Sam's Blog

Link: http://www.mgm.com/usualsuspects/

I feel a little more stable today. Not as well rested as I hoped, but not that bad. I had a good day and it was gorgeous outside. The sun was out and though it got a little chilly, I didn’t mind it too much. It’s the end of January and the weather is absolutely gorgeous, I feel so lucky. I am glad that I am here at this very moment. I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. Well, maybe in Cambodia with my dad and sister since its 85 degrees there and warm and amazing. They forgot to call my grandma when they landed and in true grandma fashion, she waited around for them to call her. They finally did at 4pm our time and apologized since they forgot to call because they were having so much fun seeing family and such. So at least I know that they had a safe flight.

Anyway, I was walking around Westwood during my lunch and I stumble into Aah’s and realized that there are so many birthdays this month, along with Valentine’s Day. So I bought a whole bunch of cards and apparently buying them in bulk made me realize that cards are pricey! I’m so use to buying them for each occasion that I don’t notice, but it really is crazy how expensive they have become. I’m not saying that I’m going to stop buying them or am complaining, but it’s just fascinating how much more they are from when I was a kid. While I was there, I realized that I missed Valentine’s Day in elementary school where we would get bulk Valentines and pass them out to the class and walk around and deliver them. I would get so excited when someone gave me a box of the conversation heart candies. They were so yummy then. I haven’t had one in years. I liked that it was such a sweet and innocent holiday instead of what its become…a trendy consumer driven holiday that benefits Hallmark and flower shops and chocolate companies. But I honestly could care less about all of that stuff anymore. I’d much rather spend private time with Josh and that’s all I need. I guess that’s my cynical side coming out or maybe I’ve been in a relationship for too long.

I had a conversation with M today and she was going through some tough issues with her roommate. It sucks that she has to deal with roommate drama because she really is one of the most compromising, easy-going and agreeable people that I’ve ever met. She would be an ideal roommate since she’s never really around and she does consciously put in an effort to spend time with you. But then I realized that her roommate reminded me of a few people that I knew. She’s a combination of them in a way. She is not overtly mean or anything. She tricks you in a way because she is so “nice” and then you feel stupid for falling for it and then she’ll blame you for everything and makes you feel bad when she is the one that is to blame. M and I are very much alike and we tend to agree on the same issues. So it’s no surprise for me to see how she reacted in this instance. But my heart goes out to her. I was just as naïve as she is in many ways, but I have learned a lot these past few years. She and I cannot comprehend the idea of selfishness because it is not really in our nature and we have never come across it so blatantly until these past few years. And when we do encounter it, we don’t know what to do. I lose trust in people and get disappointed at the situation, but mainly I get disappointed in myself for not doing anything to stop it early on knowing that it may have a negative outcome. I think that M is feeling the same way. And I hope that everything works out for her. Friendship is such a tricky thing sometimes…I never had a problem with it until I let my guard down and allow people to walk all over me in a sense. And when I try to stand up for myself, it almost feels like I am talking to deaf ears, so what’s the point? But I am glad that we are both learning together but separately about how people can be and now we can troubleshoot for the future. I am glad that I can be there for her at this time in her life. I am just hoping for the best for her.

The Three Amigos (me, Angela and Amy) met up again for dinner, plus Josh at Paco’s Tacos. Yummy! I love that place and I can’t ever say no to it. I realized that I am very fortunate that they are still around in my life and that we had a very lovely roommate experience together. It just made out friendships stronger and proved to me that friends can indeed live together without killing each other. It was a wonderful dinner and I wish Amy lots of luck in New York this coming weekend. It’s going to be cold!! Poor girl. I hope she stays warm over there.

SATC quote of the day:
“Fuck me badly once, shame on you. Fuck me badly twice, shame on me.” – Samantha (Season 6 – Great Sexpectations)

Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0204946/

I guess I should’ve been a cheerleader, heh. I danced for a very long time last night. I mainly was making fun of Kurt’s dancing and then he in turn made fun of mine, so we ended up with a very modified form of our dancing skills. It was hilarious. Freq Nasty played an excellent set and I had so much fun. I haven’t danced that long since college. I am a bit sore, which proves that I am getting old and am out of shape. I was ecstatic because he played the Beastie Boys and that was all that I needed. I stayed up really late last night…it’s been so long. Lisa and I went to Denny’s after the show and by the time I dropped her off and got ready for bed, it was 5:59am. Holy cow, I’m still tired. A big thanks to Tripp for organizing the event. I had great fun.

