Sugar Tooth

ZZ on Top

2006-07-06T19:53:00.000-05:00

Sorry that I've been MIA for a while now. No excuse really. Just laziness. Basically nothing exciting going on except...France! After playing an abismal first round they have exploded into full stride and are looking fabulous. The great thing about this is that we're all getting a chance to remember why we fell in love with this man in the first place:

Even before this World Cup Zinedine Zidane's name would've inevitably come up in a conversation about the greatest soccer players of all time. He is past his prime though, way past it. He was at the top of his game over 6 years ago. He'd hardly hung up his bootstraps, but he was no longer playing the brilliant game of his youth. Or so we thought. Zizou is back in full force, and pretty much everyone I know is ecstatic about it. We're falling in love (or lust for some) with him all over again. His vision and ballhandling schooled even the boys from Brazil, and now he's on a roll and we're eating every bit of it up. Even if France doesn't win in the Final on Sunday one thing is for certain. In this World Cup Zizou changed this phrase, "Zinedine Zidane was one of the greatest soccer players in history." to "Zinedine Zidane was one of the greatest soccer players in history!" He's put an exclamation point at the end of his brilliant career, and that's something that won't soon be forgotten. Allez Zizou! Viva la France!

Holy Shit

2006-06-17T16:22:00.000-05:00

I'm in no frame of mind--intellectually or emotionally--to comment on the game right now, but I just want to say how PROUD I am of the US team for more than showing up and playing beautifully. You did good. The love has been restored. More later...

Italy Can Suck It....Oh, Please!

2006-06-17T09:50:00.000-05:00

Ussoccer.com says that we have a mere 4 hours and 10 minutes left until the US take on Italy for their second World Cup match. I had a dream that we would tie them, but I remain hopeful (and definitely supportive!) that we're going to shock the shiz out of the world and beat them gloriously. Well, maybe not gloriously, but beat them nonetheless.

Just in case things don't go quite that well Crystal and I have bought a case and have vowed to take shots of tequila if Italy scores on us in the first ten minutes and/or they score three or more goals against us. I have ponied up and vowed to take a shot if Beasley starts, but that's really more for my own mental health because if Beasley is starting--or even playing--in this match, I'm going to need more than one shot of tequila.

And if somehow for some reason we don't pull off any points in this game (I'm trying to live in denial right now and believe that that's impossible) all you ladies out there--and a handful of gentlemen as well--should feel free to return and look as these...um...professional photos of the US squad to help ease your pain:

Okay, so the last two are actually of Swedish soccer player Freddie Ljungberg, but he's playing in this World Cup too, and he makes you feel a lot better, yes?

Follow the Children

2006-06-14T21:33:00.000-05:00

This entry comes from the blog posted on the ussoccer.com website. It's extremely cute and probably the most encouraging thing I've read about soccer all week.

I copied and pasted this directly from the blog so any misspellings and grammar errors are the author's and not my own. I'm not going to go through at put "(sic)" at the end of all the mistakes. I just don't have that kind of time tonight:

Entry #71: June 14, 8:54 p.m. (2:54 p.m. ET)

Sorry if you've been starved for updates: it's been a rather hectic day here. The media interest continues to be incredible, with everyone gearing up for the Italy game this Saturday. What's been gratifying to hear - along with the coverage of the team, positive or negative - is the amount of support the team is receiving back home. Despite the loss, we continue to have a mailbox full of e-mails offering support for the players and the coach, and telling stories of packed pubs and viewing parties across the country. Here's one e-mail that stuck out:

My son Alex (six years old), who loves soccer and the U.S. MNT, was devastated after the loss. After crying alone for awhile, he apparently sat down and wrote a letter which I found after he went to sleep. He is entering first grade, so he's just learning to spell. Below is what he wrote verbatim.

TO: U.S. Team. Play good. have fun - it will make yuo play good. From: Alex

Thanks, Alex. Pretty sound advice. And thanks to everyone who has chimed in. We keep reading 'em, so please keep sending 'em.

The US vs Czech Republic: A Conversational Recap

2006-06-12T20:48:00.000-05:00

NOTE: All conversations between my dad and myself were live and in person; all conversations between Tim and myself were over the telephone; all conversations between myself and myself were held exclusively in my head.

2nd minute: We're looking nervous. Very, very nervous. Settle down boys. Breathe.

5th minute:

Me-Pope on the back line makes me nervous. He's too slow. I don't think he'll be able to stop the attack.

Dad-Our entire back line looks awful. This game is going to end 2-0, Czech Republic.

8th minute (Jan Koller scores):

Me-Are you crying?

Tim-Um, nice one Pope.

Me-I was just telling my dad how nervous Pope makes me.

Tim-Yeah, Koller totally rocked Pope.

25th minute (Claudio Reyna's blaster hits the post, does not go in):

Dad and I are screaming and involuntarily jumping up and down. We suffer minor heartattacks.

Tim-I think I'm going to throw up.

Me-No shiz. I'm quite sure that that shot was our last chance. We're not going to get another opportunity like that. Are you watching the game alone?

Tim-So far. I'm in a random Mexican restaurant.

32 minute: Beasley sucks.

33 minute:

Me-Beas sucks.

Tim-No kidding. I'm so ready for him to be subbed out for my boy (for those who don't know, Tim's boy is Clint Dempsey).

Me-I was ready for him to be subbed the moment I saw he was in the starting line-up.

37th minute (Rosicky scores):

Dad-I'm ready to start drinking.

Halftime:

General consensus-We're sucking. Our first touch sucks. Beas sucks majorly. Donovan, Mastroeni, McBride, and Convey have all disappeared from the match. We need substitutions. Bring on O'Brien and Dempsey!!

46th minute:

Me: Dad says he's ready to start drinking.

Tim: I have to go back to work, but if they score another one I'm going to tell them to start lining up the shots.

Me: Thank god O'Brien is coming in.

47th minute: Wait, did Arena seriously put Johnson in for Cherundolo? Take Beas out immediately!

52nd minute:

Dad-I wonder if the USA realizes that soccer isn't supposed to be entirely played in the air. SETTLE THE BALL.

55th minute:

Me-Beasley sucks.

Dad-If I were the coach I'd pull him off the field and immediately send him on a flight back to America.

61st minute: Johnson has the right idea, but where in the eff is the rest of them team? Where's the leadership?

66th minute: Good god, please don't let them score on us again.

70th minute (Josh Wolff prepares to enter the game):

A drippingly sarcastic Tim: The answer to all our problems is preparing to enter the game.

Me: Why god, why? Where's Dempsey?

74th minute:

Me-Beasley has the absolute worst first touch of any person I've ever seen.

Dad-My high school team plays better than this. Oh yeah and Beas sucks.

78th minute (Rosicky scores again):

Me: This is thoroughly depressing.

Tim: Yeah. I'll call you on the fourth goal.

Depression and embarrasment begin to settle in.

83rd minute: Dave O'Brien needs to shut the hell up. Where's Rob Stone when you need him? Oh my god, did I just wish for Rob Stone? Something is seriously wrong here!

88th minute: For everything good and righteous in this world DO NOT let us give up another goal!!

90th minute: Sweet Jesus. It's over.

Post-game report:

Alexi Lalas gives his depressed and totally embarrased speech. Eric Wynalda is barely restraining his anger. Gives a stern lecture. I half expect him to stand up and begin punching the wall. Julie Foudy looks like a disappointed mother, and there isn't anything worse than a disappointed mother.

Dad is irate. He wants Arena to immediate resign and Beasley to be run off the face of the earth.

I'm wholly depressed and disappointed but am waiting to see the Italy game before passing final judgement.

1 Question

2006-06-07T21:01:00.000-05:00

As is the case with everyone who is anyone these days I have a Myspace profile. Myspace is both extremely interesting and extremely bizarre. It's more intrusive than Facebook, but because of that some of the most random people (one of my best friends from junior high, a guy who makes lo-fi music in Stuttgart, Germany, someone I once met at a party for five minutes, etc) find you. I like Myspace because you can connect with so many different people from your past and present. And because I can claim that Hal Sparks is one of my Myspace friends. I bet that Arbusto can't claim that. Boo-yah.

Most of my "friends" on Myspace are actually people I know (Can I claim that I "know" Hal Sparks since I did indeed meet him once? I just like to remind Arbusto that I met him. And he's even more hilarious in person. Boo-yah). I do have a few favorite bands mixed in there, and ussoccer.com. Yes, ussoccer.com is one of my Myspace friends, if you can in fact claim that a website is your friend. Currently it's occupying a space in my Top 8 because I like ussoccer.com a lot right now because it's debuted Studio 90--information overload!--and is blogging about all the use -less/-full (your pick) information surrounding the team in Germany.

When I logged into Myspace today I noticed that ussoccer.com has posted a bulletin with the subject "1 Question". This is what the bulletin said:

One Question
Ok. You get to ask me 1 Question (TO OUR INBOX). Any one question, no matter how crazy it is, I won't display the answer and I promise to answer it!

So I thought, why not? I'll send a question to ussoccer.com and see if it answers me. I actually had a burning question that's been eating away at me since we saw the MNT play in Cleveland. Granted, it's a pretty silly question, but I figured that ussoccer.com might appreciate a silly question and a chance to give a witty, funny response in light of the fact that likely 85% of the questions they received were, "OMIGOD. Landon Donovan is so HAWT!! How can I get my hands on a piece of his delicious ass, receding hairline and all? Kicking my love LD's way **giggle**-Tiffany" With a response along the lines of, "We're responding to inform you that you have been issued a restraining order. You must not ever mock Landon Donovan's receding hairline ever again. Furthermore, you are banned from being my Myspace friend. Love, ussoccer.com."

During my lunch break I typed my question to ussoccer.com. It had a witty little introduction to cleverly set-up my fun question which was: "All three of our goalkeepers for this World Cup and many of our former National Team keepers are going bald. What are your thoughts on the correlation between being a goalkeeper and losing your hair?" I sent the question along happy with myself for providing ussoccer.com with the opportunity to give at least one fun and witty response.

A few hours later I checked my Myspace profile again, hoping to see a response from ussoccer.com and lo and behold there was one! I eagarly clicked on the subject line. What lovely, fun, clever response would the guys behind ussoccer.com have provided my equally lovely, fun, clever question?:

"As far as our GK's are concerned, it's totally herititary."

This....is....it? First of all, **hereditary**. It's spelled HEREDITARY. Dude, you are representing ussoccer.com. We are already facing an uphill battle with nonsoccer lovers in this country, and you are going around sending out Myspace messages with atrocious spelling? Second of all, this is all you could muster? Seriously? Dude, I set you up perfectly. All you had to do was deliver the punch line, and you fell over faster than a Spanish soccer player who's in the 75th minute of a losing match.

It's a good thing I tricked that stupid ussoccer.com into answering TWO questions, since I slying slipped in a question about why the players' bios hadn't been updated for five years. Ussoccer.com's response to that? Bruce Arena doesn't allow them to pose too many personal questions to the guys. So where was Bruce Arena the other night when that lameass Neil Buethe (by the way, where did they dig this guy up? Sometimes he seems decent, then suddenly he converts into a complete douchebag--and I never use the word douchebag. I'm pretty sure that my grandma could do a better job than this Neil Buethe fellow at interviewing the guys, and it would be a whole hell of a lot more entertaining to watch) all but asked Steve Cherundolo what his girlfriend's favorite sexual position is? I couldn't believe how personal he got with the questions. Anyway, all of this is to say that ussoccer.com has now fallen in the ranks of my high estimation, and it may just have to be demoted from my Top 8. Bad ussoccer.com. Very bad!

p.s. Oh yeah, and brother is getting MARRIED this weekend. I'm pysched. I can't wait to see everyone because it's going to be a blast!

MNT vs Venezuela or Bust--The Roadtrip

2006-06-05T21:26:00.000-05:00

What: A roadtrip of epic proportions, not to be taken by the weak-hearted or easily exhausted.

When: Thursday May 25 and Friday May 26.

Where to Where: Iowa City, IA to Cleveland, OH and back again.

Distance Travelled: 1206.88 miles in a little under 36 hours.

The Players: Tim, Christine, Jeremiah, and myself.

The Purpose: To catch a glimpse of the Men's National Soccer team in action before they head to Germany and the World Cup.

The Result: 50% Pure Elation. 50% Pure Exhaustion. 100% Pure Soccer Goodness.

When I heard a few weeks ago that the Men's National Soccer Team would be playing one of their three pre-Germany friendlies on a Friday night in Cleveland, I thought, "We're so there." Of course, at the time I had the thought I figured we'd just make a weekend of it, stay in Cleveland and do all the fun Cleveland things--if there actually are fun things to do in Cleveland. What I didn't count on was that Tim and my brother would have to be back in Chicago for his Saturday bachelor party, and that Christine and I would have to be back in I-town for her Saturday night wedding shower.

Armed with or rather despite of this knowledge we decided to buck up, drive through the night--twice--in order to attend the game. It's a distinct possibility that none of us will ever be able to afford to go to an actual World Cup game (my dad found 4 tickets to this year's World Cup final on the internet yesterday, and they were a measly $4000. He briefly flirted with the idea, but when faced with the fact that he hadn't booked a hotel room for that particular weekend a year ago and would therefore have to sleep outside, he decided against it. Well, that and he doesn't really have the $4000 or a plane ticket or a passport) we figured this was our best chance to at least see an American World Cup team in action.

The trip there was a lot of fun. I think Christine was the only one of us who slept at all, and she only did briefly. We were hopped up on excitement to see the match, the excitement of seeing each other again (it had been a few months since I had last seen Tim), and the monster mixed CDs that Tim burned for the occasion. Despite only getting 3-4 hours of sleep on Thursday night (really, Friday morning) by the time we reached the Cleveland Brown's Stadium I was hopping with excitement. Yes, I hop when I'm excited. We've discussed this. Get over it.

We got there as soon as the doors opened. The stadium was pretty empty but there on the field was Pablo Mastroeni warming up with the MNT fitness coach Pierre. He was going at it pretty hard core, so we were a little surprised later to find that he wasn't slotted to play in this match (After we got back I learned that he was suffering with the flu, so perhaps it had something to do with that). We also got to see the whole warm-up for the entire team, and a longer one for Kasey Keller--he definitely worked the crowd. It's an entirely different experience to watch them in person than it is to watch them on television. I knew this, of course, but I was unprepared for just how good their control of the ball or how phenomenal their touch is. The game begins, and we get our first looks at these fine lads:

Ah, yes. Clint Dempsey, a.ka., Deuce. Tim and I were fans coming into the match. He's proven himself a clever, imaginative player who is unafraid to take risks to make it happen. He didn't disappoint that night, and his goal was so lovely that even though we were on the entirely other end of the field we saw him sailing through the air for the header. If possible we left liking him even more. I've even taken to calling him Tim's "lovaah" (in a purely platonic way, of course).

I didn't think much of Bobby Convey, a.k.a. The Reverse Clark Kent, coming into this match. Although he is always energetic and in pure attack mode, he had failed until this point to make an impression on me. That all changed seeing him live. I saw vision, a strong ability for playmaking, and even some occasional decent D. He seemed to lose his focus in the second half, but despite that I'm encourage by his performance and think he has a lot to contribute to the team in Germany.

My opinion of Josh Wolff stayed the same. That is: What the hell is he doing on this team? No creativity, no touch, nothing. He has heart, I'll give him that, and I'm sure he's a really nice guy, but I can't help but think the same thing that the crazy guy in front of us kept bellowing all night: Where the heck is Taylor Twellman?

None of us had ever really had the chance to see Jimmy Conrad play before, but as we came to see throughout the match, Jimmy Conrad is the shit. I feel much better knowing that such a solid defender stands on our back line. We left huge fans of Jimmy. (To be perfectly honest, Steve Cherundolo is the shit, but Jimmy is a definite close second.)

Tim Howard, a.k.a. The man who suffers from tourettes yet has overcome this obstacle to become one of the greatest keepers in the world, looks so teeny-tiny in person that I had a hard time believing his ussoccer.com profile that says he's 6' 3", 210 lbs. He made a few lovely saves, and one friggin' sweet one (see the above picture), and I was happy to get a good look at the man who is backing up the man, Kasey Keller.

At the beginning of the game we were a bit disappointed to discover that we'd only really be seeing the second-string players (except Donovan and Beasley who **shockingly** came in during the second-half, although when they came in it was amazing how much they changed the pace of the game. It instantly became a one-touch game, and a goal soon followed). And for one brief second I was the saddest little girl in all the world when around the 65th minute I realized that John O'Brien and Steve Cherundolo were not going to be making an appearance. I got over it though. After the game we promptly jumped back into the car and drove straight to Chicago where we dropped off Jeremiah and Tim at Jer's pre-bachelor party party, and Christine and I kept plugging away until dawn arrived over Iowa City. At that point we were so delirously tired that Christine was talking to herself, and I--the driver--was hanging my left arm out the window and singing Janet Jackson at the top of my lungs just to stay awake. It took me two days to recover, but boy, it was worth it!

Another Quick Note

2006-06-03T15:16:00.000-05:00

This may be the funniest thing I've read for weeks. If Heather and Jessica ever stop running this site I'd be beside myself with grief!

Blog Roll Update

2006-06-03T11:25:00.000-05:00

If you hadn't noticed I updated my blog roll a couple of weeks ago. I also added a brand spankin' new one today called We Call It Soccer. It's a funny, informative blog by some fellow American soccer fans. They do a great job of keeping all the information about American soccer and the World Cup rounded up in one location. Plus they have lots of links to other soccer blogs that will keep you reading for a month. Enjoy it!

You Need A Preface

2006-05-29T21:30:00.000-05:00

I partook in an amazing roadtrip this past weekend, but to fully understand why and what it meant you need to know a little something first:

If you have been living under a rock or if you are one of the pathetic American unenlightened who either don't watch soccer or think it's boring (Please, let's not start on this topic. Especially if you are a baseball fan), then you may not know that the world's largest and most important sport's spectacle is set to begin in a little under two weeks.

In a country that is only beginning to taste the sweetness that is the sport of soccer, I feel priviledged to have been raised in a soccer loving--nay--soccer obsessive household. For those of you who don't know, soccer has been more than a hobby or simply a sport in the "R" household. From the very beginning it was a way of life. My dad, the former player (he was a keeper) and current coach, taught his childern and his players alike, not to play soccer--but to THINK soccer. If you don't know the difference, then you don't know how to think soccer. And you probably don't know how to play it either.

You may be thinking, how did a family that settled in the cornfields of Iowa get so involved in soccer? If we were from the East Coast or California, you wouldn't even question it. But Iowa? It's not exactly the soccer Mecca of America. To answer that question you must remember that I grew up at an international boarding school. A school with a strong population from South America and Ethiopia. A population that brought the game of soccer to the cornfields of Iowa over 45 years ago. The school was the first high school in Iowa to have a soccer program, and as late as the late 80s and early 90s had few opponents in the Midwest. It was during this time that my dad was the head soccer coach for the school, and the team was forced to travel great distances to find competition, and on regular basis played first division colleges because high school and club teams were few and far between.

This late 80s team was the "Dream Team" for the school. A team never before seen there and most certainly never to be seen again. A team made up of lads who had grown up with the game, Americans and International players alike. Some had simply been schooled in the game, some had it born in them, some were the sons of great coaches on international shores, and some were the sons of men who knew nothing of the game at all. Together they bowled over every opponent placed in their paths, and together they almost won a national title. And if the keeper hadn't broken his hand in the qualifying match, they just might've. So this is the tradition I was born into, had bred in me, and have lived with most days of my life.

You have to know all this to understand just what the World Cup means to us every 4 years. For a month our lives stop. Convience, sleep, and work be damned, we have soccer to watch. American soccer is still growing. We're still learning, and trust me, I know there's a lot to be learned, but for the first time in, well, the history of the sport in our country, the game is terribly exciting to watch.

This all began in South Korea in 2002 with the most exciting run to the quarterfinals that any American soccer fan had ever seen. I know it was almost four years ago, but stop for a moment. Think back. Remember? Remember how exciting that was? Remember the opening game against Poland and that first goal from Johnny O? It was as if in that moment O'Brien swung the whole door wide open, and he spent the rest of the tournament playing a unparalleled midfield game to keep that door as open as possible. Remember how poorly we played against Mexico and it seemed that all hope was lost, and then out of nowhere came the gorgeous Lewis to Donovan cross that made Collyn and I stand up in bed and scream until every single one of our neighbors woke-up startled at 4:30 in the morning?

Remember when we just dominated Germany, but Kahn denied and denied and denied us? Remember when for just that one damn moment he was out of position and Claudio Reyna lofted that shot from practically our back line and it floated for an eternity before landing just outside the goal? I swear that one little shot took years off my life. Remember the sound and tone of Donovan's voice every time he answered a question from the press? It was as if he was wholly convinced that that World Cup was going to be our World Cup; that we were going to win it all. And at times I found myself sharing that belief because it was just too sweet a thought not to revel in.

Of course we didn't win, but that whole month was beyond exciting. I'm quite sure I didn't sleep more than four hours a night because I was always up watching the games, but I was in college then, so I was pretty familiar with sleep deprivation. And I was all buzzed up on the energy pouring over from South Korea to sleep anyway.

