in order. But the fire was outside. In the fire pit. Where it was cold. But there was a lake. So it was really quite cool. And not just temperature-wise. And S-E-A-N was building the fire, and quite well, I might add, and he was rearranging the Wall Street Journal (which we all determined sucked and deserved its fate because it was from New York please don't hit me, New Yorkers!), I swear his hand was on fire. He was like... in it! We were all freaking out, but he was all, "What? It's no big deal. It's just FIRE!" Eeps! So I decided to stand directly downwind from the fire because naturally, that's the way the heat will drift, right? RIGHT? No. But I did smell like a barbecue for a couple of days. There are worse smells, I guess. Like the smell of DUNGEON! Yeah, Jessica took me on a little rainy tour of the pier and showed me the boat and apparently, under the pier is the creepiest little cave you ever saw. Don't forget that it is very dark and very rainy. Straight out of the Goonies, y'all. I almost let out a blood-curdling scream just because it seemed appropriate at the time. And then we walked around the far side of the dock. Mind you, we are under the pier. The lake is one mis-step away. No lights. Well, we had to navigate this narrow passage to get to the other side. Jessica is not that much shorter than I am, but somehow I caught a spiderweb right across my face where she had missed it. I was expecting Sloth to jump out and demand a candy bar from me any second. Yeah, I wigged a little and flailed around like an idiot, but it was all in good fun. So we caught a beautiful view of the house which was probably about 40 or 50 feet above us by now. And then we had to navigate BACK AROUND the boat PAST THE DUNGEON again to go check out the other side of the pier. I know one place I will not be going for Halloween. But then we came around a big curve in the coastline (lakeline?) and we just got a full-on view of the foggy lake and it was just so beautiful and punctuated by the buoy clanging that I didn't even mind the cold any more and was no longer expecting to turn around and find Chunk or Data. And then I was told of the July 4th parties when someone inevitably must be thrown into the lake every year and I became thankful that it was freezing cold and no one would be throwing anyone in because let's face it, I'm the new girl and I hate venturing into non-chlorinated water. Things LIVE in there! LIIIIIIIIIIIVE!!! Anyway. It was beautiful and Sheva is awesome for letting us congregate in her beautiful house and mingle and eat and watch basketball on that huge-ass TV.

Did you guys see that game??? The Illinois vs. Arizona game? Holy heart attacks, y'all. It was so intense that it actually came back around to not being intense any more and then went on to be even more intense. That is what March Madness is all about and it is only going to get better. Wow. What a game! And what a Final Four we have coming up! My bracket is totally and completely screwed so I can yell for whoever I want without worrying where I'll come in in our espn.com group (which was totally fun, TYVM Sevi).

Then Sunday was Easter and there were a ton of people over at Gabi's grandmother's house and the sun came out just in time for the pinata and the egg hunt. Yay Spring and its unpredictability! And for some reason that wore me out and I kind of slept through the last five minutes of the Kentucky/Michigan State game. I woke up just in time to watch that guy shoot a 3-pointer in slow-mo about 5 quadrillion times. Good game, although I wanted Kentucky to win. :( Oh well. Only one team can win it all anyway. And I think we all know who that will be!

Also? Gabi has informed that she is half vegetarian. Please remember that and be respectful the next time you dine with her.

*TV Time!*

Did you guys see 24???? So much happened, but do you realize that it was a really slow episode? It was all setting up for next week. Next week is going to kick everyone's ASS so hard that we will have a permanent 24 boot print right there on our collective ass! At least that's what the previews would lead you to believe. And would the previews lie? WOULD THEY? Well, sometimes they do because.... if you haven't seen this week's show, then you should skip this part.... they totally led us to believe that Jack was gonna at least get shot by that evil sniper guy, but come on, we all knew that the evil sniper would get taken out by the good sniper but didn't you doubt just a smidge when Tony asked Edgar if there were any others in the area and he was all, "No"??? I was like, "What about the sniper??? You guys see him, right?" Oh man. And the vital piece of intel that keeps getting shoved off because everyone's just too damn busy? Scary! Think they'll figure it out? What do you think will happen? Is Evil Pilot going to A) try to shoot down AF1 or B) fly his stealth bomber into AF1??? Or... something more sinister? Dun dun DUUUUUUUN! It's scary as hell and awesome all at the same time.

