Possible Zombie Cover-Up?

Brain-eating Lake Amoeba Kills 6 Boys in US

A killer amoeba that thrives in warm-water lakes, enters the body through the nose, then feeds on a victim's brain until they die has caused the deaths of six boys and young men in America this year.

And even though encounters with the microscopic death-dealer are extraordinarily rare,the dramatic increase in cases has health officials predicting more cases in the future because of global warming.

"This is definitely something we need to track," said Michael Beach, a specialist in recreational waterborne illnesses for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "This is a heat-loving amoeba. As water temperatures go up, it does better. In future decades, as temperatures rise, we'd expect to see more cases."

The amoeba called Naegleria fowleri (nuh-GLEER-ee-uh FOWL’-erh-eye) killed 23 people in the United States, from 1995 to 2004, according to the CDC. This year health officials noticed a spike with six cases — three in Florida, two in Texas and one in Arizona. The CDC knows of only several hundred cases worldwide since its discovery in Australia in the 1960s.

Though infections tend to be found in southern states, Naegleria lives almost everywhere in lakes, hot springs, even dirty swimming pools, grazing off algae and bacteria in the sediment.

Beach said people become infected when they wade through shallow water and stir up the bottom. If someone allows water to shoot up the nose — say, by doing a somersault in chest-deep water — the amoeba can latch onto the olfactory nerve.

The amoeba destroys tissue as it makes its way up into the brain, where it continues the damage, "basically feeding on the brain cells," Beach said.

People who are infected tend to complain of a stiff neck, headaches and fevers. In the later stages, they'll show signs of brain damage such as hallucinations and behavioral changes, he said. Once infected, most people have little chance of survival.

Atlanta: The Guide (Part 3)

The World of Coca-Cola- New building, new exhibits. Including a 4-D (yes, 4D!) show and of course, that room full of soda fountains from around the world. Careful though, some of those sodas are a tad unfriendly.

The Vortex- The place where all the cool cats go to eat. They boast no-nonsense service and awesome burgers.

Loca Luna- dance dance dance dance salsa dance dance dance dance...

Atlanta: The Guide (Part 2)

Rugged Wearhouse- Thrift stores are fun. You should really go when you're in need of retail therapy of the third-world-poor kind.

Souper Salad- I sure love salad. If you agree, find yourself one of these and pig out to your hearts desire.

Sutra- dance dance dance dance dance dance.

Lucky Buddha- 24 hour Chinese and Thai take out. Hits the spot after a night of dancing.

Atlanta: The Guide (Part 1)

Junkman's Daughter- The best alternative store in Atlanta. If you think Hot Topic is for losers, you should go to Atlanta and visit Junkman's Daughter.

Sweet Lime- Yummy Thai food in a cute little restaurant and cute waitstaff. Little 5 Points, Atlanta.

BJ's on Hwy 58- Some neighborhood bar with bands and DJ's. Chattanooga, bitches.

Atlantic City: The Guide

If you ever find yourself in Atlantic City, you'll probably stay at one of the casinos and spend the whole time there. They build those suckers so you never have to leave.

I was there not too long ago for a bachelorette party and stayed at the Taj Mahal. Here is a guide to all the stuff you can do there aside from gambling.

The Rim- The Rim is a Chinese/ Vietnamese noodle bar. The food was good but, as with all Vietnamese, not like my grandma's. The congee I ordered was bland, but I heard the sweet and sour chicken and pho was delicious.

Ego Bar & Lounge- Ego is a lot like the hotspots you read about in Hollywood. There are private tables that can be curtained off and the lighting is super dark. So things could happen if you were on a date or you're single and ready to mingle.

Casbah Night Club- Casbah is a club that opens at 10:30 pm and closes at 6:30 am. Girls get in for free, guys pay a ridiculous cover plus drinks. Dance until your feet hurt and meet new people. Plus, they have go-go dancers that are actually pretty good.

Plate- Go to this place for breakfast, they make excellent eggs, toast, and hash browns.

Girls Night Out

My social calendar recently added 2 events that are more or less all-girl. First a bachelorette party in Atlantic City and then an all-girl outing with my bestest girl Joy in Atlanta. These are the types of activities I think Joe should be weary of and yet he isn't. Curious.

Elevators and the People In Them

Know what I hate? Strangers trying to chit chat on the elevator. I rather prefer uncomfortable silence, thank you. It's more tolerable than listening to you chortle over which level you parked your car. It's definitely more tolerable than wondering out loud whether the first floor or the ground floor takes you to the street. Duh people! The ground floor takes you to the street! That's why there's a star next to the G on the button!

Beer League vs. Beer Fest

Ever notice how sometimes a movie comes out in theaters and like, a week later the very same movie comes out again? It's sort of like a collective think tank in Hollywood comes up with all the ideas. That's what I was thinking when last year, both Beer League and Beer Fest came out in theaters (or straight to DVD, whichever). The difference is, one was passable and the other was simply horrible.

Beer Fest is about these 2 brothers that discover they are related to cocky beer guzzlers in Germany and go home vowing to show up those sonsabitches at next year's Beer Fest. It's unrated, so you see some naked boobies, there's a few funny guys from Super Troopers or whatever and, this is key, there's a plot. And characters. And it's funny.

Beer League on the other hand, was the brainchild of Artie Lange of Howard Stern fame. Some motley group of losers who play softball and they're always drunk and get beat by some cocky sonsabitches. And they vow to beat those cocky sonsabitches by the end of the season or else get relegated to a different league. The movie just wasn't that great. There're no naked boobies in this movie. So you decide which movie you'd rather see.

Sophalopalus: Cultural Learnings of Boys for Make Benefit of Clueless Girl

Lesson 1: Guys decide within the first 30 seconds of meeting a girl if he wants to bang her.

This surprises me and at the same time it doesn't surprise me. The part that surprises me is that every single guy is like that (except maybe the ones with a Jesus problem) and that they make these decisions on every girl they meet. In other words, this is not a function that can be turned off.

What also makes me wonder is how you guys can act cool and calm around us all the time, when in fact you are thinking about getting laid. I mean, there are guys I've met that I'm cool with and they have never, ever hinted at the notion of bleeping my whatever (or whatever it is that you think). So I've concluded that Lesson 1 is kind of creepy.

Lesson 2: If they could, guys prefer to have sex every single day. (And sometimes twice a day)

Duh. That's a no-brainer. But here's where girls should pay attention. If you hold out/ cut them off/ whatever no-sex punishment you choose, they will look elsewhere. In this lesson, you should note that this is where "playerism" lies. Even if a girl can agree to sex every other day, that's reason for a guy to play 2 girls so he can get laid every single day. Get that?

Discussion Points: Think about how this plays into a relationship. If the above lessons are true, then why would a guy agree to be exclusive with or even marry one girl? Are rules of a relationship made up entirely by females? And guys just agree and play along because they know it at least guarantees them a certain amount of sex? Yeah, it's a lot to think about!

Food Crazes: A Summary

Joe and I go through lots of food crazes. We like something, and then soon enough we really like it. Pizza is a house favorite, but some things come into our house and then we're eating it like there's no tomorrow. Here are some examples of some phases we've gone through.

The Burrito Phase.
This all started with the burrito degollado at El Rodeo. This was a breakthrough for Joe because he'd been afraid of beans since childhood. Ever since then, I can expect the burrito response 1 out of every 3 times I ask.

The Pineapple Phase.
Like a lot of people, we were intimidated by the pineapple. How do you cut those things anyway? Well, we figured it out and ate maybe 2 whole pineapples per week. Whenever we ran into people at the grocery store, they'd raise they're eyebrows at the pineapples in our cart. That lasted maybe all of the beginning of summer.

Italian Ice Phase.
Rita's Italian ice was an obsession for 2 whole summers. We probably stopped there once or twice every weekend. I love the custard, the thickest I've ever come across. I'm a big fan of fruity flavors, especially all the red colored ones. Joe was partial to the banana split sundae.

Peach Phase.
Right now, we're in the midst of a peach phase. Joe gets these peaches from a farm stand on his way from work and we can't seem to get enough. I think it's safe to say we're eating a dozen peaches a week. They're in season right now, so they're super delicious.

This Screw is Screwy

I always thought green or blue eyes with jet black hair looked cool. So that's why I'm getting color contacts. Green for me, please. Blue is so played out.

I'll also change back to blue-black hair too so I look super duper cool.

