What I'm Watching

Oh how I've missed yapping endlessly about TV! I guess now that we're into the new season, I can properly pick apart the shows I'm watching now. Let's start with Sunday, shall we?

Sunday

Desperate Housewives: I don't mean to insult one of America's favorite shows but.... yawn. I know it's tough to really make the second season really pop like the first. But I think I've pinned down what is missing this season. The ladies are not quite so intertwined. Last season, they had the mystery of Mary Alice to keep them commiserating and interacting with each other. This season, how many scenes have they all had together? Not very many. So we're really not feeling that bond that they supposedly have. Gabby is pretty much handling this thing with Carlos on her own and how often do they even bring up her pregnancy? Lynette? Off in her own little world. Her apology to the rat was one of my favorite scenes, though. Hee! Bree, naturally dealing with her dead husband, hateful children, and creepy boyfriend. Not much time for tea, I guess. And Susan is really busy being neurotic over her hot boyfriend and his assault-with-a-deadly-weapon son. I mean, it just seems so fragmented. And although ratings are down over last season, it's still the second most popular show in the nation. Behind CSI, of course. You can't keep Gil Grissom down, people.

Grey's Anatomy: This is a strange show for me. I like all of the characters, except the main character! Christina? Likable because she tries so hard to be stoic and focused, but can't help letting her human side show. Izzie? I relate to her because everyone assumes I'm an idiot, too when really I actually have some working brain cells. George? Everyone loves George. The perpetual male friend who never gets laid and when he finally does, gets syphillis. Figures. Alex? Jerk, yet provides much needed comic relief. Dr. McDreamy, Dr. Bailey, and Dr. Burke all bring a welcome personality to the show. But Meredith. Every episode I find myself yelling at the TV, "My god, Meredith! NOBODY TALKS LIKE THAT!" I mean, the voice overs. Fine. Tell the story. Exposit. I'm cool with that. But she seems to always have some deep life defining speech and it's like the hugerest eye-roller ever. Like this past episode when she gave Dr. McDreamy the "I love you, pick me" speech, I just couldn't stop giggling because it was so... ridiculous. If anyone talked like that in real life, YOU WOULD LAUGH AT THEM! Out loud! And for a really long time! That being said, I like it and, dare I say it, I look forward to it more than DH. There. I said it.

Monday

How I Met Your Mother: This show is ca-YUTE! OK, it's more than cute. It's funny. It has likable characters and it's written by people the same age as the characters, which is actually a really big plus. Even Barney, the dispicable skirt-chaser manages to come off as charming ("flight suit up!" haaaahahaha) and is by far, IMNHO, the funniest character. And I love how he keeps talking about his blog. And the best part? CBS actually put one up. That RULES! Anyway. The love story in reverse and the fact that he didn't meet his future wife in the first episode are both really good hooks. Good on ya, CBS! I'll even sit through King of Queens for it!

Prison Break: I'm conflicted about this show, as well. It gets compared to 24 a lot, which I am not cool with. Yes, it is a complicated plot but we kind of know they're going to get out. Or they wouldn't name it Prison Break. They'd just name it "Prison." First, the reasons I don't like it: 1) World's Worst Pedicure at the end of the premiere. I have feet issues and that had me curling my toes under for a week; 2) The conspiracy going on outside the prison walls was really slow going until this past episode; 3) There is a lot of suspension of belief required; 4) T-Bag and other assorted references to prison rape. Now the things I do like: 1) Wentworth Miller; 2) Lady Doctor; 3) Michael's elaborate plan. I am indeed curious to see how they finally get out and what they do then and if they can implicate the baddies. That could take 2, maybe 3 seasons. Right? Like I said, I find myself very uncomfortable during this show a lot. Not like 24 where I'm forced to catch my breath at the end of the hour.

Tuesday

Gilmore Girls: I just got addicted to this show over the summer. It is so GOOD! Very witty and smart and will have you laughing and crying and yelling all within about 30 seconds. I am not one to get into girlie stuff (which is what I've been told this show is), but the writing is quite well done and Lauren Graham is the most underrated actress on television. I regret not getting on board with this show earlier. Emily Gilmore is just deliciously passive aggressive and Lorelai is such a delightful smartass and Rory could be fun but she's being a real dumbass right now. I am convinced that this is all Logan's fault. He is hot, yet stupid. No go.

My Name is Earl: I love Jason Lee. I have loved him since Mallrats. And this show is completely politically incorrect and offensive but it's OK because the characters are so clueless. They mean well, so I guess the ACLU will let this one slide. It's also howlingly funny. Did I mention that? Looks like I just did.