So tomorrow we have TWO WHOLE HOURS of The Amazing Race and it looks like an insanely good episode. I hope they didn't give away all the drama in the previews. And I'd just like to set something straight. The Amazing Race is not reality TV. It is unscripted. It is a race. But it is not reality. If you insist on all of your TV shows having a script, then this show is not for you. It is amazing and interesting and fast-paced and well-edited. But it's not reality. So don't call it that or I will thump you on the ear. And I MEAN IT!

Also? New Veronica Mars and new Lost this week! Squeeeeeeeeee!!! AAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaanswers!!! I want ANSWERS! Awesome.

I'm really tired now, but I want to read some more Hitchhiker's Guide before I pass out, so off I go. (Psst... Ryan! I'm on Chapter 22! What are you on?) Gooooooood night!

Did you guys know that more successful couples have come about through Survivor than the Bachelor? The things you learn from the TV Guide Channel. And yes, that was the only thing on. It's Saturday afternoon for heavens sakes! Well, there was Back to the Future.... erm.... Volver al Futuro. But I would've had to concentrate on that movie what with all the interpreting and matching up with the original. And since I've had to do all of my chores this afternoon, I had to have it on something I could still be into if I was just passing through the living room. So "Reality Couples: Where are They Now?" it was! *Waits for Sevi to hurl* Anyway, had to do all my chores today because, as most Gentiles know (yes, I'm looking at you, Brad), tomorrow is Easter and the day will be filled with family and those wee plastic eggs. Yesterday was my day off and when I get a day off? I get a day OFF! And tonight Jessica and I are going to a party where I will know.... Jessica. Everything else will be a surprise. Sounds pretty fun, eh? Should be. Anyway. She's going to be here in approximately nine minutes so I better get my stuff together and put some pants on. Yes. Pants are good for parties. Remember that.

I freakin love TV!

OMG there is so much TV to cover! OK, must go (or at least start) in chronological order so that I can keep it all straight. If you haven't seen these shows yet, yes this post contains spoilers and I didn't spoiler-tag anything, so don't blame me if you sneak a peek at something you didn't want to see. K? Deal? Rock. *Pauses for Sevi to stop reading now* Alright. On with the show.

24

I found Dina's death more disturbing than most characters' deaths on this show. I mean like, it kept me up that night. I knew she was an evil scheming terrorist who wanted to slay the infidels. But the thing is that I connected with her on a maternal level. You could tell that she loved her son more than anything in the whole world (even more than "the cause," whatever that may be) just the same as I love The Gabi. I can't tell if she knew that she was going to die when she was saying good bye to Behrooz at CTU or not. The first thing she said to him was, "We are going to be together forever. Do not worry about anything." Maybe she was just trying to comfort him. I don't know. But Shohreh Aghdashloo (???) is so amazing. She talks with her EYES all Ryan Atwood n stuff (sorry, couldn't resist). Anyway. Needless to say, I felt her pain. That show has me laughing, crying, scared, excited, curled up in a mad ball of tension all in about 14 seconds. I swear. That chingbomp thing literally snaps me out of a near-trance right before commercials. Whew! I'm all worked up just thinkin about it.

American Idol

Y'all. Carrie Underwood so rocked my face last night. Positively amazing. That is a very difficult song to sing without positively just yelling it. She did a great job. I could possibly say that she could win the whole thing, but much like the hyped-up contenders of seasons past (Tamyra, LaToya), she'll probably flame out far too early along with Nadia. If I'm not mistaken, none of the "early favorites" have ever won. I mean, yeah, we've only got three seasons to go on so it's not like we've got detailed statistics here. There is an under-the-radar type that will take us all by storm in the final few weeks and totally kick all of our asses. And that person? Is Vonzell Solomon! I just love her. Charming, sweet, talented, a great showman. Nothin but love for her! Nadia was my early favorite, but as evidenced by last night's performance, she might be getting over-confident and the fickle public may already be getting tired of her. Now, that doesn't make her any less awesome. That girl will have a job in the entertainment industry whether she wins or not.