But in the meantime, I had the guy fix my glasses because my lens keeps popping out. I think the thread is stripped from the screw that keeps the thing together so it just keeps spinning without tightening. In french, the saying would be "la vis est folle", which literally translates to 'the screw is crazy'.

I Give Great...Gifts. What'd You Think I Was Gonna Say?

I like to think I’m a pretty good gift giver. I’m a good listener and I’m very observant, so I find myself taking lots of mental notes when I see friends and family. I prefer giving gifts than receiving them, and getting an appreciative thanks for thoughtfulness means more to me than getting something in return. This year will be an unusual year for giving gifts. Friends are getting married, there’s a big anniversary somewhere in there, and soon my sister is going to hatch another one. I’m thinking maybe if I get these ideas out on paper, it’ll spur some other ideas I’m looking for. So excuse me while I brainstorm…

Ben and Kelly: These 2 crazy lovebirds moved to Seattle for 2 years just for the adventure. They visited home often and friends always returned their visits. They may or may not move back this year, so we gifted them airline credits for their wedding. I’m hoping they use them.

2 other weddings are on deck for this fall. First, Joey and Jenny. Friends of the family. This is a mixed race wedding (Italian and Vietnamese), so I won’t be surprised if there’s like 400 people on the guest list. I have no clue what to get them. Even if they really do have 400 guests, I want them to remember my gift. (Yeah, I’m a little vain like that.) The problem is that I don’t know them that well. I hate to just pick something from the registry but I think that’s what’s going to happen. Ideas?

Then there’s Josh and Barbie. This one is a tad tricky. The couple didn’t really register for anything that struck me as being personal. Plus, Joe’s in the wedding so I think he has other plans to go in on a gift from the other groomsmen. If this actually happens, and I also gift Barbie at the shower, I don’t feel obligated to get anything big but I don’t want to come empty handed either. Hmm…

By the way, I’m gifting Barbie some stuff to pack on the honeymoon. I figured most people will get couples gifts or gifts for the home. I figured it would be nice to get her something just for her. So I got some mood candles, perfume, and I’ll throw in some alluring lingerie in there too. Wait, did I say ‘just for her’? Maybe this is a couples gift after all.

Gram and Grandpop Metzger’s 60th anniversary: I knew beforehand from Aunt Jane that Gram insisted on no gifts. I figured that at their age, there’s nothing they need now and there’s really nothing they need for the future. So I decided to take them back to the past. I looked up popular candies from the 40’s and picked up a nostalgic card/ pamphlet that listed current events, retail prices, old ads from the year they got married. Sure enough, the gift did what I intended. Gram remembered going to the penny candy store for Mary Janes and laughed at the licorice pipes. Everyone marveled at the price of cars and rent back in 1947.

Housewarming: I went to Ellicott City to see Steve, who I haven't seen in maybe 6 years. He just bought a townhouse with his boyfriend. I don't know him that well either, but I was lucky to have been by a book sale that same day and picked up a feng shui book for supercheap and that was his gift. Anway, I've got another housewarming on deck for Aaron and Alisha, whenever they finally settle on their new house and move in. I haven't a clue what to get them either. Ideas? They're the retro 50's kitschy type, so I'm looking at maybe some wall art or something to go along with another book I picked up at the book sale (a lounge lizard type journal thingy).

Sigh. Stuff like this literally clutters my brain for days until I can think of something good to give to someone. Gift giving sometimes becomes a passion and I get upset when I can't churn out good ideas. Don't even get me started on Christmas. I'm sure that'll be a separate issue when the season comes nearer.

2007-2008 Fantasy Soccer

Fuck! I missed the first 3 weeks of Premier League. Now my competitive spirit is slightly ruined. I hastily threw together my team, as much as I could remember from last season, and hope that I can catch up with the rest of the world with points. I did make some worthy trades though. Suck on this...

Goalkeepers: Van der Sar, Jaaskalainen
Defenders: Dunne, Neville, Ferdinand R, Ferdinand A, Carragher
Midfield: Lampard, Butt, Fabregas, Reo-Coker, Hamann
Strikers: Van Persie, Campbell, Agbonlahor

Don't ask me how I figured out how to afford Frank Lampard. I think I started with him and worked my way down. And I don't remember Fabregas and Van Persie being that expensive before. Doesn't matter, I'm ready to play!

FA Premier League

Fig Einstein

Me: I should probably eat these figs. You want one?
Joe: Yeah, I'll try one.
-----
Joe: You know what would be good? If these had some kind of cookie thing with it.
Me: Like a soft cookie with fig inside.
Joe: That would be real good. That's such a good idea, I'd call them Fig Einsteins.

(laughs)

Joe: You think I'd get sued by the Fig Newton people? I mean, it's a totally different scientist!
Me: They aren't named after the scientist.
Joe: So then what's the problem!?!

The Hunt is On

So we decided to start looking for a house. We've been hesitant until now because we really like our apartment and frankly, we didn't have enough for a decent down payment. But now we're ready to start a serious and tedious search.

We saw 2 houses today to at least see what we like and what we don't like. We probably won't buy either house, but at least we know what we're working with now. Our tastes are so precise, so we feel like we're in for a long search.

Wish us luck.

Notes on the Last Harry Potter Book (Spoiler Alert!)

Before reading, here were my predictions for the 2 main characters that would die:
1. Voldemort. If he didn't die, the books should go on. No point in stopping.
2. The last book has always been about whether Harry lives or dies. So Harry was my top choice.
OR
Snape: it would totally explain whether he's a good guy or a bad guy. And since he killed Dumbledore when he was so trusted, there would be some 'splaining to do
OR
Ginny: if the only power that Harry has that Voldemort doesn't have is love, then does Ginny make the ultimate sacrifice to vanquish Harry's enemy?

The following is a list of reactions during and after I read the last Harry Potter:

-First and foremost, the revelation of Snape was the best part of all the books. I love how his story was revealed after all the debating in the previous books. It was done so so well. I think his love for Lily really made his death (or the reason for his life) so poignant. I also think his doe patronus is so sad. Best part ever!

-I'm ticked off they never explain the veil. It shows up, Sirius falls through it, and that's it?? No explanation?!

-The Battle at Hogwarts reminded me of the Battle at Helms Deep from Lord of the Rings. It was so fast paced, I was frantically trying to read faster.

-The last chapter was lame. Why did she write the end like that? It only made me want to know what happened to everyone. Like what happened to Luna and her dad, Kreacher, Cho Chang? How does George manage without Fred?

-Wouldn't it have made sense to tell Neville that he could have been The Chosen One? It would have steeled his determination and made more sense how he all the sudden got up enough courage. And does anyone else think he deserved to kill Bellatrix?

-Could someone please tell me how the Elder Wand thing works? I'm confused.

-Giving Draco short term ownership of the elder wand was better than I expected for his character. I was afraid he was just a school bully.

-Dobby's burial was a little over-dramatic.

Movie Review: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (3D)

I saw Harry Potter in IMAX 3D over the weekend. Trying to squeeze the last bit of enjoyment out of my vacation before heading back to the grind. I have just finished the book before heading to the beach, so I had automatic comparison mode on while watching the movie.

You know how movies are never as good as the book? This is so true in the case of Harry Potter. There are so many details Rowling writes that get left out of the plot. So it may feel like skimming if you've read the book beforehand. But other than that, as always, it's a fun ride and you really root for the good guys here. You'll really like this movie, in 3D or not.

4 eggrolls out of 5

Staring is Not Polite

I don't know about you, but I still get stares in small town establishments. Take for instance, today we stopped for a banana split in Dover. The second we pulled into the parking lot, I saw old people staring out the windows at our car and watch us walk all the way in.

Then after ordering, I got stares as we found a seat to enjoy our frozen treat. I sat facing away from the old geezers but asked Joe if they were still staring. He said they kept looking over in our direction.

I reckon they must have been having flashbacks when they saw someone like me in their itty bitty ice cream shop. They must not get people like me in their parts too often.

Beach Reading List

Originally, I was going to take Harry Potters 5 and 6 with me to the beach. But Joe threw a wrench in the plan when he ordered me a novel from Amazon. So I'm reading Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix now and leaving The Half-Blood Prince for the beach.

I never read except for when I'm at the beach and I try to really cram it in. So aside from Harry Potter, I'm taking The Nasty Bits by Tony Bourdain and Extremely Close and Incredibly Loud by Jonathan Safran Foer. I really liked Everything is Illuminated (the movie, I never read the book) so I wanted to dabble in something else from Foer.