The Office: Listen. The way I see it, if you've seen the BBC version, you hate the American version. But if you elitists could let that go and just watch this one with fresh eyes? You might like it. No, I have not seen the BBC version. I have seen the BBC version of Coupling though, and I can understand that there can be a gap. But anyway. My favorite character has got to be Pam. Jenna Fischer just has the best delivery. Also, NBC put up Dwight's blog, too. Way too funny. The Halloween episode was a total riot with him as the Sith Lord. Haaaaahahaha! Also, Pam inspired me to be a cat. Shut up.

The Amazing Race: OK, this is my second favorite show ever (behind 24). I know some people have a problem with the family format. I agree it has its problems: restricted travel area, boring detours and roadblocks, too much bunching, not enough racing, and eliminations being decided by really dumb stuff. But we all know that they'll get back to their regularly scheduled racing for Season 9 and in the mean time we can get to know those Gaghans a little better. My god, they're adorable. Carissa is my hero. There needs to be way more of her.

Commander in Chief: I have only seen one episode. I really like Thelma. I can't watch it only because that time slot is so crowded and something had to get cut and when you go up against Jason Lee and Phil Keoghan? You're SOL.

Wednesday

Lost: Well hello, best show of the season! How intriguing are you? Endless is the mystery of this island. I am actually surprised that this is not the #1 rated show on TV. You can always find someone to talk Lost with you. I have yet to have a conversation about Desperate Housewives or CSI. And the people who love Lost are obsessed with it. Which is fine! I fear it may prove fruitless to try to figure it out, though. I did read an interview with JJ Abrams and it turns out, when writing this thing, they started at the end and worked back. So yes, they know how it's going to end and no, they won't make it easy to figure out. And I bet if you DO figure it out, no one will believe you. Because it will be that whacked out. Check back in 5 years when they end the show. Bookmark it and BELIEVE IT! I don't know what that's supposed to mean.

Veronica Mars: "My day is complete. Veronica Mars has accused me of evil." Gotta love that Logan. And Sheriff Lamb! Hot tamales! I don't care if he's a jerk ... just.... MEOW! Ahem. Anyway. There is not too much to say about VM except that the writing is exceptional and the acting is superb (except when they're stunt casting stupid Paris Hilton) and the continuity is downright phenomenal. The season long mystery isn't quite what it was last season, but then again, maybe it hasn't peaked just yet. Who knows!? Also, next season should be a riot should they follow Veronica to college. Love it! I have watched it from the beginning and have yet to be disappointed (minus the previously mentioned stunt casting incident).

Invasion: I gave up on Invasion. Too slow, I guess. Eddie Cibrian is smokin hot, though.

Thursday

Is stuff still on on Thursday? Oh yeah. Right

Everybody Hates Chris: Hark? What is this? A show that can make me ditch the first half of Survivor? Yes I like it that much. I love his Mom, I love his Dad, I love his siblings, I love his best friend, I love Chris, I love the dead-on 80's clothes, I love the music, and it has the best voice over work in all of television. It's just a lot of fun. A black Wonder Years? Maybe. But with less schmoopiness and way more laughs. Sorry Fred Savage! You got nothin on Tyler James Williams!

Survivor: I am tuning in for the same reasons I tuned in last season. Stephenie is awesome and Bobby Jon is hot in that Tarzan kind of way. The rest of 'em... I'm kind of like.... OK. *shrug* Sorry, but last season was so good. It's hard to come off that and try to come close to matching it. We were going to be disappointed no matter what. I missed it last weekend and didn't even flinch. Oops!

CSI: Want to know what I like about CSI? Gil Grissom and the fact that I can miss a week and still be on board. Not that I would want to miss it. But I could if I wanted to.

Oh! I forgot to mention Arrested Development. It's on Mondays, but I had forgotten that because of World Series and also Fox's love affair with Prison Break. AD really is quite good. To say the very least. There is nothing else on on Monday nights. You can watch it! You know. If you want. I'm also watching The OC and Reunion, but I almost forgot about those too. Whew!

So anyway. I think Wednesday has replaced Thursday as the big night of TV. At least it has for me. Lost and Veronica are my two appointment shows. Will not miss under any circumstances. Not for sleep. Not for sex. Erm. OK, maybe for sex. But that is IT!

Also, go Astros. AS I write this, we're in the top of the 13th and it's pretty exciting, actually, but I'm fading fast. Glad I had it going while I wrote this giant post. Also, that is my new word: giant. Beth's new word is vulgar. It is fun when we get together and use our favorite words.

Good night, internet!

Fantasy Football

OK. THIS is why I have never signed up for Fantasy Football before this year. I knew I would get distracted from my real NFL purpose, which is loving and supporting my Cowboys no matter what. And now... here I am... Paying attention to other teams!!!

A few updates that I'm very passionate about:

Amani Toomer: Had to pick him up today even though I had five wide receivers on my roster. But two of them are going to be out on byes this week. And no, they're not on the same team. I diversify! He is my third Giant. OK, maybe not that diverse after all.

