Sunday, November 30, 2008

Rachel and Repo

I saw "Rachel Getting Married" about a month ago, so I guess it's time I made my comments on it in time for the DVD to be released, whenever that's going to be.

  • Anne Hathaway is as terrific in this role as all the hype you've heard.  The role of her recovering addict is totally different from all of her rom-com/princess-y roles.
  • I think that the incessant playing of the bohemian musicians would have made me crazy if I was staying at the house, too.  I mean, shut up, already, and let me play some rock and roll.
  • I really didn't understand the whole wedding theme.  Was it supposed to be an East Indian wedding?  Why the saris?  Did they just really like the Indian culture?  None of them seemed to be Indian, so I was confused.
  • There were a lot of uncomfortable moments, which is understandable given the subject matter.  
  • All of the actors did a good job, although none of them could get me out of the whole bohemian music/wedding theme craziness.  

Shortly after seeing that movie, I saw "Repo: The Genetic Rock Opera" with several friends who enjoy demented stuff.  When Cindy said that Anthony Stewart Head was starring in the movie, I hurriedly advised that I wanted to see the movie, because I loved him as Giles in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and knew that he could sing.  Although I dislike opera, I figured that a rock opera could be interesting, and really, did I care?  It was Tony!
  • OK, that was violent.
  • That dude had his spine ripped out because he didn't make his payments on his transplant.  Just ew.
  • Liked GraveRobber's voice.
  • That was Sarah Brightman?!  I never thought that she was cool until seeing this movie.  Yes, I liked her in Phantom, but I'm not much a fan of her voice.  I enjoyed it in this movie, though.
  • I also liked Shilo's voice.  I especially liked her room, because in her daydream, her plush hippo sings.  Yes, a hippo.  How perfect was that?!
  • Am I demented because I liked seeing Paris Hilton's face fall off?  Not the gross part of it, but the symbolism of it.  The gross part was just gross.
  • Why did that guy have to screw new faces on to himself?  And why were they so badly placed onto him?  Blech.
  • I didn't know that Paul Sorvino could sing, much less sing so operatic.  What a beautiful high note he has!
  • That Zydrate stuff sure is a pretty blue.
  • I did like the comic-book style cinematography.  It helped me remind myself that their world wasn't real.  Because I didn't like that messed-up world.
  • True to being an opera, tragedy occurs.  I can't believe I actually cried.  

OK, so 2 movies which did not make me feel all shiny-happy inside.  The next one will be happier, I promise.

Friday, November 28, 2008

NKOTB 10/19/08

This trip report has been much delayed due to circumstances that can be found in prior blog posts.  We now return to our original programming.  I have tons of catching up to do.

New Kids on the Block
Sunday, October 19, 2008
American Airlines Center -- Dallas, TX

Several months ago, when the New Kids on the Block announced that they would be returning for a reunion tour, I went nuts with anticipation.  I hadn't seen them in almost 2 decades, and I was hanging out with my friend Mercedes back then.  We were as crazy as our younger counterpart fans, but more convinced that we would be wed to a New Kid someday, because we were more mature and yet still young enough for them to be attracted to us.  We sent fan mail.  We sent fan videos.  We sent fan care packages.  Did I tell you that they were my first quintet love?  Wow.  Jordan was my favorite, and Donnie was Merc's.  We spent a lot of money back then.  And now here I am in 2008, again feeling that craziness about my New Kids.  I've lost touch with Merc, but she's been in my thoughts pretty much every time I think of seeing NKOTB.

Angela had been a fan back then, too, but she wasn't as nutso as me, and we weren't hanging out with each other at the time.  When she heard that the New Kids would be back, though, she wanted to go with me.  So I decided to go to Dallas to watch them with her, since we knew that she'd have a new baby by then and wouldn't be able to come to So Cal.  

I flew to Dallas on a very early flight, so that I could have time to check into the hotel and get dressed.  Angela came to the hotel a couple of hours early, with baby and boyfriend Ryan in tow.  This was my first chance to meet both of the guys, and I'm happy to say that Ryan is every bit as nice as he was on our telephone chats.  He also seems to be a very loving dad, and treats Angela well, so I've got very positive feelings that my friend has found a wonderful man to be the father of her child.  Tyler is cute as cute can be.  He's got the chubby face going on, and he was very willing to let me carry him around the hotel room.  We set the guys up so that they could be comfortable in the room while we were at the concert.