Oh, and what of this voting snafu? Someone in the AI control room is sooooooooooooooo fired! But the good news is, it looks like they had a contingency plan put together just in case something went wrong (and we all knew it would eventually). They pulled it off, rearranged the schedule to accomodate and Life on a Stick got one more high-visibility plug. (So what do you guys think? Four episodes or six before it's totally dead?) Anyway. I think as far as burning another hour tonight, they did a good job of not boring the hell out of all of us. I didn't need the re-commentary from the judges, but what else are you going to do really? I still can't figure out why I re-watched. There was nothing else on, maybe? I really don't know. Hee!

Survivor

OK, last week? Kicked my ass. Lots of twisty turns and the entire last half was tribal council. And Koror being little brats and giving Ibrehim immunity? Were they being brats or were they testing Ulong? Methinks a little of both. I mean, we got to see who they would vote for even though they couldn't confer with each other. I could just read it on their oh-crap faces. So anyway, this week we were free from Angie's nipples (and Willard's for that matter). Gabi and I cheered when Ulong won the reward. I bet the ship's crew were all, "Whew! Only four unwashed heathens instead of eight!" Oh, and Steph is still my girl. I totally have girl-crush on her. She rocks! Too bad she is now on the three-member tribe. I wonder when they're going to merge. I was thinking maybe they usually do it when we get down to half of the original cast. If you count the first two who got voted off in the first minutes, that's 20 so that leaves us 10. There's 11 now.

Also? I heard a GREAT SPOILER for this season's Survivor!!!! If you want to hear it, drop me a line since I still have not mastered the spoiler color on this thing since it apparently shows up as different colors on different people's monitors. Sigh! But it's a good one and it has nothing to do with who wins.

Amazing Race

How amazing indeed. When Rob and Ambuh made that 9:30 plane, I couldn't contain myself. As in Gabi had to tell me to keep it down and stop freakin out. :) The look on those smug little faces of those four other teams as RnA boarded the plane was just priceless. Know why they were so upset? Because they KNEW that none of them had a chance to be first. Were RnA lucky as hell? Oh yes. But this race has a definite luck aspect to it. That gate agent did not have to let them on the plane and it was by pure luck that he finished that road block as quickly as he did.

I still can't quite figure out why most of the other teams hate them so much. Because they are already famous? Because they already won a bunch of money? Goodness, people, I didn't know that there was a bank account check before you're allowed on the show. As if the other teams are so much more entitled to the money. I know a lot of people have called them reality show fame whores, but I just don't see that in them. They want the adventure and they aren't counting on this game to get some cash. They're in it because they like winning and they're good at it. Well, at least Rob is. Amber is kind of along for the ride, but I can't imagine Rob finding someone else that can handle him as well as she does. They really are a good pair, love 'em or hate 'em. And they are a great team for this race. Honestly? I hope they win just so the rest of the teams can stand there at the finish line in sheer disgust and pretend to be happy for them. Ha! This season is so good and mostly because Rob and Ambuh are in it.

I'm also glad Patrick got eliminated. Susan wasn't so bad, but it's like all Patrick could do was worry about RnA! Get over it and run your own race. This isn't about beating Rob and Ambuh. It is very difficult to undermine other teams in this game (even though Rob has definitely tried his best). And it's like, all the other teams can think to do is worry about where RnA are and Patrick was the worst.

Know what's fun during this show? Following along on your globe and/or atlas. I'm such a geography nerd! Gabi really likes it, though. And next week? TWOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOOOURS!!! Yesssssssssss....... I hope it doesn't clash with AI, though. That would be muy mal.



Did I get 'em all? I mean, it's only Wednesday and I'm kind of glad Lost has been in reruns so that I can not only catch Survivor on its "special night" but also so I can watch The OC without worrying about the VCR (that made sense, I swear). Veronica Mars returns with an all new episode next week and I think Lost does too! It seems like they've been in reruns for for-evah, but it will be oh so sweet when they return! Lots of mystery-solvin! Fire up your VCR! I freakin love TV.