Troy Brown: I had to let him go from my team today. That hurt, y'all. That hurt a lot. But Vinatieri is my kicker and New England is on a bye this week and I needed another kicker, so what's a girl to do? Had to drop him because he was the most injured and I had too many wide receivers on my bench. It still hurts. Right here. *points to heart*

So what kicker did I pick up? Well Dallas's own Jose Cortez, of course! He is my third Cowboy. Well, fourth if you count the defense that I keep on the bench, mostly because I don't want anyone else to have them. Hey, remember that diversity thing I said earlier? Yeah. Scratch that. And also, quit yer snickerin about my 'boys! They currently have more points than the defense that I'm playing, which is Philadelphia (makes note). Geez, what is my DEAL? I'm supposed to HATE Philly! But we all know about my little crush on Donovan McNabb. But he is not my QB. Brett Favre is my QB with the Lesser Manning as a backup. And when he comes off his bye, I'll probably start rotating Stephen Davis with Sammy Morris because they both seem to be doing well and as you all may have noticed, I need to work on my diversity and start including teams not included in the NFC East. Except the Redskins. I won't be touching them. They are Cowboy Enemy Number One. Along with Terrell Owens. There is not enough duct tape in the world for that guy.

OMG LOOK AT WHAT I'VE BECOME!!!! I've become one of those people who can just talk and talk and talk about their fantasy football teams like it's so damn important! And.... as if you really want to hear about who I'm playing this week, much less NEXT week!

I drafted Plaxico Burress because he has the Coolest Name in the NFL. Hands down. There. I'm back to being me again.

Stealing

I'm just going to be lazy today and send you to someone else's blog. K? But seriously... it's entirely too funny. Way funnier than anything I could write. Click on it! DOOOO IT!!!

What Women Want

Blogger is my Therapist

OK, I'm feeling very anxious right now and I can't seem to put my finger on exactly why. Sometimes if I write, it falls out of my brain anyway so maybe we can go over some things here.

OK, um... first, my Mom is coming to visit tomorrow like she does every month. So this shouldn't make me all bejittery. My apartment is indeed a giant mess. I know I won't get to sleep in my comfy bed tomorrow night. That kind of sucks. But on the upside, there will probably be shopping on Saturday.

I have this weird theory on CK. I was out last night. And I saw him with a girl. You know, whatever. Like I don't know he "sees" other girls. I was a little jealous at first until I realized that he'll probably crush her the way he did me approximately two years ago. In a sick way, that made me feel a little better. So my theory is that he is great at being charming and finding little ways to touch you and say things to make you feel like you're the only woman in the world and then he beds you and let me tell you, he is freakin great at that. But after that? I'm not sure he knows what to do with a woman. I mean, he's had girlfriends but I'm guessing those didn't go too well. I have theories based on what I've been told about why those ended and if those theories are correct, then they support my current theory. Guess that's no real shock, but those theories existed before this current theory. I'm all about theories. The good news is, I'm actually pretty good at them. Not 100%, of course. Nobody is 100%. Anyway. I think that I feel that I'm always walking this fine line with him between good friend who will tell him the truth about his behavior and crazy-ass psycho bitchy chick. No, I don't think I'm crazy, but it seems like if I slip up just a smidge, he will most certainly think I am. And that SUCKS! Because that comes down to him not giving me any credit for doing things right, but holding me infinitely responsible when something goes vaguely wrong. It has been said that he likes hanging out with me, but he doesn't like it when I go all "drama" on him. That? Is unfair and kind of ridiculous.

***The below paragraphs may or may not be related to the above paragraph. I just kind of went off. You will know when I'm done.***

And let me tell you... contrary to what everyone seems to like to say about me, I am not a drama queen! I fucking hate that shit. That is on the level of calling me a ditzy blonde. If you piss me off, yes I will let you know about it. I won't throw my beer on you or storm out of the room slamming doors or yell for everyone to hear and I won't call and leave you a bunch of voice mails telling you how much you suck (even if you do). I'll get it out in a succinct and calm manner unless you make it apparent that you are ignoring what I'm saying. In which case, yes, I will probably raise my voice. But not so others can hear. More like so I can talk over whoever is talking over me. And if it reaches a certain level, I'll just remove myself from the situation. No, it's not a dramatic exit. It's just removing myself until things can cool off. Which I thought was a pretty good idea, until others get it in their heads that it was a dramatic "exit stage right" regardless of me stating otherwise.

And on that note, let me tell you. When I tell someone my motivations for my actions... why can't they just believe me? Why do people feel the need to tell me how I'm feeling or why I did what I did? Especially when I'M TELLING THEM TO THEIR FACE exactly why I did it? I feel like I'm living in a world where 98% of the people I come into contact with just cannot listen. And they cannot accept that they do not have me all figured out and they cannot accept that the world may not work exactly as they think it does. Geez, I guess that explains a year and a half of venting to my blog. That is just sad.