Angela and I went to the AAC, and parked in the prepaid lot, which was right across the street from the arena.  We approached the souvenir stand and were overwhelmed by the amount of merchandise.  I ended up getting a tank top for which the proceeds go to Breast Cancer research, as Danny's mom died from the disease.  I also bought a pink hooded zip-up sweatshirt with a silhouette of the guys.  I didn't really feel like having a shirt with all of their faces on it as I like to be more subtle.  I also bought a hugigant button of Joe McIntyre to give to my Pella friend Wendy, so that she could vicariously go through her NKOTB obsession again.  Angela got a really cute onesie for Tyler, which had blue baby footprints on it with the words "Step By Step" on it.  She worried that Ryan would think it would be too girly, but I said that the footprints were blue, so he shouldn't have a problem with it.  (He didn't).

Our seats were facing the stage, about 10 rows up in the stands at the opposite side of the arena from the stage.  They were in the center of our section, which was nice.  I was overwhelmed by the amount of people that were there, because I haven't been to a concert in this big of a venue in quite awhile.

The opening act was some chick that called herself the "Jamaican Princess." She wore a really short tutu-like skirt that, while gyrating/squatting/dancing, enabled everyone to see her underwear, and when she turned around, I was subjected to looking at her butt on the big screen.  I didn't much care for her singing or dancing.  Or wardrobe, for that matter.

The second act was Natasha Bedingfield, whom I've loved ever since I saw her on the Ellen Degeneres show.  She's got quite the voice, which is even better experienced in a live setting.  After one of the songs that didn't get much response, she said, "Oh, I guess you didn't like that one much, so how about a little of this:" and she sang a little bit of her first hit single "Unwritten" a cappella.  The gal next to me sang along with much of the music, which didn't bother me in this setting, especially because she had a good voice herself.  I loved hearing "Unwritten" (the full song) live.  That was my theme song last year, and had every bit of Girl Power attitude that I needed to hear whenever I was down or happy or girly or whatever mood I had at the moment.  Natasha plain sang her butt off.  Great, great job.  I need her new CD.  She said she'd be in Section 109 if people wanted her to sign her CD later.  Cool!  We didn't go down there, though.  

The energy in the stadium was amazing.  After all, we had all waited a long time to see our guys again.  It wasn't just me that had been waiting (or thinking I'd never see them together again).  We were all there, about to witness what we had been waiting for since NKOTB made their announcement on the Today Show.  They had a text contest for people to enter to win seats in the first row for a few songs.  We couldn't read the numbers from all the way in the back, which is kinda stupid if these are the people who should actually win such a prize.  Oh well.

The lights went out and the crowd went apeshit.  LCD screens from digital cameras glowed and lit up the arena.  Then Joey Mac started to sing the first notes of  "Single," and the crowd went wild.  I could not stop screaming.  I was so incredulous that tears started to well up in my eyes.  The boys were back, and I couldn't believe it.  Oh, and when I heard/saw Jordan, I screamed even louder.  They all looked great.  All of them have kids of their own now, 4 of them still married, with leader Donnie acting just like Donnie always had.  They were all in their own styles of black clothing, with Donnie wearing a baseball cap with the Boston "B", as we all remembered him.  Oh, and now they also have 5 female dancers on stage, too.  I wasn't much interested in them, but they did add to certain aspects of the show.

I really liked the way that the last notes of "Single" morphed into the first notes of "My Favorite Girl."  The crowd went wild with this old school song, as they would throughout the evening.  Then they sang "The Right Stuff," and I "oh oh oh-oh"d like nobody's business.  The big board behind them and on the sides showed clips of their old videos when they were, like, 14.  What a trip back to the past.

For the second segment, they were all dressed in suits, with fedoras.  I knew at that instant that it must have something to do with Joe since he was the big Sinatra fan.  They sang "Didn't I Blow Your Mind", "Valentine Girl" and then, of course, I was right: "Please Don't Go Girl."  Joe may not sing as high as he used to, but he sounds great.  It was really cool to see him take off his jacket and hang it on his mic stand, which he did with his hat as well, so that he could get into his signature song.  