Now that I've started, I want to get through The Order of the Phoenix as quickly as possible so I can catch up to what's going on and not get spoiled by other people's commentary on the upcoming, and last, book in the series. Plus, the movie's out now and I want to see it. But not before I read the dang thing- it's 800 and some pages long!

My Most Brilliant Idea to Date

Yesterday, Joe and I went to Hoss's for lunch. During the middle of our meal the hostess was pulling a high chair to the booth right next us, readying a table for a family of four. But the father asked whether they could sit at a table further away so it would be easier to maneuver the high chair. And then I thought "Yeah, take your kids to the kids section! I don't want hear your baby cry!"

Then I realized I stumbled upon the greatest idea I've had to date. Now that Pennsylvania is slowly banning smoking in public areas, I thought restaurants should convert those smoking sections into kid sections. So people like me can enjoy their meal in peace. Hey, I'm not being mean and selfish here. Think of all those new couples out on a date and then think of how their date is ruined when a family of 6 is seated in their vicinity. I know you can see my point here, don't deny it.

But I also have to call out the poorly trained restaurant staff who don't recognize a date when they see one and not-so-smartly seat a huge party with 7 kids next to them. Look, I know your job is to evenly distribute customers among the waitresses and make sure people get seated promptly. But your job is also to make the experience enjoyable, so pay attention to what's going on and stop putting the loudmouths near my table!

If You Could Go Back and Change One Thing What Would It Be?

I answered this question in a MySpace Survey that I posted as a bulletin. My response was "I'd try to be friendlier". I thought a bit more about this and figured I'd elaborate on that.

I'd say my fatal flaw is that I start out hating people at first and then discover reasons to like them. Rather than the other way around like most other people. They start out giving you the benefit of a doubt and figure you're a nice person and then find your flaws and start disliking you as a result.

I don't really see this as a good idea at all. Why meet someone and assume they're a good person when they could be serial killer? I'd rather assume the worse and then be relieved with it's not true. Sure, you have less friends that way but who cares. I know for a fact I don't have psychos in my life. And frankly, I like it that way.

New Links

I've added 2 new links.

Posh Girl Vintage- I've been looking for a cute party dress for an outdoor wedding for the past few weeks. I did finally find one at Checkered Past for $12!!! It's a cute kicky yellow thing that looks Jackie-esque. It's sort of too bad, because I found this website that has the cutest vintage stuff I've seen. Yeah, it's a little expensive and the store is in California. But they pick good quality stuff and make repairs before they sell.

Things I've Bought That I Love- The actress/writer that plays Kelly on The Office has her own blog. She's fucking hilarious and actually does talk just like Kelly. You must check it out.

I Heart Smallville

If you love TV at all, you have to rent Season 1 of Smallville. It's the teenage Superman story before the Metropolis days. This show is so many things all wrapped into one.

As a teen drama, Clark Kent is a teenager in high school with a crush on a cute girl. He's super naive and awkward and it's totally great. Probably better than the other high school dramas out there. As a comic book/ superhero show, it's awesome in the way I hear that Heroes is awesome. It's real people with real problems and real gifts. Rather than looking at it as mutants with super powers.

Being only Season 1, it doesn't delve into major story arcs. The episodes don't have a plot thread, so you can pretty much watch them out of order. The reviews call this season the "Freak of the Week" season, as every episode pretty much introduces a new character that wreaks havoc on the small town of Smallville and resolves everything by the end. If you watch the whole thing in order, it starts out pretty good but by the "Nicodemus" episode, it's totally awesome.

Nicodemus is probably the best episode of the season. The Jonathan-Kent-crazy-driving scene is the most hilarious thing ever shown on the WB channel and there's a hot Lana Lang scene for the boys.

By the way, I should also note that all the major characters are pretty easy on the eyes. If you don't already have a thing for Superman-types (And who doesn't?), Lex Luthor is pretty smoldering. I mean who doesn't fall for the bad boy at times? Lana Lang is pretty much a babe. The Kents are a handsome couple. Whitney is the cute dumb jock. Do I need to keep going? I'm just saying. It makes this show easier and easier to watch.

Please please please, add this to your Netflix today! You won't regret it.

My Mom Invented Iced Coffee

Mother's Day. My mom tells us how she's been drinking iced coffees before anyone else has. How everyone had been thinking she was crazy for drinking cold coffee all along, and now they're paying $4 for one at Starbucks. So the joke is that my mom invented iced coffee.

The Best Summertime Treat

I love Maryland blue crabs in the summertime. Nothing like a mallet, a bib, and an ice cold beverage with a pile of steamed crabs.

My High Fiber Challenge

So, I've been on an exercise kick since the beginning of the year and I have a target. I'm still a little off my target, but I seem to have hit a plateau. Nothing's changed much in the last 3 or 4 months, so I figure that I have to start making changes to my diet.

First I decided not to drink all my calories. Which means I had to cut back on soda and iced tea. That started out being a pain in the ass but now I'm used to drinking water. I even have Propel packet mixes to help trick me into drinking more water.

Now, I decided to add more fiber to my diet. This has become a hot topic at home. Joe and I are constantly looking at the nutrition values in our food items and monitoring my bathroom activity. At this point, I'm adding 2 new food items to my meals that are high fiber:

- Roman Meal bread- the whole wheat type. 5 grams per slice.
- Dried Turkish figs- 6 grams for 2 pieces. They taste like Fig Newtons except not so doughy. Mission figs are disappointingly only 2 grams per serving.

So in just a slice of toast and 2 figs, I can get 11 grams out of the recommended 25 grams per day.

Also, I'm going to add a link to Calorie King which is a handy website to look up nutrition values of restaurant and fast food items. What's really nice, is that they also post exercise recommendations that offset the food you eat. It's a real eye-opener. For example, I looked up one of the fizzy malt liquor beverages I was sipping and discovered there was 225 calories in one bottle. That means I need to spend more than 20 minutes running on the treadmill to work off that beverage alone. I was shocked.

Random Shite #11

You know what's weird? Fan fiction. It's a borderline obsessive activity, don't you think? Who has time to think of new episodes or situations in their head beyond what's available on TV? But there's this huge population of boys (and girls) in their basements writing about new stuff going on with Jack Bauer after the show is over. It's just too much.

I'm on the East Coast. And it's humid. I call it "too-hot-for-pants" weather. So as you might guess, I've got no pants on.

English Premier season is over and I ended up ranked 348,254th out of 1,276,164. So I reached my goals of making the top half and beating Jules. I'm pretty psyched about it.

I'm listening to Tim Armstrong's new album and I've this song totally stuck in my head..."let's get movin' into action!!" I love it.

Can I Have the Definition Please?

I am currently watching the Scripps National Spelling Bee. I kinda get excited this time of year when there's news about middle schoolers spelling words the size of skyscrapers. I tend to search for spelling quizzes online this time of year too.

I was a speller in middle school. I have gone to Harrisburg to spell and even won one bee locally. Spelling bees have changed since my day. I notice they throw in lots of medical terms which are total hell to spell. You totally have to be into linguistics and foreign languages to decode English vocabulary.

I'm excited though, I'm going to test myself and see if I can spell the words before it shows up on the screen and see if I'm as smart as I think I am.

Super Cute!

I added a new link to the blog. It's just a site for lolcats called I Can Has Cheezburger? So super cute! Where have I been that I didn't see this sooner?

Movie Review: Spiderman 3

I saw Spiderman 3 this weekend on a bootleg DVD that wasn't half bad. The color was a little dark and the sound was sort of crappy though. After all the reviews saying it wasn't good, I have to disagree. I thought it as actually pretty good. Joe and I decided that we'd like to see it again in surround sound.

Plus, I noticed that "Evil Spiderman" has an emo haircut and eyeliner. So that was fun to follow throughout the movie. Keep an eye out for the tell-tale hair flip.

Spiderman basically fights 3 villains and works to keep his girlfriend, Mary Jane, from getting pissed off at him for being a superhero. He also battles his own demons when he gets that black gunk on himself (see my comment above about Evil Spiderman). You probably don't want to hear this, but his longtime friend, Harry, dies at the end. I was sad about that, it always seems that when someone comes around and understands the truth is when they get offed. The guy that plays the Sandman is good and the guy that plays Venom was really good. Sometimes I felt overwhelmed with all the people he was dealing with. It was about as convoluted and confusing as an emo song title. And you know what I mean.

I'd give it 4 eggrolls out of 5.