And then! Oh god, there's more. I get accused of being defensive! Well what the hell am I supposed to do? Just let them accuse me of shit I didn't do or meaning something the way I didn't mean it? Of course I'm defensive! They've drawn conclusions based on assumptions and presented them as facts. No one else is going to defend me. I might as well take the wheel and do it myself. Am I just supposed to sit there and take it? Sometimes I feel like I really understand people so well. And then there's nights like tonight when I'm completely baffled.

Also hate? When I tell someone that I don't want something or I do not like it when they do something and they intentionally do it. To be funny? Ironic? I don't know. But it pisses me off and then it looks like I'm pissed because they did what they did, when really I'm pissed because I asked them not to.... and they still did.

*** End rant. Wow!***

And then work. We have a four person department. Sounds small, but it's the biggest department we've got. And my boss's assistant... well, she'll be out "unexpectedly" for the next 3 weeks. In other words: not a vacation and very short notice. Also, my boss is going on a three-week vacation (to Australia, of all places). So guess what? Two people to do all that work. Plus our own, naturally. So yeah. That's kind of stressful. But on a positive note, we hired a temp to answer the damn phones so I don't have to. And it turns out, she's a really nice girl and we have a lot in common. I still have a shitload to do. Almost to the point where I just want to stare at the wall all day.

Sigh. And I miss Jessica. She got a new job and moved. I mean, it wasn't FAR, but she's not HERE any more. Gabi misses her too. The other night I was asking Gabi, "What's awesome?" I expected her to say, "Mommy" or "Me!" because she's not having any problems with self-esteem whatsoever. But no. She said "Aunt Jessica!" Awwwww! That really hit me in the face with missing her and then I realized that I'm a bad friend and haven't called or emailed to let her know that I miss her bunches.

And then. I get an email from Missi. Missi is friends with Debra, who was my best friend until she dumped me two years ago about this time. Yeah, my best friend dumped me. I'll try to recap quickly. We had a falling out around the time of my 27th birthday (late July 2003). After that, we pretty much stopped talking and she started dating this guy. I had met this guy and he was really great. Very independent, mature, smart, kind, funny. Around Labor Day of that year, he died in a car accident. I barely knew him, but I felt the loss of such a great person and I felt for Debra. So I dropped our disagreements. After all, it seemed petty at that point. So we consoled, we cried, I went to the memorial service with her. I thought we were patching things up. Well, Halloween 2003 was the last time I saw her. Yeah, she re-dumped me. I was very hurt since I was going through a rough time at the time and I really felt abandoned, used, and betrayed. And then in December of that same year, I got dumped by another "friend" that I had thought I could count on and everyone swears that the two incidents weren't related, but sorry. Not feelin that. So add another scoop of bitterness onto that pissed-off sundae.

So anyway, I get an email from Missi today telling me that Debra's mother is gravely ill. At this point, I am torn between feeling compassion for someone whom I cared about so deeply for 11 years and feeling that selfish twinge of avoidance. She burned me so badly, you know? Twice. I feel like such a terrible person for thinking of myself in a time like this but... you know, that whole "fool me once" thing (what happens when you get fooled a third time?). She pretty much made it clear over the past two years that she most certainly does not need me. So why would I bother popping back into her life now? And to make things even more weird? Yeah, my Mom works in the same hospital where they're keeping Debra's mother and they ran into each other last week. Awkward! My Mom said that she was very interested in the bulletin board with all the pictures of Gabi and me on it. Yeah, that conversation when my Mom told me that? AWKWARD! What am I supposed to say? I was literally at a loss. There were a lot of Um's, Oh's, and OK's. And you guys KNOW that's not normal! So anyway. I wrote Missi back and asked her to pass on my thoughts to Debra and that was about it. I feel like such a jerk, but I almost feel like I have a right to be a jerk. And two other people emailed me about the situation, as well. And I really feel like I'm being insensitive if I don't write those people back, too. Because then it gets back around that I didn't even respond to the news. I feel terrible for her, but I can't go back to being her friend. I'm very conflicted. Maybe that's the root of my anxiety.

Also, I forgot to take the trash out and I still haven't put away my laundry that I did last weekend. Undone housework causes anxiety. There is no doubt about that. I'm going to go make some South Park avatars. Maybe that will calm me down.

OK, hope I didn't bring anybody down too much. Sorry for all the anger. This is a bunch of stuff that has probably been simmering for a while and then it compounds upon itself and ends up as a giant spew of a rant. Or maybe I'm PMS'ing. It's possible. Any encouraging words would be appreciated. If you're just here to berate me, please move on. I don't need any more negativity. Thanks.