They then showed that the next song would be featuring Nicole Scherzinger from The Pussycat Dolls.  They showed video of her singing her part of "Grown Man" while the guys sang/rapped along.  It's interesting to see how sexy they're all allowed to be now that their fan base has matured.  They performed "No More Games," which included audience participation in the Oh-Ee-Ohs.  They showed clips of the different Boston teams, which irked me when they showed the Celtics.  Paul Pierce even did some special footage for them, which is cool of him, even though he plays for the Lakers' rivals.  The song also included a portion of Danny breakdancing.  As soon as I had seen Danny walk out in the black track jacket I had been eyeing, I decided to buy the jacket when they would get back to L.A.  I had already spent enough money just to get to Dallas, after all.  They ended the segment with "If You Go Away," wherein they honored some people that had passed away, including Heath Ledger, their former manager Dick Scott, and Danny's mother, Betty.  

The next segment opened on our side of the arena, with a piano on a little revolving stage, with the guys singing "2 in the Morning."  The fans in the seats beside the stage were close enough to touch the guys, and Donnie even took someone's camera to shoot some pictures before giving it back to them.  I was way envious of the people in those seats, yet still happy that the guys were closer for us to see them.  They stayed there and sang "Dirty Dancing," with one of the dancers doing sexy dancing on top of the piano.  I liked the grin on Jon's face as he watched her dance.  She was wearing the tank top that was the same as the one I bought, and Danny thanked everyone for buying it.

Before going  back to the regular stage, they sang "Tonight," which was a song that was written for the fans on the "Step By Step" CD, so we all sang it.  During this song, they walked back to the front, and then Jon held a videocamera and got shots of different audience members for some "face time."

They started the next segment with "Twisted" from the new CD.  After the singing portion, Joe had a pas-de-deux with one of the dancers, and it was really cool to watch him dance that way.  Shows that his training for musicals is still going strong.  Then came something that was my favorite part back in the heyday: Jordan singing "Baby, I Believe In You."  This is my favorite Jordan song, and one day when I meet him, I will sing it in harmony with him.  OK, back to reality, Sherry.  There he was on the highest point of the stage, wearing a white shirt.  Unbuttoned.  With wind blowing.  So, like, there's his naked chest in all its beautiful glory.  WOW.  Thank God for Big Screens, is all I can say to you.  Then he buttoned up, which made me a little sad, and sang "Give It To You," from his solo album.  How cool is that when they can share their solo stuff, too?  Love it.  Then Joe came back on stage and sang "Stay the Same" from his own solo CD.  He sang that song better than I'd ever heard it before, including on the CD.  Oh, Joe, how much you've grown!  Nice.  Then there was Donnie, looking for a "Cover Girl," playing on a guitar.  Yeah, actually playing it.  I don't remember that happening a long time ago, but he did a great job.  He did give us a little glimpse of his underwear, too.  Thanks!

The next segment opened with the screen showing the word "Forever" translated in different languages, and then the lights showed the guys all sitting on stools on the second level of the stage, dressed all in white, as they sang their first number one single, "I'll Be Loving You Forever."  I grinned as I pictured Merc playing an imaginary piano whenever they played the intro.  I wished that she was there with me.  But I was in Dallas, and she still lives in CA, I think.   When they all came down the stairs, I felt like Jordan was wearing thermal underwear due to the style of his clothing.  They sang "Click Click Click," which ends with a freeze frame of the guys all posing.  We were honored that Danny actually changed his pose for this show.  Joe did the commentary on each guy's pose.  He was really cute, and I think he actually won because he had his back to us, and bent over so that we could all see his smile upside-down, while also seeing that butt of his.  Thanks to you, too!  They then sang their first comeback hit, "Summertime."

They changed into silver outfits for "Step By Step," and they had the audience sing all of the individual steps.  I wished, though, that we could have heard the guys sing the steps, because I would have liked to hear Jon and Danny sing by themselves, if only for a few words.  

The audience then sang the "oh"s from the song that we hadn't heard yet.  Then the guys took the stage wearing Boston Celtics jerseys with their own names on them, as the Boston teams were again shown on the big screen, as they sang "Hangin' Tough."  zthey introduced their dancers, and their instrumentalists, who all happened to be from Texas.  So do they get a new band everywhere they go?