In This Corner

This probably sounds ridiculous, but when I was in high school, I wanted to be a boxer. Yeah, like I said, ridiculous. But when I heard about the results of the De La Hoya and Mayweather fight, it got me riled up again. There's just something about the ability to land a good punch.

Day 3: 5 Boroughs in 3 Days

Julie, Dan and I took the Staten Island Ferry. All the tourists were crowding on one side of the ferry to see the Statue of Liberty so we decided to move to the sunny side.

Once we landed in SI, we sought a vintage clothing store that Julie heard of. I bought a hat, a bandanna, and some super hippie dress that makes me look like a virgin that's standing in a meadow with a horse. It was an impulse buy.

Then we got Indian food for lunch on curry row. I had some super delicious chicken tikka masala, mmm!

Then we took the tram to Roosevelt Island. Dan thinks it's a creepy island in an old prison sort of way. But it's just some industrial turned residential area with weird generic stores.

We headed back for a nap and then decided on dinner and a movie. This time we ate at Flor de Mayo, which serves Peruvian and Chinese cuisine. I had the best pina colada and shrimp ceviche. Dan got this roasted chicken and fried plantains that were quite delicious. Then we headed to the movie theatre to see The Namesake, which made me cry. I'll write a review on it later.

Then we headed back and played a blank map game until it got late. I half snoozed until 5:30 the next morning to catch an early train back home.

The Guide:
Every Thing Goes - Staten Island
Spice Cove - Manhattan
Flor de Mayo - Manhattan
Paris Theatre - Manhattan

Day 2: 5 Boroughs in 3 Days

I read somewhere that this is the last season Coney Island will be open before they close for major renovations. Dan thought it was sad that they would try to change the creepiness factor to something modern and yet still creepy.

So we took the subway all the way to Coney Island and looked for a pizza place called Totonno's on Julie's recommendation. Let me just tell you, it's the best fucking pizza I've had. We hadn't eaten a whole pie since college and we did it again. Pepperoni, sausage and mushrooms. Best fucking pizza, seriously.

Then we walked on the boardwalk and then got a Nathan's hot dog. I felt gluttonous. After we had enough of Coney Island, we hopped the subway to Prospect Park and Park Slope. Then we ended up on the Promenade that faced Manhattan and considered the long walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. I couldn't do it. It was too long and my feet started to hurt.

Before we made our way back to Manhattan, Dan suggested stopping at Jacques Torres' chocolate shop. We ogled the plentiful choices and each picked 4 truffles to try.
If you ever get a chance, you've got to try his chocolates!

We had plenty of time to kill before we met up with more friends for bowling, so we spotted some cute puppies in a window, got massages, and got chocolate chip cookie sandwiches.

The Guide:
Totonno's - Brooklyn
Nathan's - Brooklyn
Jacques Torres - Brooklyn
Bowlmor - Manhattan

Day 1: 5 Boroughs in 3 Days

I met Dan at Penn Station at 3:30 and we headed back to his apartment to drop off my bags. We made a list of places to visit during my stay and then grabbed dinner and a movie. We saw "Avenue Montaigne", a cute little French movie that sort of broke my heart. I'll do a full review later on that. And then we stopped for dinner at Cafetasia, which is some hip Thai restaurant with communal seating.

Dan notes that cafeteria-style seating is becoming the fashion in the newest eateries and I agree that it's definitely cool. They had electric candles hanging from the ceiling that looked like the dining hall in the Harry Potter movies. And we had an oil candle at our table that looked like it could have set my hair on fire. I ordered the pad thai, which I swear was refilling itself from the bottom. After eyeing down the dessert the next table ordered, we ordered our own fried mango ice cream in a flaming sauce. And yes, I'm responsible for giving Dan that taste of alcohol he hasn't had in over a year. Whoops, my bad.

The Guide:
Quad Cinema - Manhattan
Cafetasia - Manhattan

Fitness for Skinny People

Some people would think that skinny people don't have a reason to exercise or watch their diets. This is simply ridiculous. Skinny people huff and puff after climbing 5 flights of stairs. I should know. I guess I'm a typical skinny girl. You know the type- skinny all my life, never had to exercise, ate whatever the hell I wanted. In high school I weighed around 97 lbs. In college, I never got the "freshman 15", pigged out at all hours of the day, and still weighed around 97 lbs.

It wasn't until after I got out of college that I gained some weight. A few winters ago, someone told me that I looked healthier (I got up to about 117 lbs). I guess I looked unhealthily skinny back then (I couldn't donate blood for being underweight). But then I realized something. I might have looked healthier, but the fact was that I didn't feel healthier. In fact, I felt bloated all the time.

So now I'm on this health kick, working out regularly and wrangling in my eating habits (although I refuse to eat anything labeled fat free or go on those restrictive diets). I've even experienced that high I keep hearing about and it makes me want to work out more.

I started looking for articles online about fitness for skinny people like me, but wouldn't you guess...there aren't very many. So I guess I'm going to somehow become some role model for other skinny people who work out/exercise/diet, but can't stand the hissing stares from other women who think I'm being pretentious.

Mongolian Blue Spot

I was reading about some kid in Georgia that wrote a book with his mom about birthmarks. He has a port wine stain on his face.

Minutes later I found myself looking up my own birthmark online. Here's what I found:

- It's called a Mongolian Blue Spot.
- It's very common among East Asians. In fact, around 90% of infants get one.
- They typically disappear by age 13 (although that's not the case for me).
- Normally found on the lower back and bottom.

I kinda think it's cool.

This Day in History

Today marks the anniversary of the Three Mile Island Nuclear Incident. I wasn't even one year old and my dad tells me he whisked me away to another state (I think New York) to protect me from whatever it was that was a threat.

It surprises me how close the nuclear plant is to home. On clear days, you can see it from the South Bridge (I think. Can someone verify that for me?). It was only 7 years later that the Chernobyl meltdown occurs that we can only imagine what could have been.

Here is a link I came across several years ago that a woman posted online that documents her trip through Chernobyl in present day. Nothing has been disturbed since the population evacuated. A sort-of time capsule of how people lived there at the time. It's interesting to note that this woman took her trip by motorcycle and took special equipment to warn her of radiation exposure.

Ghost Town- Chernobyl Pictures

The End of Snowboarding Season

Yesterday was our last attempt at snowboarding for the season. Too bad we drove all the way up there to find it exceptionally crowded on the warm and sunny day and too much for Joe to handle. We decided to go to the country club and ride down the hills of the groomed fairways.

The idea of sliding down the hill just to turn around and hike it back up the long hill wasn't exciting for me, but I agreed just because I knew that's what Joe preferred. It started out quite difficult because the snow was so powdery that I kept cutting underneath it and slowing down. Then I would take off my board and look up the hill I would have to climb just to do it all over again.

We were even joined by Joe's dad who also was having trouble with the soft snow. But in the end, it was a grueling workout. And I had a small victory jumping off a ramp Joe made in the middle of the hill. That ramp made the whole thing worth it.

Movie Review: The DaVinci Code

I know the saying goes that the movie is never as good as the book. But standing alone, this movie was pretty good. I would probably see it again actually. But that's just me, I'm just into suspense/mystery type movies. And this is so full of international intrigue and religious reference, you can't avoid getting involved.

Plus, the main character's name is Sophie. You can't go wrong. (wink wink)

4 eggrolls out of 5

I Want to Be Stereotyped. I Want to Be Classified.

Today starts March Madness, an annual excuse to gamble with your co-workers. Well, today the branch on the first floor was hosting a March Madness event with food and games and so on. They had a kiddie basketball hoop set up and you could basically play a heavily modified version of Horse for prizes.

The one guy that works in the branch actually said to me, "I bet you're good at volleyball, aren't you?"

Say what?!?!?!

Look people, this may come as a surprise to you but I'm horrible at volleyball. I learned that in grade school gym class. And while I'm at it, I also don't play ping pong or play the violin. Yes, I do know how to use a pair of chopsticks but come on people! Give me a break.

You Can't Make This Stuff Up, Except We Just Did

Last night, over buffalo wings, I asked Joe if he heard that they were going to shoot Stephen Hawking (my personal hero) into space next month. He nodded yes, he had heard something of that sort.

He wondered what gave Stephen Hawking the privilege to go into space over someone like Lance Bass (duh, he's a freaking genius physicist) and whether that would make him the first handicapped person in space. I didn't know the answer to that, but before I could say anything the conversation took a hilarious turn. Here's sort of how it went...