It's quite possible that nothing like that will happen this time around. America drew a devasting group, and our team doesn't quite seem as well put together as the last one. I know from what I've seen on-line, on television, and in person that we have some tremendous talent on our team, talent that cannot be denied, talent that when it's running on full cylinders is practically unstoppable. I'm going to carry some of that excitement from the last World Cup into this new one and pray that our team does as well. We may not win the whole damn thing. We may not even get out of our group. But for the first time we're capable of it, and that gives me hope. So for now I'm going to keep hoping because as every good American soccer fan knows, that's all we can really do.

It's About Time!

2006-05-25T13:16:00.000-05:00

Hallelujah and Praise Jebus!

Mixed Emotions

2006-05-18T13:12:00.000-05:00

THIS makes me so happy. Anytime a Ron Howard movie sucks (and really they all do, except Willow) and persons beside myself think so, it makes my day.

--But---

THIS makes me extremely aggrevated. I think we should start a campaign to remove this man from the gene pool.

The P.P.

2006-05-13T12:33:00.000-05:00

This requires a preamble before I get to the actual story, so please, bear with me. Names have been changed to protect the overly-imaginative.

Preamble:

About a month ago on a lazy Saturday afternoon my friend Pristine (who is in no way, shape, or form getting ready to marry my brother in a little less than 4 weeks) and I were lounging on her bed watching old episodes of Sex and the City. Usually this would spawn conversations about fashion, the delectable fun of cocktails, and how imparative it is that we stay single and fabulous forever and ever. Instead Pristine decided to relay an early childhood prank that she and her sister Lara would pull on their friends. She swore me to secrecy. Of course I promptly agreed, dying to know what was bringing the sinister little smirk to her face.

Pristine goes on to tell me that at quite a young age she and her sister Lara invented something called the P.P. Now, they named it this because they knew that what they were doing crossed all proper boundries of society, and in fact directly violated--in a most heinous way--an intensely private area of one's body. Without warning they would run up to one of their other girl friends, curl up their little fist and deliver a swift jab to the unsuspecting girls’ nether region and yell, “Pervert Punch!” Then Pristine and Lara would laugh and laugh finding this to be quite the joke.

When they found themselves around adults they would discreetly refer to this act as the P.P. so they wouldn’t get in trouble for 1. saying the word “pervert” and 2. punching their friends in cooterland. They continued to deliver the P.P. for a few years until they reached that inevitable age where one starts to feel uncomfortable with their growing bodies and budding sexuality.

I laughed so hard while Pristine told me this story because, well, it’s pretty hilarious. I couldn’t imagine where two little girls had come up with this idea, but I thought it was brilliant. Pristine was a bit embarrased by it all, and she made me swear I would never tell anyone else about it. I promised and had no intention of breaking that promise until last weekend, where in one swift moment Pristine broke the promise for me…

The Story:

Last weekend I went up to Minneapolis to spend Friday with my friend Courtney and Saturday with Pristine and my mom and her mom and her sister Lara doing wedding errands and going to Pristine’s bridal shower (which should in no way, shape, or form make you deduce that she is getting ready to marry my brother in less than 4 weeks).

I spent Friday night with Courtney going to a party, going to a show (Tapes ‘N Tapes), then going to a party with Courtney and the band at the band’s house. There was lots of people, lots of beer, lots of other Minneapolis bands, lots of music, and therefore lots of fun to be had. So much so that little Genevieve pretty much forgot to go to bed that night.

Extraordinarily tired and looking like hell I rolled into Pristine’s house early in the AM on Saturday, grabbed a cup of coffee, and started the day. As you all can imagine I began to get deliriously tired by that afternoon. This lead to Pristine and I making many drippingly sarcastic, smartass (but all in good fun, of course) remarks to each other which lead to me becoming giddy and somewhat hyper.

Our final stop of the day was at the restaurant where the rehersal dinner (or groom’s dinner as the strange folks from Minnesota call it) is to take place (this has in no way, shape, or form have to do with the fact that my brother is going to be a groom in less than 4 weeks). As we left the restaurant I popped a peppermint into my mouth and when we reached the parking lot, in a moment of misguided playfulness, I spit my peppermint out straight onto Pristine’s back.

The next thing I know Pristine twirls her petite self around, curls up her little hand into a fist, and delivers a swift jab that hit me square on my—remember that one Seinfeld episode? Why don’t we just say it rhymes with Doloris. I double over. From pain? No. From embarrasment? No. From shock? No. From laughter. Pure, hysterical, from the deepest regions of your soul laughter. Exactly a month from when she first told me the story I became the latest victim in her lifelong rampage to deliver the P.P.

So the next time you’re thinking about heckling that cute, petite blonde at the bar just remember, she may just be waiting to P.P. you all over the place.

This Is the Spring of Some Serious Discontent

2006-05-01T12:17:00.000-05:00

I wish I could be joining this today, but I couldn't escape my responsibilities. My heart is with you all though. Loud and Proud!!

Genevieve Is A Lazy Bum

2006-04-23T17:11:00.000-05:00

Next Sunday I am getting my arse out of bed at an ungodly hour--it's so early even church people aren't up at this time--to be a good person and walk an ungodly distance for the March of Dimes. How good of me, eh? The thing is that for the past month I have constantly forgotten that I pledged myself to do this. Because of this I haven't raised much money for the cause yet. Of course they will have my donantion--and my lovely presense--but I'd like to do more than that, if I can. This is where you--my equally lovely readers--come in. If you would like to donate to the March of Dimes I would gladly take that donation as part of contribution for my walk next Sunday. Of course if I don't actually know you I'm not expecting that you trust me enough to give me your money. However, if I do know you in the 'real' world, not just in the blogging world, and you would kindly like to donate (please, OH, please!!) email me and let me know how much you are willing to contribute. All those beautiful premees out there would appreciate and benefit greatly from it.

Quote of the Week. Maybe Even Quote of the Month.

2006-04-18T20:23:00.000-05:00

Sadie on opposing the war in Iraq: "I'm not anti-American. I'm just anti-people doing retarded things."

Old Random Crushes

2006-04-17T12:06:00.000-05:00

When I was younger I really liked baseball, which seems odd to me considering I now believe it to be the most dull and uninteresting sport there is. I would actually prefer to watch bowling than watch baseball. Anyway, so when I really liked baseball I developed a crush on Chipper Jones. It didn't take me long to realize that I could never love a man named Chipper. Or one that has buck teeth. Or one that plays for the Braves. So I switched my crush from Chipper Jones to Jim Thome. I was crushing on him pretty hard core until one day, a couple of months into my crush, I caught a post-game interview with him. It didn't take me long after that to realize I could never love a man who can't form complete sentences. Or one who sounds as if he should be spending his days chewing tobacco in the fields of Arkansas. Or one who couldn't tell me how many feet it is from home to first base because he couldn't count that far on his fingers and toes.

The Revolving Cocktail Party

2006-04-06T21:04:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I coined Sadie and I with this phrase for two very specific reasons:

First, Sadie and are a ton of fun. No, seriously. If you don't believe me invite us to your next party. At the end of the night you many not want to claim that you know us, but we'll have rocked the face off your party. I don't know how many times the phrase, "They should totally create a reality show about us" has been uttered by one of us, but it's happened numerous times, usually between huge gasps of breath taken between uncontrollable laughter, and maybe, just maybe, after two or three glasses of wine.

All we need to do to have a party is pour a glass of wine and start screaming at the contestants on Wheel of Fortune--sidenote here: Sadie and I should SO be picked to be contestants on that show. First of all we're awesome at that show (we might watch the show sometimes or a lot). Second of all we know that Pat Sajak completely rigs the show, and that he likes to get up close and personal with the cute girls. We're two cute girls, so I'm quite sure we'd walk away with $100,000. Third of all we'd be the most entertaining people they've ever had on the show because with us excitement inevitably leads to screaming which inevitable leads jumping around which inevitably leads to air humping which leads to uncontrollable laughter which leads to rolling around on the floor and air humping which would lead to us probably getting kicked off the show.-- ANYWAY

We may be home alone watching television but we're never bored or boring.

Second, we never buy actual food. By this I mean we never buy food with which you could make a meal. We only ever buy cocktail-slash-international party girl food: extremely large cases of Tab Energy or Diet Rockstar, many varieties of cheese, chips and salsa, wine, pre-cut fruit, nuts, and bottles of water. This is our shopping list. Oh, and oatmeal, the staple food of all lazy, yet figure conscious people. Sadie and I have lived together since October, and we've known each other since we were 18. In college every night for dinner Sadie had a king sized box of Dots, and I had a few carrot sticks, a half a bowl of cereal, and a root beer float the size of my head. These eating habits just occured to us on Tuesday while standing in line at the check out of our local grocery story? Hello?!

So, if you'd like to come visit Sadie and I in CR (and you should, SOON, since we'll only be living together until the end of July) all we have to do is open our cupboards and our mouths and there will be a swingin' party in no time.

Crystal and I Like Our Meat

2006-04-06T19:50:00.000-05:00

I look a little scary in this photo (God, I'm so pale I'm grey! Sadie reassured me that my arm isn't that big in person), but Crystal looks cute, and man, those steaks at 126 were awesome!

Yes, I'm wearing gloves and a big gold necklace. Get over it.

Fun and Frolick with Genevieve in the Morning

2006-04-04T09:24:00.000-05:00

This is the exact and uncensored email I sent to Sadie the moment I got to work this morning. Enjoy!

Oh my god! I had the WORST experience this morning. I got up to take my shower, etc, and I always put my contacts in before I get into the shower because otherwise it’s so hard for me to see. In the shower my contact got a little water in it and was smudged so I couldn’t see out of it at all. So I get out of the shower and it’s cold in the apartment so I don’t want to leave the bathroom (it was freezing when I woke up this morning because we never upped the thermostat from when you lowered it before you left for work in the morning. It was so warm yesterday afternoon that we had no reason to, but then I didn’t think about it at all before we went to bed!) Anyway, so I couldn’t see out of my contact, so I needed to take it out and use some solution to clear it. Well, since I cleaned off that counter space (not really anymore, but you know) my solution is in the hall closet and I was naked and didn’t want to go out there. So I thought, “Hey, Sadie wears contacts. I’ll just use some of her solution.” I opened your side of the mirror and pulled it out, sprayed it ALL OVER my contact and reinserted it. BLINDING PAIN. ACID IS BURNING MY EYES OUT. WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON? IS SADIE A SECRET AGENT AND SOMEONE HAS REPLACED HER SOLUTION WITH ACID TO BURN HER EYES OUT IN SOME SORT OF REVENGE PLOT? I’m spinning around the bathroom, my eye feels like it’s about to fall out. I somehow manage to pry my eye open and take the contact out. I have these huge tears streaming from my eye, and I can open it just far enough to see that it’s completely red and slightly swollen, and tears are just coming out all over. It was HORRIBLE! It finally stop hurting enough for me to reach for your bottle of solution and realize that it’s CLEANER and that you’re not supposed to actually put it in your eye. I didn’t think I would be able to put my contacts in at all again, but I was able to right before I left for work, 45 minutes later. So, I guess that’s what I get for using someone else's contact solution without asking first. My eye is still red and burning a bit. Now I sorta look like I’m smoking pot or something like that, and my coworkers keep giving me the wonky eye. Not a good way to start the day!!!

Aren't I fun?

This Weekend, Last Weekend, and All the Inbetween Days

2006-04-02T19:05:00.000-05:00

This Weekend:

I brushed the dust off my international party girl hat (they're actually international party girl gloves), and did a small restaurant/bar tour of the IACTY. After a piece of perfectly rare meat the size of my face at 126, Crystal and I headed to Takanami to meet her law school peoples for saki bombs and stilted, half-drunked conversations about the NCAA tournament. I tried to choke down a glass of cab, but it was so awful and I was so entirely full from the cow I'd eaten that I wasn't very successful in drinking much of anything that night. I was, however, in pure sober sass mode--which is extraordinarly rare, I'm usually only indiscrimnately fiesty while intoxicated. My insults included, but aren't limited to inappropriate remarks about Crystal's fake O face, sassing a Jew about his circumcision, pretending to be a meth farmer in search of a foreman, and telling a heavy-set girl in a teeny-tiny sparkly jean skirt and ugg boots, "Just NO."

Despite being a major smartass all night, I did manage to have a good time. My friend Courtney invited me to see her boy's band, Tapes 'N Tapes, play at The Mill. It was hot and gross and sticky, but it was fun to hang out with her and the guys from the band and a guy named Fuzz. Tapes 'N Tapes didn't go on until 12, but they put on a great show. They are fresh off of playing SXSW, and were pretty popular down there, and I can see why. They have a sort of Franz Ferdinand sound to them, and they are a lot of fun to watch. In my own humble opinion one of the most important things for up and coming bands to possess is not only great energy on stage, but to have an energy that works together. It can't be independent of each other. The members have to work off each other, and they did that well.

So because I didn't get drunk at all on Friday night, I figured the gods of booze wouldn't frown on me for having a glass of wine or two on Saturday around 11. Peter picked me up, and we visited a wine store that was having a sampling, so I had even more wine. Then I bought some wine and drank it. Then Peter and I went out to dinner at Devotay and split a bottle of wine which officially turns April Fool's Day into International Wino Day. To balance the effects I probably need to lay off the sauce for a couple of days, no?

Inbetween Days:

As well as being a perfectly wonderful Cure song, these days were spent with my new obsession, documentary films. I've been watching A LOT of them recently. I highly recommend Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, Control Room, and Mad Hot Ballroom.

Last Weekend:

It involved the Maharishi School of the Age of Enlightment, Transendental Meditation, organic vegetarian meals, and three and a half hours with David Lynch. No joke.

Oh Yeah, the End of the List!

2006-03-26T20:24:00.000-06:00

76. Despite having an extremely good memory I sometimes absolutely forget about things I need to do.
77. This has been happening more and more, which I hope isn't a sign of old age.
78. I've been trying to remember to buy toilet paper for three days. So far, notta.
79. In January I promised myself that this year I would do my taxes before the end of February.
80. So far, notta.
81. You know how some kids are addicting to watching tv or playing video games? When I was a kid I was addicted to reading. No joke.
82. My sixth grade teacher and my parents had to form an intervention because I literally wouldn't do anything but read.
83. I scored a 36 on the Reading Comprehension part of my ACTs.
84. It was an extremely easy decision to major in English in college.
85. I won't even tell you what I scored on the math part. It wasn't pretty.
86. I LOVE red wine even though it gives you a wicked hangover.
87. I own one piece of designer clothing. It's a Marc Jacobs dress. It's crazy cool. And I got the best deal ever on it.
88. It's my goal to one day own a fabulous pair of black Christian Louboutin peeptoe pumps.
89. My dad taught me to rollerskate when I was 3, and I'm quite sure that if I had kept it up I would be the rollerskating champion of the universe right now.
90. I have one piercing and zero tattoos.
91. I used to have two piercings, but one got ripped out. Yeah, not fun.
92. I'm anti-plastic surgery, but pro-Botox, vitamin injections and chemical peels.
93. I secretly wish my teeny-tiny boobs would magically grow so I didn't look so much like a junior high boy.
94. In high school my BF Sara and I wrote out a whole list of why it was better to have small boobs instead of big ones.
95. It included no sagging, not having to strap them down to play sports, and being able to rest in the knowledge that boys loved us for our sparkling personalities and not our cup size.
96. Even though that's all true, I'd still rather have some curves.
97. And I'm still working on the sparkling personality part.
98. My favorite flowers are peonies and lilacs.
99. If I could I would have vases full of these in my apartment every day of the year.
100. Did you know that Paul Giamatti is in My Best Friend's Wedding?

Lollapalooza or Bust!

2006-03-17T15:57:00.000-06:00

This year's Lollapalooza line-up was announced today, and let me tell you it's AWESOME. No, BEYOND AWESOME. It's probably the best line-up I've seen in a very long time, and I am very excited about. It didn't take me long to decide that I'm going to pony up the money and go. Even if I can't eat for a month, it will be completely worth it! (I'm also reasoning that while I may not have the money for it right now, I would definitely be able to save that amount by festival time in August. Now I just need to figure out how to arrange things so the ticket can be purchased soon!)

This year the festival is in Chicago's Grant Park, and will be held August 4-6. You can check out the complete line-up here. Peter has already agreed to join me, and now here is the real reason for this post: I am inviting all of you to join us! Seriously, I'd love to get as many of my friends and/or family and/or perfect strangers who love music together for this festival. Think how much fun three full days of music and three full nights of camping and red wine will be. This is the way summers are meant to be spent. Enjoying music, enjoying wine, enjoying each other.

If you need some incentive here you go:

1. We get to lounge around and drink wine, then saunter over and see The Red Hot Chilli Peppers. Then we get to rest up to groove out to Kayne West. After that we can saunter over to numerous tents to check out Manu Chao (I friggin' love him!), Blues Traveller, Sonic Youth (yep, the Sonic Youth), Thievery Corporation, and Wolfmother. When we get tired of the tents we can head back to the main stage to go wild watching The Flaming Lips, Queens of the Stone Age, Wilco, Death Cab for Cutie, and The Shins. Need I go on? Aren't you convinced yet?

2. Do you think it's too pricey? Just think of it this way: It's only $1 for every band playing in the festival. And really, where will you ever again get to pay a flat fee and see this variety and caliber of music?

3. It's a minivaction. For those of us without a lot of vacation time we get to take a 3 day weekend, go to the great city of Chicago, hang out with awesome people, at a time of year when the weather is fantastic, see lots of music, and drink lots of wine and beer. What more could you ask for?

So think about it. Mull it over some, and come to realize that you should come because it's going to be a lot of fun (I mean duh! I'm going to be there!). Buy your ticket and let me know that you're joining us. Don't wait too long, though, because I have a feeling these babies are gonna fly like hot cakes. Can't wait to see you all in Chicago!

P.S. Happy St. Patrick's Day to all my lovely fellow Irish kin! Have a great day!

What Cher and I Have in Common

2006-03-16T17:09:00.000-06:00

We both come out of retirement way too soon and much too frequently. The dealy-O is this: Once I eliminated the blog from my every day thinking, I started to miss it. For some reason I put a lot of pressure on myself in regards to blogging, blog topics, and writing. Once I did away with all that I started to remember why I began blogging in the beginning. The blog is back. I will qualify it, though. I will NOT be blogging on a daily basis. I really wish I could, but it's just not going to happen. So, if anyone is still checking this site I will have posts on a semi-frequent basis. How's that?

Now to the real question: Do I dare hope that the Hawkeyes will win tomorrow?

Official Hiatus

2006-03-13T12:01:00.000-06:00

As of today I'm taking a break from the blog. Truthfully I don't know if I'll return to it at all, but for now I will not be updating it. I'd love it if you checked in once in a while to see if I started up again. When that might be I don't know. For now, though, please check out the blog roll and go visit one of those blogs. They're fun and interesting, and I know you'll like them.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

2006-03-05T22:26:00.000-06:00

That's the sound of movie geeks around the world dying. A big thanks to the Academy for their severe lack of judgement.

And the Oscar Goes To...

2006-03-05T08:47:00.000-06:00

...actually, I don't know. If I did have that knowledge I would immediately fly to Vegas and start laying out bets. I am, however, finally getting around to writing my Oscar predictions. I have been lazy about finishing my movie watching process. I only finished watching two movies yesterday (Walk the Line and Hustle and Flow), and unfortunately three will have to remain unseen for now (Capote, Transamerica, North Country). My predictions will have to be made without full knowledge of all the films, but I don't think I've ever seen all the films, and I usually tend to predict a thing or two right come Academy Awards night.

There are definitely those of you out there who don't care about predictions (mine or you know, movie professionals) or even the night itself (but you should considering Jon Stewart is hosting!!!). For me, though, I am both an addicted movie geek and a raging fashion whore, so every year Oscar night is the pinnicle of these two things. When it comes down to it I am more interested in who won, than in who wore whom on the red carpet. For decades the Oscars were a very respected award. In the past decade after many misjudgements (Marisa Tomeii, really?) and blindspots (At the time who knew how wrong we all were about Titanic?) the awards seemed to faulter into the self-adulation category. Recent years, however, have showed that the Academy is trying much harder and is stepping into it's former glory. For those involved in the move industry, for those of us who are die-hard movie geeks, and even for the casual movie goer, the Oscars do mean something, and they will greatly influence who gets to make movies and what they get to make movies about.

Anyway, sorry for the early morning diatribe. Let's move on to the preditions. Just so you know, I've avoided reading other people's predictions lest they influence what I write. For the first time in many, many years almost no category has a clear winner. I am going to start with the category that seems to be the most up in the air, best actor.

Best Actor: Phillip Seymour Hoffman for Capote, Terrence Howard for Hustle and Flow, Heath Ledger for Brokeback Mountain, Joaquin Phoenix for Walk the Line, David Strathairn for Good Night and Good Luck.

Okay people, this is a serious toss up. I think the only person who can safely be eliminated is David Strathairn. Although he gave a good performance as the mysterious Edward R. Murow, he was upstaged by some of the smaller performances as well as the script itself. For him I think this is one of the instances of the nomination being the award. I also think that Terrence Howard is a long shot. He does a magnificent job playing a pimp who wants to become a music star. The most amazing thing about his performance is that he makes you realize that even though he's a pimp, he's a person, and you end up loving and empathizing with him. The Academy loves breakout performances such a this, and they may end up rewarding him for it, but it's unlikely.