It has been a very long weekend. I went home on Friday night because my dad and sister (Nathalie) were going to Cambodia on Saturday. I haven’t been home in a really long time and it hasn’t really changed much. I am glad that I was able to see them before they left. It was nice to see my grandma too. She is so cute. But I did the routine monkey girl stuff that I always do when I go home. I always run errands for them, especially more so this time because I had to get a whole bunch of last minute stuff for them before they left. But I am always happy to help in any way. I really do hope that they have a lovely time and hopefully Nat will get a tan there so she will look like the rest of the family. So I saw them off at the airport and then basically went to the show right after.

I slept in today and lounged around the apartment. I watch a lot of the third season of Curb Your Enthusiasm, which is so hard for me to watch sometimes. And then I had dinner with my mom. (I was very efficient this weekend, seeing both of my parents within a two day span). We don’t talk that much, so it’s a fairly quick dinner, but she is not a very talkative person. She’s very direct and I like it that way, especially since we have been seeing each other more frequently now. And of course, she gave me a lot of fruit, like she always does in case I starve or something. But I think it’s sweet.

Then I met up with Lisa, Angie, Kim, and Oscar at the bowling alley and we pretty much made fun of all of the freaky people while we were waiting for a lane. It was a long wait…but we were highly amused. There was the guy who was dressed for golfing, with visor and all, and we couldn’t understand why he would wear that bowling. There was the girl who tried to dance, but had no rhythm. And the best part was the girl with the shirt that said, “Coochie Power,” it was lovely. I was tired though, so I didn’t stay long. I am glad Josh and I are finally home at the same time now. The weekend went by so fast. I hardly saw him!

SATC quote of the day:
Samantha: Oh honey, I have tricks she hasn't even seen!
Carrie: And those tricks ain't for kids!
(Season 4 – A ‘Vouge’ Idea)

Link: http://www.eternalsunshine.com/

Yesterday got progressively better and better as the hours passed. It started off with horrible news about a train crash in Glendale. Shahab Imed me and told me about it because his aunt was on the train. She luckily only had a couple of bruises and wasn't badly hurt. But I worry about the others on there. My heart goes out to them and their families, especially those that were killed.

Jon and I went to a screening of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind last night (thanks Alexis!) and on the way there, we were talking about the guy that caused the train incident. Apparently, he wanted to commit suicide and then changed his mind at the last minute and ran out of his SUV. Now I am sure the fact that he was suicidal meant that he was already having mental problems and couldn't probably grasp the fact that he would be possibly hurting others. I personally think that suicide is the most selfish thing you can do. But endangering the lives of others while committing suicide is just stupid. He obviously didn't think it through, which is probably why he chickened out. He stood there watching the trains collide and all of the devastation that ensued. It's just so sad. All I ask is that if you're gonna commit suicide, do it while you're alone and can't hurt any other people.

Anyway, we met up with Tripp and went to the screening. I fall in love with that movie every time I watch it. I can never get tired of it. I'm in love with Kate Winslet and I can't take my eyes off of her when she's on the screen. She is magically delicious. I was fighting to hold back tears because it’s my fourth time watching it and I always cry at the same scenes and I readied myself for them. It’s strange how thinking about a particular scene that has gotten me emotional, in any specific movie, can cause me to tear up. It’s amazing that they have such a great affect on me. Charlie Kaufman was there afterwards for a brief Q & A session. He was just what I expected. Awkward, yet funny. That’s all I can say. I am glad that I went and I am glad that Jon was able to come because I think that he loves the movie more than I do. I realized that Kaufman wrote for Ned and Stacey, a short-lived show that I thought was fabulous, but then it got cancelled. All the good ones get cancelled early. Sigh.

Jon introduced me to Abbot's Pizza Co. in the Abbot Kinney area in Venice. The pizza was yummy and the neighborhood is a quaint little place and I want to explore it more when I have time.

