Our Driveway Guy Knows James Cameron
OK, this is just too weird not to mention. We're getting our driveway re-done and got a referral to this concrete guy from a friend. So he talked to my husband and they agreed on what to do and the guy left a photo album of some past jobs for us to look at. As I'm flipping through the pages, I see him standing next to a tall thin white dude who looks suspiciously like...James Cameron. I read the little paper caption thingy he had in the album, and sure enough, it is James Cameron. The Oscar-winning director of that little boat movie called Titanic? Dreadful movie, by the way, but how huge is that? I stopped laughing long enough to scan this in so I could share it with you all. I hope I don't get some angry cease and desist letter from James or the driveway guy. He looks like he could snap me in half without blinking. I wonder what his mysterious "business" in Fiji w/Mr. Cameron was? Could JC be building his Dr. No-like compound from which he'll conquer the world? Only Edmond, our driveway guy, knows...
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currently reading:
America: The Book - The Daily Show Gang
Fluke: Or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings - Christopher Moore
Lisa33 - Dan Allan
Video Roundup
Watched a little VH1 this morning before work, and saw that new U2 video "All Because of You." Didn't they already do this video back in the day for "Where the Streets Have No Name?" The only difference seems to be the locale (LA vs. NY). This just bugs me to no end--I was surprised by this lack of creativity form the band. Maybe they thought some of us wouldn't remember? Or go, "Wow, it's just like that other video from 15 years ago--cool!"
Then there's the dreadful Kelly Clarkson, and her Olsen twins-inspired look (starved raccoons). American Idol just needs to go away. Like right now.
So what's up with Snow Patrol and their total Coldplay ripoff video? I don't like their whiny-ass sound and I hate that dude's cable knit turtleneck sweater.
Don't even get me started on 3 Doors Down. I noticed that the lead singer is rocking the faux hawk look, ditching the 3rd rate Kid Rock look, but it's not an improvement. If you look even vaguely amphibious, that hairdo is not for you.
The genius that is Destiny's Child's "Soldier" video. You better be street if you're lookin' at me. Not as good as them battle-dancing with themselves in the "Lose My Breath" video, but you know I love them mochachina thugz.
Speaking of mochachina, there's Lenny Kravitz's "Lady" video, which is like some bizarre psychedelic Busby Berkeley number.
"Breaking the Habit" by Linkin Park. Mediocre song; pretty cool anime-inspired video. Looks like they tapped whoever did the anime sequence in Kill Bill. Certainly interesting looking. And that's it for the Tuesday video roundup, yeeha!
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currently reading:
America: The Book - The Daily Show Gang
Fluke: Or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings - Christopher Moore
Lisa33 - Dan Allan
Half Marathon Madness
Yesterday was my highly anticipated first half marathon in Huntington Beach. *cue Survivor's "Eye of the Tiger"--the song that launched a thousand headbands* Risin' up, back on the street/Did my time, took my chances... It was a very cold and blustery day, but it actually worked out well for the runners. I started out nice and slow for about the first 5 miles, until the first turnaround. As we were passing by all these beachfront homes, a lady to my right suddenly veered off to go pick up a real estate flyer, much to the amusement of her fellow runners. I heard some older Korean ladies chatting behind me, and I thought, oh how cute, the Korean Ladies Running Club. Well, one of them suddenly says, "OK, I'll see you guys later," and this fiftysomething ajumma (Korean for old married lady) suddenly zooms past me, and I don't see her for the rest of the run. So much for my ego. At Mile 5 it did start raining on us, but it wasn't too bad. What was bad was all the headwind! Yikes, we didn't realize going the other way just how windy it was, so that was a bit of a struggle. Gulped down my first Energy Gel--some free stuff they were handing out. It was just like Jell-O, and tasted vaguely alcoholic--woohoo! It was like doing a Jell-O shot. Immediately afterwards, I took my first and only potty break.
Miles 7-10 were probably the hardest--it was a detour through some neighborhoods slightly inland. It had some hills, and it was longer than anticipated, so it kind of messed with my head. Once that was done, it was a straight shot back, but by that time I was getting pretty tired so it was slow going. Plus that damned wind! At Mile 12, I knew I was getting close, so that kind of charged me back up again, and I took another Energy Jell-O shot and started picking up the pace. Right before Mile 13, I could see how close the finish line was, and I decided to go for it. I sprinted that last .1 mile, passing three guys, one of whom was this dude in purple shorts who'd been in front of me the whole time, and another guy with a yellow tank top that read: "Korean Marathon Club." He'd passed me up earlier, so passing him at the end felt pretty darn good. As I approached the end, the announcer called out my name, which was really cool. We all had timing chips on our shoes, so I guess they can see who's who. The downside of my sprinting was that Curtis, Susie and Jerry didn't get any good shots of me. Jerry did shoot some video of me at the finish line, so I'll have to post that when I get it.
Anyway, it was a great run and I don't feel too bad today. I did pop an Advil as soon as I got home and rubbed this Chinese liniment all over my legs, so I think that helped. After a giant waffle breakfast (brunch, really), I crashed for about 2 hours and then we went to a friend's Super Bowl party, where I just sat on the couch and ate. Running a half marathon is a great license to pig out, and that I did. I wasn't too hungry right after the run, but boy howdy after that nap, I could've eaten a whale. As long as it was deep-fried and served with ranch dressing, that is. Here are the pics.