I was really hyper from the whole NKOTB experience, and couldn't believe that it had just happened.  Angela and I had a great time seeing each other, if only for that evening, since I had to take an emergency flight back home.  At least I still had the concert in L.A. to which I culd look forward.  

Getting on to the plane in Dallas, I saw that the girl in front of me in line was wearing the black track jacket.  I tapped her on the shoulder and said, "I was at that concert last night, too!"  She said that she had been to the San Diego show and thought about the jacket, then decided to get it when she got to Dallas to see them again with her best friend.  Ah, a kindred spirit.  She told me to go to Wal-Mart to get the special NKOTB magazine that was just released.  So in all of the errands that I needed to do when I got home, I included that one, and got my special edition magazine not at Wal-Mart (they didn't have them), but at the Arcadia Newsstand, which is the place where Merc and I used to go to stock up on Bop and Tiger Beat and all of those teen magazines that had NKOTB on the cover back in the old days. 

The Block is Back, baby!

Sunday, November 16, 2008

DLR LotD 11/16/08

Disneyland Resort Line of the Day
Sunday, November 16, 2008

MouseAdventure Answer of the Day
"Kayak Storage"

Post-MA Line of the Day
"You didn't see it with the tongue the first two times." -- Glenn, in Downtown Disney

Thanks for all of the fun, everyone, and congrats to the MP team for another successful quest!

Team CLUELESS rules all, especially with our rockin' clipboards!!!

FYI: As Gloomy is the barometer of whom we can hang with, it has been determined that many people did not make the final cut.  Therefore, they have been mauled...

,,,and the vulture mascot is still picking at all of their carcasses.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Hooters Girl

November 10-11, 2008
Adventure Week Begins

So one day I realized that I would be one flight short of getting on Southwest's A-list by the end of this month, and decided to take an impromptu trip to Vegas.  I would have gone to a Pella or NKOTB show, but I didn't have the next day off, and they were not in convenient places for me to travel to in the span of 30 hours or so.  So Vegas it would be.

I really didn't have much of a plan in mind, really.  I just figured that it wouldn't matter what time I'd arrive, since the strip never closes, and I didn't even think I needed a room if I could just find a place to doze every couple of hours.

TravelZoo, however, sent out an e-mail about Vegas deals, so I looked them up and found out that Hooters Hotel and Casino was having a special during weekdays in November for $39.00/night plus discounts and $200.00 in free play.  I figured that was good enough for me to have a place to stay in case I actually felt like sleeping.  I had a few friends that considered going with me, but it didn't matter.  I was going.  The flight was booked, and now the hotel.  Unfortunately, nobody could go with me, but I decided that it could be a solo adventure for me.  I decided at the last minute to book a rental car on Priceline, and got my price of $20.00/day, so I was good to go.  Maybe I should have bid $10.00, just to try.

I went to the Burbank/Bob Hope In'tl Airport after work, and as I was sitting there waiting for the plane, I reached for the lotion in my plastic bag of toiletries, and proceeded to use it on my hands.  Then I turned over the bottle to see the llllabel, and right there, it said "conditioner."  Well, did you know that hair conditioner has much the same consistency as lotion?  Well, it does.  Anyway, after seeing Obama's picture on TIME magazine in a special commemorative issue, I decided to purchase it, and later boarded the plane.  Oh, they randomly picked someone's name from the not-A-list to get the A-list treatment for the day.  The first person never responded, so the honors went to this handsome hunky guy that I found myself trying not to stare at too obviously.  

We landed in Vegas at about 7:30 p.m., and I got my little Chevy Aveo economy-class rental car.  This was soooo NOT the PFCV, but I expected that, so no biggie.  I'm not used to having to actually use a manual crank to roll down the windows anymore, and found the manual side-view mirror adjustment to be stupid.  I mean, what are you supposed to do if you're alone, find some stranger to get in the car with you to help you adjust the mirror?  You can't adjust it from the passenger seat unless someone from the driver's seat is telling you if they can see what's necessary.  It's just asinine, if you ak me.  I should have bid $5.00, now that I think of it.