Joe: What if they shoot him into space and he miraculously comes back cured? Not only does he become cured, but then he comes back with, like, one giant arm. And one regular arm.

Me: If he came back cured.... I don't even know, man. That would be crazy.

Joe: They'll start sending all kinds of parapalegics into space.

Me: (laughing at the idea)

Joe: Then they'll go and get... Christopher Reeve, and shoot him into space.

Me: And he'll come back cured. And he'll actually be Superman! Wow!

Joe: No. He'll come back dead, Sophie. Space doesn't cure death. But he could come back as a zombie Superman. And he'll turn all the cured parapalegics into zombies too. Then we'd have a problem.

Me: Seriously, you need to write this down. This would be a great movie.

Cute Band Alert

I'm totally freaking out about this band I stumbled on at MySpace. I know this is going to sound dorky, but the songs are really cool and creepy and like nothing else I've ever heard. I swear, see for yourself. I like The Greatest Show Unearthed the best, but I have to respect the references to Edward Gorey (who I really like).

CREATURE FEATURE

My Dream Came True

Back in November, I wrote a short open letter to Brangelina asking them to adopt again. Turns out, Angelina has just filed for adoption!

Here is my original blog post:
Dear Brangelina

Playlist

Here is a sample of what's on my playlist when I run on the treadmill.

Renegade Cavalcade- Ash
London Calling- The Clash
Rock Me Amadeus- Falco
Amber- 311
The Adventure- Angels & Airwaves
Something to Talk About- Badly Drawn Boy
No Rain- Blind Melon
Can't Stand Me Now- The Libertines
Steady As She Goes- The Raconteurs
Here's Where the Story Ends- The Sundays

Ubiquity

Have you noticed how popular MySpace has become? People are not only giving away their web address but also their MySpace address now. It's almost out of control.

"Log onto mycrazycat.com or myspace.com/mycrazycat"

It's so far reaching that I'm wondering where the limit is with this.

Why Your Netflix Queue is Exactly the Same as My Netflix Queue

Netflix is cool. I like the convenience and what not, but what's really interesting is that renting movies has become a social thing somewhat like MySpace. I'm linked to 2 of my friends' Netflix queues and I can see what they're watching and send recommendations (or warnings) on certain movies and whatever. It's actually sort of voyeuristic. If there was actually porn on someone's queue, that would be embarrassing. "Hey, how was the movie last night. Wink wink nudge nudge."

Sometimes I feel like I need to overhaul my whole queue so that in the odd case someone looks at my queue, I'd just seem a little cooler. But screw it, right? I really do want to watch Weird Al Yankovic's video collection.

I log on one day and find that someone else put that same video collection in his queue!!! Hey wait a second, he just stole my rental pick! And then I realize that a lot of the videos in my waiting list are also on other people's list. Is that why we're friends? Because we have the same taste in video rentals? Or is this the new strategy for choosing movies, stealing from other people's list?

Zero Gravity Sex? Really?

I caught myself actually wondering about how this would work. And then I laughed. And then I think I might have blushed.

Here's what started it: Do Astronauts Have Sex?

Guilty Pleasure Revealed!

Last weekend, Joe put 2 and 2 together and figured out that I bought the 30 Seconds to Mars CD because of Jared Leto.

Yeah ok, I admit it. I think Jared Leto is pretty dreamy and I'm willing to give his band a listen. It's not the best thing in the world but it isn't too bad either.

A.I. Artifical Intelligence vs. I, Robot

Ok, I realize I'm comparing Stanley Kubrick to Isaac Asimov. But I put them right after another on my Netflix queue and now I feel like I have to compare them.

I think it's interesting that anyone would try to debate whether or not robots should be given human qualities. I think it defeats the purpose of what a robot is. But in any case, that's what these 2 movies did.

In A.I., the question is whether to make a boy robot real (a la Pinocchio) in order for him to feel love. He waits through ages, wishing on a blue fairy, to become a real boy so he can go back home and be loved by his mother. And then in I, Robot the question is whether we should give robots free will (meaning the ability to break from the 3 Laws and kill). I guess A.I. was suppose to be really touching, but I think it came off the wrong way. For me, I don't see the point in building robots to be humans. That's what we have cloning for.

I guess what I'm saying is, robots should be robots. I think I pick I, Robot as the better movie. Plus, I really think Jude Law is a doofus.

The Importance of Black History Month

Me: Hey, why haven't we gotten Black History emails yet??

Dana: Yeah, February is Black History Month! Carol, did we eliminate the Diversity Department?

Carol: Don't you know? The Diversity Offices waits until after the month is over before they send emails.

Dana: Oh yeah. Duh, Sophie.

Me: Oh yeah, duh. Sorry folks, I'll wait until March before I ask about Black History.

My Love/ Hate Relationship with Dairy Products

I'm pretty confident that I'm not lactose intolerant. But when I get the belly aches, I blame it on my lactose intolerance.

Oh, To Be a Fly on the Wall

Joe: I read on the internet that the military has this thing now that makes you feel like you're on fire.

Me: Yeah, the ray gun. I read that too.

Joe: Yeah. If they had a ray gun that could make you feel like you're on fire, why not just make something that could actually make you catch on fire?

Me: I don't know, I don't think you can do that. Like, it's inhumane or something.

Joe: Yeah well, war is inhumane.

Me: So true.

(pause for deep thought)

Joe: I wonder what that meeting was like when they were planning the whole thing..."Hey guys, how 'bout we make a gun that catches people on fire?"

Me (with fingers to chin): "Nah, we can't do that. People will be up in arms. How but we just make them feel like they're on fire, but they actually aren't."

Me: I bet they still have a switch for fire though.

Joe: A dial. Like on the stove: warm, low, medium, and high.

Me: Mm, just a switch. Hot and incinerate.

Drinky McDrinkersons

1.What is your favorite beer?
Guinness Stout. With fork and knife, please.

2. What is your favorite mixed drink?
Cap-n-coke.

3. What is your favorite shot?
Irish car bomb

4. What will you NOT drink?
Cement mixer...and 3 Wise Men.

5. Are you a lightweight when it comes to drinking?
I am now.

6. Do you like the drinks with the little umbrellas?
Of course.

7. Do you ever drink Bacardi Silver?
mm hmm.

8. Do you like frozen drinks?
mm hmm.

9. Do you drink liquor straight?
mm hmm.

10. Do you ever drink out of the bottle?
gross.

11. Have you ever drank a jager bomb?
what's that?

12. Are you drunk right now?
possibly.

13. Do you consume more than 2 alcoholic beverages a day?
Nah.

14. Do you drink a lot of wine?
Nah.

15. When's the last time you drank?
er, I suppose that was 2 weeks ago.

16. What are your 3 favorite alcoholic drinks?
Captain and Coke. Bailey's on ice. Guinness.

17. Have you ever thrown up from drinking?
mm hmm.

19. Ever done a Keg Stand?
I don't recall.

20. Name someone that will repost this.
Wah.

21. Ever been streaking while drinking?
Nah.

22. Hot tub/pool naked because of alcohol?
That's personal.

23. Failed any college courses due to alcohol alone?
Nah.

24. Ever hooked up w/more than 1 person in a night bc of alcohol?
That is also personal.

25. Ever woken up & said "dude where's my car?" and meant it?
Nah.

26. Ever carried someone up & down the same flight of stairs due to their drunkenness?
Gross.

28. Puked in a friends car?
Not in a friends car. But rather out a friends car. Hahaha.

29. Puked in a friend's house?
Nah.

30. Ever drank more beers than years you were old in one outing?
Nah.

31. Ever done a body shot?
I don't recall.

Random Shite #10

I have a feeling we're not gonna get the new TV in time for the Superbowl. I don't know, just a feeling.

I injured my neck (as usual) from snowboarding, which is seriously hampering my ability to hit the gym on a regular basis. But I am still on schedule with my treadmill routine.

My fantasy soccer team is bordering on disaster and I'm all out of money to make good transfers. Wah!

Is it ever going to really snow?

I'm on a Mission

I'm on a mission to find cosmetics that are specifically made for Asian women. A lot of times I look at magazine ads and see these really cool new colors that look really nice on the models. But the main problem is that I know that those colors will look totally different on me. Or the foundation colors don't exactly match my skin and I end up looking a little ruddier that I'm comfortable with.

We'll see if I am successful finding what I want.

Movie Review: In Good Company

This movie stars Topher Grace, Scarlett Johannson, and Dennis Quaid. It's rated PG-13, so there's no swearing or nudity. So as you can probably figure out, it's sort of a chick flick or family movie.