Word of the day: Inappropriate

Spring has definitely sprung. We had our first severe weather outbreak today. Woohoo! Luckily, only a barn was damaged (poor lil barn). You know, sometimes it's really hard for me to be such a disaster nut. I mean, it's not that I enjoy them. Of course I don't enjoy people being hurt or property being damaged. It's just difficult to immediately convey to people that it is the natural phenomenon that I find fascinating and not the destruction. After all, disasters happen when natural phenomena intersect with humans. And studying the way that it affects humans is the only way to prevent or lessen damage in the future. So that comes off as fascination and often inappropriate fascination, at that. And you know how it is. When you've studied something so intently and for so long, it's hard to keep that knowledge to yourself a lot of times. OK, every time. But most people study cars or computers and when is it really inappropriate to discuss those things (sexual relations notwithstanding)? I find that it is often much more socially acceptable to talk about the weather in general and not the mind-boggling forces of nature that produce the extreme weather. I think I successfully explained to Gabi what a bandera cloud (aka the Pileus) was today. Random.

Also, Spring? Thanks for the allergies! They've really ramped up my snot productivity lately. In fact, I didn't even know I could produce that much. Here's to breaking records!

In other news, the party on Saturday was fun for the first nine hours until someone started calling me inappropriate names that I will not repeat here. Needless to say, it was easy to leave after he ruined it. I was having a good time until that, though. They had two great dogs and a nice house. Except for the orange room with pink moulding. I almost lost my lunch, y'all. I tried to be so nice and bite my tongue but I just hate those two colors together. They hurt my head! So I just said, "It's um... really bright!" ...and went back outside to play with the dogs. Oh, and I learned how to play Texas Hold 'Em. As in, from people who weren't trying to cheat from the beginning. Actual nice people who taught me how to play correctly and nearly got beat by me. We started out with five people and I was one of the last two in and we played back and forth on and on until it was looking pretty sorry on my end. Adam was like the USA and I was like.... Nepal. And then he bet all of his golden buildings and what was I going to do? I had to bet all of my mountain goats on one hand and I lost. Oh well. Next time..... I'm totally bringing my Sherpas. Or something.

Oh, and Jessica and I did some experimenting in the area of shit-talking. March Madness really does bring out the best in people (EXCEPT SYRACUSE!). Upon learning of the Oklahoma State victory, we exclaimed with the usual "boo-yah" and "aw yeah" and then I come out with "Suck it!" She just looked at me with this blank face and said, "You can't say that. You're a girl." I said, "Really? What am I supposed to say?" So then we put some girl-friendly shit-talking to the test. We decided that "stuff it," "lick it," and "stick it" are all girl-appropriate while "suck it" must be reserved for men only. I also found out the hard way that "cram it" is always inappropriate. We have done the testing so you don't have to. Just one of the many services we provide (not like that, you pervs!).

Anyhoo, off to bed. Hope you have a lovely day and that Spring can wash that cold dead carcass out of your barren heart. (See? THAT was inappropriate!) Toodles!

Last night, I went to an English pub, drank Mexican beer and ate a French sandwich. I'm so international.

Also? I played my Abused News game and came in 50th nationwide. But guess how our bar score ranked nationally? 42nd! I cannot tell a lie. Considering the significance of yesterday (as brought to our attention by Ciber), I find that to be some sort of sign from DNA himself. Somehow. Even though he didn't really believe in God therefore probably did not believe in the afterlife. Huh. Anyway! I totally freaked out when I saw how we ranked, but nobody else really got it. They were all, Yeah that's really great, dude. And then they gave me that look. You know the look. The one that says, "Is she on a weekend pass or somethin?"

Today I am going to a Basketball watching party at Craig and Linda's. Linda is crazy shot lady so I'm somewhat frightened, but there promises to be food so how can you turn that down really? And also, they are the biggest Texas Tech fans on the planet so I should hurry up and get my ass in the shower before noon so I can be there in time to see them totally freak out when they play Gonzaga.

Oh and one more thing? THANKS A LOT, SYRACUSE!!! You only messed up my ENTIRE BRACKET! Sigh. I cannot believe they lost. The mind truly boggles. I guess this is just a hard lesson in bracketology. Next year, there may be money on the line so it's best to learn these lessons now. A few others I'd like to thank for totally screwing up my bracket (it's personal, y'know): Creighton, LA Lafayette, Pittsburgh, St. Mary's, Freakin Alabama, Iowa, UTEP, Stinkin KANSAS, New Mexico (all Baugy's fault for that one), and Effing TEXAS! Geez, people. All I ask is for a little cooperation.