I drove over to Hooters, and found the back way into the parking structure, but got there safely, and wandered around a portion of the casino floor, trying to find a sign toward hotel registration.  I couldn't find it without an employee's help.  There never was a sign, except for the one actually AT registration.  I could have also just been overwhelmed by whatever sweet tropical smell that seemed to be piped in through the air vents.  It wasn't a nice banana smell like in Mandalay Bay, so I didn't really like it that much.  It was like being in the essence of a strawberry-pineapple daiquiri, which is fine if you're drinking it at the time, but not mixed in with cigarette smoke.  Anyway, I checked in, and went up to my room, which was located in the Bay View tower.  My room was on the 9th floor, and was very close to the elevator lobby, but it didn't bother me at all.  I was just happy to see a picture of a bat on one of the surfboards that it is hung up on the wall, presumably so you could see what floor you were on, but I had trouble finding the numbers on the boards whenever the elevator doors would open on other floors.  

I didn't really have much to unpack, so I didn't.  I decided to just familiarize myself with my surroundings a little bit.  There was a lot of orange decor in the room-- on both bedspreads, on the lampshades, and on the chair pads.  I had a little bar-height table with two barstools.  The cabinet only had one drawer, all the rest of it was shelves.  I guess drawers are expensive.  Even the night table didn't have a drawer.  They did have some stationery, though, so I used one of my envelopes for my trip receipts (I learned that tip from Southwest's "Spirit" magazine, and it's worked for keeping my business trips organized).  They don't have any Hooters notepads, just some plain notepad.  The hotel is an overmodel of whatever used to be there, which was evidenced by the old fixtures in the bathroom.  Bath amenities were provided by the Hooters line.

I went downstairs to the casino and joined the Owl Rewards club.  If you play enough, you get a stuffed Hooters owl, which is manufactured especially for the hotel by GUND.  If you play even more than enough, you get a bigger owl.  I received my $200.00 free play coupon, which, unfortunately, wasn't a part of the Owl Rewards club card per se, as it would be in one of the Native American casinos when you sign up for their club.  (OK, so it wouldn't be $200.00, but at least you could pace yourself).  Instead, the coupons were for a designated area of slots that were $5.00 minimum bet.  The attendant places 2 $100.00 bills into the machine (you can't keep it, but you can split it as one on a machine, then the other bill on another).  The trick is that you are you are required to play 2 credits at a time, which is $10.00 per bet.  So you only get 10 chances per bill to get however many points that gets you a win.  So I lost that in, like, 2 minutes.  No bonuses on these machines, people.  Just lameness.

I then played on real machines to get myself off that feeling of "ain't no way I'm winning a damn thing today."  So I lost $5.00 in those and decided that I'd better shop in case their stores would close.  I did a little bit of shopping and stupidly forgot that I had a 25% coupon that I could have used for my spree of a bottle of G2, Hooters socks, and a comb.  I did want some kind of souvenir, and told myself that if they had socks, I'd get them.  And there they were!  They're APPARENTLY high-tech socks or something, because there was a lot of information about them on the tag.  Weird.  Anyway, I went up to my room to put my stuff away, realized it was 9:00, and that I could sit around awhile and watch some TV.  So I watched for, like, 3 hours, with some napping in those last 2 hours.  

A little after midnight, I perked up and decided to go back downstairs to play again.  I was tempted to get the 25-cent hot wings that were provided at Dan Marino's restaurant from midnight to 6 a.m., thinking that my stomach would probably thank me later.  I had some luck with bonus rounds on the Mystical Mermaid, Lucky Leprechaun, Money Storm, Slotsky, and Alien machines, although not so much that I actually ended up on the winning side in the end.  I went to sleep at about 2:30 a.m.

In the more-for-regular-daytimers morning, I woke up, took my shower, spilled Hooters lotion on my bedsheets (I swear that the little container was not allowing me to control the lotion dispensation easily -- twice.  It was crazy, and I kept laughing to myself about my lotion troubles), then got dressed and went downstairs for the free breakfast buffet that was part of my hotel package.  This was in the aforementioned Dan Marino's restaurant.  Did Mr. Marino actually think up these recipes?  Because I hardly believe that he could support the soupy scrambled eggs that were made available.  The potatoes were good, though, probably because of the strips of red onion and the black pepper.  I think that's what they used.  They didn't really keep up with replenishing the supply very often, because I would have liked to have more fruit, but whatever.  It was free for me.  

