hehehehe

veronicaaaaa!

How AMAZING does Kristen Bell look in this Vanity Fair photo? Ahhh! She is just one of my favourite people (yes, I'm a Veronica Mars geek and I ain't ashamed of that). Cezie, if you're seeing this, drool with me! Oh to have those photoshopped legs...but you know, something comparable.

I ran into her at Bossa Nova on Sunset once and practically died but had to play it cool. And to top it off, she was with "Dick Casablancas" (fellow VMer). Now if I can only run into "Logan Echolls"...

noses in books

So I started a new project. I've been really into the blog called People Reading and wanted to create a sister site. Sonya, of People Reading, gave me her blessing and even encouraged it so I bring you Noses In Books. While People Reading is San Francisco based, I've decided to explore literary Los Angeles. Check it out. I hope to hunt for more interviewees today and get more content.

Enjoy!

The Good and The Bad

My boss had blogged about watching a Diane Sawyer interview he watched on Dr. Pausch, a 47 year old Carnegie Mellon professor who is dying of Pancreatic cancer. In the interview, Dr. Pausch is shown tucking his kids into bed and each night he asks them what the best thing about their day was and the worst.

I don't know many people who, at the end of their day, reflect on how their day went. I was, however, reminded of when I would go over the "mitzvah" I did that day before I went to bed and sometimes would talk about it on the phone with my sister during afternoon talks. A mitzvah, by the way, is "a good deed" in Hebrew. And no, I am NOT Jewish, just a pretend one.

Anyway, I guess that is similar to the "best and worst" nightly reflection. So, what was the best thing about my day today? Hmmm that is a tough one. I mean, my day went rather smoothly, I lunched with one of my favourite former co-workers...but I think the thing I would nominate is that I had an amazing 1-on-1 meeting with my boss. We have these bi-weekly sit downs and I do remember walking out of his office smiling because it was a good talk, very inspiring, got me excited about things again!

The worst? Hmmmm another tough one. I didn't have a shitty day, really. If I had to choose...I get really hard on myself about not being able to "do" alot of things or I do something but then I should've carried it out a step or two further. It's a very defeating feeling, the "Damn, I should've done that! Why didn't I think of that first? I thought of that but why didn't I go through with it??" I had a few moments of that today. So I guess that was a "worst". That and still having this cold/cough. I just want it to be over!

What was your best and worst today?

sickbed

I don't have a thermometer so the next best thing was the food thermometer in the kitchen drawer. Picture me clutching that thing trying to figure out how hot I was. I was breaking 100. PTFO'd after that.

Flu hallucinations are always fun. During that first night of high temperatures I was accompanied by 10 fever fairies. Each swore they would jump off my island bed (and lower my temperature) after each performed a task and I would have to help. I kept saying (outloud) and arguing that all i wanted to do was sleep, that I needed them to just go away. They performed their task and hour after hour each left me. I would wake up and my fever would be slightly lower and I felt closer to being "alone". Finally, one fever fairy was left and I just didn't have the strength to deal with it. It kept making be tie some knots or stitch some badge. I wasn't having it. I told it to do it for me. After seeing I'd given up, final fever fairy finished the task and left. I was alone in bed, temperature lower, sweating, weak, thirsty, and hungry.

That was a pretty intense night. Fever fairies...for real.

New Mates of State video

This video brings me joy (and kind of disturbs me) in my flu-infected state. And it's called, "Get Better" so I will take that personally!

Mags' cameo is too cute.

I need a furry animal mask/costume...that isn't my Tigger costume. I'd like to be a bunny.

Mates of State - "Get Better"

random run-in: animal edition

Soooooo yeah. I'm walking next door to Vegan Express for lunch today and hear some random noises. My co-worker thinks it's a baby and I thought it was just a random weed whacker in the distance. But lo and behold the sounds came from a GOAT IN THE BACKSEAT OF A KIA PARKED IN THE LOT!!!! I noticed random movement so I was compelled to run over to check it out, obvs.

A goat

A goat in the backseat of a random sedan. It...it made my freakin' day! This is totally better than Madame Poulet, although she was "ours". (R.I.P)

Turns out Billy the Kid is the pet of a couple dining in Vegan Express' patio.

Seriously...MADE MY DAY!

random run-in

A friend of mine was in town last week to celebrate his birthday. He had left LA for a few years now so it was also a reunion/gathering of sorts. The event went down at the pirate bar Downtown (The Redwood) so that was an added bonus since I'd been meaning to check it out. I had heard so much about it and had envisioned it to be this setting where I walk in and there is some enclosed body of water and I have to walk up a plank to get to the actual pirate boat bar! Alas, it was nothing like what I had dreamed it would be but it was fun nonetheless. Still, I think my idea is pretty sweet.