Today I need cooperation from Illinois, Arizona, Washington, Texas Tech, Wake Forest (sorry, Mountaineer), Oklahoma, and Kentucky. OK and KY mostly because that will at least set my Austin Bracket straight. Oh, and Tech and Wake Forest, too.

I am so glad I have no money on this thing. OK, off to the party! I hope they have nachos.....

Happy St Patty's Day!

First, I would like to say a huge thank you to Thomas who helped me put links over in my sidebar. Woooo! I didn't know if I should use the title of the blog or the name of the person who wrote the blog, so I just used titles for now (because SOMEONE showed me how to change it! Thank you again!). Anyway, Thomas's nom de guerre is Ciberblade, so you'll just have to guess which blog is his.

Also, I'm having one heckuvan allergy attack. It started in my left nostril yesterday and has enjoyed setting up camp in my sinuses since then. Here's to sunshine and Allegra!

Oh and Gabi? Read One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish almost entirely by herself! We also went to the library. I was busy perusing the early reader stuff, but she decided she wanted a dinosaur book. So we looked up dinosaurs on the computer, went over to the "juvenile" section and located the dinosaurs. As I'm trying to pick out an age-appropriate book with the fewest scientific names, she started perusing the stacks. I finally found one and I ask her what she thinks. She has pulled out a book called Picture Dictionary of Chemistry and was "reading" it quite enthusiastically. She asked if we could check it out and what do you say? "No, you cannot be a world-class scientist when you grow up?" Of course we brought it home. I'm so blown away by her curiosity. She just wants to know how EVERYTHING works! I wish I could tell her, but all I know a whole lot about are clouds and maps. Everything else is pretty much tip-of-the-iceberg knowledge. Anyway. We register her for kindergarten in three weeks. WAAAAAH!!!! :)

I filled out a bracket for the NCAA tournament and joined a group at espn.com because Sevi forced me to. Yeah, I'm losing. Pretty badly! But it's only the first round, so hopefully the upsets will become a little more rare (except for the ones I picked, of course). All I have to say is that I'm really glad we didn't put any money on it.

Off to bed so that maybe tomorrow my head will be unfogged. Hope your St Patty's day was filled with lots o' luck!

The Peanut Gallery Needs to Shut It

I heard something hilarious this weekend. Not hilarious "ha ha" but more like hilarious "you've got to be kidding me." You see, Brad and I were talking about an encounter he had (not like that, you pervs) with one certain friend that also happens to be good friends with CK. Apparently the friend (let's call her M) had asked quite politely how I was. Brad mentioned that I'm doing fine and blah blah blah. And then she says, "I hear she's still hung up on [CK]." See, now that's hilarious for a few reasons. One, I have not spoken with this girl in months. Two, I have not even spoken to CK since before the Mingo Fishtrap concert. Three, I'm so not hung up on him. So tell me, how does it get around that I'm still hung up on him?

OK, let's start with the last time I spoke with him a couple of weeks ago. The week before the concert, I decided I could at least let him know about it because I knew that he liked the band and had gone to see them a few times. So I text messaged him about it and he said he'd like to go so he asked where. I text messaged him back giving the info and he sent me back a very enthusiastic "K." So the Friday before the concert, I stop by his table and ask him if he still plans to go. He turns around and looks at me like I have an anvil stuck to the side of my head and slurs out "Nope." Well, this kind of surprises me because I thought he really liked them and would go. And then it occurred to me that he might not be going because I'm going and if that's the case then he kind of sucks and needs better reasons for not going to see the most funnerest band around. So I ask him why. "I'm just not. I was drunk last weekend and I didn't mean it when I said I would go." I try to get a little more info out of him: "Is it because it's in Fort Worth? I thought you liked Fort Worth. You've gone for less." He thinks about that for a millisecond and says, "Yeah. I have. And I probably will again. I'm just not going tomorrow night." I try the simple route: "Why?" And he does, as well, "Because." At that point, I just leave. I don't get huffy or mad, I just leave because there's no use in any of this. That was it. That was two weeks ago.