It's also unlikely that Joaquin Phoenix will walk away with the prize. He is a great actor, and he will continue to make great movies. The Academy knows this, and I believe they'll wait until he busts out another fantastic performance until they acknowledge him. This leaves Philip Seymour Hoffman and Heath Ledger. I haven't seen Capote, but from what I've read Hoffman is exceptional in it. This doesn't surprise me considering he's been turning in exceptional supporting parts for the past 10 years. He has finally stepped into the spotlight with a big leading role, and he nailed it. He also has a lot of steam coming into tonight (he has won every major award given out over the past few months), and he might just gather another one. But don't count out Heath Ledger. His less-is-more performance as a man in a life-long struggle to comes to terms with being in love with another man is nothing short of brilliant. His performance was also a surprise (did anyone ever think that the same actor from 10 Things I Hate About You and A Knight's Tale would pull out this caliber of performance?), and the Academy loves to be surprised. It is extremely hard for me to pick a winner for this category. Because of that I'm going with my own personal favorite performance of the year, Heath Ledger. May it be one of many awards that go to this beautiful movie tonight!

***Wow, this post is going to be long, but it's good, so read it!!!***

Best Actress: Judi Dench for Mrs. Henderson Presents, Felicity Huffman for Transamerica, Keira Knightley for Pride and Prejudice, Charlize Theron for North Country, Reese Witherspoon for Walk the Line.

Bottom line, Judi Dench, Charlize Theron, and Keira Knightley are not going to win. The former two already have gold statues for much better roles than these, and will play in much better roles again in the future. Keira Knightley is far to young to win. She's plenty talented and the Academy knows that she'll have another chance in the future. This leaves Felicity Huffman and Reese Witherspoon to duke it out. To keep this prediction shorter than the last I'll try to be brief. Both gave powerhouse performances and both have steam coming into the awards, but it looks like Reese Witherspoon will walk away with the prize, and I believe she will. She is one of the few marketable actress who can actually act, and the members of the Academy like to award people who make lots of money for them. However (and this is a big however) Huffman could pull the upset for one very big reason. In a year where almost all of the great female roles play second fiddle to a man's role (and Reese does to Joaquine in Walk the Line), Huffman stands alone in a role that plays second fiddle to no one and carries an entire movie on only her perfomance. This very well could be enough to catapult her into first place.

Best Supporting Actor: George Clooney for Syriane, Matt Dillon for Crash, Paul Giamatti for Cinderella Man, Jake Gyllenhaal for Brokeback Mountain, William Hurt for A History of Violence.

I'm exhausted even thinking about who to pick. This is indecision central because it is extremely possible that any one of these five men will win. Here goes my try: I think William Hurt is out because I think that not many of the Academy's members have seen this movie (because let's be serious, if they had Maria Bello would be walking away with a gold statue tonight, but she's not even nominated), so his small performance will be overlooked. I'm sad to report that Matt Dillon has picked up buzz in recent weeks, but so has Jake Gyllenhaal (yeah! go Jake!). The two favorites have to be Clooney and Giamatti. Let's face it, the Academy is embarrased as hell for not even nominating Giamatti for his endearing and gorgeous peformance as Miles in Sideways last year. I think they may just be shamefaced enough to give him the prize as a belated mea culpa. Clooney, however, has had an excellent year and been the force behind some excellent movies. They may, and I think they will, give him this award as a thank you for all of his collective work.

Sidenote: If Clooney doesn't win this award, the Academy may have another award (and a huge upset at that) waiting for him in the wings, say Best Director. If he does win, don't expect him to win anything else tonight. Also, if Matt Dillon wins I think that Crash is out for Best Picture. It would most likely be the Acadmey's way of recognizing the film without giving it it's top prize. On the other hand, if Gyllenhaal pulls the upset, I would look for Brokeback to start sweeping the awards.

Best Supporting Actress: Amy Adams for Junebug, Catherine Keener for Capote, France McDormand for North Country, Rachel Weisz for The Constant Gardner, Michelle Williams for Brokeback Mountain.

Ah, finally a category that has a real frontrunner. Rachel Weisz is the winner here, and deservedly so. Her turn as a murdered activist in the extremely undernominated The Constant Gardner is brilliant and emotional, and she easily upstages all her costars (and fellow nominees) in this amazing film. However, it is possible that if the Academy is going for a Brokeback evening that Williams will win or if they all finally decided to reward Catherine Keener for being the great actress that she is that she will win or if they go the brand new ingenue route that Amy Adams could pull a huge upset, but I don't think this will happen. Rachel Weisz should and will win.

Best Director: Ang Lee for Brokeback Mountain, Bennett Miller for Capote, Paul Haggis for Crash, George Clooney for Good Night and Good Luck, Steven Spielberg for Munich.

The category gives me a headache. I'll just say this: Ang Lee should win, no doubt about it. But Paul Haggis does have a snowball's chance in hell to win tonight. Also Ang Lee and Paul Haggis could split the votes or the Academy could decide to throw a wrench in the spokes and go with an ingenue director. If either of those happen, Clooney will be our winner.

Best Picture: Brokeback Mountain, Capote, Crash, Good Night, and Good Luck, Munich.

After seeing all of the films I can very confidently say that The Constant Garnder should have Munich's nomination and Walk the Line should have Crash's. This notwithstanding, this race comes down to two films Brokeback Mountain and Crash(see, I told you that Crash was going to put up a big fight for this award. I KNEW it! You heard in here first people). I undoubtedly think that this award belongs to Brokeback Mountain. Actually, truth be told, it belongs to The Constant Gardner, by far one of the best films I've seen in a long, long time, but its lack of nomination prevents its win. Anyway, Brokeback was so, so lovely, touching, and masterfully written, acted, and directed. But it has two things working against it. First, despite what you might think about the Academy being liberal and openminded they are extremely aware of the moviegoing public. This was a controversial film, and the Academy may not want to give the top prize to a controversial film, which would therefore alienate a great number of moviegoers. Also, Hollywood loves, LOVES movies about itself, which is exactly what Crash is. The Academy is known for occasional lapses in judgement, and this may be one of those lapses. If they do give it to Crash I will officially enter movie mourning (this win wouldn't alienate the general public, but diehard movie geeks would forever give up on the Academy. Don't believe me? Go here). That movie just doesn't deserve it. I'm hoping that like myself, the Academy will be courageous enough to give it to Brokeback.

Tune in to ABC tonight 8/7 for the awards, and if you want to see Isaac Mizrahi groping actresses on the red carpet start watching E! at 5:30/4:30.

If you made it to the end, I love you, I really love you. ;)

Can I Catch a Friggin' Break?

2006-03-03T07:02:00.000-06:00

Last night around 11:30 as I was driving back from dinner in Iowa City with Courtney, Jeremiah's car (which I've been driving since Beatrice died last week) ran out of gas leaving me stranded on the side of the road. Apparently in his car a quarter of a tank is actually Empty, with a capital E. Christine was my knightess in shining armor, but I didn't get to bed until very late, and I woke up this morning to discover that the direct deposit for my check DIDN'T WORK. I have absolutely no money in my account, and I may be entirely screwed if I don't figure out what happened very soon. Even when that money finds it's way to my account, it's going to make a quick departure leaving me for the upteenth week in a row absolutely and completely broke. I'm definitely in a foul mood. Can you tell?

I Don't Have Your Answer

2006-02-28T13:05:00.000-06:00

Over the past few days the visits to my blog have skyrocketed. Last night I discovered why. For some inexplicable reason I am the number one site for the search "does Shaun White have a girlfriend". I never once mentioned anything about whether or not the Flying Tomato is attached to anyone, just that he's a cutie and that I was kinda crushing on him. But the search engines in their infinite wisdom direct the curious peoples to me. I'm sorry to inform you that I don't know if Shaun White has a girlfriend. Although when I mentioned this to Sadie last night she said she'd heard something about Lindsey Lohan liking him, and that they had been seen out at Bungalow 8 together. Whether or not this is true I cannont tell you. If it is, though, I have just one thing to say: Shaun please get your cute self away from the skanky, stupid, silly La Lohan. She'll only ruin you!!.

UPDATE: If you'd like to check out what Sir Shaun of Shaunalot is all about check out his Rolling Stone interview here.

I Finally Conquered Blogger

2006-02-28T11:59:00.000-06:00

It's only a month after the trip, but I finally have my NYC pictures to post. You can see my hair in it's former glory, but I don't miss it so you shouldn't either.

Radio City Music Hall. For the young people this is home to MTV's Video Music Awards. For the old it's home to whatever used to be cool when you were young.

Times Square. You are looking directly at the spot where Peter and I waited in line for almost 2 hours to get our Doubt tickets.

Yeah, I'm strutting across Times Square. What's it to you?

Checking out the skaters at the amazingly tiny Rockefeller Center. It seems to get smaller everytime I go there.

This is me doing my best America's Next Top Model pose. I don't really like having my picture taken, so I always revert to being a ham.

It's Peter's turn for an America's Next Top Model pose. He went with "bemused contemplation".

Yes, that's my ass. Hey, I was feeling sassy. Sometimes a girl feels sassy.

This was taken from inside our tent at our 5 course Egyptian dinner at Casa La Femme North. At this point I am somewhere between overly full and ready to burst. 5 courses is a lot of food, especially when your main course is an entire baked fish.

A grey Sunday morning in Central Park. What's better than that?

Look at how dedicated I am. I'm blogging to you all from Hannah and Sam's apartment in New York. You should love and appreciate me for all I do to keep you updated.

By Popular Demand...

2006-02-25T18:10:00.000-06:00

...the new haircut. The only camera available was Peter's phone, so the quality isn't great, but there you have it.

And The Beat Goes On...

2006-02-23T11:59:00.000-06:00

51. Yesterday I got my hair whacked off.
52. I now have the coolest hair style of my life, and I feel like I should be backstage sipping champagne with rock stars.
53. I wash my hair a maximum of twice a week. This is why it's awesome to have curly hair.
54. I could eat sticky rice with soy sauce for every meal of every day.
55. Sometimes, though, it's nice to substitute the soy sauce for butter and salt.
56. I love to eat food with my hands.
57. This could be because I grew up surrounded by Ethiopians.
58. My parents taught at an international boarding school for 25 years, which explains #57.
59. I tremendously miss living in a multicultural environment.
60. Even more than that I miss eating dinner in a large, family atmosphere, which may explain why I loved to eat in the caf while in college.
61. I've never broken a bone.
62. I did, however, fracture my right thumb in high school when I tried to set a serve during a volleyball match.
63. Other volleyball injures include permanently screwing up my left knee, pinching a nerve in my lower back, and throwing my back out twice. Yeah, I was hard core.
64. Throwing your back out SUCKS.
65. *rolls eyes* I do not just like Bode Miller because I think he's cute.
66. If I start to get grumpy all I have to do is picture Daniel Vosovic from this season of Project Runway during the episode where Zulema forces a walking competition on three models saying with his eyes wide open, "It's a motherf*cking walk-off!" and I bust out laughing. If you've seen this, you know what I mean.
67. I'm an unbelievable goofball.
68. I think I can do a really good English accent. I do it all the time. But really, it's horrible.
69. But it is way better than my Irish accent.
70. The only States I haven't been to are Alaska, Hawaii, New Mexico, Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont.
71. My favorite candy bar is the Skor bar, and last night at the gas station a random man bought me two of them.
72. I'm a tough chick until it reaches 90 degrees. Then I wilt like a delicate flower, and must be pampered like a southern belle.
73. Hearing any Red Hot Chili Peppers song will instantly make my day better.
74. Yesterday I decided that I'm a raging hippie trapped in a body that loves clothes and make-up.
75. Did I mention I absolutely love my new haircut?

Why Doesn't It Work?

2006-02-21T12:09:00.000-06:00

Per Crystal's request I came to blogger over my lunch hour to update since it's been a while. I'm not feeling that interesting lately, so I haven't felt up to writing much. Peter did *finally* send me our pictures from New York, and I was going to post those. For some reason the pictures that he sends me NEVER work on blogger. I'm not really sure why. I guess that blogger doesn't like their format or something. In any case, I can't get them to load. Perhaps sometime in the not-too-distant future I can figure out a way to get them to work. Until then, this is just another post referencing New York. Sorry Arbusto.

As I stated above life has been extremely blah lately. Beatrice and I roadtripped up to Decorah for what I was hoping to be a lovely and relaxing weekend, but poor Bea had other plans. She up and died on me two hours after we got there. My dad had to drive up on Saturday with our mechanic and a rented trailor to haul her back to I-town. She is definitely living up to the "Deadly Dodge" nickname one of my coworkers saw fit to term her with. I'm hoping that as yet she still has a bit of life left in her. We've been going for almost 7 years now, and I'm just not quite ready to let this relationship pass. She's not glamourous or cool or trendy or fun. Hell, she's not even clean. But I will love her until death do us part. (Preferably hers, not mine)

Otherwise I've just been working and watching the Olympics. I still think I'm one of only four Americans (Crystal and my mom make up two of the others) that even watches the Olympics, which is really too bad. And I think that I'm one of about two Americans who still likes Bode Miller. Despite the negativity the media, my dad, and just about everyone else is slinging his way I just can't buy into it. I get it. I get his point. Is he kind of an arrogant bastard? For sure. But I can't help but like his overly opininated, somewhat mouthy, cheeky and unforgiving rebellious attitude toward American attitudes about sports. So ride on Mr. Miller. Ride on.

Still Lovin' the Olympics

2006-02-15T12:25:00.000-06:00

How cute is Shaun White? I'm totally crushin' on this kid right now! His half pipe run was awesome, and his emotional reaction to winning the gold was even better.

I really, really wish the guys at ESPN would give this guy a break! I seriously dislike listening to old, fat men complain about Bode Miller.

I rather like him, and his crazy, rebellious spirit. I hope he is able to put it together and get on the podium, but if not, I hope he's happy with his Olympics anyway. Go Bode!

The Next 25

2006-02-12T17:58:00.000-06:00

26. I'm one of an apparantely few individuals who absolutely loves-to borderline obsession-the Olympics.
27. I have a special place in my heart for the Winter Olympics because I especially love watching speed skating and skiing.
28. I have the 2002 Winter Olympics in Nagano to thank for my now lean body.
29. In high school, at around 130 lbs, I was always slim, but never skinny. After I graduated I spent two years eating whatever I wanted and consequently ballooned up to 155 lbs.
30. The last Winter Olympics inspired me to kick it into gear, and I have it-well, and all my hard work- to thank for my current fighting form of 115 lbs.
31. I've had a subscription to Vogue since I was 15.
32. If I had the money I would have subscriptions to French, British, Italian, Japanese, and Australian Vogue as well.
33. Despite my love of clothes I spend relatively little money on them.
34. That's probably because I spend it all here.
35. Beck and I are birthday buddies.
36. I've only had one surprise birthday party. It was for my thirteenth birthday; it was at the Walker Bowling Alley, and I felt like a rock star.
37. I love kids, but I always go back and forth about whether I'd ever want to have my own. Most of the time I'm quite sure that I don't.
38. I think if I ever did decided to have children the only way that I'd feel truly at peace with my decision was if I adopted.
39. I can't hold my breath longer than 30 seconds. If I was stranded in the ocean I'd be screwed.
40. I have a completely irrational fear of frogs.
41. I can eat an entire Tremendous 12 at Perkins and still want pie at the end.
42. I'm very driven by my sense of smell, and I love sniffing things.
43. If I had been any good at chemstry I would've become a perfumer.
44. I prefer deep, heavy scents. I detest anything floral.
45. When I have a bad day I like to put on Hot Dog by Led Zeppelin and dance around like a maniac.
46. If I have an exceptionally bad day I think about just two things: food and tequila.
47. I'm an addicted traveller.
48. There isn't a place on earth that you could name that I wouldn't want to go to.
49. That includes Cambodia, Siberia, Iraq, and Sudan.
50. Living abroad sometime in the very near future is currently weighing very heavily on my mind.

My Turn

2006-02-09T17:25:00.000-06:00

Well, it's finally my turn. I've been tagged to post 100 wonderful, interesting, insightful things about myself. Okay, so techinically I haven't been tagged, but everyone else is doing it-Arbusto, SouthernCanadian, Mona-and I'm still fighting this illness, so this is the most creative thing I can come up with. Sue me. Like the others I will be posting this in installments so you don't fall asleep around number 53.

1. Amazingly the name of the queen in the story of Camelot is Guenevere, not Genevieve. A lot of people don't know this, and it annoys me.
2. Furthermore my name isn't pronounced Geneva, Gweneva, Gwenvieve, or Geneaodao;dicfeklwadfda.
3. At the movies, when the person at the concession stand asks me if I want butter on my popcorn I always reply with a "hell yeah!"
4. I spend an embarrasing amount of money on skin care products and make-up.
5. I think that Sephora should reward me for this by featuring me in their quartley catalogue and giving me a free trip to New York.
6. When I was 19 my hair randomly became curly, and it still remains that way.
7. My hair has been blonde, brown, dark brown and red.
8. I think it looks best when it's somewhere between brown and dark brown.
9. I wish it looked best when it's red.
10. When I'm excited I hop up and down.
11. When I'm happy I talk extremely loudly.
12. When I'm sad I become sullen.
13. When you piss me off you will get the full force of my fiesty Irish tongue.
14. People who don't know how to use a turning signal or can't pick a speed piss me off the most.
15. My brother is ambidextrous and my sister's eyes are two different colors. Both my eyes are green, and I'm borderline retarded with my left-hand.
16. I love soccer. Love it. I know a lot about it too, but I never played.
17. My family didn't have cable until I was 17. We only got it so we could watch the World Cup.
18. Our first dog's name was Pele.
19. Boys for Pele is my favorite Tori Amos album. It's probably her worst album, but it was the first one I ever heard, and I love it.
20. I have a strict "no bother" rule with celebrities. That is, if I see one, I just let them be. There are a few exceptions to this rule, including Robert Smith and the aforementioned Tori. If I ever met either of these two I'd probably break down crying. Sad, but true.
21. I LOVE TOAST. TOAST ROCKS!
22. I'm extremely stubborn and strong-willed. I'm polite enough to listen to your advice, but I'll probably never follow it.
23. I LOVE CHOCOLATE COVERED RAISINS. CHOCOLATE COVERED RAISINS ROCK!
24. I have a very old, cloud-covered sheet functioning as my living room curtain.
25. I really want an iPod.

It's Official

2006-02-07T12:01:00.000-06:00

After 5 years, numerous semi-drunk nights, countless really drunk nights, a handful of all-night study sessions and paper writings, several stressful Mock Trial tournaments and cram sessions, and a handful of Trout Fries, Morning Kegs, and Canoe Derbys to boot I finally forgot to remove my contacts before I went to sleep last night. And all it took was a wicked case of something brochitiis-like and a double dose of Nyquil Cough. Beware: That stuff is powerful.

The Trip to NYC

2006-02-01T11:37:00.000-06:00

Since nobody seems that interested in my Oscar post (actually I'm quite aware that I'm the only one that may care about that) I thought I'd go ahead and post about the trip to New York. The entire trip was a blast! We had such a great time. In all honesty I could see myself moving there. Everything seemed so comfortable and almost familiar. I was always really drawn to NYC on my previous visits, but this time something seemed to click, and I kept seeing myself there. Even though I'm a country girl at heart, I very much have a city mentality, and never once felt unsafe, out of place, lost, or confused.

I already blogged a bit about Friday during the day, so scroll down if you want to see a little summary about that. Friday night Peter, Hannah, Sam and I went to dinner at a place in SoHo called Public. Although we didn't actually get a table until about two hours after our reservation (we sat down around 11:30), we had a lot of fun, a lot of good food and drinks, and a lot of great conversation. After we finished we went to a bar for a little while, but it was pretty crowded, so we decided to call it a night around 2:30.

Because of the late night, Peter and I got a late start in the morning, but we headed back down to SoHo to do some shopping. What we actually ended up doing was walking and eating our way across SoHo, Little Italy, TriBeCa, the West Village, and Greenwich Village. We had pizza, cupcakes, and Tast-E-Delight or however you spell it. Our stomachs were full and our feet a bit sore when we headed back Uptown to Times Square to wait in line for almost two hours for half priced Broadway tickets. It was such a beautiful day, so it wasn't a bad wait at all. We scored tickets to Doubt, a play I've been wanting to see for a while. It won the Tony and the Pulitzer, so I figured it would be pretty good. After a dinner of great American cuisine at 44th & X Hell's Kitchen, we walked around Times Square taking "artistic" pictures of ourselves. Really, they're not that good, but it was fun at the time. The play was great, but I was pretty wiped from the day and the theater was extremely warm, so I found myself nodding off a couple times, but despite what Peter says I didn't fall asleep. I did have some problems with the casting (Jenna Malone is a bit young and stiff for her role), but I did like it a lot. After the play let out we were both pretty wiped so we called it an early night.

On Sunday we got up early, and went for a long stroll in Central Park before heading to 5th Ave for some shopping. We actually bought something this time around. H & M is just too good to pass up, but that ended up being the only place that either of us bought anything. Not too long after that it began to rain. We decided we were going to be troopers and stay out, but an hour and a half later, with my pants soaking wet and Peter's head getting damp, and both of us a bit tired, we headed back to the apartment until we had to leave for dinner. Fortunately by the time we left for an Egyptian dinner at Casa La Femme North, it had stopped raining. We had a great 5 course meal, afterwhich I was completely and utterly stuffed. After dinner we met up with one of Peter's friends from England, June and her boyfriend, at a bar called Prohibition, where Sam and Hannah also met up with us. It was very low-key, and we just relaxed, had a few drinks and chatted. It was a nice ending for our trip.