Dad Dennis Quaid finds out he has a new boss that's half his age (Topher Grace). So there's one plot line. And then new boss Topher accidentally falls in love with dad's daughter Scarlett Johannson. So there's the other plot line.

It's pretty predictable as far as this type of movie goes. So if you're just looking for something to do then I'd tell you to rent this. But only if you've exhausted all other options for entertainment.

3 eggrolls out of 5.

Random Shite #9

Hey guys, a new season of No Reservations started at the beginning of the year and Tony is going to the Pacific Northwest tonight. I just received his new book in the mail over the weekend and I'm excited to read it. The Nasty Bits is pretty much things that got left out of previous books, articles, or his show. So you can bet that what's left over is the good stuff.

I just finished my first sewing project with my new sewing machine and I'm getting excited. Joe gave me some projects to work on for his paintball gear. Crafting's my fave!

I Resolve

This year I actually cared enough to come up with a resolution to walk one mile for every day of the year. Joe and I have gone to the gym twice now, and I've caught up to January 6th. It's a slow and steady process people! If I go later this afternoon while it's slow at work, I can catch up quite nicely and be on track to keep my resolution.

Anyone else got a good resolution?

Movie Review: Superman Returns

First things first. Superman is a super-dreamy superhero.

Ok, so this movie is pretty good. It made me look up Superman on Wikipedia to catch up on the whole mythology. Here are some points I would like to highlight regarding this movie.

- It actually wasn't hokey that Superman in 2006 was still wearing blue tights and red underwear.

- Ok, the crappy dialogue (or lack thereof) was a lowlight.

- Great casting! I'm so glad they got a no-name actor to play Superman, rather than stuffing someone like Brad Pitt into the role. Also, good call on Kevin Spacey being Lex Luthor.

- I had a hard time believing Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane. She just looked too young next to Brandon Routh.

- The Superman curl is awesome, of course.

All in all, I gave this movie 5 eggrolls out of 5. I would happily see it again.

Come and Gone

Christmas has already come and gone and I can't believe how quickly. I always feel like I spend a lot of time preparing for a certain day to come and then it's gone before I can even truly enjoy it. It's sad really. I think I much more prefer the season leading up to Christmas rather than Christmas day itself.

This year was especially bitter because of personal family problems with my dad. Usually family gatherings do end with a bust up between my dad and someone else, but this year he decided to throw in a wrench by not coming at all. In fact, he was on the other side of the planet for reasons unknown.

I picked him up from the airport yesterday. I feel a family meeting coming on.

The Countdown

There are a few things left to pick up that are stressing me out, but overall I'm excited about Christmas. Well, partly excited. My dad isn't around so....

I'm watching Rudolph on tv right now, so hopefully it will cheer me up and get me in the mood.

Merry Christmas everyone. It'll be here and gone before you know it.

Highlights from the Christmas Party

The Axe

Well guys, it seems as though I may lose my job. I haven't been able to stay at a job for more than 2 years without there being a buyout and layoffs. Without whispers abound that the bank may get sold, there's major cost cutting initiatives. Severance packages have been mailed to the local HR reps and it seems like the axe will fall tomorrow.

I will keep you updated.

What Should I Worry About More?

Is it good or bad that I'm more worried about the quality of my Christmas gifts than I am about whether I'll have a job or not in the coming weeks? It's just that being laid off isn't something I can control. I'm sure that senior management will do what they want no matter how good I am at my job. However, if I give a chintzy gift...well, that's all on me.

Dear Brangelina

Dear Brangelina,

You spent Thanksgiving zipping through Ho Chi Minh City on a scooter, taking in the sites, buying souvenirs, and visiting an orphanage. Could I ask you to please, please, please adopt another kid so Asians can be in style again?

Thanks guys!
Sophalopalus

A Few of My Favorite Things

I ventured out into the retail world on Black Friday. I went to the Lancaster outlets while Joe was working and spent about 5 hours picking up stocking stuffers and odds and ends for the Christmas party. And since Joe went camping down at the races yesterday, I spent 9 hours at King of Prussia with mom and Jules. There's tons of cool things for Christmas at King of Prussia, I've listed a few things here to give you some gift ideas.

Sweaters Galore! There are tons of really nice sweaters on sale right now. I got 50% off sweaters at the Gap on Friday, but I saw nice cashmere at Anne Taylor and new styles at Old Navy.

Home Accents. You have to get excited every time Yankee Candle comes out with new scents. And they were buy one, get one half off. Williams-Sonoma has really cute bundt pans in the shape of snowmen, castles, train cars, you name it. Plus boxed gourmet candies for Christmas. This is the place to be for the cook in your family.

Beauty Bounty. I only saw this sale at KoP, but Bath and Body Works had a 5 for $10 deal on all Anti-Bacterial products!!! The price was so good, you had to stock up for yourself and for stocking stuffers. Also, the cosmetics counters were crazy busy everywhere. Sephora, MAC, all the department stores. Mom and Jules got eyeshadow pencils and we were all over the anti-aging products.

Ice It and Get Back in There. Sears had a 50% sale on jewelry so mom and Jules were all over that. Sears was also giving away vegetable peelers when we were on our way out too.

Where Did the Month Go?

How is it already Thanksgiving week? I don't even remember the days after Halloween. And now I feel the onslaught of holiday hustle and bustle. I haven't even given a thought to my Christmas list yet and haven't firmed up the party date to even start the invites. Yikes.

I will probably take off Black Friday. To catch up on the above things and make lists and get my car inspected. It's going to be a crazy holiday season this year.

To Do List:
Make Christmas wish list.
Make gift lists for giftees.
Decide on party date.
Make invites (should I do the sleds again, or just paper?).
Schedule appointment for car inspection.
Make Christmas card list (check for updated addresses).
Make Christmas crafts (soaps, cookies).
Coordinate the shipping of long distance gifts.

What else am I missing?

The Gallows

MSN Slate had this great article on how hangings actually work. I recommend you know your international execution rules, read up on this.

How Do Hangings Work?

Remember Remember, the 5th of November

Just wanted to remind people that yesterday was Guy Fawkes Day (in Britain). You're probably thinking you don't know who that is, but I think you know more than you think. At least, you would recognize his face.

Guy Fawkes was a guy who tried to blow up the House of Parliament and assassinate the king at the time. He was actually caught before either of these happened and was hanged for treason. On this holiday, there are typically bonfires and such to recall the original plan to blow up the HoP.

You may be familiar with this story by the graphic novel or adapted movie "V for Vendetta" in which the story is loosely based.

My Advice on Saving Money, Part 2

The Obvious, Giving Up Life's Little Luxuries
-I don't smoke, but if I did I would quit. If I had a pack-a-day habit, I'd be spending about 4 bucks a day, 28 a week, 112 a month, 1344 a year.

-Stop dining out. Making your own food is always cheaper than getting someone to do it for you, plus tips. But if you have to, go out for lunch instead of dinner, the menu is cheaper. Or just eat half a dinner portion and take the other half home, 2 meals for the price of one!

-Cancel subscriptions. I had to cancel the TV and give up call waiting when I really had to cut the fat. Nowadays Netflix and cable internet (dial up again?!) would be shown the door.

Reverse Psychology: Spending Money In Order to Save Money
-Sometimes you have to pay a little extra money right now so that you save money later. Like moving house. At the time of my unemployment, my apartment was expensive and was about to become even more expensive after the initial 12 months of my lease. So I decided to move to a cheaper apartment. I spent some money for a rental truck and some moving supplies but I easily made that money back with the rent I was saving.

-Pay your bills early. You don't want to rack up late fees and then owe even more, it's counter-productive. But my emphasis on early is the key for loans. See, interest compounds daily on loans so if you pay one day early, that's one day of interest you don't have to pay and one day's worth of interest going towards principle. Same for credit cards, you don't want to be paying interest on a meal you had two weeks ago, it's ludicrous.

Put Your Pride on the Line: Going Generic
-I'm always willing to try a generic version at the grocery store. Sometimes generics are comparable or even better than the brand, hey it happens. And I can pocket that extra money for the rest of my life. Sometimes it's not, and that's okay.

-Giving up meat and in turn, eating more carbs. Meat is expensive, so I cut back on that stuff. I'd buy whole chickens a lot because those are cheap and would stretch for maybe 3 different meals. And buy potatoes by the bag, those things make the littlest scraps of food filling, and really, how many different ways can potatoes be made?