So now I have to wonder: Is M just making drama? Or has CK really been telling his friends how hung up on him I am? Because what part of utterly ignoring someone shouts from the rooftops, "I'm like, soooo into you!"? Now he may think that I'm just being pissy with him because he backed out of the concert. That is totally not true. I'm keeping my distance from him because he has proven beyond any doubt that he is not a friend to me. He came up to me about a month ago (I know, shocker, but Emily was there and I'm sure he was sucking up to her so she'd put a good word in with her friend Amanda) and he said, "You are always so nice to me. I'm a total jackass to you and you're always completely nice. Why do you do that?" I told him that he's not an ass, he just pretends to be for whatever convoluted reason, which I still think is true. And then I mentioned to him that if he knows that he's being an ass to someone who's nice, maybe he should... oh I don't know... be nice back? And as I thought about it more and more, it started to really get to me. Why AM I so nice to this guy? If any of my friends treated me like he does, we would NOT be friends any more. He has embarrassed me numerous times without any kind of remorse therefore I can't trust him with any kind of information. He has asked me to keep information about him to myself before and I have. I guess he forgot about all that.

I guess I still care about him. Wouldn't want him to get his arm taken off by a rabid dog or anything. I just can't trust him. Not the kind of trust that you have with someone who doesn't lie to you. I don't think he's a liar. He'll just be quiet before he outright lies to you. I'm talking about the trust you have that someone will not hurt you. And he has hurt me so much and not given a damn about any of it. That is not a friend.

So I guess we come to the last aspect of the hilarity that has ensued. Why in the world do these people even care? If CK does not give a damn about me, why is he going around telling people that I'm still hung up on him? He runs at the mere mention of the word "feelings," so how would he know how I feel? Maybe he just likes to show how adored he is. And why does M feel the need to even think about it for more than 2 seconds? How does this affect her in the least? Shouldn't this be between CK and me? And my very favorite: No one has asked me how I feel about the guy and I have not volunteered any information. Not to Brad, not even to Jessica. Because (this post notwithstanding) I haven't really given him much thought since our last conversation. That night I was more mystified than angry with him and after that, it became clear that we're not friends, so it's been pretty easy to not talk to him since he makes like, zero effort to talk to me. I don't expect any grand gestures. But a simple hello, how are you would be nice. I won't hold my breath.

My humble weekend

I'm not going to lose my chick card if I don't watch that Halle Berry movie tonight, am I? Because I'd rather read TWoP and add to my blog and IM with my buds. I've never really been into chick flicks anyway. I mean, there are the standards like Steel Magnolias and the occasional musical that I love and don't really expect men to enjoy. I'm sure this Oprah presentation is a lovely movie... I'm just not interested. Meh.

My weekend wrap up:

Friday night, we did the usual. Bar. Trivia. Fun. Jessica couldn't make it because she had a friend in town and had to visit. I missed her. I had no one to be catty with. Especially since Emily moved to New Hampshire (sad face), the snarky comments have been on the decline. There was this hideous pink beret that I had to make fun of all by myself. It's just not as much fun getting catty with Brad, you know?

Anyway, last night I went to a "party." I use that term loosely. I mean, there was a keg and a pool table and darts. I was the only girl. That was strangely cool. So this guy whose house we were at had converted most of his garage into a pool room where he had a refrigerator-type appliance for his keg and a dart board and a couch. You know, just a regular old bachelor-type game room. Well, the last third of the garage was still pretty much the garage. Now this guy who owned the house is a pretty big techno-geek, which is totally fine with me (I like smart men... usually), but he will freakin talk your ear off about hexadecimal thingamajigs, html/java script and a bunch of other stuff that flies directly over my head (and a little to the left). So after walking in and out of the rooms just to watch the lights come on automatically and checking out the 8 foot projection TV, we go out to the garage and discover he has a little Roomba-type device for cutting his lawn. It was a lawn robot! So he gives a way too detailed breakdown about how the thing works, we kick it a few times to listen to it beep at us and we go back inside to shoot some pool and hang out in the kitchen and eat some hot wings and walk in and out of the kitchen some more (easily amused much?). I go back out to the pool room and I see Brad motioning for me to come outside to the garage. I follow him out to the back yard with my beer and like, everyone is out there and I come through the gate and say, "Hey, what are you guys doin?" In unison with large grins... "Mowin' the lawn." Nerds.