The next day was absolutely gorgeous out, so we were both extremely disappointed that we couldn't stay one more day, or forever, and instead had to get on a plane to come back to cold and dreary Iowa. Actually I don't have anything against Iowa, I like it very much. But it was cold and dreary when we arrived. Peter and I are both hoping to get back East sometime in the near future since we had such a great time. I'm looking forward to it!

You Know You're A Movie Geek When

2006-01-31T17:21:00.000-06:00

When the Oscar nominations mean something to you-or-you head over to your favorite local talkback to see what nominations your fellow geeks are moaning over-or-you run straight out after work and rent one of the nominations so you can have an opinion about it. All three are true of me today. I basically ran out of work, rented Crash (even though I belong to Netflix, I just couldn't wait that long!), and watched it ASAP. So here's my opinion on it: I appreciate what the film is trying to do. It's just that I don't like a movie or a book or a song or any piece of art that has to hold up a ginormous neon sign, with blinking lights that spell, "I'm about blank (in Crash's case, racism). Blank (racism) is important. Blank (racism) is bad. Learn something from blank (racism)." I like a little nuance, subtlely, layers, metaphor, similie. You know, storytelling. Do I think that racism in America exists? Hell yes. Do I think that we need to be confronted with this fact more than we are? Another hell yes. If I wanted an in-my-face SPEECH about the climate of racism in contemporary America I would hike out to see the great Cornel West. But this is a movie. All in all, I didn't hate it. In fact, some parts are quite good. Best Picture material? Not on your friggin' life. And on that note, let's get to some other nominees.

Best Picture: Brokeback Mountain, Capote, Crash, Good Night, and Good Luck, Munich.
The one they could've left off: Crash, I think I've explained why.
The one they should've included: King Kong, what's up with that snub? Does the Academy think they've showed enough love to Peter Jackson recently? This one baffles me a bit.
The rest: Many are upset that Walk the Line didn't make the cut. I haven't seen it, but personally I bit tired of biopics. I also haven't seen Capote or Good Night, and Good Luck. The latter is on my weekend list, and the former I'm still crossing my fingers that it will come to lovely CR. I'm happy with Brokeback and Munich.

Best Actor: Phillip Seymour Hoffman, "Capote"; Terrence Howard, "Hustle and Flow"; Heath Ledger, "Brokeback Mountain"; Joaquin Phoenix, "Walk the Line"; David Stratharn, "Good Night, and Good Luck."
The one they could've left off: None. This category has excellent choices. This was a highly competitive field this year.
The one they should've included: Eric Bana for Munich. I was really hoping that this highly overlooked actor would finally get a nod, but unfortunately he'll have to wait.

Best Actress: Judi Dench, "Mrs. Henderson Presents"; Felicity Huffman, "Transamerica"; Keira Knightley, "Pride and Prejudice"; Charlize Theron, "North Country"; Reese Witherspoon, "Walk the Line."
The one they could've left off: A tie between Judi Dench and Charlize Theron. Theron is still riding the Oscar wave from last year, and Dame Dench has gotten enough recognition from the Academy in the past 10 years. Let's share the love, shall we?
The one they should've included: Dench and Theron should be replaced by Naomi Watts for King Kong and Maria Bello for A History of Violence.
The rest: Solid, predictable choices. This seems to be the only category that is already down to a two woman race. Look for Reese and Felicity to be the frontrunners all the way through.

Best Supporting Actor: George Clooney, "Syriana"; Matt Dillon, "Crash"; Paul Giamatti, "Cinderella Man"; Jake Gyllenhall, "Brokeback Mountain"; William Hurt, "A History of Violence"
The one they could've left off: Matt Dillon. He's alright, but I've seen him in better roles.
The one they should've included: Any one of the main supporting actors from Munich.
The rest: Thank goodness that someone finally recognized Gyllenhaal's work in this beautiful film! Also, the geeks are going ga-ga over Hurt's nomination. This seems to be one of the very few GOOD surprises of this year's nods.

Best Supporting Actress: Amy Adams, "June Bug"; Catherine Keener, "Capote"; Frances McDormand, "North Country"; Rachel Weisz, "The Constant Gardner"; Michelle Williams, "Brokeback Mountain."
The one they could've left off: Frances McDormand. Hey, I love her, but she's gets nominated every time her mug is on camera.
The one they should've included: Scarlett Johanssen for Match Point. This is the second time she's been snubbed. It makes me wonder what it is about her that the Academy doesn't like.
The rest: It was a good year for women in supporting roles. The rest deserve to be exactly where they are.

My picks for winners will have to come much later. Many people are already making predictions, but those of us in the know know that most races aren't able to be determined until a few days before the ceremony. Catergories that seem to have an early lock often lose their footing. My examples for this year are for Best Picture and Best Supporting Actress. Many people think Brokeback is a lock, but watch in the coming weeks as Good Night, and Good Luck and especially Crash put up a good fight. Also, Rachel Weisz is the current heavy, heavy favorite the Supporting Actress category, but the Academy loves to pull the upset, historically in this category (think Marcia Gay Harden for Pollock or Marissa Tomei for My Cousin Vinny). Don't be shock if Adams or Williams walks away with the prize.

I will venture to say, though, that Phillip Seymour Hoffman has all but locked up the Best Actor award and the Best Actress race is solely between Felicity Huffman and Reese Witherspoon. Dench is a long shot, and Theron and Knightley don't have a chance in hell. As the weeks toward the ceremony progress (it's on March 5), I'll keep you in the know, just like me.

And the Nominees Are...

2006-01-31T13:02:00.000-06:00

As I'm sure you all know by now this year's Academy Awards nominations were announced today. Go here for the full list. And go here if you'd like to hear what hard core movie geeks have to say about the list. I don't have the time to go into what I think right now, but there were a few surprises (Batmin Begins, Munich, Keira Knightley), a few good nods(Brokeback, William Hurt), and too many yawns (do we really need to recognize Steven Spielberg, Judi Dench and Frances McDormand again?). The WTF was the Academy thinking? moment came with the nomination of Crash as Best Picture. Okay, I'll be honest. I haven't seen this movie yet, but now I'm definitely watching it very soon. I can tell you, though, that from what I've heard (and what the geeks at Ain't It Cool have to say) that this is way, way, way off the mark. I might go rent it tonight to get my own opinion of it, but this is an interesting move to say the least. Peace out for now, and I'll get back to you on more of this later.

Celebrity Spottings

2006-01-29T08:36:00.000-06:00

So we're in New York and running across a celebrity or two is inevitible, right? Right. Yesterday while walking to dinner I passed my first celebrity on this trip. Click here if you'd like to see who it was. It was really exciting. Actually, scratch that. It wasn't all that exciting considering I'm not a fan, but it's something. Hopefully today while strolling in the park or shopping in SoHo, I'll have a better person to report.

New York, Night One, Day One

2006-01-27T15:29:00.000-06:00

Well, there wasn't really much of a night last night. We arrived in New York a bit after 11, caught a cab to Peter's sister's place, and hung out with her and her boyfriend Sam for a while before heading to bed. Fortunately, because Hannah lives on the Upper West side, which isn't too far from La Guardia, our cab only cost us $20! She also lives in a pretty quiet neighborhood, so we slept well and weren't disturbed by any New York crazies.

We got up late this morning, then headed downtown for a few hours at the MoMA. I hadn't ever been there before, and I really enjoyed it. There are so many beautiful things there, and my favorite part had to have been the modern architecture section. Afterwards we headed to Nougatine for lunch. It was quite good. I won't lie and try to oversell it. It wasn't the absolute best food I've ever had, but it was tasty and the environment lovely. Now we're relaxing before heading out for quite an evening with Hannah and Sam. We're not going to Tao. Instead we're going to SoHo to a restaurant called Public for what I consider a late dinner, but around here it's a pretty normal time, 10. Before that we're going to hit up some local establishments for pre-dinner drinks and hijinx, and I think we're going to have a great time. I just hope that with my lightweight status I'm not totally smashed before we get to dinner! In any case, I'm looking forward to it. Sorry that there aren't more details now, but I want to put my feet up (because my toes are sore!) before we are out and about again!

New York, New York...Almost!

2006-01-25T16:40:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow Peter and I jet off to New York! I'm starting to get very excited. Who am I kidding? I'm already really excited. In fact, I'm very sick right now and should be in bed, but after tossing and turning for almost an hour I gave up and started researching more NYC things. Today I started worrying about having enough money. I've actually been able to save a fair amount of money considering I was dead broke when I finished Americorps, then took what little money I had made from my new job to buy Christmas presents. In the past few weeks I haven't done much, including not going out to eat or buying food in general, not visiting anyone or doing anything fun and so I haven't spent any money. But now I'm worried that I won't have enough, especially when I remember those dreadful things called taxis. Those will bleed me dry. I've already resigned myself to not shopping, which seems positively evil not to do when you're in New York. Then I remember all the great places we're going to eat, and I'm pretty satisfied. Since I don't know yet what else we're doing besides eating (and spending too much time at the MoMA and getting day-of tickets for a show on Saturday) I'll let you all in on the places that we are going to chow down at:

Friday Lunch: Nougatine

Friday Dinner: Tao

Pre-Theatre Saturday Dinner: San Domenico--natch--We changed our minds. We're going to 44th & X Hell's Kitchen instead.

Sunday Dinner: Casa La Femme North

Now, you ask, what about lunch on Saturday and Sunday? I will be more than satisfied for a New York slice or two or three. I can't wait to get eating!

You Know You're Reading Another Blog Too Much...

2006-01-24T12:02:00.000-06:00

...when you have an intricate and complex, almost epic dream about them. That is what happened to me last night as I found Trent the main character of one of my crazy dreams. For those who don't know me well I'm a big, BIG dreamer. Not a night goes by when I don't have at least two memorable dreams. In color, in black and white, long, short, crazy, normal, nightmarish and fantasy, I have them all. I'm not the only blogger who's been dreaming of other bloggers as of late. Jordan Baker seems to be experiencing the same thing. At least her's are more general and not focused on just one person. I wonder what this says about my obsession with pinkisthenewblog?

Anyway, now to the really exciting news...Peter and I jet off to the great, big, sparkling city of NYC in a little over 48 hours. His sister lives there, and we're going out East for a bit of a visit. We'll be there for four days, and pretty much the only thing we have planned is restaurants. We made two attempts to get tickets to see the revival of Sweeney Todd, but to no avail. Damn those bastards at Broadway.com. I guess this means we'll be running through Times Square in order to get day of tickets. Cross your fingers that something great will be available!

I'm excited for this trip for two reasons: 1. I haven't been anywhere for a long time and 2. I haven't been to New York in an even longer time. Good shopping, great food, big, beautiful buildings, I have stars in my eyes just thinking about it. I'm pretty sure it would only take me .5 seconds to become a New Yorker. I know this sounds bizarre, but it literally makes me tingle with excitement. If ever that day comes, I'll let you know. Until then I need to come up with a packing plan. I'm trying NOT to bring a ginormous suitcase, but that might be a distinct impossibility. Anyway, if you've been to NYC recently and there is something that Peter and I absolutely shouldn't miss out on doing let me know! I'd appreciate it.

This is Amazing

2006-01-23T17:59:00.000-06:00

Today I was introduced to this website. The pictures are absolutely gorgeous! Go there and knock yourself out!

Oh, What A Beautiful Morning?

2006-01-19T12:04:00.000-06:00

So yeah, sometime during my normal morning routine my duties were reassigned--for now on a temporary basis--to those of a technical writer. Yes, I was an English major. Yes, I'm a pretty good writer. No, I've never done technical writing before. I'm now writing my first ever operations manual (oh, and it's a biggie) for a huge piece of equipment that I have neither seen nor know anything about. And it's due...MONDAY! At first I started swearing profusely in my head. Then I wanted to sit down and cry. For a moment I stopped breathing. Then I decided my only course of action was to simply dive in and start because lord know's I have no clue what I'm doing, so I decided to just do. Anyway, I will provide more details later because during this lunch break all I want to do is relax before I have to jump in again. Here's to hoping I don't screw the whole thing up.

Genevieve's Golden Globe Wrap-Up

2006-01-17T12:35:00.000-06:00

The Golden Globes were last night, and Sadie and I had a great time in our sweatpants passing quiet and not-so-quiet judgement on the dresses and who was chosen to win. For the most part I agree with the winners. I also agree with Peter that I'm tired of people in biopics always winning. Let's mix things up a bit and give an award to someone who actually created their own performance. Now that would be novel. I also completely disagree with Lost winning best drama. I watch Lost every week, and just like a disappointed parent who knows their child has so much more potential, I turn away sad and slightly pissed off in their lack of creativity, how obvious it is becoming that they don't have a plan, and for introducing the character of Anna Lucia. It most certainly isn't better than Grey's Anatomy or Rome, both fellow nominees. On the other side it was great to see Steve Carrell, Mary Louise Parker, and Phillip Seymour Hoffman win. Also, last night was the night of the funny speech. Instead of rambling off a long list of people you don't know or care about most winners chose to be witty and funny, some even down right hilarious. Geena Davis? Killed me. Steve Carrell? Possible the best acceptance speech ever. Hugh Laurie? Clever, very clever.

But really there's only one main reason to watch an award show that isn't the Oscars (well, it's important there too, of course, especially to someone like me) and that's the fashion. For the most part I think that everyone did really well. It was a much better turn out than the Emmy's where everyone looked the same, and that wasn't a good thing. We watched the red carpet arrival on E!, and it was ADD central. They had their screen split three ways and most of the evening I was so distracted and confused trying to find everyone all at once. They also had Isaac Mizrahi working the carpet doing interviews. He started out asking the cheeky questions that seem inappropriate but everyone loves answering such as, Are you wearing underwear tonight? Did you bring a condom with you? Then he simply became outrageous. First, when he asked Teri Hatcher if she'd written an acceptance speech and she said no, he proceeded to look down her dress --he actually took his hand, pulled her dress away from her bosom and peered down--to see if she had one hidden. Listen, Isaac, I know you're gay. I mean gayer than gay. Superman gay. And I know you're not sexually interested in the goodies, but in the name of the good lord, don't look down women's dresses on live international television!

Next he tried to look in all manner of people's clutches and wristlets to see what products etc, they were carrying. Most people played along, but Charlize Theron almost had a cow, and I don't really blame her. Nobody expects to stop and do an interview and have the interview grab at their purse and look in. Not too long after that he took the Teri Hatcher stunt one step farther and actually fondled Scarlett Johansson's breats, and proceed to chant, "I just touched your boobies!" I know it's all the rage these days to be slightly scandilous on the red carpet, but being a perve really isn't the way to go.

With all that said I've put together a little collection of some of the different looks on the red carpet. I hope you enjoy them. There are a few spelling and grammar errors. I was rushing to get it posted during my lunch break, so be a doll and overlook them. Enjoy!

The Gentlemen

2006-01-17T12:32:00.000-06:00

As Carrie Bradshaw once said, "George Clooney is like a Chanel suit. He'll always been in style."

I love, LOVE that Adrien Brody decided to wear a scarf instead of tie. It's such a badass move, and I love it. Did I mention that I LOVE it?

Ladies, let's just all take a moment to drink in the stone-cold foxiness of Eric Bana. Please, take more than a moment. Take all the time in the world.

The Missteps

2006-01-17T12:26:00.000-06:00

Anyone who knows my fashion sensibilities right now (mainly Sadie, but there could be others) knows I'm totally crushing on Balenciaga. Balenciaga's the shit. I want everything in Nicholas G for Balenciaga's spring line. Well, everything except this dress. She looks just a wee bit like Little Boo Peep. Or a pregnant milkmaid. Or a puffy sleaved, ruffled collar disaster.

It seems that becoming a lesbian has not been good to Cynthia Nixon. The hair's too big, the dress was unflattering, and the make-up is yuck-o! Perhaps she should think about going back to men.

Beautiful redhead+ugle orange dress=Badness all around.

Lime green looks bad on everyone, everywhere, at every time. Just say no.

Poor Mandy looks as if she only got an hour's notice before she found out she had to present at the Golden Globes. Her hair was greasy and tousled, the dress was matronly and ill-fitting, and that necklace is just wrong.

The Lovelies

2006-01-17T12:16:00.000-06:00

Natalie Portman is about the most gorgeous and elegant creature on the planet. She recent shaved her head for V is for Vendetta, and it's now grown into a beautiful pixie cut. The Chanel frock is wonderful. The make-up is flawless. But someone really should've done something about her eyebrows. The way they are make her look scarily like this:

Otherwise, she was perfection. Next time, though, tame those babies down.

When I first saw this dress I wasn't too keen on it, but Reese is cute, the hair and make-up are perfect, and damn, she sold it. She looks darling, and not many pushing 30 can pull off darling, but with her I feel it's genuine.

Statuesque? Check. Stunning gown? Check. Killer figure? Check. Sense of humor with the crazy Isaac? Check. She's a better girl than me, in more ways than one.

Just about the cutest couple ever. They almost make me sick. They held hands during the entire ceremony. He kept fixing her hair on the red carpet. They have a darling baby Matilda. Alright, I'm about to chuck. Moving on.

I'm sorry but Kate Beckinsale=Hot. Chaud!! The dress was fantastic and hit every single curve of her body. She looks amazing.

P.S. It's backless and scooped very low. **Whistles** And I'm a girl!

I Just Like Them, so There

2006-01-17T12:11:00.000-06:00

Mary Louise Parker is one of my absolute favorite actresses. She is nothing short of amazing in everything she does. She's always very demure on the red carpet, and usually goes with black and low-cut, which could be boring but damn, doesn't she look great?

Oh, Emma. I love you. You were a highlight of the evening. I laughed and laughed over your satircal dumping on Pride and Prejudice. Why are you hiding your gorgeous frock behind a dead sheep? Dump the sheep. Let the dress shine on, baby.

My Favorites

2006-01-17T12:02:00.000-06:00

There were many, many lovely dresses on the red carpet (which is so refreshing!), but these three are my favorites:

Sometimes Felicity Huffman has a tendency to look a little too much like her character from TransAmerica, what with those kickin' biceps and all, but last night she looked feminie, floaty, and beautiful. I approve.

Really, there's nothing spectacular about the dress that Renee Zelleweger is rockin', but the simple fact that she's rockin' it makes it spectacular. Her appearance as of late has been pinched, bony, and frightening. Here she looks good, sexy even, which is usually a word I keep very far away from the likes of Renee. Very improved.

This isn't the best picture of Maria Bello and the gorgeous, gorgeous dress she is wearing, but she looked FABULOUS on the red carpet. Not only was the dress fantastic, but she look so lovely and fresh that she was easily my top pick. (And trust me, not many can wear accordian pleats, but hooray to Maria for being able to)

Weekend Update

2006-01-16T12:00:00.000-06:00

Friday at lunch I tried to log on to blogger to post but for some inexplicable reason it wasn't working. After several failed attempts, I gave up. I headed straight up to Decorah after work where a weekend of fun and blissful laying around doing a whole lot of nothing awaited me. I hadn't really planned on drinking this weekend, but it's always when you don't plan on doing something that it always ends up happening. Fortunately it was a good time that included lots of beer, some strange shoulder touching drinking game, beer pong, drunken heart-to-hearts, and plenty of Pizza Ranch pizza. Cactus Bread? Ain't nothin' wrong with that.

The next day I didn't change out of my pj's until about 2, and considering I went to bed that same night before 10 I probably should've just stayed in them. I got about 3 hours of sleep on Friday night, so I was wholly incapacitated on Saturday. Everyone was going bowling--and we all know how much I love bowling (yes, I will kick your ass)--but I had absolutely no energy and pretty much passed out cold right at the end of Law and Order.

Last week I joined Netflix, and I was hoping to watch one of the movies this weekend, but I never got around to it. So far I really love Netflix. It's cheap, easy, and frankly, awesome. I'm still waiting to actually watch one of the movies, and it's going to have to wait at least one more night since the Golden Globes are on tonight. Yes, I watch the Golden Globes. Yes, I get geeked out excited about it. Yes, I love watching Joan and Melissa Rivers and their cracked out banter. Yes, I judge every single thing that every single person is wearing. Yes, I will have a full fashion post tomorrow. I'm hoping for something better than this year's Emmy's. That was bad. BAD! Perhaps the two bottles of Pink Andre left over from New Year's will make it better.

I Think My Body Hates Me

2006-01-12T11:59:00.000-06:00

The moment I got out of bed this morning I had to take 2 Advils. I feel like crap and am at work. I hate being sick and at work because then I am grumpy and unenjoyable to be around. If I had worked here for awhile I would probably go home, crawl into bed, and stay buried under my down comforter until tomorrow morning. Since I haven't yet been here a month I think it best to tough it out. I've made it 5 hours. I'm hoping the rest of the time goes quickly. I wanted to write a nice long post today, but that is getting delayed until at least this evening or tomorrow afternoon. For now I'm simply going to go here, here, and here. I really need to stop reading this shit, but it's addicting. Long live Trent.