I played a little bit more before going upstairs to get ready to go.  This time, my Enchanted Unicorn game actually helped me out a with a couple of bonus rounds, as did the Little Green Men.  Funny how most of the machines that I enjoy playing (because they don't rip me off so quickly) are copyrighted by IGT.  :)  The Goldfish hated me, the Monopoly guy was good for about a minute, and the Hitchcock machine made me feel like a victim in one of his movies.  All of those were games from other companies.  They must know something about me.   The casino floor itself really isn't that big, but it's a small hotel anyway.  I miss my cows, and I wish that they had Star Wars machines, too.

I thought of walking over to the MGM, but then I'd have to find the pedestrian access to cross the huge street, and hadn't woken up early enough to do that.  So I got in my car and thought of another casino where it would be easy to park, play, and leave.  I headed over to South Point, but there was so much traffic that by the time I got there, I would have only had 10 minutes to find a parking space and play something before needing to leave for the airport, so I just decided to go the airport early, which didn't hurt at all.

The way to the C Gates for Southwest was different from my last trip there: you no longer need to take a tram, and don't even need to go to where the A, B & D gates are located, so you bypass all of the other airlines.  They had some brand-spankin' new security tools, like a big booth for special passengers (I didn't get to see it used, though).  The airport is building some new restaurants for the C gates, so maybe I'll get to see them the next time that I go there.  I can't remember any of their names right now, but I was impressed at the time that I saw their signs.

My flight home was thankfully uneventful.  I had originally thought of getting home early enough so that I could watch the Veteran's Day flag retreat at Disneyland, but I was too tired to do so, and ended up running errands instead.

I had a fun time, although I know that my friends would have made it much more enjoyable, and maybe I would have stayed up or stayed there a little bit longer if they had been with me.  But I survived my adventure.  A bigger adventure awaits at the end of the week, so I'm calling this Adventure Week for myself.  I don't know what I'll do tomorrow to keep with the theme, though.

Oh, and BTW, I really didn't look at the girls at Hooters, so I can't describe them to you.  The Hooters magazine in the hotel room had lots of pretty, sexy girls, though.  Lots of fake-looking boobs, too.  I mean, hello!  They can't be naturally that round.  Ya gotta have some help there, I think.

So who's going back to Vegas with me so that I can put more points toward that owl?  I'm over 100.  I need 800 more. :)

Friday, November 7, 2008

Spank Your Pitas, and Top My Cherry

I had planned to relax this evening and maybe catch up on my TiVo recordings.  I had started drinking some celebratory champagne in honor of Obama's win, and ate a bite of my dinner when the phone rang.  Normally, I don't answer the phone when I'm eating dinner, as it usually ends up being some survey or something that only frustrates me later because then I go back to cold food.  Tonight, though, I must have already been tipsy enough to not care about stuff, so I answered the phone, and there was Linda, wanting to get together for whatever.  So I finished my dinner and champagne, contemplated getting another glass for myself before Linda arrived, then decided not to do so for fear that she'd arrive and just find me a sloppy mess, too embarrassed to be seen in a public place with me.

Linda was hungry, so we went to Daphne's Greek Cafe, where I had an appetizer plate to have something to nosh.  Despite my tipsy self, I managed to say "spanakopitas" in the proper way (I normally say "spankyourpitas" to my friends).   We decided to go to the Monrovia Family Festival, which is a weekly street fair.  We watched the ponies carry some kids around in a circle for a spell; browsed in a cute boutique, Angela's Closet, where we wished that we had lots of money to buy all the cute clothes we saw; and visited the little petting zoo to watch a goat rub his head on another goat because apparently his antlers were growing and making him itchy.  Of COURSE we found a little hippo plush which was cheap and cute, so I bought that along with a little Lakers shirt for the baby that will be my newest godson, Jude.  Linda ended up getting a ty squirrel named "Nuts," and she introduced him to several people at the street fair.