Man, Halle Berry is literally swinging from a chandelier.

Let's see... what else? Oh, my sink has been stopped up since like Thursday night. My kitchen sink. And it is filled with chopped up chicken and spaghetti sauce that I was trying to put down the disposal when it started backing up. I know what you're thinking: I bet that smells disgusting. And you would be correct! Luckily, it seems to be confined to the kitchen and candles and some air freshener seem to be keeping it away from the general living area. The other problem, though is that I haven't been able to wash any dishes. I have no bowls, no spoons, no forks. I called the apartment office to ask them to come out and fix it, but by the time I called, the maintenance guys had gone home for the day and would not be back until Monday. I was like, fine, just put in a request for me and ask them to fix my porch light when they come out (because I am in the far reaches of the complex... as far from the office as possible and still be on property). They said OK and if they had to come out for an emergency, she'd ask them to stop by. Well, that sounds like a good plan. So this afternoon, it became clear that they were not coming until tomorrow. I call the co-parent like, 4 times (beginning at about 1:00pm) to ask if he can watch the critter tonight. No answer. I leave messages two times because seriously, he does enjoy ignoring the hell out of me. So he FINALLY calls me back at 5:30. I'm all, "Hey, I've been trying to get ahold of you all day. Where have you been?" He says, "Playing golf and taking a nap." Now, there was a period of time between the golf and the nap that he could've called me back, but I digress. So I ask, oh so sweetly, "Hey, I'm still having that kitchen sink issue, do you think you could watch Gabs?" And he comes back, not so sweetly, "I can't. I have a lot to do tonight." My perplexed look obviously coming through the phone line. "I also have to be at work early tomorrow." And to me? Sorry, not really an excuse when the day care is literally on the way. I say, "Oh kaaaay. What do you have to do tonight?" He's all, "I have to go to the mall, I have to go to the dry cleaners...." and just goes on and on and on. So I say, "The mall? It closes in 30 minutes. And if you had so much to do, why were you taking a nap?" Yeah, he didn't like those questions. So he yelled at me and hung up on me. Real mature, eh? I mean, I would've traded days with him. It's not like I'm asking him to take on more than he already does. And also? He's like... 32 years old. Can we please stop hanging up on people like it's the frickin seventh grade? Seriously.

Glad I got that out. I strangely feel much better now.

That's my not-so-exciting weekend recap. I'd also like to say hello to our three new readers, Ryan, Thomas, and Stephen. They are friends from TSG that I have sucked into my universe. Hello darlings! Also? Happy Birthday, Thomas! You always light up my day and I hope your birthday was awesome and may the coming year be amazing for you. Love!

What is this "morning" you speak of?

What a wonderful Saturday morning. I had to get up early because I had to go to the bank, so I was up at 9. Now, usually I sleep until 11 or 12 but today I had to be up and I sort of bribed myself by saying that I could go right back to bed after I went to the bank. I stumble around for a while putting in contacts, brushing teeth, brushing hair, checking email. Then I become aware of outside. Kind of foggy... sun peeking out every once in a while. Hm, wonder what the temperature is like. 52 degrees. That's not too bad. I thank all that is good in the world that winter is pretty much over for us here.