Josh and I just got back from a screening of Nobody Knows, the new Hirokazu Koreeda film about four kids that were left to live on their own after their mother abandoned them. Asian films are so damn depressing, really. It was so good and it affected me so much. I was sobbing in the theater. I haven’t sobbed in a movie in so long, but I am thinking that it was also because I was holding back so much during Eternal Sunshine last night. But it touches me so dearly and reminds me of how lonely I was when I was a kid. I flashed back to my childhood and couldn’t remember anything happy about it during the entire film. My childhood was full of happy memories, but not during the 141 minutes while I was watching this film. Koreeda is Josh’s favorite Japanese film director and most of his movies are dramas, but they are also comical as well. It’s overwhelming sometimes and I am forced to take a deep breath. But please watch it when it comes out next month.

I shouldn’t check my work email at home anymore. I always get bad news. I just found out that one of our patients passed away this morning. He was just in my clinic yesterday. I don’t know how much more of this I can handle. He wanted to live through March so he can see his wife and daughter’s birthdays. He had such a wonderful family. My heart breaks every time. I hate cancer.

I miss you Angela. I hope to see you soon and I hope Texas is treating you well.

SATC quote of the day:
“Mommy needs two hands to eat her eight-dollar cake!” -Miranda (Season 6- A Woman’s Right to Shoes)

Link: http://www.weezer.com/

So today was a better day. I was in a more pleasant mood. No headaches, such a miracle! So as I got settled in at work, I remembered that the Oscar nominees were announced today. I don’t know why I care so much, but I am always curious every year. There were a few surprises and disappointments. First off, I was mad that Paul Giamatti didn’t get nominated. That really sucks. I mean, I think that he should have won the Golden Globe and even the Oscar, but they didn’t even nominate him. Poor guy. But I have to give it to the Academy a bit because they did nominate Catalina Sandino Moreno the lead actress in Maria Full of Grace. It was such a great dramatic movie, please watch it if it’s in your area. Well, I guess we will find out the results in a few weeks.

I was happy to hear that Audrey Tautou is going to be in the movie version of The Da Vinci Code. I love her. But I do not love the fact that they chose Tom Hanks as the lead. It just doesn’t seem right at all. I was hoping for someone more along the lines of David Duchovny, Julian McMahon, or Clive Owen (with an American accent). I guess there’s nothing that we can do except hope that he gets injured during a scene. He is pretty old…Sigh.

I was really nervous today because I had an interview for a research position. It was a really casual interview, but I wasn’t sure what to expect, so I went all out and dressed up and everything. It went a lot better than I had hoped and I found out that I will have to go through two more interviews with different people in the department. In a way, I was relieved, but then I know that I will be nervous when the other interviews come up. But I guess we will see. I do hate waiting though.

I had my “Tuesdays with M” dinner at the new Barney’s Beanery on 3rd Street. There was a big crowd because of the Laker game. It was so nice though. She had a horrible time in Philly and will probably never ever go back and I don’t blame her. She convinced me to never travel to the east coast in the winter unless I really have to. It’s always fun when I hang out with her. It almost feels as though once a week isn’t enough. I always have things that I want to say to her throughout the week but forget about it when the time comes. Usually it’s nothing of importance, but I think that it’s still worth the mention. But I do look forward to Tuesday’s now and it’s all because of her.

Happy Birthday Bret! You are now as old as I am. Heh.
Oh, and hang in there Angela, even though I know that you probably can’t read this because the hotel in Houston probably doesn’t have decent internet hookups. Have fun and eat lots of steak for me.

SATC quote of the day:
“I think I have monogamy. I must have caught it from you people.” – Samantha (Season 4 – Change of a Dress)

Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0151804/

I feel spoiled having last Monday off. It made it so much harder for me to get up this morning. I was like a zombie for a while. Something was off and I couldn’t figure it out all day. I wasn’t really grumpy or cranky, but I was something. The headaches are coming back full force, even when drinking coffee. So something in my body is not right. I think that my body is exhausted and my mind is on its way there too. I still wonder how I live off of little sleep for long stretches of time. I know that it will catch up to me eventually. I rarely get sick, but if I do, I hope that it’s not that bad. I hate missing work, even though it’s hard for me to wake up for. I just received a notice about my vacation hours. I have about 131 sick hours and 174 hours of vacation. Holy cow! That’s a lot of time that I can take off. I am going to try to hit up the east coast at the end of May or early June so I can see some friends. Hopefully I can hit New York, DC, and Boston. That would be ideal. I am fortunate enough to have friends there, so I hope to hang out with them. Kate has been trying to get me to go for months, but M just went this past weekend during the blizzard and it was freezing. Sam and cold weather don’t mesh very well. Anyone want to come with me? It will be so much fun!!