Reporting No Shenanigans or Hijinx

2006-01-09T11:58:00.000-06:00

Well, I'd love to be here typing up my great story of all the fun I had this weekend, but alas, no such fun happened. If you recall it was supposed to happen, but fate apparently had other plans. Anyway, around lunchtime on Friday my friend Courtney and I made plans to meet up in Iowa City, go see Brokeback Mountain, then hit Gabe's to see a show. Since the movie was beginning at 6:20, we decided to meet up at 6. At 6:02 I strolled into the mall, and took the escalator up to the movie theater. There was no one waiting. In fact, the entire place seemed rather empty. I waited a couple of minutes then turned around to check out what other movies were playing, Wolf Creek, Syriana, Something I don't remember, and no Brokeback Mountain. Then Courtney's words came back to me, "Don't go to that mall. That's not the right one. Go to the other one." I started thinking, what other mall, besides Coralridge--and I knew it wasn't playing there--is there in Iowa City? Shit! Sycamore Mall, and I had absolutely no idea how to get there.

I ask the girl at the ticket counter for directions, then I went sprinting to the parking ramp. Not entirely trusting the first set of directions I was given I ask the girl at the parking ramp exit gate how to get to Sycamore Mall. She gives me slightly different directions. Double shit! I'm already about 10 minutes late at this point, and only have a general idea about where I'm going. First of all, I hit every single red light that Iowa City could possibly give me. Second of all I'm speeding, which is not a good idea in Iowa City. I decide to take the first set of directions that was given to me. It soon becomes obvious that this was not the right way to go. I make an illegal u-turn at a four-way stop, and as I go sailing back down the way I came I see a cop. Triple Shit. I'm so getting pulled over for that. There's no way that cop is letting me get away with that. Oh my god, they're letting me get away with that. Sweet!

I start over and take the second set of directions. These are also wrong. By now it's 6:20 and the movie has started. I stop into the one place I know will give me the correct directions because their tips depend on it, Pizza Hut. I get immediate, concise directions, and within 5 minutes I'm sprinting into the right mall. I'm breathlessly looking around the lobby for Courtney and Gordy, hoping against hope that they waited for my extremely late ass (I should probably take this moment to note that I didn't have either of their phone numbers because being the idiot that I am I didn't program them into my mobile before I left home). They didn't. I couldn't really blame them. I decide that I'll just buy a ticket and go into the theater and find them. I get all the way up to the ticket counter when I notice a piece of paper taped up that says, "Brokeback Mountain 6:20 Sold Out". Well, that's just great. Totally disheartened and frustrated I sit down on a bench trying to figure out what to do. I thought about just waiting around for them, but it's a long movie, and I was already tired and grumpy so I trekked all the way back to Cedar Rapids where I consoled myself with a root beer and a Snicker's Bar.

The rest of the weekend was very low-key. Hopefully one day soon Courtney and I will actually get to see each other. She and I didn't meet until our last semester of college, and it was one of those things where we were instafriends. We couldn't believe that we had never met before, especially since we knew each others' friends. Now that she's moved to the great IACTY I'm hoping that we'll get to have lots of fun drinking wine and watching the Little Mermaid and because we're slightly intoxicated we won't be embarrased that we're belting out all the songs.

I Just Had To Say...

2006-01-06T15:22:00.000-06:00

...that Pat Robertson may be the stupiest person on earth. What's makes him even worse is that he has to let everyone else know how dumb he is.

TGIF

2006-01-06T12:03:00.000-06:00

1. It's here people! Brokeback Mountain has finally made its way to Eastern Iowa. Granted it's only playing in one theater, and that theater is, of course, in the heart of Iowa City. I will be trekking down there tonight to see it with Courtney and Gordy. Courtney is a long-lost friend from college who much to my delight moved to Iowa City a couple of weeks ago, and Gordy is a long-lost guy who once almost dated my college roommate when we were still in college. Anyway, I'll have a full report on the movie and any shenanigans that may happen upon us later.

2. Munich is also **finally** here. I'm thinking a Sunday mantinee of that is right up my alley.

3. Last night's Will & Grace's Sound of Music episode may have been the funniest thing I've ever seen. If you have a deep appreciation for that movie--as I do--their parody will kill you. It would be worth it to buy this whole season's DVD just for that one episode.

4. A co-worker brought these in the other day. Best. Thing. Ever.

4. If I ever again begin to doubt that I still have a feminist heart beating deep within my soul I will only need to remember this one story: There is a guy about my age that works down in the shop. He's very nice, and he always stops to talk to me, and we're on a friendly basis. He's mentioned before that he became a Christian after he met his wife, and today he was telling me about when he and a few other co-workers went and got their tongues pierced a few years ago. When I asked why he didn't still have his, he said that when he started going to church he didn't think it was appropriate to have one anymore. Now, I grew up in a pretty conservative church, and they don't care when people have piercings or tatoos at church, as long as your "heart was in the right place". When I asked him what kind of church he went to he explained that all the women wear skirts and head coverings and aren't allowed to speak at all in church. There is no pastor, the church is nameless and is affliated with no other church or affliation anywhere. I inquired more about the women's roles and why they did it that way. His response? That's what the Bible says they're supposed to do. I became so angry that my heart started to race, the color built up in my face, and I literally started shaking. I just can't believe that women are still subjugated in such in way in this country, in this day in age. It's been a good, long time since my wrath has been envoked to that extreme, but I'm glad to remember that I'm capable of it, even if I do make dinner for my boyfriend (that one was for you Jer!).

God Bless Texas

2006-01-05T12:27:00.000-06:00

USC can bite it, and they did.

Genevieve's 2005 in Review

2006-01-03T11:58:00.000-06:00

Okay, so the categories thing didn't work out so well. In lieu of that I will just be doing my own year in review with no rhyme and no reason, just doing what pops into my head at this moment.

The best movie I saw this year: I saw so many in the theaters and rented so many that this is really hard for me. I'm going to go with King Kong. Honorable mentions to Batman Begins and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

The so terrible it's awesome movie of the year: This category goes to any one of the HBO or Lifetime movies that I watch whilst bored. It could be any one of the demon child, jilted lover, cheerleader lusting teacher, divorced single mom, or Lindsay Lohan movies that repeatedly play. Here's to a whole new year of smutty television movies!

Best Memories of the Year:
1. Going to Florida and Disney World with Sara
2. Road tripping with the family to and from Ohio
3. Spending a week with my grandpa before he died
4. Having the longest, warmest, and most beautiful fall that I can ever remember
5. My brother getting engaged
6. Going to the Hawkeye football homegames
7. Tailgating with Crystal before the Michigan game
8. The Michigan game....wait...scratch that
9. Figuring out I want to go to law school
10. Going to the state soccer tournament
11. Sadie and I trying to find out why our bathroom smelled like gasoline
12. Finding a job that pays decently, even if it is repetitive and boring.

Best way to drive someone crazy: Speaking in the third person around Christine

Best comeback by an annoyed Christine: "We've had a request. It's that you would please shut up."

Best show of restraint around a co-worker: Me for everyday I had to work with Donna.

Best imaginary moment: My every day thought process of verbally and physically slapping Donna. It was very satisfying, even if it was only in my mind.

Best shake off that hangover and dance like a madwoman moment: Kathryn and I during the Hawkeye's New Year's Day bowl game. We won't even talk about this year's bowl game.

Best response for any situation: "Thanks. I work out."

Best Political Moment: When the government swooped in and saved those Katrina victims the moment the storm moved out or when the government accepted aid from foreign countries looking to reach out and help our hurricane victims or when the government sent aid to all of the earthquake victims in Pakistan who would've frozen and starved to death without it or when we pulled out of Iraq and sent our troops home to be with their families, where they belong or when gas prices finally became reasonable again. Really, any of those moments. Wait...

Best place to waste mucho time: pinkisthenewblog I love you Trent!

Best celebrity encounter: A tie. Meeting Hal Sparks. Getting an email response from Trent. Both made me hop around for an hour.

Best place to skip out on the gym and meet Sadie for dinner: Chili's. May the Boneless Buffalo Chicken Salad live forever.

So that's it. The year in review. Actually it's really doing as much of the year in review as I could in my lunch break. I hope that you all had a great year, and cheers to 2006!

Bialystock and Bloom Are More Me Than Me

2005-12-30T12:04:00.000-06:00

Peter and I went to see The Producers last night. It's one of those movies where I went to it knowing I was going to love it, and I did. It does start a bit slowly, too much like the theater. What I mean by this is that theater and film are two completely different mediums, and things that work in the theater don't necessarily work in film. The movie begins this way, but starts to change by Leo Bloom's first big number, and is in full film force by the rooftop scene with Will Ferrell. It's easily the funniest movie I've seen this year, and it is also a huge throwback to the way musicals used to be made. I left the theater singing "Gotta Dance" from Singin' in the Rain and proceeded to sing and dance to it for the rest of the night. Fortunately Peter isn't easily embarrased by me, which is a good thing considering I ended the night dancing like a fool in public and began it by saying to the row of ladies behind us, "How 'bout we shut the hell up?" Okay, I didn't say it directly to them, but I did say it loud enough for them to be upset about it for the rest of the night. What can I say, I didn't pay $8 to listen to the fat women behind me narrate the movie. I was also in a weird mood last night. When we passed the line of people waiting to get into Narnia, I had the strange compulsion to yell out, "Enjoy Narnia, Bitches!", but I managed to keep myself in check. It's a good thing because I'm pretty sure that some of those parents would've kicked my ass.

I think they already wanted to. While we were all being forced to wait in the lobby for our movie Peter and I proceeded to point out why Wehrenberg is a superior place to see a movie than Wynnsong. We covered everything from price, to the butter on the popcorn, to why we were being forced to be kept like animals in their tiny lobby instead of being allowed to go to our seats, to how attractive their employees are, etc. Pretty much anything that happened there we would respond with, "This wouldn't happen if we were at Wehrenberg." So really, damn Wehrenberg for not showing The Producers.

That is one more movie off the list. Hopefully tonight we're going to catch Fun with Dick and Jane, and then I might treat myself to The Whale and The Squid on Monday since it finally came to town at the independent/cheap theater. Brokeback Mountain and Munich have yet to make an appearance here. I'm starting to get a little impatient. Alright, so that's it from me today. Except that I need to plea one more time for you to get your lazy fingers up and type me up some categories. Go to Wednesday's post and see what the deal is about. If you don't I'm going to start stalking you at your blogs, homes, and email address!

Hello!?

2005-12-29T12:00:00.000-06:00

I'm very disappointed by the response--or lack thereof--to yesterday's proposition. I excepted more from you, or as The Joy Luck Club teaches us, I hoped for more from you. Please, get your bum to yesterday's post and suggest away. Otherwise I will become very, very sad. And remeber, there are only a few days left until the new year. Promptness in response places you very well in my book.

Let's Play Categories

2005-12-28T12:01:00.000-06:00

Well, first of all, in case you were wondering my three Christmases went smoothly. First Peter and I celebrated with his mom, stepdad, sister, and grandma. Then we swung over to my house for a while, then Christmas morning we headed back to Cedar Rapids to his aunt and uncle's for brunch and presents with his dad and stepmom and that side of his fam. It wasn't as crazy or terrible as all that travelling could end up being, even for someone who wasn't in the Christmas mood at all this year, a.k.a., me. I got some nice presents and some moolah, which is really all a girl needs.

Second of all, if one more so-called "emo" band uses the word proverbial in any way, shape, or form again I will go completely ape-shit and begin a killing spree of all the members of these bands. I will start with Reliant K and continue on from there. I seriously don't think that any of them even know what the word means.

Third of all, I'm jumping on the bandwagon and planning a year in review post. Look forward to one where I go on a complete rant about how spoiled our nation is, about how we don't take care of our people, and most of all about how we all seem to be obsessed with affluence, labels, and living beyond our means. On the lighter side I want to do a fun, Genevieve-esque list of the best and worst things of 2005, and I would like you to help me pick the categories. That's right, dear reader, please leave me a comment with a category or two or three that you would like to see me cover. I will do the general things such as movie, song, book, etc, but I'm looking for things that are a bit more offbeat, such as best nonsexual homoerrotic gay embrace of 2005 or hottest celebrity to freely stump for Starbucks or the fatest anorexic on both the East and West Coast. Use your imaginations. Go hog wild. I dare you. Double dare you. Double dog dare you even. Even if you aren't a regular commentor I would love you to just leave a little something this time around. Come on people. As Tyra Banks would say, Make Mamma Proud!

What Was That?

2005-12-27T12:04:00.000-06:00

So...out...of...it.....

Dragging...serious....ass...

Still...on...holiday...

Want...to...leave...and...go...see...The...Producers...

I'm...such...a...liar....
...I...really...want...to...nap...

Sipping...the...diet...Rock...Star...

Still...think...it...should...be...called...Rock...Star...Lite

Can't...think...enough...to...write...
...going...to...read...pinkisthenewblog...instead...

Congrats to Dawn and Jami!!!

Finally!

2005-12-20T12:02:00.000-06:00

1. Here I am, on my lunch break, blogging. That's what my life has become now that I have a real job. I am working from 7-3:30, which is actually a really nice shift, but it's taken some adjusting, so between computer problems and just being very tired at nights lately I haven't been keeping up as I should. I'm sure once my body becomes accustomed to rising at 5:15 am and putting in a full day's work I will be on top of things. The new job is going well. It's very different from Habitat, which was exactly what I was looking for. I was so bored at Habitat most of the time, and now I'm so busy that I've already worked through a few lunches, and the time flies by. The job itself is not something I'd want to do for the rest of my life, but it's interesting enough and will keep me busy until I go to law school. Plus, they pay me quite well, and I have full benefits plus dental, which, for anyone who knows me, knows it's extremely important that I have dental insurance. Actually if I had to choose between dental and medical, I'd go with dental. The other great part of the job is that it puts me on the extremely southern end of Cedar Rapids which means I can move to Iowa City this summer! I may have a new roommate then. And she may be my not-so-annonymous Jeff Samardzija annonymous tipper. If we do move in together I'm going to have to prepare my ass for hourly slappings, or slappings any time the mood strikes her, because as all of us who know her well know all too well, she loves to slap asses.

2. ***Movie Update*** I've seen three movies in the theater in the past 9 days. I know it's a lot, but I've got a lot of movies to get through this season. Plus, Wehrenberg's rush hour price (if you see a movie 4-6 pm it's only $3.75) makes it financially feasible to run off and see whatever my pretty little head desires. The first movie I saw was Narnia. If you love the books, you'll love the movie. It stays extremely true to the story, and the characters just pop and come to life so well, especially the beavers. I highly recommend this one. The second movie I saw was Syriana. It got great reviews, but it was such a disappointment to me. It just wasn't as interesting or shocking as the movie hopes it is. It relies on cliches to drive the plot, and you can't help but be disappointed when you reach the end and all that has unravelled is something you can read in the New York Times on a daily basis. I say skip it. The third movie I saw was King Kong. If you haven't seen this movie yet, please get up right now and go. Stop eating. Stop working. Stoping showering. Just go. So, so, so, so good. Great even. Amazing. Well, maybe I wouldn't push it to that extreme, but I would dare to say that it's the best movie-going experience I've had this year (sorry Batman Begins).

3. I hate to admit it, but I love the new Shakira song. It took me a while to figure out why, but it finally occured to me that if you take out her vocals, you have a Cure song. Trust me. Next time you hear it listen carefully. The guitar work is classic Cure.

4. With only a few days left until the Big Day I'm still not in the Christmas mood. It seems to have passed straight over me this year. Peter took me around to see Christmas lights, and we listened to Christmas Carols the whole time, but even that didn't get me it feeling as if it's actually this time of year. I'm also having a hard time with presents. Normally I'm a really good gift giver, but this year even thinking about what to buy people makes me want to just change into my pjs, lie on the couch, and do nothing. Perhaps by the Big Morning this will change. At least I get a few days off work, get to see Sara, and eat some Chuong. That last one could be a celebration by itself!

Grrr.....

2005-12-13T20:03:00.000-06:00

The computer at my apartment is currently experiencing technical difficulties. It's miraculously working right now, but probably won't for much longer. I have so much I want to type, especially about the new job (it's going great!) and my recent movie watching (run to see Narnia, definitely skip Syriana!). I wish I could elaborate, but I want to finish this before the "t's", the "y's", and the backspace button stop working again. Hopefully soon I can get something substantial up. If you're missing reading this blog (oh, I hope you are) know that I'm definitely missing writing it.

Psst...

2005-12-10T11:59:00.000-06:00

...I got a job. A good one. Yeah for me!!

All I Wanted Was A Taco Pizza

2005-12-08T18:20:00.000-06:00

I've only been working my temp job for two days and already I'm stressed out. I'm working as a receptionist/medical assistant at a very busy doctor's office. Well, it's not just one doctor, it's 5 doctors, 5 therapists, and 5 social workers. It's been hard to move from a really laid-back, chillaxed office, to one where you barely get to scarf down lunch, and you don't get breaks or get to go to the bathroom. Yesterday I was about to throw in the towel, but today was a lot slower because of the 10 inches of snow! I had to scrape off my car four times today, back and forth to the gym and back and forth to work. All I have to say about that is I'm getting a pair of snow boots, and I don't care how ugly they are. If they keep my feet warm and dry, I want them. Wading through that much snow to clean off my car is just miserable.

Taking all of this into account all I wanted to do when I got home today was order a pizza. I always order from Papa John's because they are right down the street, and they usually have a hot pizza at more door in 15 minutes. Being a snow day I knew that they would be really busy, so I was willing to wait because nothing sounded better than a taco pizza. They have the best there, mostly because they put a layer of refried beans. So, so good! After waiting on hold for awhile, I finally get through:

Me: I'd like a small taco pizza.
Girl: Sorry. We're out of taco pizza.
Me: WHAT!!!??? That's all I wanted!!!
Girl: Can I get you something else?
Me: Um, um, I don't know. All I can think about is taco pizza.
Girl: Well, we could make you one without lettuce. Is that alright?
Me: Oh, yeah! No problem. Also, no tomatos. NO TOMATOS. The last two times I said this I got tomatos, and I really don't want them.
Girl: Okay, hold on.
Girl: Keep waiting.
Girl: Hold on.
Girl: There isn't a "no tomatos" button.
Me: I know. I talked with someone about this before. They said you had to tell the person making it not to put tomatos on it.
Girl: It's really busy in here. I could tell them, but they won't remember.
Me: Can't you just write it on the ticket, and then tell them?
Girl: I could, but they probably won't remember.
Me: *pause* **double pause** So....
Girl: Could I get you something else?
Me: Fine! Give me a supreme. No olives or mushrooms.

There is only one thing to say about this exchange: Whatever happened to customer service? So now, no taco pizza for me. I'm very sad.

I'm Alive, I Swear!

2005-12-06T17:35:00.000-06:00

Sorry that I've been quiet recently. I am busy looking for work, etc. etc. etc. The good news is that at the very least I have a job which will keep me from starving. My dear roommie Sadie found me a nice temp-to-hire job has a receptionist/medical assistant at a doctor's office. I start that job tomorrow. That means that the past two days have been spent cleaning my apartment, watching tv, working out, and negating my work outs by eating copius amounts of Hershey's Kisses. In other job related news, I am waiting to hear whether or not I got the job I interviewed for last Friday. It sounds promising, and I really liked the people I met with there. I am supposed to hear about that by the end of the week, so I'm hoping... Otherwise, I received two phone calls today wanting to set up interviews for next week. One is a company in North Liberty. What is really attractive about that is it puts me closer to where I want to be--Iowa City. The other is one of the biggest companies in Cedar Rapids, who have finally cracked and given me an interview. I almost couldn't believe it when I listened to the message. I've been trying and trying to get my foot in the door there, all to no avail. Until today! So there are some prospects, and until then I have a nice position to keep me floating.

Besides the job hunt, I went to Luther this weekend, enjoyed some music, and once again, ate way too much food. I also got completely sucked into the America's Next Top Model marathon that was on VH1 on Sunday. I seriously watched that show for about 6 hours! While watching I kept seeing preview after preview for really good movies that are getting ready to come out. For the past few years good movies has been scarce. We were lucky to get two that merited recognition around Oscar time. This year it seems like there are a bagillion movies that look excellent. I can't wait for them to start, so I can get going to see them all! I had to make a list of the movies I most want to see, in order of absolutely dying to go to I just can't wait. Here they are:

1. The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. I first saw a preview for this movie when I went to Revenge of the Sith. I was so excited I had goosebumps all over my body. That excitement has only built since then. I'm hoping to go see this the day it's released (this Friday!!!) because it's going to be so, so good!

2. Brokeback Mountain. Ang Lee has only done us wrong once. I'm sure he's learned his lesson and will never do it again. Being the director of one of my top 5 movies of all time (Sense and Sensebility) I'm excited to see how he handles this extremely sensitive and explosive subject matter. Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger don't hurt.

3. King Kong. Nothing much to say about this, except that it just looks awesome.

4. Memoirs of a Geisha. A beautiful book that-from what I've seen-looks beautifully done.

5. The Producers. Who can resist Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane singing and dancing? I can't!

6. Fun with Dick and Jane. The season of award pushers needs a good comedy, and this looks like it will fit that bill.

7. Munich. I saw the preview for this for the first time this weekend, and am looking forward, more than anything else, seeing this story. Sometimes, though, Spielberg bites off more than he can chew and doesn't quite hit the right note. He always makes good movies, but he doesn't always make compelling ones. (He'd like to think he does, though)

Did I miss any? I hope not. This is quite a list already, and I can't wait to start in on it!