So I went to the bank and on my way back, there was the 7-11 (Sleven). As I sit at the light I start to think about my new addiction to having that morning coffee. It used to be that I might have a cup of office coffee (offcoff) on those rough mornings and that turned into having a cup every morning that I was at work, and that turned into "I must have a cup before 9:30 or things will begin to get unpleasant" and now I'm to the point that I even want it on the weekends. So I'm sitting at the light thinking that I bet Sleven has some coffee in there. I go inside and find the coffee. I expected a pot of regular and decaf and some little creamers. Y'all, they had like 10 pots of coffee brewing (and that's not binary, so you techno-geeks can forget that joke right this instant!), a carousel of flavor syrups, marshmallows, powders like cinnamon and maple sugar, another carousel of flavored creams and a hot chocolate/capuccino machine. I was just in awe. As I stood there kind of taking it all in, a lady who was finishing up her concoction saw me and said, "My man keeps wanting to get me a coffee maker for the house, but I keep telling him that I like coming here instead." I start to inspect all the different pots of coffee: vanilla, hazelnut, strawberry banana? Friendly lady says, "Yeah, they've got it all here, it seems, but I'm not so sure about that strawberry banana." I giggle a little bit and pick up the pot and take a sniff. It's way too weird and sweet for coffee so I make a face like "yick!" She laughs and says, "Now if it was a smoothie, I'd be all for it." We small talk a little more and she goes to pay. I was thinking this is really nice for a Sleven! So I choose the hazelnut like I always do and start spinning the carousel and looking for anything I might want to add and here comes another really nice lady! She's all, "My husband and I distribute those machines (motions to the hot chocolate machine), but I still come in here and pay full price for it." Y'all, I still haven't had my coffee so I'm still a little out of it so I come up with the blazingly witty comeback, "Really?" And she's fixing up her hot chocolate and I'm choosing just the right creamer and we're small talking and she puts the marshmallows in her hot chocolate and sets the cannister back in the carousel, spins it around until the marshmallow cannister comes back around and puts more into her drink. She's all, "It's Saturday. Can't have too many marshmallows!"

Man, how could I have driven right past this place for the past three years? And where did all these super-friendly people come from? I have to say, the past couple of weeks I've been feeling a lot happier. I'm sure it all started with the Mingo Fishtrap show. I was on a natural high for at least three days and there's a good possibility that I might still be on it, propelled by starting Gabi in her new, nicer, and much closer day care. That has put me in a much much better mood all around. The citizens of Denton County thank you, New Day Care! Or maybe it's the daily caffeine boost? I have no idea. Eh, I don't really care either. All I know is that I feel awesome and nobody gonna break-a my stride. Nobody is gonna hold me down. Oh no! I've got to keep on movin.

Well, morning is technically over and to tell the truth... I'm a little sad that such a lovely morning has come to an end. Well, here's to a lovely afternoon.

An open letter to the 10th season of Survivor

First, I'd like to give Jeff Probst the biggest sigh of disgust and utter disapproval for referring to Angie and Steph's battle during the reward challenge as a "cat fight." That is sexist and disgusting and shame on any man who uses that phrase unless two actual cats are fighting.

Angie, I hate your bra. Please. Put those things away. Thank you.

Jeff, it makes me sad when you wear a shirt. Please stop.

Ibrehem, how can you only be a waiter? No worries. You'll be a model right after this show is over because you are very very pretty. And also... no more shirts for you. Thanks.

Kim, the only useful thing you've done on this show is call Bobby Jon "Tarzan." That was awesome. Now shut up and get to work.

Coby, oh my God put some clothes on. You are from Texas, I want to like you, but if you and Angie weren't on different teams, I would swear that you guys were sharing underwear. *shudder*

Tom, you are hot. You are 13 years older than me and totally out of my age range and we probably have nothing in common and you're totally married with three kids and a golden retriever, but that doesn't make you any less hot. (From his picture, he may not look particularly good looking but if you watch the show, you will see how in control and totally hot he is).

Stephenie, you are also hot. I have no lesbian leanings whatsoever, but holy shit you are awesome. Not only do you hang with the guys on the physical challenges, you often beat the crap out of them. I am frightened and in awe all at the same time. I am sorry you are on the crappy tribe.

Bobby Jon? Hot.

James, when you said that "Kim is a woman and all she's got going for her is her sek-shiality" did you mean that all women only have their "sek-shiality" going for them? Or just Kim? I mean, I know that some women overuse their sek-shiality to get what they want and don't bother developing other social skills, but if you think that all women are like that? I want to kick your ass in the most major way.

Ian, you are amazing and adorable. You may not be the prettiest, but you are so totally the coolest. I would make out with you way more than I want to make out with anyone else. Even Stephenie. Hm, from reading your bio, I see that you are actually quite interesting. I also see that you are single. Call me!

Everyone else is either a total blur or I have not yet formed an opinion.

Love,

~ Di