The birthday boy is a manager and I had known he managed an acapella group but never knew much about it. Night goes on and I meet the different members of the group (George and Paul mainly) and I kept hearing about a Phil and a Sam. Heard they were on Scrubs but still didn't think much of it. They were going to sing Happy Birthday acapella so I was excited. "Phil is on his way but Sam is here". I look over and see Sam at the bar and the guys call him over so that I could meet him. Turns out Sam is "Ted" from Scrubs! I watch Scrubs but not enough to be super familiar with the ins and outs but I knew who Ted was and it all made sense. The Acapella group is that same one on the show! "Ted's Band" (or The Blanks in real life). So weird but so cool!

(The Blanks serenade Sloaty-pie)

(Paul, Sam, and I)

(Adam Sloat and I)

Book Club!

Lordy lordy! In the midst of bitching about what I feel are the horribly forced metaphors and wishy-washy plot, et. al in the current book I'm reading (Bel Canto by Ann Patchett) for a Book Club I'm thinking of partaking in me and the guys have decided to start our own Book Club! I mean, we were already discussing Edith Wharton (my love, one of his "dislikes") and how Giovanni's room (James Baldwin) is making one of them want to slit their wrists in a good way after I suggested he read one of my all time faves of mine so it was only natural to start our own little Book Club Coalition of sorts. Bryan, Paul, Christopher, and I. It's going to be interesting, heavy @ times, and nothing less of awesome!

Kick off meeting on Saturday during brunch! We decide what book numero uno will be. Yip!

20? Really?

20

Randomness that I found on Big Action!

1,2,3,4

So I will be honest. I don't know what to do with babies. I am not really a baby person. I don't fawn over them. I see that your baby is cute but don't ask me to hold them. I am afraid to hold them! It is just too much responsibility. Don't entrust me to babysit your offspring. I am far from the whole mothering thing. And baby videos. I don't get them! They plague America's Funniest Videos and YouTube and I just don't get how they are watched and loved by millions and millions of viewers! Simple videos of laughing babies are HITS but I still don't get why. However, I can't stop falling in love with this video of Mags (Mates of State offspring) doing her rendition of Feist's "1,2,3,4" (and notes that Feist doesn't count right, not in video but blogged about on her mommy's blog). It's a cute video. It doesn't weird me out. It wins in my book!

speechless

Most times I have no control of what I say...well, scratch that. I think it's really the poor execution. After I say things outloud it's like I can visualize these empty spaces that ought to be filled because all that's spewing out are these blunt chunks. And it's horrible. Maybe I just need more gusto. Maybe I need to take a speech class or conversation class because I am realising more and more that I also interrupt people and I just keep thinking how rude I must sound. Like, I will talk over them and cut them off. I also do this thing where I have these pauses because I will forget words. Just pause in mid-sentence a bit. Motherboard overload or something. It's so weird. And bad. Maybe it's nerves in certain situations? And to think I did public speaking in high school.

I'm just low on gusto.

Happy HAARP Day

Mmmmm Muse. I went to the MUSE DVD screening @ the Vista last night. I don't think I've ever been to a DVD viewing party before so it was cool to watch it at one of my favourite theaters in LA. And I've never seen MUSE live (ugh....I know, I know, lay off me!) so this was kind of like it? Ok, who am I fooling. It's a totally different experience and who am I to even compare concert footage to the actual LIVE experience! But it was still fun...I'm just sayin' in all! Now, if they had made it some sort of IMAX experience, THAT my friends, would've be quite a sight to see. At least the sound quality wasn't shitty and our seats and sodas were vibrating nonetheless.

Great show from as much as I sat through. The production was insane! I mean, once you see them rising from the walkway a mile away from the actual stage you know right then and there that this ain't gonna be a silly nanny concert! And I'm not gonna lie, the band looked scrumptious. Seriously, rockstar status can make any scrawny boy look yummy! And it isn't just me who thinks Chris resembles a hybrid of Jeremy Piven and Chris Joannou of silverchair, right? Absolute hybrid! (In the footage, at least)

Final thoughts? I am always amazed at how much power rockers have over throngs of people. You see those kids in the front rows just belting the lyrics out after standing in those pits for hours. True dedication.

And part of me thought the screening was some April Fool's joke where they make you sit in a theater with a handful of meat heads being obnoxious for the whole hour before the lights go out...like some episode of the Twilight Zone where you have to endure these guys who just won't...shut...the...fuck....up! Just absolute meatheady fratty mcfratterson brobrahs surrounding us from every corner of the small theater...closing in on us...for what seemed like an eternity!

Other than that, fun times all around. We bobbed our heads. We stamped our feet. We clapped and sang along. Part of me wanted to get up and start jumping around like I was one of those kids sweating up against all the bodies around me, just rockin' out.

Yeah, I need to go to a show again soon...or just be in the mood to go out dancing one night.

liza-ism #436

If you're run-over by a speeding ambulance rushing over to an emergency sitch, will they stop to help you or drive on to their assignment/destination and send help?

oh those japanese...

...they think of everything!

Just one of the many videos the circulated in the office this morning. I think the Bruce Springsteen one is my favourite.