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currently reading:
America: The Book - The Daily Show Gang
Fluke: Or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings - Christopher Moore
Lisa33 - Dan Allan
The Sweater Club Story
The Sweater Club started in late August of '98. It was my second going-away party from Canon--I'd been working there for the summer helping out with their intranet, and that's where I met Chip and Kim, who were on the Amazing Race last season. Here's the proof:
Anyway, three of my dearest friends, Hoa, Tina and Rose (we've been friends since high school) saw these light blue cardigans on sale at The Gap on the way to the bar and decided on a whim to buy one for each of us. In a drunken haze, we thought it'd be funny if we were to go to the Sears Portrait Studio and take pictures, which we did in the January of 1999:
It was quite traumatic having to walk through the mall in matching sweaters, but for some reason we thought it was fun and then asked the next obvious question: "Wouldn't it be funny if we did this every year with a different sweater?" And this is what happened:
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005 - taken this past weekend.
Notice we've dispensed with the Sears Portrait Studio and are now just taking pictures wherever--this was in Hoa's backyard after her post holiday holiday party. Note to self: next time get more rest. This is what can happen when you take a joke too far. And now we can't stop. We've been joking that after the 12th one we were going to make a calendar. Knowing us, that is not a joke, but a promise. The tube top one will be February, natch. We take turns buying the sweaters for everyone; the purple cowl necks with the glittery initials was my pick, and it'll be my turn to pick again for '06. I'm thinking of something in red...
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currently reading:
America: The Book - The Daily Show Gang
Fluke: Or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings - Christopher Moore
Lisa33 - Dan Allan
A Reflective Moment Brought to Me by Google
When I learned that Yoli lived in TJ (Tijuana, Mexico), we talked a little bit about the street where all the underage gringos go to drink and party: Revolucion Ave. My friends and I were frequenters of this street back in the day, and it made me think about an old boyfriend that I'd met while down there. He was a UC San Diego student and we went out for like 3 months back in the summer of '92 (holy crap!). He was a very nice guy and we got along well, but once school started back up, I found myself resenting the 2 hour drive every other weekend, not to mention the extra $$ being spent driving said distance. I guess I wasn't that into him, if stuff like that was bothering me, right? So, in the typical callous way of the young, I cut him loose, just telling him it wasn't working out and that it was over. It came out of left field for him and he was pretty upset. I only saw him once more after that, when he surprised me at my work one evening. He'd just come by to talk and see how I was doing, and that was it. That must've been back in '93 or so. I occasionally thought of him and wondered how he was doing, but wasn't about to call him up or anything like that.
So when Yoli and I started talking about TJ, I thought about him again and out of idle curiosity Googled his name. I hit paydirt when I included "UCSD" into the search with his name. There was a UCSD alum site and a link to his personal site. I clicked on it and got to see his wedding pictures! His bride was very pretty and looked nice, and he looked almost the same except for the haircut. I was really glad to see that he was doing well. It made me feel glad that I didn't destroy his life with my insensitiviy. Yeah, like a 3-month romance could do that anyway, right? I briefly toyed with the thought of emailing him and letting him know I regretted how I broke things off, but in the end, I decided to let sleeping dogs lie. It was good enough to know that he found happiness--why ruin that by bringing up memories of that bitch who dumped him over a decade ago? Weird. It makes me wonder if there's someone out there who might be doing the same thing with me. Hey, as long as they don't send me any emails, I'm cool with it.
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currently reading:
America: The Book - The Daily Show Gang
Fluke: Or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings - Christopher Moore
Lisa33 - Dan Allan
Putting the "Fan" in Fanatic
What a loyal bunch Michael Jackson fans are. Take, for example, this man(?). Not only is he picketing for his #1 man, he's also worked in an appropriate pun into his message. He is, of course, referring to the song "Smooth Criminal," last heard brilliantly covered by Alien Ant Farm (probably their only good song ever). And every morning on the local news I see others of his ilk clustered around the chain link fence leading to the courthouse. If only people truly deserving of such devotion could have it, the world would be a much better place. But when does that ever happen? Here's a link to the NPR story--pretty funny.
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currently reading:
America: The Book - The Daily Show Gang
Fluke: Or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings - Christopher Moore
Lisa33 - Dan Allan
Weekend Worked For
Saturday: Go for final long training run (10.4 miles) before the half marathon. Finish up a painting before heading down to friend's place in Laguna Niguel so Curtis can help them with their computer. Put my feet up and rest for a few hours while watching the incredibly fluffy fantasy romance chick flick thing called "Love Actually." It was pretty good--I was in the mood for such a movie. Head down to Encinitas for a friend's bridal shower. Meet up with a lot of our old co-workers from our Canon days, have a big happy reunion. Unfortunately, have to make another stop a little further south in San Diego, so bid adieu to Party #1 and head to Party #2, which is our annual post-holiday holiday get-together, complete with White Elephant gift exchange. Have a good time, stay up til 2:00 am, spend the night.
Sunday: Wake up at 7:00 am. Three of my girlfriends and I take annual Sweater Club pictures. Will explain later what that means. Later means when I get the photos. Have a long, leisurely breakfast. Lounge around, play Hungry Hungy Hippos with friend's niece. Get ass kicked. Go for a long walk with friends down by the beach in an area called Torrey Pines--beautiful sunny day, lots of people out. On the way back up, little boy asks "What's down there?" I reply, "More dirt." Get back to friends' house, lounge some more. Have some snacks, come home. Update blog. Get ready for bed. Don't ask me why I wrote in such succinct little sentences. I think I'm tired. Good night.
Bridal shower photos. Post-holiday holiday party photos.
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currently reading:
Life of Pi - Yann Martel
America: The Book - The Daily Show Gang
Fluke: Or, I Know Why the Winged Whale Sings - Christopher Moore