-Shop the discount groceries. Heck, I don't know why everyone doesn't do this but the discount groceries can really save you money. I stocked up on a lot of pantry items: boxed pasta, canned veg, bottled juice. And FYI, you have to pay for grocery bags, so bring your own (I didn't know that the first time I went).

-Learn to sew. Making your own clothes is a cheap way to go, but I was thinking more of mending your clothes. A little more practical and can save you from going out and buying a new $35 sweater. Especially when the electricity bill just happens to cost that exact amount.

-Shop thrift or second hand. I'm just like the next girl, I don't want to look like a school marm, but I can't afford a pair of Sevens if I'm trying to save money. You really have to invest time into looking through the thrift racks but, it can be worth it.

Other Ideas
-Reinvent the stuff around the house. Were you going to toss those old socks? Why not use those as rags instead of paying for those magnetic dust mitts. Shrunk your sweater? Remake them into cute winter gloves or a throw pillow.

-Frisk your furniture. When was the last time you gave your couch the shake down? I swear you not, I found 20 bucks in the couch cushion once. Hand to god. Check table drawers and the clothes in the bottom of your dresser.

-Got one of those jars of loose change? Cash it in! Now!

-Move the money around in your bank accounts. Chances are you could get better interest somewhere else or just in a different account. Yeah, maybe it's a few cents here and there, but they compound and could add up fast.

-Drive less. This was a hard one to get used to. When I had to go out somewhere I would have to take some extra time and think about where I was going and if there was another chore I could accomplish in that same trip. It could potentially save gas money.

My Advice on Saving Money, Part 1

Lately, we've been in major saving mode for several reasons. For a house, for a dog, for a flat screen tv, and so on. So I thought I'd write some advice on squeezing out some extra money from your pockets when you really need it. It works for me now and definitely worked for me during my time in unemployment.

First of all, it helps to evaluate what your goals are. If it's for a house, a car, getting out of debt, whatever it is, make a list of everything you want to accomplish for the next 12 months and estimate how much you need to do it. This helps to set your expectations.

Next, make a budget. Calculate how much money you take home on a monthly basis and then start subtracting all your expenses. Include your rent and your utility bills, but don't forget any monthly subscriptions, student loans, gas, groceries and other things you pay for on a regular monthly basis. What's left is what goes into your savings bucket. Not satisfied with that number? Then stay tuned, I'll detail what I do to cut my expenses to put more in my savings.

This Day in History

I just read on Wikipedia that today in 1958, Belgian cartoonist Peyo introduced The Smurfs in Belgian papers.


I didn't realize there were so many actual Smurfs, but my favorite is still Brainy.

Special Day

Ladies and Gentlemen, today I sent in my last student loan payment! This is something I'm pretty excited about because I'm actually 4 years early. What typically should be done in 10 years, I did in 6!!

Wahoo! [Sophalopalus does jig]

Coat Racks Reunited: Update

The past 2 weeks haven't been so good for the Coat Racks. I've been slipping in the overall ranks, as you can see.

Gameweek 1 33 591,334
Gameweek 2 33 511,248
Gameweek 3 61 237,952
Gameweek 4 49 189,029
Gameweek 5 48 187,749
Gameweek 6 30 286,401
Gameweek 7 35 292,282

Here is my current team:
James, Van der Sar
Campbell, Terry, Mellberg, Primus, Sinclair
Fabregas, Neville, Essien, Young, Bridge
Heskey, Hasselbaink, Saha

I don't get it, it would seem that I have a pretty kick ass team. Anyone got suggestions?

House Beautiful

We're in the throes of finding a new home. Part of me doesn't want to buy a house because I love love love my loft. I wouldn't want to trade it. But there comes a time to put some roots down.

We're in the middle of shoring up a down payment and hope to god that something that strikes us will present itself when we are ready to buy. But we've been casually looking at houses in the meantime, just to see what styles we like and how much house our money can buy nowadays. This has become a really stressful and disappointing hobby, though. Right now there's a house for sale that suits our style, but it's just out of our budget.

Part of me is really nervous about the commitment but part of me is also really excited about having more room and decorating and entertaining. Wish us luck.

Movie Review: Lucky Number Slevin

I like these types of thrillers where they don't let you in on what's really going on until late in the movie. This is what happened in Lucky Number Slevin. It starts out as a film of mistaken identity but near the end, it was all just cleverly planned to seem that way. Jam packed with lots of star actors, and surprisingly everyone's talent didn't go wasted.

Morgan Freeman, Ben Kingsley, Bruce Willis, Lucy Liu, and Josh Hartnett. I say this is a must see.

4 and a half eggrolls out of 5.

They Don't Do That Anymore

This week: Hypercolor T-shirts.

Remember these as an emerging technology? I never owned one myself, but I think I wish I did. Tell me your fond memories in the comments section.

DE-FENSE!!

This joke never gets old.

Talk Like a Pirate Day!!

Ahoy ye land lubbers! 'Tis Talk Like A Pirate Day!

Nerdify Your Blog in One Step

I just wanted to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Star Trek by posting a pic of my favorite character.

Top 5 Must-See TV (Fall 2006)

1. The Office. Jenna (Pam) says that the season premier of The Office will pick up "in real time". I don't know if that means that we'll see what happens between Jim and Pam or not. But in any case, I'm dying to see what happens. Best show since Friends.

2. My Name Is Earl. So clever, this show. Every single character is so good. I love Randy, love Crabman, love Joy. I just love this show.

3. Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations. See my post on August 20th for all my ass kissing worship of Tony. I love this guy.

4. NFL Football. Really. There's nothing like football weather, crazy fans, buffalo wings, chili, and something good on TV on Sunday nights.

5. Dog Whisperer. You laugh now, but I challenge you to start watching that show and not watch the whole marathon.

Open Cover Letter to Stephen Hawking

Dear Dr. Hawking:

I am responding to the posted open position as your assistant. I realize that you are looking for a graduate student to help you with your travels, studies, lectures and other tasks and I am willing to do all that. I know that the job will requre a lot of physical activity and I've been working out at the gym, so I'm fit to push your wheelchair anywhere. Yes it's true that I have little knowledge in quantum physics, singularity in time-space and black hole mechanics but I can assure you that I can learn pretty quickly. I'm pretty good at math, passed both high school and college calculus. I wasn't so good in physics but I think a second stab at it would prove better results.

You see, Dr. Hawking, you are one of my top ten...nay, top five heroes of all time. And I would be most honored to intern as your assistant for 2 years. My favorite is that time when you looked at the warp core prop on the set of Star Trek and said, "I'm working on that". Although silly, I really believe you could do it if you wanted.

I can send you my resume under separate cover if you think I'm qualified. I just have to make some changes to it so it presents my math skills nicer. I'm looking forward to your call.

Sincerely,
Sophalopalus

Rednecks Are Universal

So the past 2 Saturdays were spent with a German exchange student and his brother. That's always fun meeting nice new people. And what seems to happen with foreign people is that you often compare notes. Like, "do you have these over there?" or "We call that so and so over here."

Well yesterday, we found ourselves explaining the phrase "down by the river". For those of you who've been living under a rock for the past 10 years, that's a phrase popularized by Chris Farley on SNL. Anyway, we tried to explain the breed of river people and that they were often the butt of jokes for their, shall we say, antiquated and rural customs. I likened them to rednecks, to which Norman replied, "Ah yes, we know the rednecks", with a smile.

Fantasy Football Update

Since the last update, I've made 3 transfers to my fantasy team and set up a league so Jules and I can keep tabs on each other better.

My transfers:
Carragher for Mellberg due to injury.
Saha for Crouch
Bridge for Toure

These transfers were probably the best of my career so far. Saha is an ace choice compared to Crouch who hadn't played a minute on the pitch for the first few games. And Bridge was an incredible deal compared to Toure who wasn't getting me the points.

I've also reached my goal of ranking in the top half already. I'm #237,952 out of 856,198 players. In week 3, I gained more points than the overall average and only 1 point less than the overall leader did. Something I'm really excited about.

Book Review: A Long Way Down

By Nick Hornby. Yeah that's the same guy that wrote the book About A Boy that ended up becoming a movie (a good one might I add) starring Hugh Grant.

I have to say this was unexpected subject matter for a beach vacation. I just expected to buy a light reading type of book. But when I saw the author, I figured I had to get it. Besides, I couldn't find any other books that interested me.