 First friend of Nuts was the guy at, wouldn't you know it, the booth for Steve's Nuts and Fruit.  He tried to teach us Spanish, but couldn't think of the Spanish word for "hippopotamus."  I told him that in Tagalog, it's "hippopoTAmus," but he still couldn't think of the Spanish word.  I wanted Linda to get one of those furry hats like this one, but she insisted that they were only for people who were approximately 16 years old.  She later pointed out to me a woman who looked to be about 30 years old with the same hat who looked ridiculous, and won her case.   We then walked into the scrapbook store that Linda had been looking for a couple of weeks earlier, called Scrap N Yap.  It's a nice store, with very nice people.  They were so nice that they didn't tell us that we had walked into the store when it was already closed (they hadn't turned off their sign yet).  We're thinking of taking classes there...unless one of my Creative Memories friends kills me first. ;)

Linda was craving ice cream, and I remembered a place that my friend Kathy had mentioned, so we ended up there, at Cherry on Top.  The place is self-serve, and you pay by the ounce.  You can choose between 10 flavors of frozen yogurt, and they have non-fat as well as sugarfree options.  They also allow you to taste flavors, and you can combine flavors, too.  The toppings range from fruit to cereal to candy and nuts.  You can also add marshmallow creme or caramel topping.  I decided to take it easy on myself and chose non-fat vanilla, with toppings of Almond Roca, Mango, Strawberries, Cap'n Crunch, and mochi bits.  Yes, you read that right: MOCHI BITS.  Linda opted for a combination of chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry-banana, I think, with lots of other toppings.  You place your cup on the scale, and they weigh it, so if you're not that hungry, you don't end up spending very much.  I didn't get that much yogurt, so even with my fruit, I only ended up paying $2.74.  What a deal!  It was quite tasty (I absolutely loved my mochi bits), and Linda and I have decided that this will be our new go-to place whenever she comes to visit me.  The atmosphere was  cute, with a big light sculpture of big glass cherry shapes, and some red circular chairs.  I joined their e-club, and am looking forward to trying other combinations.  We actually already feel like part of the community there, because some of the ladies from Scrap N Yap came in for some yogurt, and I said hi, and they told me again to go to their classes (no, I don't think they were working at SNY nor were they the owners).

I'm glad that Linda called tonight, because I love our new hangout!  I'm still thinking about that second glass of champagne, though.  :D

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Bikinis for Sea Beings

OK, I'm just loving the most recent post from Michael Ian Black's blog.

My favorite paragraph:
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There was a little bit of controversy regarding my daughter’s costume. Here’s the thing: my opinion is, if you’re going to go around asking for free candy, at least make your costume as good as it can be. Show a little effort. Okay – so my daughter wanted to go as a mermaid this year. A little trite, but better than some of her previous ideas (princess, witch, etc.). When she showed me her costume, I said, "It's very cute but I have a suggestion: lose the top." My wife said that it was too cold to go topless and also that it was inappropriate. I didn’t disagree with her on either count, but we got into a big fight because my point was that if she wanted to go as a mermaid she had to understand the consequences of her decision. If I have a pet peeve it’s that mermaids are always shown with bathing suit tops, which I’m sorry, is bullshit. Why would mermaids wear bathing suit tops? They wouldn’t. Don’t believe me? Just ask yourself this simple question – where would a mermaid get a bathing suit? At the underwater swimsuit store?
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I myself have often wondered why they don't use shells on all of the mermaids, like Ariel has.  Perhaps because the shells could scratch mermaids in the wrong places.  Don't know.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

FINALLY

A Day to Remember: November 4, 2008

What a historical night this was.

Record numbers of people voting.

Voting in the first black President of the United States.  My goodness, how times have changed just in the last 50 years for this young nation of ours.

I am proud to be an American whenever I get to vote, but today was one of those special days.

No matter if your votes matched mine, I hope that you voted (if you're eligible), and I hope that you voted with your true conscience, and not based on falsities of gossip and arguments that had nothing to do with the actual lives or principles of the candidates or the issues.  Of course, if you did vote based on gossip, that's what makes America the diverse and exciting country that it is.

I kinda want to go to Washington, DC, for the inaugural...with a billion other people.  I don't think that will happen, but I never felt like I wanted to be so much a part of history like this before.  But I guess I was, anyway, just by voting today.

Congratulations, President-Elect  Barack Obama!  FINALLY!!!  Yes, we sure the heck CAN.

Monday, November 3, 2008

DLR LotD 11/02/08

Disneyland Resort
Line of the Day
Sunday, November 2, 2008

"I like when it's ... erect." -- Sherry, in the Star Trader

Saturday, November 1, 2008

DLR LotD 10/31/08

Disneyland Resort Line of the Day
Friday, October 31, 2008

"Tarry no longer; let us make haste!"  -- Linda, to Sherry, at the Mickey & Friends Parking Structure