Deal With It

2005-11-30T20:58:00.000-06:00

It's been snowing a bit this week here in Iowa. This week has also been a little melancholy for me. The combination of these two things made me remember a poem I wrote a few years ago. Well, all my poems were written a few years ago since I seem to have lost the ability to write them. Anyway, here it is. Enjoy it or not.

Poem Three on January 19, 2003

It snowed today.
But none of the usual gentle feelings that come
With white flakes and gray skies fell with it.
And it's probably because I'm torturing myself,
Because I don't know if I want to be yours
Or if I want you to be mine.

Iowans Are Winners

2005-11-30T16:14:00.000-06:00

First I want to give out a genuine “congratulations” to Matt from the Biggest Loser! Sadie and I watched that show from day one and from the beginning I had a feeling that he would win. He seemed so determined. Even though I have a lot of love for Dr. Jeff (could you find a sweeter man?), Matt was my man all the way through, which of course had something to do with the fact that he lives about 15 minutes away from me. He’s a good Iowa boy, and we fellow Iowans are happily to claim him (we’ll even forgive him for admitting on national television that he started drinking when he was 13 because “there isn’t anything else to do in a small Iowa town”. The guy lost 157 lbs. I’ll cut him a little slack). Now that the one reality show I watch is over whatever will I find to replace it? Oh, yeah…the new season of Project Runway starts next week!!! Bring on the crazy clothes and designer bitchiness. Let’s get it started. (If you think I wrote about Rome a lot, watch out. I might go on Project Runway overload.)

Switching gears completely I think I may have applied to every available job in the area. I literally couldn’t find one to apply for today. I did have a promising phone interview this morning. They immediately scheduled me for a face-to-face interview, so there is one little glimmer of a possibility. I also have an interview tomorrow that Sadie hooked up for me. I’m hoping within the next week something pans out. It has to, or I will starve because I have no money.

Because things are winding down at the current job there wasn’t much for me to do today. After I picked over the remaining available jobs that I didn’t send an application to, I spent the rest of the day working on my gift registries for Christmas. I sent out a mass email to all those who might be interested in buying me a gift with that info. If I left you out, by all means leave me a comment or just send me some cash. Either way is fine with me.

Wow, this is incredibly boring. I do apologize. I’ve just been in one of those moods for the past few weeks. I’m stressed. I’m not sleeping. I’m almost like a zombie doing things on autopilot. I’ve picked up two bad habits because of this: 1. Whenever I call someone on my cell phone I dial Peter’s number, then when I get his voicemail I think “shit”. 2. No matter what website I want to go to, I will always type in hotmail and sign in before I realize what I’ve done. Grrr. This weekend I head up to Decorah for Christmas at Luther or “Juletide” as I still stubbornly call it. Juletide just has more character. This is by far my favorite annual activity (and the reason Peter hasn’t written on his blog for forever! It’s being televised again this year, and they are in rehearsals all day long). I’m hoping it will be the tonic I need right now. If you don’t think that Christmas music can be tonic you have never sat in the CFL and been enveloped by 800 voices. The first time I went to Juletide I started crying during the first song. It’s that intensely beautiful. Considering the state I’m in I’ll probably be a blubbering mess half way through. Please, if you see me on TV like this, don’t call and harass me.

If you would like to catch the television performance of Christmas at Luther Iowa Public Television will be broadcasting it on December 21 at 7 pm and December 25 at 10 am.

Minnesota Public radio is also broadcasting the performance on December 19 at 7 pm.

Public Television in 30 States broadcast the performance. If you would like find out if they are broadcasting it in your area simply go to your state's public television website and search for the listing.

Cut Me Some Slack...

2005-11-29T16:55:00.000-06:00

...I'm going to be unemployed after Friday. Instead of blogging I'm spending my time looking for work, filling out applications, and going to interviews. I'm very tired and stressed right now, so you probably don't want me writing anyway. It would probably just be filled with complaints. Hopefully soon I will find some time to write. Truthfully, I'm not so much hoping to find to time to write as I am hoping to find a job!!

The Crush

2005-11-23T13:39:00.000-06:00

This topic came to mind the other day after I left I comment on Jordan’s blog about this subject, and I’ve been thinking about it ever since.

I will never deny that I’m a girl that sometimes has crushes on boys. I couldn’t deny it. I’d be a damned liar if I did. I don’t develop them frequently, though. Perhaps it’s because I don’t find many worthy of the brain time and brain space a crush consumes, or perhaps it's because I’m usually too distracted by work, books, TV, internet, friends to even bother. However, for me, even less frequent than the regular crush is the celebrity crush. I mean, yes when I was a teenager I had pictures of The Mighty Ducks up in my room, and yes, sometimes I drool a little over Andy Roddick, but it’s nothing serious. Most of the time I don’t think about Andy or Jake. I occasionally have a passing thought, but I tend to forget about it as I continue on with my day.

This all changed during my last semester of college. At 6 pm one fall night post-caf dinner and pre-library bondage I was absently flipping the channels in my cozy single room in Larsen when I landed on CNN. There on CNN was a silver-haired fox with piercing blue eyes, and a slightly coy, almost boyish expression. It was this man:

I was speechless. Who was this gloriously beautiful man, and what was he doing on CNN? After watching the show for awhile( being the brainiac that I am) I deduced that he was Anderson Cooper, and that the show was Anderson Cooper 360º. I learned from the commercials that it was on everyday from 6-7 pm. I watched the whole show that night. And the next night. And the next night. Pretty soon I was rearranging my schedule in order to catch this show. Many times I would go to the gym during this time and watch Anderson on the television while I pounded out my stresses on the elliptical or treadmill. In that way, Anderson was good for me. He made me stay at the gym longer, just so I could catch his entire program.

As is inevitable when you are in the midst of a major crush on a celebrity, it didn’t take long for me to google him. The first time I googled him I learned that he is younger than his prematurely gray hair seems to indicate, that he is a Vanderbilt (his mother is Gloria Vanderbilt), that his father died when he was really young, and that he had one brother, who was also deceased. As I kept watching AC 360º and my crush kept intensifying, I wanted to know even more information. So I googled him a second time.

This time I spent more time researching him. I found out some juicy tidbits of his life. I discovered that despite being New York royalty and an Ivy Leaguer he couldn’t find any work in his field of choice (journalism) after graduating college. I also found out that his brother didn’t only die, he committed suicide, and this death, along with the death of his father had devastated him. Because of this he wanted to be an investigative journalist in war-torn countries because he needed to be in a place where the people felt as miserable as he did. He was willing to risk his life because he felt his didn’t have much worth if he wasn’t trying to make the world aware of the terrible things going on in Africa and Asia. Despite this he couldn’t find a job, so you know what he did? He bought a camera, flew overseas, and started forging press passes and passports in order to sneak into countries. He started producing his own independent stories, and selling them to news outlets. The detail that completely won me over was the he had snuck into Burma (Myanmar) and produced an award winning piece about their civil war, and their Nobel Peace prize winning crusader Aung San Suu Kyi.

After that I had a full-on, almost obsessive crush on him. When I was 13 I became completely engrossed in Burma and the war there and Aung San Suu Kyi. I read everything I could on Burma and watched what movies were available on the subject (including the very lovely Beyond Rangoon with Patricia Arquette). I had fantasies about sneaking into Burma (because Western press is explicitly forbidden) and filming an award-winning documentary about the crimes against humanity taking place there, and that this documentary would force the Western world to stop the violence in Burma and release Aung San Suu Kyi from prison and establish her as president and let her heal her nation. I even had a title. Yeah, I know. That’s a lot for a 13 year old, but I wasn’t your typical teenager.

Of course, after I found out that we shared this affinity for Burma (it helps that I was already mad crushing on him), I thought Anderson and I had MFEO (that’s “made for each other” for all of you who haven’t seen Sleepless in Seattle 14 dozen times) written all over us. I dreamt about us traipsing around Sudan and Bosnia and Burma (of course) producing beautiful social justice pieces and turning the materialist hearts of Americans into mush and getting everyone to join the PeaceCorps.

At this point, I was almost completely out of control, and because I don’t get these kind of crushes on people ever, I know I’m going over the edge, but I can’t help it. I google him again because I absolutely must find out all prevalent information that I can. Pages later I find this quote, “It’s too bad P. Diddy forced Anderson to admit on air that he doesn’t have a wife or girlfriend.” The fact that he isn’t attached interests me greatly. I read the piece. It details a visit that P. Diddy made to AC 360º to promote his Vote or Die campaign. He brought two t-shirts for Anderson and told him to give the other his wife. Anderson says that he doesn’t have a wife. P. Diddy says okay, well give it to your girlfriend. Anderson says he doesn’t have a girlfriend. I’m merrily reading along this article when the author says, “I feel bad that P. Diddy asked Anderson these questions. He almost backed him into to admitting that he is gay.” This is the part where the record player severely scratches the record.

Wait. Wait. Wait one goddamn second.

Gay? Gay? Anderson’s not gay!

This guy must be mistaken. Why do people have to assume that just because someone is in their mid-30s and devastatingly handsome and still single is gay? I mean seriously.

Then it started to snowball. Article after article. Messageboard after messageboard. All of them touting Anderson’s gayness. It became more and more apparent that I was the one that was mistaken. Each piece that I read took a chink out of my crush, until it all started to crumble around me. I felt like everything I had ever known had been a lie. I was devastated. The man I didn’t love was gay.

I stopped watching Anderson Cooper 360º soon after that. At first I tried to ignore the fact that he was gay and pretend that he was straight, but that just didn’t work. I had to stop watching him altogether. Now that AC 360º has a preemo slot on CNN I sometimes still stop to watch him give the news. It’s not the same, of course, but he’s still a silver-haired fox with piercing blue eyes, and I rather like to hear my news from a person like that.

p.s. Sometimes I still think that Anderson and I are MFEO, but that I'm meant to be his fag hag.

My Hundreth Post

2005-11-21T14:44:00.000-06:00

1. I played this great joke on myself last night! See, I have a late meeting today, and then the Sadie-girl and I are going to get our nails done, which really doesn’t leave me any time to workout tonight. So last night, before I went to bed I set my alarm for 4:45 am, thinking that since I got up early throughout college to workout that I could easily get up this morning and go to the gym. You know what I did at 4:45 this morning? Reset my alarm for 7:30 and went back to sleep. College self does not equal current self.

2. The season finale of Rome was….ah….I can’t describe it. I won’t spoil it in case some of you are waiting to watch one of the encores this week, but I will tell you this: I was unprepared for just how emotional and brutal Caesar’s murder would be.

3. Peter and I went to see HP and the Goblet of Fire this weekend. I really liked it. It was enjoyable. It’s no Azkaban, though. While very entertaining, I think this movie lacked two very important components that made Azkaban great: 1. It didn’t have artistic vision. 2. It wasn’t dark enough. Azkaban wasn’t concerned with minor plot points of the book. Instead, it focused on telling the story in a beautiful and original way, which made the movie very breathtaking. Secondly, Azkaban did a great job of creating urgency and showing just how dark the wizarding community is becoming. While Goblet of Fire has dark scenes (as with Rome, I was unprepared for how emotional some of the final scenes of the movie are) its overall feeling is light, almost comedic. It doesn’t carry the weight of what is happening throughout the whole film. It only does so in moments. In the books J.K. Rowling is very clear about how dark their world is becoming, about how evil is poising itself to take over. This fact is sadly lost in the film.

4. A few months ago I determined that AXE body spray was just an average product with the best marketing campaign ever. After this weekend, in an AXE experiment gone wrong (and having it sprayed ALL over me), I think it’s the devil.

5. For my first “thank” of the Thanksgiving week, I thank the heaven above for this short work week!! I can’t wait for, as Gwen Stefani might say, this shit to be O-V-E-R!

The LEAST Fun Thing Ever!

2005-11-18T14:36:00.000-06:00

This has been a stressful week! It finally dawned, on my apparently pea-sized brain, that I only have TWO WEEKS left before I’m out of a job. I kept thinking, “It’s not until December. December is a month away right? Right? RIGHT?” No, my darling self, it is not a month away, it is two weeks away. Because of this my job search has now reached the “frantic” stage. I’ll let you know when I reach “absolute desperation”. And while not having a job, therefore not having money, therefore not having food, therefore becoming really skinny, sounds like a great diet plan, I really prefer the healthy skinny look to the “I just escaped a death camp” skinny.

I have been applying for jobs for the past month and a half, and the grand total of applications filled, stamped, and delivered (snail mail or electronically) is 35. The grand total of interviews that these applications have yielded is 1. I had that interview today. From an application I filled out last night. At a department store. A department store people! I have a college degree, and a few years of good solid work experience, not to mention mad researching skills on the university level and my name on two published scholarly articles. Apparently this qualifies me to sell clothing in the junior miss department. Actually, I won’t know if it qualifies me until Wednesday.

I’m holding on to dear life to the possibility of another interview sometime next week(?). The company, it would seem, requires me to pass the test that they write (hint, hint) in order to even get an interview. I took the test this morning, and am optimistic about it. I breezed through the reading comprehension (because that is pretty much the ONLY talent I have. I seriously wish there was a job in which all you had to do was read shit and then answer questions about it, because I could be the president and CEO of that job). The math section is another story. I feel that I faired decently on it, but I was almost in tears by the end of it because sitting me down and forcing me to do math problems for 45 minutes straight is the equivalent of taking a regular person, throwing them into prison in Sri Lanka, letting beetles crawl into their ears, pushing sharpened bamboo under their fingernails, and then hanging them by their thumbs.

Now I wait to see if they call me for an interview. Please send happy thoughts my way as I continue on with this torturous thing they called job hunting (and while you’re at it send some Damian’s way, since he needs it as well!) I plan to destress myself this weekend by relaxing up North and going to see Mr. HP, Ron-nizzle, and Her-MY-O-knee get up to their usual dark and dangerous hijinxs. I’m really hoping to return to CR refreshed because lord knows, I need it!

From the Late Night Grocery Shopping File

2005-11-16T16:29:00.000-06:00

Me: "Sadie, if you were green tea bags, where would you be?"

Sadie: "Next to the ice cream."

RRRRRRRRR-UUUUUUUUU-REEEEEAAAAADDDDYYY????

2005-11-16T09:35:00.000-06:00

Just. TWO. MORE. DAYS!!!

Ah, Jeez

2005-11-15T11:01:00.000-06:00

This is the picture of Sadie and me that should be in the story below. It is being a stubborn little mofo, so I had to post it separately. When you get to this point in the story below, just scroll up here, look at the picture, and scroll back down!

The Promise is Fulfilled

2005-11-15T10:37:00.000-06:00

****Disclaimer: Just so you know, I don’t think ANY of us look all that great in any of these photos. It was pretty hot at Penguins so we look a bit flushed, as if we are all dying of consumption. Generally, we just don’t look our best.****

Well, the first thing to know about Friday night is that I had a small return to my former fashionista self. I’ve been pretty plain jane these days, but Friday night called for some flair. We were going out for drinks, then off to Hal Sparks, and who knows? Perhaps we would make an appearance at The Dragon for the Hal Sparks after-party. We wanted to look good. While Sadie was busy with hair and make-up, I picked the outfits for both of us, and I think we looked pretty damn good:

There is only one problem with dressing this way in Cedar Rapids, IA. Every single person and their mother and their dog and their Aunt Helen Keller, STARE at you. If we were in NYC or Chicago or The Cities even, most people wouldn’t look twice. In CR? At one point I had to gently kick some unsuspecting pedestrians eyes back to them. On our way to Crosby’s Peter remembered that he didn’t bring his ID, so he left Sadie and I to go by our lonesomes to get pre-Penguins drinks. The place wasn’t too busy, but there was a table of 10 guys that proceeded to watch our every movement. It didn’t take too long until one of them came over and said, “We’d like to buy you ladies a shot and a drink and get you to join us at our table for a game of categories. What do you say?” We said “no”, made a joke about how someone hadn’t offered to buy us a “shot” since college, but were evidently kind enough to the poor bloke that he said if he saw us out later he would buy us a drink then.

Peter arrived at Crosby’s and was there just long enough to take a shot of Jaeger and slam a beer before we headed to Penguins. What we didn’t know before the show was that there was a drink minimum, so when we got there we were forced to drink even more. This, in no small part, aided in how warm we all were and for my lack of witty banter with Hal Sparks after the show. I didn’t so much feel drunk as I did foggy and unable to come up with any of my usual quips.

There were two opening comedians, and about half-way through the first routine Sadie looked up and then looked at me and said, “Hal Sparks is right behind us!” I did a sly glance, as only we girls know how, and he was directly behind us. He stood there for both opening routines and was very good about helping with crowd support. He laughed loudly at things that weren’t that funny, whistled and clapped. I can only assume he knows all too well what it’s like to get a chilly reception, so he was doing his best to help these two out. Ah, Hal, he’s so sweet!

He didn’t need any of that help himself. He was extremely funny, and he had the whole place rolling for most of his routine.

After the show he took his place directly behind us again. Because of that I was the very first person to reach him after the show:

The first thing that I noticed was his dark eyes, and that he is very, very cute! He was extremely nice and very personable. We actually spoke for about five minutes, which was enough time for him to slightly mock my gold tooth (yes, I have one, waaaaaaaaay in the back), for me to plug my blog to him (hey, I’m shameless, what can I say), for him to plug his profile on myspace (I had to add him as a friend even though I spend so little time there), and for us to have some general nice banter. I was so excited after meeting him that I literally hopped to the car. That is one of my weird quirks. When I’m really excited about something I hop. Yeah, I know. It’s strange. But that’s what I always feel like doing.

My barometer (that is, my “is he into me” barometer) has been off lately. Like last week when I thought a married man, no let me rephrase, a married pastor, was hitting on me. Then I discovered, through subsequent actions, that he was just being friendly. Anyway, I’ve been off. If this weren’t the case I would’ve thought that Hal was diggin’ me a bit. Peter thought so too, or in his words, “He said three times in his routine tonight that he is single. I think he was looking for some ass, and I think he wanted your ass!” I think those are just boyfriend words. But he did make some mention about calling me on my cell phone. Hmmm, the Genevieve may never know. (Yes, Christine. I just referred to myself in the third person. Deal with it!)

One last picture of the boy and me after our scrumptious meal on Saturday night. Yes, I’m wearing a sweatshirt with a dinosaur on it. (It’s Sadie’s. She bought it last week and it was so cute I couldn’t resist!) But I made in formal. Amazingly, it is possible to make a dinosaur sweatshirt formal.

Welcome to the Suck

2005-11-14T14:11:00.000-06:00

Since I don’t think Peter will have the time to send me the Hal Sparks pictures today, I’m going to skip the details of Friday, and focus on the rest of the weekend. First up was the long-awaited viewing of Jarhead. Truthfully, I’m still trying to figure this movie out. I walked away feeling satisfied, like I had seen a good movie, but I’m still determining what, exactly, made it a good movie. Being the movie lover/buff that I am I’m an admitted sucker for great directing and cinematography. Sam Mendes doesn’t disappoint on this account (as if he could!). The film is perfectly orchestrated, beautifully shot, and emotional without being trite. It hits the right chord. I think my biggest hurdle is figuring out what the movie is saying. If this were a Ridley Scott film I could easily believe that it was simply a snapshot into the Gulf War, a personal memoir of being a marine in the early 1990s. But this isn’t a Ridley Scott film, this is a Sam Mendes film, and he is much more thoughtful and thought-provoking, deliberate and, for lack of a better word, interesting. Because of this I’m still working out the details. When I have a firmer grasp on the movie, I’ll report back. Until then, I highly, highly recommend seeing the movie for yourself.

Even better than Jarhead was the dinner that Peter and I had at Givanni’s in Iowa City on Saturday night. Peter and I are addicted travelers and foodies, and have therefore eaten a lot of good meals all around the world. This meal ranks way up there on the list of the best meals I’ve ever had. Just picture this plate: a bed of perfectly cooked swiss chard (still green and crunchy, but cooked long enough to take the bitterness away), the next layer was a bed of jasmine rice, topped with wheat couscous. Lying on top of these three tiers was a tender and juicy Iowa pork tenderloin (there are some GREAT things about living in Iowa. This is one of them!), topped with a pine nut hummus, and finished with diced apples sautéed until soft with an apple demi-glaze. SO EFFING GOOD! For me, this really cements Givanni’s as the best place to eat in the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City area. Pricey, yes. The quality, taste, and freshness combined with presentation and overall atmosphere, along with an extremely comprehensive wine list, make it worth every penny.

That was pretty much the end of my exciting weekend. Peter and I got up late on Sunday and had a “yuppie breakfast”. That is, we went to Panera and hunkered down with fresh bagels, hot chocolate, and the newspaper. Peter headed back to Luther as I directed myself toward Atkins (the town, not the diet) for another speaking engagement. I was able to make it home in time for Rome. Next week is the season finale, and I am SO EFFING EXCITED! During last night’s episode, as it became more and more obvious that Julius Caesar is getting ready to bite it at the hands of the Senate, it finally dawned on my apparently pea-sized brain that the show is called Rome, not Julius Caesar. I’m extremely interested and excited to find out the direction the show is going to take after Caesar has died. Et tu, Brutus? I guess so.

p.s. Be on the lookout tomorrow for Hal Sparks pictures and the full tale of Friday night!