I had lunch with Vanessa and her friend Priya from work. Vanessa had Jamba Juice and though I love their smoothies, I cannot drink a large one for lunch and be full. I need sustenance. I need meat. This is why I know that I cannot become a vegetarian or vegan. I respect all of my friends that are because I know that I cannot be as strong as they are to cut it out of my life. So I went to Baja Fresh next door. Yum. The lovely Lisa joined us for lunch as well. Her office is right around the corner. I love how I can still meet up with my friends for lunch. That is something that I did so frequently in college and I miss it so much. I knew that I could run into some friends on Kerckhoff patio. It was where all the “cool” people hung out, heh. But lunch was nice. I need to do that more often. I need to be more organized. Hopefully I can be when I get around to buying new 2005 inserts for my organizer. Well, hopefully is the operative word.

SATC quote of the day:
"Easy? Honey, they don't call it a job for nothin'!" - Samantha (Season 3 - Easy Come, Easy Go)

Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0151804/

My weekend was nice, even though Josh was hardly around. He was gone most of the weekend for the annual Falling Lizard weekend that the Animation department usually has. My Friday night was very relaxing. I actually did nothing significant. I knitted, read, emailed a few people, tried out my new calligraphy set, cooked, worked on the website, and talked to friends online. I had a long conversation with Amy P. in Japan that was most excellent. I miss her so much. I think she may be coming back this summer, so I am looking forward to seeing her soon, though six months does sound like a long time. It was so nice to just have a night off.

Saturday was spectacular. I had a few celebrity sightings throughout the day. I met up with Lindsay for brunch at Doughboy’s. I like that place a lot, but the service was horrible. We were there for about 3 hours altogether, but we didn’t mind it so much because it allowed us time to talk. I hadn’t talked to her since her birthday in December and though I saw her on New Year’s Eve, I didn’t get to talk to her that much. It’s so nice to talk to her because it’s always frank and personal and we don’t really care that there are people around or whether or not the subject manner is appropriate. We talked a lot about vaginas because of my most recent trip to the doctor and it relates to her job at the fertility clinic as well. But it’s always nice to be that open with a friend and I do hope that we get to see each other more often. As we were leaving, I saw Amy Poehler of SNL and Wet Hot American Summer, one of my favorite movies. I did a double take and walked away.

I went to dinner at Poquito Mas with Nate and Lisa. This is where we saw Peter MacNicol of Ally McBeal fame as the eccentric John Cage and was also as Dr. Janosz Poha in Ghostbusters II. He is just as weird in real life as he is onscreen. It’s quite cute in a strange way.

We joined up with Alexis and Mike later that night and went to the Parlour Club . Matt works there and he said that it was a “goth” club. The thing is, it is a goth club normally, but on Saturdays, it’s full of men dancing to electronic music. It was “Hot Dog” night. I didn't know that it really meant "gay" night. But it was fun anyway. Very good music. I wished they played that music at straight clubs. We met the promoter in the ladies room. Very good venue also, complete with a bar, dance floor, and a lounging/smoking area in the back. There were two almost-naked male go-go dancers and a roller girl. Too many beautiful guys that are unattainable. Frustrating, but its okay, they're good to look at. We met Janice Dickinson, of Top Model fame and the so-called first supermodel ever. She was really nice and gave me some gum. Apparently my friends and I can be top models. Heh, score!! She let Nate sit on her lap. He was really happy and very drunk. He let us give him a temporary tattoo, as seen below.