Ok, without giving it all away, it's about 4 people who happen to meet at the top of a popular building to commit suicide and what happens when they all decide to stay alive. It reminded me a little of the Real World Series on MTV because these guys certainly didn't make fast friends with each other, they were completely different personalities and backgrounds and reasons for being at the top of the building, ready to take the plunge.

All four characters were great and the reasons they were ready to die ranged from the ridiculous to the "yeah, I would jump too". You just have to read it, trust me it's not all morbid and sad. It's quite entertaining and in the end, you'll be satisfied. I promise.

4 eggrolls out of 5

Coat Racks Reunited

Fantasy 'Football' Team:

GK: Van der Sar; Lehmann
D: Campbell; A Ferdinand; Carragher; Young; Toure
M: Sinclair; Neville; Essien; Reo-Coker; Fabregas
F: Heskey; Hasselbaink; Crouch

I've already transferred Carragher due to injury for Mellberg.
The first week of the season and I have a measly 33 points and ranked somewhere in the bottomhalf in the 500,000's.

Anyone else up for some fantasy footie and see if you can beat me?

Two Cases for AB

I just noticed that 2 of my favorite food/ travel personalities bear the initials A.B. That's Alton Brown and Anthony Bourdain. I own both their books and enjoy their shows for entirely different reasons.

Firstly Alton Brown has always made sense. Like, ok, I get it now. I know why my meat isn't all that tender and now I know what to do about it. He's scientific about things, yes, but that's what's entertaining. He's not one to follow recipes, because once you know how stuff works, you don't need no freakin' recipe! Yahoo, freedom!

Second, Anthony Bourdain is like a food master of the subversive. He takes you to far and away places and really gets to the heart of a city. Never mind doing the usual touristy shit. He wants to take you to the hidden dive underneath an alley, because that's where the locals go and of course, where the food is real. And real good.

Right now, Alton has his normal (encyclopedic in nature) show, Good Eats and now has a new show called Feasting on Asphalt, where he travels to find the food culture of highway restaurants. And don't forget he hosts Iron Chef America too. All shows are on the Food Network.

Anthony Bourdain is currently on the Travel Channel on his show called No Reservations. Tomorrow is a new episode on his trip to Beirut during July and documents his experience there as war started to erupt all around him. It should be a really incredible episode.

This Music Tastes Like Limes

So I dug out of my slow fall into old-peopledom by installing LimeWire on my computer. But I'm not so cool as to install on my A computer, I installed it onto my B computer in case I download something nasty. One of the computers has to take the fall and I don't want it to be my precious laptop.

Now, I feel like I'm young and cool like the rest of you lot.

So anyway, I'm interested in what everyone out there is downloading nowadays. I'll consider any suggestion you make and then maybe post a list of downloads.

The Planet Mars

Hey guys, I wanted to let you know that if you got an email about Mars coming close to Earth this month, don't believe it. It's fake.

This email is just making its rounds again 3 years after it actually happened in August of 2003. And the part where it's suppose to be the size of the moon is quite extraordinary, seeing as though if Mars were ever the size of the moon in the sky, we'd be in some deep doo-doo.

Sorry to spoil the fun.

How Much Fish Can a Cat Handle?

Lookalikes

Apparently, I really like Sweden. A lot.

It's Tony's Line

Remember Tony Slattery? You know, the guy on Who's Line Is It Anyway that was really funny? I almost forgot how funny he was until I caught a few episodes on BBC America. He is so funny.

Mom and Dad Like It Because It's Commercial

My sister sent me an email telling me how her trip to Hawaii was with my parents. She said that mom and dad really liked Oahu, because it's commercial. That's so funny. Yet so true. I remember one time when my mom said she didn't like Rome because it was dirty. Like, they should renovate more often and make the buildings look nice.

Anyway, Jules recommended Kaui for the snorkeling and activities. The food was good and they brought back some cheesy gifts for me. I asked specifically for a beach towel and got a brown beach towel with a graphic of a hula dancer. Don't get me wrong, it is what I asked for, I just wasn't expecting the whole thing to be poop brown. I also got a black "Hawaii" t-shirt with gold embroidering, a poncho, a key chain, a fake Burberry handbag, and a box of chocolate covered macadamia nuts.

You Think Mead is Cool, Don't You?

Yuck! Mead is gross. I don't care if you are one of those Renaissance faire geeks and think that mead is awesome. Or if you're a goth and think anything medieval is sweet. Mead is not cool. It's gross and you are weird for liking it.

Still Waiting for My So-Called Life

It's nice to have Netflix on days you don't have a damn thing to do. And it's nice to finally be updated on the latest and greatest flicks so you don't feel excluded in conversations. But I tend to look for obscure titles that they don't have or titles that are perpetually in the waiting list. This defeats my purpose of subscribing to Netflix.

What's taking so long for me to get the "My So-Called Life" tv series? I can't imagine it's because there's no demand. I want answers!

Conspiracy Theory

My whole theory on Suri Cruise is that there must be something wrong with her. Like a physical deformity or something. If it were some internal problem, her operations would be all over the news and hell, we'd be watching telethons till the cows come home. My guess is that they are embarrassed of her physial deformity which would explain why no one's seen her. Down's Syndrome would be my first guess, but I've got cleft palate and underdeveloped limbs in the running too.

Yo Mama So Old...

Ok, so it took Zidane 3 days to think through things. So it took me 4 days to think through things too.

The truth is, there's no such thing as a yo mama joke in Europe. They just don't have them there. So to tell them that a yo mama joke is a term of endearment or a brotherhood thing, they just won't understand.

But if the scenario Zidane describes was actually meant to be an insult, then I can understand where a headbutt (or in my case, a brick up the side of your head) would be necessary. I come from an Asian family, and family honor is #1. What do you think all those kung fu movies are about anyway? Everything else comes after. And certainly a sporting match comes way after, even if it is the World Cup.

So in my eyes, he was justified. But, of course, it was unfortunate that the whole world had to see it and it happened to be the last match of his well documented career. If it were at any other place at any other time, this wouldn't be headline news.

By the way, yo mama so old, when she went to school there was no history class.

Strange Attraction

For your information, I'm really pulling for a French win on Sunday. I really want Zidane to have his fairy-tale ending. I think he deserves it.

I find myself strangely drawn to the man. He seems like a genuinely normal guy, aside from the fact that he's filthy stinking rich. He has a normal wife and four normal kids. He looks great in clothes, like he could be a model. He looks even greater now that he's shaved his head, which now brings out his rough and tumble facial features. "Rough and tumble" looking guys were never my type, but there's something different about Zizou. It just suits him.

But I also get the feeling that behind the tough exterior, that he's a softy inside. Photos of him with his kids are so adorable. And then there are some cultural parallels that I feel like I share with him.

He's a child of Algerian immigrants, raised in Marseilles. The Algerian national team didn't want him because "he wasn't fast enough". So he chose to play for France. Yet the French president (underscore, emphasize, bold) said that more and more, he can't recognize a French face on the team. (The top players in the team are of non-French heritage) Talk about not being wanted!

Anyway, sometimes I feel like that just walking the streets in my own small town neighborhood. Being a minority sucks sometimes, like you're constantly being singled out as different. Yet I know that if I went to Vietnam, I would instantly be recognized as non-vietnamese. Sometimes I feel like I don't belong anywhere and anywhere I go, they won't see me as being one of them.

So the sense of belonging and doing something to show everyone that you belong somewhere is something I feel like Zidane is out there proving, with quite remarkable results. Being touted as possibly the best in the world of all time is no small feat. If only I could be as successful.

Anyway, Go France! Go Zizou!

I Know Nothing

It's official. My World Cup bracket sucks. None of my picks for the Semifinals made it through. I thought I knew what I was doing, but I don't.

My picks = Argentina, Czech Republic, England, Brazil.
Reality = Germany, Italy, Portugal, France.

Boy was I wrong about Czech Republic, they never even made it out of Group round. And I never factored France or Portugal to be in it at all. What the hell do I know? But looking at the final four, I think all four teams deserve to be there. It's going to be tough matches ahead.

You should log onto Boom Chicago to see The Unlikely Fan's World Cup videos. Daily commentary on the World Cup...It's hilarious.

God Save the Queen

God save our gracious Queen
Long live our noble queen
God save the queen
Send her victorious
Happy and glorious
Long to reign over us
God Save the Queen

Thy choicest gifts in store
On her be pleased to pour
Long may she reign
May she defend our laws
And ever give us cause
To sing with heart and voice
God save the Queen

COME ON ENGLAND!!!