Hal Sparks Rocks My Socks ON!

2005-11-11T21:36:00.000-06:00

We just got back from watching Hal Sparks perform, and he was absolutely wonderful! I laughed so hard that I think I may have burned a few calories. Considering I haven't been to the gym for a while, I really hope I did! I wish I could recount his routine for you, but you should just get off your lazy asses and go see him for yourself. As for the picture....well, I definitely got one! It's ridiculous how excited I was to meet him. I'll post the picture for you as soon as I get it uploaded, and I'll add the details of the night, as well as our conversation. I can tell you this, though. He is very, very cute, and if I didn't have a boyfriend, I probably would've invited him out for a drink after his last show. Get your minds out of the gutter, I'm not that kind of girl, but there's nothing wrong with a late night drink. Except that, being the good Buddhist that he is, he doesn't drink. Oh, well. Pizza sounds better anyway.

This is Called Friday, I'm in Love!

2005-11-11T11:55:00.000-06:00

1. I used to think my upstairs neighbor was a college student because my other upstairs neighbors are, and she hangs out with them sometimes and looks young enough. She also keeps strange, late hours. I often hear her up at 1:30 am or later. This whole week, though, she has woken me up around 4 am (because she is loud), is up moving around for a while, then all is silent, leading me to believe that she’s come home, gotten ready for bed, then gone to sleep. This has become a pattern, and now makes me wonder. Is she just a really late night college student? Or is she coming home from a job and going to bed? And for what sort of job do you get home around 4 am? Mysterious.

2. I’m becoming increasingly tired of listening to disgustingly skinny people deny that they have an eating disorder. It’s pretty damn obvious to the entire western world and beyond that Nicole Ritchie (Mischa Barton, Hilary Duff, Victoria Beckham, etc) hasn’t eaten anything for at least a year, yet she still continues to deny it. You know what? We’re all adults here. I would respect you a lot more if you just said, Yes, there is a shit-ton load of pressure in Hollywood to be skinny, and yes, I therefore only really ever have Starbucks coffee and some yogurt and work out six days a week with a trainer and yes, I realize that’s unhealthy and bad, but it’s practically a written requirement that they force you to sign in blood to be famous, and no, I don’t want young girls to think I’m this skinny and eat and eat and eat and therefore make them feel terrible about themselves when they find out that it’s actually practically impossible to be thin and eat McDonald’s everyday. Nicole Ritchie is 5’2’’ and weighs 97 lbs and you can see every bone in her body. I think she should be ashamed of herself for letting young girls think that that is natural. (To see a picture of what I mean go here. The picture on the right is what she used to look like and the picture on the left is what she looks like now.)

3. On the flip side of #2, I really need to get to the gym, or I will be in serious trouble when the holidays hit.

4. Speaking of holidays I made my Christmas Registry at Sephora today. Please feel free to go there and buy me things!

5. Wednesday was my brother, Jeremiah’s, birthday. I haven’t spoken about my family much on this blog, so in honor of his birthday I shall give you a little insight into my brother: his hair is very, very wavy, but not as curly as mine, with his mad ups he defies the phrase “white men can’t jump”, when he grew up he surprised us all by turning from a chubby, almost fat child, into a toned and buff adult, when he talks no one understands a word he is saying either because he is mumbling or because he spouting some math theory regular people just can’t understand, if you take him to a restaurant that has TVs you will not be able to hold a conversation with him, he used to play the saxophone, he’s got sweet soccer skills, he’s smarter and stingier than any one person should be.

6. Tomorrow is my sister, Kathryn’s, birthday (finally, legal bar age!), so in honor of her birthday I shall give you a little insight into my sister: in high school she decided to shame her family and become a cheerleader, she’s taller, skinnier and prettier than I’ll ever be, she’s the biggest procrastinator I know (and that’s saying a lot considering I know myself), she seems to be naturally tan year round, she’s a hardcore Hawkeye Football fan, her purse collection-if sold on eBay-could feed a small country for a year, she used to play the violin, she just changed her major for the third time, she has a huge, beautiful singing voice, her eyes are two different colors (one brown and one green).

7. I am really, really looking forward to my weekend. My boy is coming, drinks at Crosby’s and Hal Sparks tonight, Jarhead and a fancy dinner tomorrow, laying around like a lazy ass on Sunday! Can’t wait for it to start!!

I'm Planning on Laughing My Ass Off

2005-11-10T11:04:00.000-06:00

Sadie, Peter and I are going to see this man perform tomorrow night:

I think it's going to be a good time. I've loved Hal Sparks since his days on Talk Soup, so I'm looking forward to seeing him do his stand-up routine. Peter is bringing his camera, I promise that I'll have Hal+Genevieve photos to post this weekend! At least, I really hope I do!

Even the Best Intentions...

2005-11-09T10:48:00.000-06:00

You may ask, how, indeed, is the best way to spend a Monday night? Chillaxing with your roommie, a bottle of damn fine Pinot Noir, and season 4 of Sex and the City sounds pretty fun, doesn’t it? But what you didn’t count on was the $8 bottle of Pinot actually living up to its boast of being one of the best bottles of wine for under $10. Full flavored, rich, and so smooth it was almost velvety. In this case two bottles would be better than one, right? Then, after two bottles you realize that you 1. Haven’t really watched an entire episode of SATC because you are too busy pouring wine down your throat and eating smoked Gouda and yammering on and on with your roommate. 2. Are too drunk to drive back to the grocery store (for what would be the fourth trip that day) for more wine, but decide that you really are sober enough for more alcohol. 3. Remember that you have an almost full bottle of an acceptable Cabernet left over from last week. 4. Decide to polish off the bottle with said roommate.

Sadie and I have decided to file this night, along with the night sophomore year we split an entire bottle of Bacardi (which, for a couple of damn skinny college girls, Sadie about 110, myself about 115, is no small feat) in the “What the hell were we thinking” file. This is also the phrase we kept repeating yesterday morning as we tried to make ourselves presentable for work. The thing to know about Sadie is that it wasn’t until our last year of college that she experienced her first hangover. It’s a mystery of the modern medical world. Sadie can get really, really drunk, then wake up the next day refreshed. Tres bizarre. Now that she’s getting a little older, she feels it a lot more than she used to, but she still is much better than me, the Always Has a Hangover girl.

I have, in all seriousness, been hungover for three days before. If I have a slight buzz before going to bed I will probably wake up with a sour stomach or a headache or both. A few years ago I discovered that this happened less frequently if I drank beer. Since then I don’t usually have more than 2 cocktails or 2 glasses of wine because I know what will happen to me in the morning. But that damn Pinot was that good, and it had a rooster on the label! Who would’ve thought? I had eaten pretty much an entire DiGiorno pizza (my body is apparently getting ready for winter) for dinner, so I thought I was alright to drink more than my usual share, but we definitely went just a tit overboard. About the time Sadie passed out on the futon in the middle of telling me a story, I drunk dialed Peter. I only remember calling him and then I remember spontaneously hanging up on him because the contents of my stomach were crying to be expelled. For the next hour expel them I did. I even had to lie down on my bathroom floor and let the cold tile try to repair my aching head. It didn’t work. I was up and down all night throwing up.

I attempted to go to work yesterday, but that just didn’t happen. I even got myself up and dressed and to the office, but I was so weak from only letting things out of my body for the past 8 hours that I couldn’t function at all. My hands were shaking uncontrollably. With great effort I drove myself home and crawled back into bed where I stayed until about 2. After that I moved to the futon until the end of the evening, then transferred back to bed. At my age you think I’d know better, but really I don’t. Good wine, good cocktails and good beer will always get the better of my good intentions. It’s a good thing I don’t feel like drinking very often, or I could be in some serious trouble!

The Horror! The Horror!

2005-11-07T11:28:00.000-06:00

I hereby pronounce that Zac Posen should only be allowed, heretofor, to design for the Wal-Mart Couture line soon to be premiering at the finest Wal-Mart in the nation located in Hickville, Arkansas. I also firmly believe that any starlet (I'm looking straight at you Claire Danes and Natalie Portman) who wears Zac Posen designs be tarred and feathered because they would look much better in that getup than they would in any of these three designs:

I can't decide which made me throw up more, the pirate themed silk blouses or the 80s prom inspired hemlines.

What is Going on Here?

2005-11-02T13:06:00.000-06:00

Although I have to speak at a conference tomorrow, and my time would be much better spent preparing for that, I'm in no mood to work on my speech. I pretty much know what I'm going to say anyway, so it's not really that important. Instead of working I went on Google images to see if I could find pictures of my family and friends on the internet. A search for my own name and my sister's yielded nothing. My brother and Tim's, some soccer photos. Then, I searched my dad's name and for some inexplicable reason this was the one and only photo that appeared:

What are the internets trying to tell me? Are Russ S. and my father the same person? Are they CIA agents? Am I the hybrid daughter of a morphing CIA father and can now fulfill my lifelong dream of becoming La Femme Nikita? Or is Russ S., this person I went to college with, who I watched play soccer for 4 years, who has an addiction to the Man U. soccer club secretly my father? What is going on? I feel so betrayed.

I May Be Broke, but I Look Fabulous!

2005-11-02T10:28:00.000-06:00

Today is November 2, and it’s going to be a glorious 70 degrees, as it was yesterday and as it will be tomorrow. I am overjoyed about this because it means that I can go that much longer without turning on my heat. It is my goal to attempt to make it until December 1 without turning it on. I said attempt. I’m well aware, having lived in Iowa most of my life, that this is a distinct impossibility. However, I’m also aware that I’m a cheap ass bastard who needs goals in life. I’ll never be an Olympian. I’ll never run a marathon. Who am I kidding? I’ll never run a 5k. But I will probably freeze my ass off attempting to save a few bucks all in the name of cheapness and damning the man. To each their own I say.

The funny thing about this goal is that I’m not really all that cheap. I’m not frivolous, but I’m also not annoyingly cheap. I don’t use coffee filters more than once. I have never “drip dried” to save on toilet paper. I don’t put the leftover milk from my morning cereal back into the jug. I know that my financial situation is tight, and therefore I try to cut corners where I can. However, there are two places where I have a serious problem with spending money: eating out and Sephora. Recently I’ve dedicated myself to not eating out as much. I’ve actually cut back a lot (except for last night when Sadie and I went to Biaggi’s and it was so good and I had to lay on my couch for an hour because I was so full I thought I was going to explode. Yeah, except for that).

I’ve even been really good about not ordering from Sephora. It’s been since the end of August since I’ve bought anything from that shrine that is all things girly and wonderful. For all of you sane, normal people who buy your make-up and skin care products from Target and your local drug store or even your local department store, this may not seem like a long time. To me? It’s an eternity. Here’s a little taste of the brands that I have sitting in my bathroom cabinet and Caboodle(yes, I have one of these and I love it): Benefit, Philosophy, Bliss, Nars, Smashbox, Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, Tarte, Cargo, etc. etc. etc.

Listen, I know I have an addiction. It’s not even that I’m a label whore. I still have some Maybelline, Clinique, and Mary Kay items that I’m a huge fan of. It’s just that I love make-up, and I’ve used enough over the years to tell you which brands are the best. And I like owning the best because let’s face it, if I’m spending this much on make-up, I’m obviously very vain. I very well know what the contents of my Caboodle are worth, and no, I’m not going to tell you. My whole point here people, is to say that after ordering, on average, twice a month from Sephora for the past couple of years, I haven’t order zip squat for the past two months, and now I really, really want to (especially now that they are carrying Laura Mercier products!!).

I’m going to try and be strong though. Truthfully, though, I almost don’t want to be. I think it’s only human that we each have some sort of addiction. I quit smoking. I don’t really drink that much anymore. I’m not a drug user, although that church guy and Tim’s dreams may think otherwise. I’m trying to be a good healthy girl, so I’ve cut out most sugars and fats and yummy food in general. I rarely, if ever, have soda or caffeine. If I want to buy a little make-up or skin care products to make myself just a little more beautiful what’s the harm in that? Right? RIGHT? Right…

p.s. I think my ideal job would be a beauty editor for a magazine. Sit in my office all day and play with make-up then write about it? I know a lot about make-up, and I’m a decent writer, even if my blog seems to be evidence to the contrary, so if you or someone you know could hook me up with this job, I would be eternally grateful.

Completely Random Numbered Stuff

2005-10-31T14:27:00.000-06:00

1. I am so depressed! Rome only has 3 episodes left in this season. I have absolutely no idea what I’m going to do with myself after it is over. Go back to Desperate Housewives? That would be like putting on polyester after you’ve grown accustomed to cashmere. Last night the issue of man loving finally came up. Not only that but man/young boy loving. It was only mentioned in passing, though, unlike the incest scene. At least it was handled delicately. Well, as delicately as incest can possibly be handled. Apparently in ancient Rome sleeping with your sister was very, very bad, but sleeping with your uncle was just fine and dandy. At least that is the case if your uncle is Caesar. But the best part of last night’s episode? It finally started to make the viewer question where their loyalties are. I don’t know what to think right now.

2. Patrick Dempsey may be the hottest man on television (so very h-h-hot!), but I’d still take George O’Malley over him any day.

3. By the way, remember when I told you all about preparing to take the GREs? Well, I never took them. Three weeks before my test date I finally conceded to myself something I’ve been trying to deny for 3 years. I want to be lawyer. Now I’m awaiting the time and money to take the LSATs, and going back to school has been pushed back until fall 2007. I’m a little depressed about this, but also a little happy.

4. Meanwhile because of #3 I am looking for a “real” job to keep me from starving after my AmeriCorps service is over in 6 weeks. My employer of choice is the U of Iowa, and I have currently applied for any job that I even remotely qualify for, which is 10. I should get at least a couple of interviews. Right? RIGHT?

5. I get to see my boyfriend in less than 5 days. I feel like it’s been forever since I’ve seen him.

6. I have nothing more to say. I’m totally boring today. Sorry. Please enjoy the below comic.

That's All Folks!

2005-10-29T11:20:00.000-05:00

I hope everyone enjoys the last night of the year with sunlight. This is it. We have to prepare to never see the sun after 4 in the afternoon for the next 4 months. Let the depression begin.

Iowa people: don't forget you get an extra hour at the bars tonight!

And congratulate me. Three years ago this week I quite smoking cold-turkey. For many years I smoked 2 packs a day. Then one day I just got tired of it and quit, and I've been clean ever since. See, it can be done!

A Donna Story on a Friday

2005-10-28T09:28:00.000-05:00

*I need to preface this story by saying that the office building I work in is a converted gas station which means there is no insulation in it whatsoever. This also means that it is warm in the summer and freezing in the winter.*

I come into the office this morning to find Donna huddled up under her sweater and her coat. I’m always cold, so last week I busted out one of our many space heaters and put it under my desk, directly facing me. Sometime last week Donna came over to my desk and asked where I found the space heater since she would probably need one soon. I told her exactly where in the storage room they were located. This morning when I walked in she immediately asked me where the space heaters were. I walked into the storage room, grabbed the space heater and gave it to her saying, “Donna, I told you last week exactly where these were.” Her response? “I looked for it, but I didn’t know it was still in the box.” Oh my god. It’s right on the shelf. Exactly where I told her it was. In a box that has a picture of the heater on it. And she couldn’t find it.

After I gave her the heater I realized that it was colder than normal in the office, so I went over to the thermostat and found that the heat had been turned off yesterday, and it was only 58 degrees. I asked Donna, who comes into the office an hour before the rest of us, why she didn’t just turn on the heat. She said she didn’t know how. I told her it wasn’t that hard. She got upset with me and said the reason she didn’t know how to turn on the heat was that she has never had central air and didn’t know how to switch it from air conditioning to heating. At this point I wanted to smack her, instead I, as calmly as possible, said, “You just switch the button over to where the word ‘heat’ is. It’s really not that hard, Donna.” I think she hates me now. Who am I kidding? She already hates me.

This is just the icing on the cake for the past week. Earlier in the week she displayed her own “stapler complex”, except it was with her highlighter. Rachel borrowed it from her, and she completely freaked out until Rachel gave it back. Donna promptly put it in her purse so no one else would be able to take it from her. Then the next day I made her cry by telling her that she was no longer allowed to ask me questions the moment I walked through the door in the morning. I just need a moment, you know? I told her that, and she broke down. She’s 40. 40! She went outside to cry, and you know what I did? I laughed about it at the privacy of my desk. I’m well aware that I’m evil and going to hell for this.

I Need a New Pair of Shoes

2005-10-26T11:30:00.000-05:00

There was a time in my life where I went to so many live shows that I actually had a pair of shoes that I designated my “concert shoes”. They were a pair of sleek gray Pumas that were comfortable enough to stand in for long periods of time, universally cool enough to blend in with the different music crowds, old enough that I didn’t care how dirty they got, and sturdy enough to protect my feet from being trampled. I loved those shoes. I only ever wore them to concerts. They saw a lot of great shows, and a few mediocre ones too. Over the past few years, though, these shoes have disappeared. I probably threw them away because I no longer wanted to subject them to sitting around pathetically waiting for the next outing. Sometime after transferring to Luther I simply stopped going to concerts mostly due to time and money constraints, and having to travel the required 3 hour minimum out of Decorah to do anything cool.

I’ve been out of college for sometime now, and I still haven’t gotten back into the concert swing. This is mostly due to lack of funds. This is what happens when you sign your life over to the AmeriCorps. At least that will be over soon. I still need to find another job. That’s a story for another day though. Unless someone who is reading this wants to give me a job. Seriously, just leave me a comment, and I’ll get back to you. Anyway, the other day an old friend from I-town left me a facebook message saying that she had an extra ticket to see Gwen Stefani at the Excel in Minneapolis for November 14. Even though I really don’t have the money, I jumped at the chance to go. I like Gwen. I don’t love her, but I’ve enjoyed her music over the years. She’s charismatic and energetic and has great hair, so I think it should be pretty good. In honor of going to my first concert in…um…2 years (I think?) I made a list of my top 5 favorite concert moments. Not concerts, but particular things that happened at shows that make me, quite simply, absolutely love, love, love seeing music performed live:

5. Tori and her three instruments-Say what you will about her, but Tori Amos is one of my absolute favorites. Even if you don’t like her you can’t help but concede that she is an extremely talented musician (after all, she is a piano prodigy). I thought going to see her for the first time was going to be excitement enough, but I wasn’t at all prepared for just how good she is live. The entire concert was amazing, but it wasn’t until she was straddling her piano bench in 4 inch stilettos wailing on her piano, her electric keyboard, and her harpsichord at the same time that I was truly blown away.

4. Discovering Jack-I have a passionate hatred for opening acts. I don’t know how it’s possible, but they are always bands that just, and I can’t be delicate here, suck. Even though I so wholly dislike them, I can never skip it and come later. I think it’s because I’m so excited to be at the show, that I don’t want to show up late. So I come and sulk through the whole opening act thinking, “Can’t (fill in the blank) just please come out and start playing to save me from my misery?” There has only been one time in all my concert experience that an opening act blew me away. It was when I went to see Ben Harper, and a little up and coming musician named Jack Johnson opened for him. Everyone was out of their seats, dancing and jumping around, and completely enthralled with this man on stage. I don’t think I was the only one who was disappointed when his set was over and Ben Harper came out and proceeded to SIT through his entire performance.

3. Mosh Pit, Anyone?-It had been years since they allowed a concert to be held at Carver-Hawkeye arena because at the last one everyone got completely KRUNK and a few security guards had been trampled and badly injured, etc. So when the Foo Fighters and Red Hot Chili Peppers came to town security was very tight. However, when the Foo Fighters came out and started playing it only took about 3 seconds for everyone to get out of their seats and rush the floor. Despite being in the absolute last row we were able to get down to the floor pretty quickly. Security was hurrying to prevent this mass of humanity and quickly formed a human chain to stop the flood of people. I happened to be the absolute first person to come face-to-face with one of the links in the chain. I was practically pushed up against this security guard who was yelling expletives in my face and demanding that I go back to my seat. At this point my adrenaline was pumping because of the running, the music, the excitement, and there was no way I was going back to my seat. But there was also no chance of me assaulting a security guard. While contemplating in my head what would be the best course of action I heard a voice behind me yell, “They can’t stop us all, everybody just PUSH!” Without any movement on my part I started sliding forward, smacked straight into the security guard, knocking him over, and breaking the chain. My friend Jenni and I quickly grabbed each others hand and made a headlong rush into the mosh pit and never looked back. It was simply breathtaking. (I’m not gonna lie, I got so bruised at that show. I even had a body surfer land on my head.)

2. How To Make Depressed Kids Dance-The Cure is another one of my absolutely favorite bands, and one that pretty much every Cono kid has a fondness for. When they went on tour in 2000 we all bought tickets to see them in Chicago, but my friend Jamie and I got two tickets to see them again in St. Louis. At the show, in a sea of gothic inspired outfits, black hair, black nails, and black lips, Jamie and stood out like sore thumbs in our simple ensemble of jeans and t-shirts(and concert shoes, duh). In a strange reverse in what would happen in the real world, we were getting many odd stares. During most of the show the gothic kids just stood and swayed to the music. They were all pretty chill. Then The Cure started playing Inbetween Days, and the whole place erupted. Soon we were all in the aisles, with our arms around each other, dancing like maniacs.

1. Have You Ever Truly Been “Under the Bridge”?-This one is pretty simple, but it is far and away my favorite concert moment ever, the performance of Under the Bridge by the Chili Peppers. And I never actually heard Anthony Kiedis singing. Instead I heard the voices of every single person in Carver-Hawkeye. I swear that to this day I still don’t know all the words to that song, but somehow that night I did and I, along with everyone else, sang them at the top of my lungs. I went to church 3 days a week for the first 18 years of my life, but this was the first time I truly felt like I had had a religious experience. It was as if all of us in that place were, for a brief time, all part of each other’s consciousness. I know this sounds a bit overdramatic, but it was an unbelievable experience. No comment on if I was under the influence at the time.

When Did It Get So Friggin' Cold? I'm Freezing My Arse Off.

2005-10-25T10:48:00.000-05:00

Yesterday’s not- so-anonymous tipper was correct. My favorite wide receiver in college football does have a facebook profile. I wasted no time in sending him the required request to add him as a facebook friend. Unfortunately I have yet to find out if he confirmed or rejected me. I’m beginning to think the latter. At first I thought that perhaps he was trying to keep a low profile and only confirmed people that he actually knows (I do this, so I couldn’t really blame him). But he confirmed my anonymous tipper friend, so that can’t be it. Only one of two things can now be true: 1. He thinks that he somehow knows my friend. Or 2. He looked over my profile and decided that I wasn’t cool enough or pretty enough to be his facebook friend and rejected me. I never knew that facebook could hurt my feelings. Apparently I was wrong.

Moving on, I finally got some sleep last night, but not as much as I had hoped. I spent a low-key night at my apartment yesterday evening, and I started thinking about blogging. Everyone who has a blog understands the love/hate relationship that you develop once you begin writing. Some days it’s a great form of entertainment, and on others, it’s your albatross. Half the fun of having a blog is reading other people’s. In a very strange and interesting way blogging has its own community. A few months back I somehow stumbled on a network of DC blogs, and I’ve been reading them ever since. Their community has become so tight that they’ve even been known to take it out of the blogosphere and into local bars. Good lord, they’ve even had a battle. I stayed way clear of that one (I did have a lot of fun keeping up on it though). I thought it could be good times to get such a network in CR up and running, but I’ve checked out the area blogs, and they are excruciatingly dull. Made me wonder if my own was any good and worth continuing. Hey, if it isn’t, you don’t have to read it. But I do wish you would.

That’s the other thing about blogging. It gives you a complex. This complex is very similar to the one we all suffered from in high school. A sort of “will I get to sit at the cool table”? While it may have started as a cathartic experience, it becomes something that you put out to the world to read. And you want the world to read it. Why do you think we all have stat counters on our pages? I’ve come to think of my stat counter as my popularity counter. How many people came to visit me today? The one glaring thing that my popularity counter has revealed to me is that there is a great disparity between how many people read my blog and how many people leave comments. This is an interesting dilemma for me. I average about 60-70 different readers a day, with about 10-15 of those people coming back for seconds. This would suggest that I’m entertaining enough to draw a faithful crowd. My comments sections, however, are usually quite bare. What conclusion should I draw from this? You’re just not that into me? Perhaps I don’t encourage dialogue? Whatever it is, I’m sure it’s my fault. No, forget that. It’s your fault. Cool kids never take responsibility for their actions. Take that as the proverbial push into your locker after homeroom. Punk.

In an effort to spread the blogging love and increase the popularity of some of my favorite blogs please direct your attention to these fine writers. They are funny. They are cool. They will amuse you greatly. Hey, takes one to know one.

1. The RCR
2. Jordan (she reminds me of myself, but smart and funny and entertaining)
3. My fellow former Norse Kristine, Adam & Nina
4. My fellow former Warriors Jeannette & Dawn
5. The funniest Brit in America, Phil
6. Two highly amusing people with highly amusing stories Damian & Mona.

And check out Peter while you’re at it. He’s put up some unauthorized pictures of the Iowa v. Michigan game. I did not approve.

The Doctor Told Me to Keep Drinking

2005-10-24T09:12:00.000-05:00

*This post could also be subtitled “How many beers does it take to make your toes warm after 5 hours of tailgating”? Or “I categorically hate church people, especially Evangelicals”. Or perhaps “I stood for 10 hours straight, froze my ass off, lost my voice, and all I got was this lousy overtime defeat”. Or even “I haven’t slept in more then 24 hours. How about you”?*

I guess I can start with my current state of mind which is sluggish and foggy, but still amazingly awake after a completely sleepless night. For those who don’t know me well I struggle with insomnia from time to time. During my entire last two months of college I was a complete insomniac. I never slept for more than 2 hours at night, and 2 hours in the afternoon. That particular bout forced my 4.0 GPA to slip straight out of my fingers. I did, however, become the Bejeweled champion of the universe. I’m pretty sure that’s not a fair trade.

Anyway, despite suffering from this occasional malady I rarely have a night where I don’t sleep at all. At about 8 pm I knew it was going to be one of those nights where I struggled, so in my insomniac ritual I made up the futon in my living room and cozied down for a night of bad movies on HBO and infomercials. This is usually enough to make me eventually nod off and have crazy dreams about salad spinners and Windsor Pilates. The first problem I ran into was that Sideways was playing on HBO. While it’s not my favorite movie (I actually have many problems with the directing, but I’ll elaborate on another day), it was sufficiently amusing to keep me awake for its entirety. It was almost 1 am when the movie ended, and I felt tired enough to go to sleep but my upstairs neighbors were seemingly having a walk-a-thon in their apartment. They must’ve raised a lot of money for some charity because they kept me awake until my “give up time”. That’s 3 am. If I’m not asleep by then I call it quits. So I got up and sent some emails, contemplated blogging, but decided on season 5 of Sex and the City instead. Around 5 I was starving, so I took myself out for some breakfast at Perkins, then went home, changed, and showed up 2 hours early for work. If they think I’m staying until 5, they’re crazy.

That was the end to my absolutely full and crazy weekend. It began with an idea of fabulosity that quickly vanished. Saturday was Crystal’s birthday, but since the day was going to be taken up with tailgating and the football game she wanted to go out to dinner on Friday night instead. We decided on Giovanni’s in downtown Iowa City. Giovanni’s is this great little Italian restaurant with homemade everything including homemade pasta. We arrived there around 6 and were told that they had a lot of reservations (every one was back in town for the Michigan game), and it would be a half an hour until we got our table. That’s fine. We went to the bar and order glasses of wine (I had a great glass of Barolo by the way). 45 minutes later we still didn’t have a table. I went to the hostess stand and asked her how much longer it would be. She says, “It looks as if we’ve completely overbook our reservations, and we are way behind. It is going to be another hour and a half before you can have a table.” What the eff? She said this to me without any apologies, without any offers of free drinks, free appetizers or a discounted meal. Although not ideal we decided to eat at the bar and raised enough of a fuss to get a discount on our meals (although I still think that we were manhandled because of how young we all look. I can guarantee no middle age upper-class couple would be treated the way they treated us). The wine was good, and the gnocchi was beyond excellent and that almost made me forget about everything else.

Crystal and I went to bed at a decent hour on Friday night, but we couldn’t sleep. We sat up for a long time talking and eventually drifted to sleep only to be woken by Christine and my brother up late talking and watching TV. C & C’s apartment walls are so thin that their being up kept Crys and me awake for over an hour. In the morning, through some miracle of the beer gods, we actually got up without too many curses and evil words at 4 am. My brother woke up long enough to tell Crystal and me that we weren’t hard core fans because we were putting on make-up, then he went back to bed. Lazy git. Sure we’re hardcore fans. We’re just hardcore fans that just happen to enjoy looking fly during 7 hours of tailgating and 3+ hours of football. Nothing wrong with that.

We bundled up against the 30 degree weather and were cracking open our first beers at about 5:15 am. We continued on this way until about 9. In that time I had several (7?) beers and a game of beer pong under my belt, but apparently that wasn’t enough for our fellow tailgaters, especially Ann’s brother Pete. Ann is a very nice, very cool girl who is a law school classmate of Crystal’s, who I had met briefly before. Her brother, Pete, is a hardcore tailgater, smartass, and if you can believe it, doctor. Every 45 minutes he would come over, give me a stern look, and say, “Drink more. Drink faster.” I had to keep going. Doctor’s orders. During that whole time I didn’t have anything to eat save one pumpkin cupcake. So you can imagine. Later in the morning Peter showed up, and we headed over to the law school to stuff ourselves on free burgers, brats, and beans, and warm up inside until it was time to go to the game. I’m sorry to report that I had so much free food there (what can I say, I’m cheap) that I had no room left for a turkey leg. I’m pretty disappointed that I’ve missed out on my last chance for a turkey leg. I’ll be thinking about it all year now.

The game was, well, I can’t talk about it. I know that Peter (I think he has pictures too) could perhaps put a great and humorous spin on it, but I am unable. It was a lot of fun until…erm…overtime. Heartbreaking. A fivefold plague on the Wolverine households until their children’s children’s children eat dirt and die. ***On a side college football note I’m still completely in love with Jeff Samardzija. At least his team won on Saturday. We Irish rock it!***

After the game I completely crashed and had a low-key evening because I had to be up early on Sunday to sit at the Habitat booth for a church fair for the largest church in Cedar Rapids. During my time at Habitat I have found that Habitat is the type of organization that everyone wants to say they’re involved with, but no one wants to actually do anything for. It pisses me off. This church was the perfect example of this, and I didn’t enjoy those crazy charismatic Evangelicals using me as a prop for how great they think they are. I also didn’t enjoy them trying to recruit me to join their church. As if you’d ever find me writhing around with a snake, speaking in tongues or whatever it is those people do. And I especially didn’t enjoy being invited to a narcotics anonymous meeting. Have I ever given off the drug addict vibe to you? I didn’t think so.

Here, There, and Everywhere

2005-10-21T10:11:00.000-05:00

1. Tomorrow is the blackout against Michigan! It is finally happening. We are going to be tested. Are these Hawks the real deal? Can they step it up and make it happen? Or are the 17 straight home game victories about to come to a halt? I don’t know. I’m behind my Hawks all the way, but I also know they enjoy trying our loyalty by making themselves difficult to love. I do know these things though: I am getting up at an ungodly hour to tailgate with my dear Crystal, since tomorrow is her 23rd birthday. I will most likely be somewhere between very drunk and almost wasted by the time the game starts. I AM eating a turkey leg before the game. I will be freezing my arse off because the only black shirt I own is flimsy and won’t protect me from the 50 degree weather. I’ll be damned, though, if I’m not in black. If the Hawks win tomorrow it will be absolutely, unbelievably, insane, out-of-control, NUTS! No line of 10 security guards is going to keep 70,000 drunken fans from rushing the field. I’ll have an injury report on Monday.

2. Last night Sadie and I went to the mall to get our nails done. I was very happy to get the woman who spoke virtually no English. Sometimes I just don’t like to talk, and I often find chit-chat, with anyone, very tedious. One of my biggest guilty pleasures is having my cuticles cut. I know that you aren’t supposed to do it, but I love it when they are all trimmed up and looking good. I do, however, watch the person like a hawk to make sure they aren’t cutting too deep. Last night the woman forgot to put cuticle softener on first therefore making the whole process a little more painful than normal. I winced a couple of times, and she looked up and said “hurt”? I nodded, but she just went right back to clipping away. Then a thought occurred to me. It can’t be a good sign when the woman doing your nails, who barely speaks English, knows the word hurt. We’ll see if I still have a finger next week.

3. I have absolutely no idea how to go about redeeming a lottery ticket.

4. There is nothing good on television on Thursday nights.

5. If you want to read the funniest blog that I know, please scurry on over to Phil's US Tour. Phil is a friend of Peter. They met while Peter was studying in Nottingham, England last year. Phil is a fellow English major (who also just happens to actually be English) trying to find something useful to do with his vast knowledge of literature and grammar. He's not always successful, but hot damn, he's hilarious.

6. Is it a bad idea to bring wine tailgating? What if I just drink it directly from the bottle? Would this eliminate me from playing beer pong? Obviously I haven’t been tailgating enough to know the rules. However, I do know that while in every day life it is completely unacceptable to play beer pong and flippy cup over the age of 22, tailgating somehow becomes the one exception to that rule. I can’t wait to see if I still have my mad skills on the beer pong table. Once again, I’ll have an injury report on Monday.

I Won the Lottery!

2005-10-20T09:07:00.000-05:00

Oh yeah, you heard right. I won the lottery. With everyone caught up in the frenzy of a $340 million jackpot, Peter went out and bought Sadie and I a couple of tickets. I, as usual, didn't have a clue about what was going on or that the jackpot had gotten so high, but after he bought the tickets I had a wonderful day dreaming about what I would do with $340 million. It mostly had to do with buying a huge, fabulous studio apartment in New York, taking classes at Columbia, getting weekly facials and manicures, and jetting anywhere at anytime. Since I never play the Powerball Lotto I have no idea when they draw the numbers. Figuring I wouldn't win I waited until this morning to check the Iowa Lottery website for the winning combination. Glory be, I actually won! I had one number plus the powerball number which wins me the whopping amount of.......................................$4. Hey, it's something. Atleast I now can indulge myself in an overpriced Caramel Macchiato from Starbucks.

Is This Heaven? No, It's Genevieve.

2005-10-19T13:40:00.000-05:00

On Monday Peter and I headed north, near Dubuque, to visit his dad and his stepmom on their gorgeous property on the bluffs of the Mississippi River. Directly on the way to their house is the movie site for The Field of Dreams. Even though I have lived in Iowa most of my life I have only visited here once, and I can't really remember the visit. It was such a beautiful day, so we decided to make a quick detour to see what was happening on the field. There weren't too many people there, but more than I expected. Most of the people who visit there photograph themselves reenacting the famous scenes from the movie, i.e., the ghosts coming out of the cornfields or playing baseball on the diamond. I preferred to reenact the less remembered "hot dog choking" scene, when little Karin falls off the stands and almost dies. Unfortunately there was no one there to play Ray or Doc, so please feel free to photoshop them in. Or if you're lazy like me, just imagine them.

This last picture has nothing to do with the scene, but like any good Iowa girl, I like frolicking in the corn fields.

Grar!

2005-10-19T10:25:00.000-05:00

For the last hour I've been trying to post a few pictures here all to no avail. I'm currently about to give myself a stroke from the frustration I am feeling. I am going to slowly back away, and maybe later I'll attempt it again. Maybe. It all depends on how the rest of this day goes.

Get Out of My Head! Get Out! Get Out! Get Out!

2005-10-18T16:17:00.000-05:00

I have been singing just one line from a song for the past two days. One line. For two days. It's a good song, but why can't I have the whole thing in my head? Why just this one line? It's driving me crazy, so I thought I'd post it to perhaps curse you as well. A warm chocolate chip cookie to the first person to correctly identify the song and the artist. Here it goes:

"All the mochalotties, you gotta do palotties."

Rome is Good For More Than Just Quality Programming

2005-10-17T10:16:00.000-05:00

After you leave college you sometimes forget that if you so desire, anything can become a drinking game. Last night, Peter and I cracked open a bottle of shiraz directly before Rome began. Before we knew it we had developed our own Rome inspired drinking game. Anytime time a character would say something that could be followed by the phrase, “Oh, snap!” (you could also substitute “booyah!”, “uh-huh, that’s right!”, or “damn straight, BIAATCH!”) we would clink our glasses and take a swig. Fortunately for us Rome has many of these moments, most often brought to us by Julius Caesar himself or his right hand man Marc Antony, and we quickly found that the bottle was empty. Next weekend HBO is having a Rome marathon. If we participated in this game then I’m quite sure it would lead to alcohol poisoning and a trip to the emergency room. Maybe we should play it with chocolate cake instead. On second thought, that could also lead to a trip to the emergency room, but for very different reasons.

I sometimes wonder why more people don’t end up in the ER before/during/after Hawkeye football games. Both my brother and sister have student tickets, and my parents have season tickets (my mom and I take turns going to the games). This weekend, though, my dad was able to procure two extra tickets for Peter and I. That meant that the entire “R” clan, plus significant others, were all present at yet another Hawk home victory. My dad wanted to try out the new seats, so Peter and I took our regular season ticket spots. As would be expected with the town voted the #1 place to see a college football game, 90% of the people around you are WASTED. Some even bring flasks, hide them under their bums, and sneak swigs when the security guards aren’t looking. It has a very high school, don’t-want-to-get-caught-drinking-on-school-property-and-therefore-get-expelled-right-before-graduation feel to it.

I have never been drunk at any of these games. This has less to do with not wanting to get drunk and more to do with not wanting to descend and ascend the stairs to my 28th row seat 100 times because my world’s tiniest bladder (no, seriously. I hold the world record.) can’t hold more than one ounce at a time of the 60 ounces of beer I drank while tailgating. You do the math. Being the only sober person in a sea of really drunk, not just people, but hard core fans, often leads to some amusing moments. Last week it was a brawl with security. This week it was running commentary from the blitzed, I’m-still-on-the-board-of-my-old-frat guy. Some of my favorites were:

-hearing every dumb blonde joke ever created. Twice.
-the singing of the “Welcome Back Kotter” theme song every time someone in our
section returned from the bathrooms/concessions/cigarette break.
-commenting on the Hawk’s lack of rushing the Indiana quarterback: “We might as well
take his pads off and put a PINK shirt on him!” This was followed by much laughter.
-Referring to any Hawk mistakes with the words “gay”, “fag”, or “his lover”.

To say the least, it lost its amusing quality by the end of the first quarter. To top it off, on our walk back to Crystal and Christine’s after the game I was conversing with Peter when this very large man walked straight into me. All I saw was a blue shirt, then BAM! I was so stunned it took my breath away, and I had no reaction. The man didn’t even look at me and kept walking. As he strode off I turned around to shout an “I’m sorry” at him, thinking that it may have been my fault. What I saw were the equally stunned reactions of the other people, and I heard them murmuring, “He did that on purpose!” As those words seeped into my brain I immediately became enraged and spent the next half an hour daydreaming that after he had slammed into me I had pushed him violently into the bushes and made a run for it. Yeah, I’m petty like that. And I still didn’t get a turkey leg before the game. I always change my mind when I get there, then regret it all week long. This weekend, for the black-out against Michigan, I’m eating a damn turkey leg then prowling for jerkwad fat men in blue shirts.

Lucky Number 7

2005-10-13T11:45:00.000-05:00

A while ago I saw this on a blog that I read regularly. If I remembered which one it was I’d give them full credit, but I just don’t remember. Hopefully they won’t mind me scamming it from them. It’s just one of those days when I need a little help with my blog.

7 things I plan to do before I die:

1. Camp over night on the Great Wall of China.
2. Learn to ride a motorcycle.
3. Go on a hot air balloon ride.
4. Perform on stage again.
5. Complete the Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage.
6. Live in Paris.
7. Go on the 15-day trek to the base camp of Mt. Everest.

7 things I can do:

1. Make the world’s best scrambled eggs.
2. Read extraordinarily fast.
3. Accessorize.
4. Remember 95% of all things I am told, that I read, or that happen to me.
5. Dance while intoxicated.
6. Knit
7. Put up vinyl siding on a house.

7 things I cannot do:

1. The splits.
2. Speak fluent French.
3. Play the guitar.
4. A beer bong.
5. Dance while sober.
6. Anything to do with the visual arts: paint, draw, sculpt, etc.
7. Tell the difference between good beef jerky and bad beef jerky.

7 things that attract me to the opposite sex:

1. Nice hands.
2. Good teeth.
3. Intelligence.
4. Willingness to change and take risks.
5. I’m a sucker for self-involved artists.
6. Humor.
7. Sensitivity.

7 things I say most often:

1. Well, shit.
2. What can I say?
3. Anyway.
4. Good lord.
5. Damn it!
6. Dude.
7. Whatever!

7 celebrity crushes:

1. Andy Roddick
2. Jon Stewart
3. Jake Gyllenhaal
4. Colin Firth
5. Robert Smith
6. Horatio Sanz
7. Daniel Radcliffe

7 people I want to pass this along to:

1. Nina
2. Adam
3. Kristine
4. Peter
5. Dawn
6. Jeannette
7. Damian (gotcha back)

It's About Time

2005-10-13T09:03:00.000-05:00

This is the absolute truth: What the world and news media need right now are more Jon Stewarts running around to save us all from our own stupidity and tendency to take everything too seriously. Jon and his wife Tracey are working hard on that for us all.

Jon Stewart, Wife Expecting DaughterOct 12, 12:37 PM EST
The Associated Press
NEW YORK -- Jon Stewart will be a father again — this time to a daughter.
Stewart's wife, Tracey, is pregnant with the couple's second child, Tony Fox, a spokesman for Comedy Central, confirmed Wednesday. The baby, known to be a girl, is due in February.
"I don't know that much about women," Stewart, host of the "Daily Show," said of his concerns during a recent appearance on CBS' "The Late Show With David Letterman."
"A girl, she's going to want me to have tea with her and her panda. Like, what am I going to do with that?" the 42-year-old comedian joked. The couple's first child, Nathan Thomas, was born in July 2004. They have been married since 2000.