When we got back, Nate passed out and Lisa convinced me to join MySpace.com. I am already on Friendster, so I never really cared to join MySpace. But she talked me into it and you can look at my profile. Add me if you are on it. It shall be fun. I think that the only reason I join these things is to reconnect with a lot of my old friends so at least I am able to email them, if need be. It’s also funny to look at all of the hoes on there. They amuse me so...

I love Urban Dictionary. It is quite resourceful and I love today’s word. Podestrian: A person who can be spotted with the iconic white standard iPod earbuds in their ears. Derived from a combination of iPod and Pedestrian. (Ex: I saw 3 podestrians wait for a bus.)

Oh and I cannot forget, R.I.P Johnny Carson. So sad.

SATC quote of the day:
Miranda: Why don't straight men have bodies like this?
Carrie: Because gay men have the possibility of sex at the gym. If straight men had that they'd be working out all the time too.
(Season 4 – All that Glitters)

Link: http://www.weezer.com/

I was tired today. I think my body is mad at me for not sleeping as much as I should. It didn’t help that the news was covering the inauguration all freakin’ day. It was just a constant reminder that HE will be here for another four years. It’s so frustrating. I do have to give Barbara Boxer a pat on the back. I am glad that she represents my state.

I’ve been suffering from frequent instances of déjà vu lately. It’s happening more often than usual. At one point, it was only occurring once every six months or so, but now it’s more like once or twice a month. It’s so weird because I am forgetting my dreams more as well. I use to remember at least one every other morning, but lately, I haven’t been remembering any. I blamed it on my tiredness these past few months, but I’m not sure that it’s that either. In any case, it’s tripping me out!

I saw my friendly female doctor today. She was very gentle while she was poking me though. She said that I was one of her best patients and that I was a trooper. We have developed a great bond throughout these past few years. She and I are very much alike and she makes me laugh to distract me from the fact that she’s staring inside my vagina. Who could ask for anything more? It’s lovely and she’s good at what she does. But she makes me nervous and I know that it’s not her fault. I always get nervous when my vagina is involved in anything.

My random celebrity sighting of the day was Jamie Walters, of The Heights fame and he played Donna’s abusive boyfriend on Beverly Hills 90210. He still looks exactly the same.

I just got back from the monthly A Little to the Left meeting. Sumi and her husband hosted tonight and I’m glad to see that people are becoming regulars to the meetings. We have a very loyal bunch. It feels like we are starting to get focused on where this group should go. I am getting motivated and want to get this group off the ground. I am excited.

M, I hope you have fun in Philly and NY. Don’t freeze!! I will see you on Sunday.
Lisa, hope you get better soon. We are going out this weekend. You have to come with us.

SATC quote of the day: “Is your vagina in the New York City guidebooks? Because it should be - it's the hottest spot in town - it's always open.” – Charlotte (Season 2 – Shortcomings)

Link: http://www.illagain.com/

I just got back from the Ill Again show at the Temple Bar. They played some new songs and they were wonderful. They hadn't played a show in a while and I missed their stage antics. Randy is an MC in the band and raps so superbly, along with his fellow MC Andrew. I love them. It's a type of jazzy hip-hop that I like to vibe to. You should check them out the next time they have a show. I will let you know when they will perform again.

I am so tired. I will have to write more later. Let me sum up my last few days. I had my "Tuesdays with M" dinner at the Cheesecake Factory (again!). We can't get enough of that place, it's so fabulous. One of the hosts was a student of mine that I counseled back in 2002, so that makes a junior now. WOW. It's crazy how fast time flies. I spent a lot of time outside of work with my other halves that make up the Three Amigos (Amy and Angela). We did a lot of knitting and watching Sex and the City. We had Tito's tonight and went to Anastasia's Asylum and had coffee and knitted more before the show. It's nice to spend time with my old roomies. They're my bestest friends and I'm trying to see Amy as much as I can before she leaves us for Telluride. But now, I must sleep. My eyelids are taking over.

SATC quote of the day: "I think it's romantic when someone offers me a seat on the subway." - Carrie (Season 6 - The Ick Factor)

Link: http://www.arcadefire.com/

The Arcade Fire was on KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic show today and I had today off (thank you, Martin Luther King Jr.) and I was able to listen in. It was so nice to hear their other songs and hear about their influences and such. They’ve been touring in LA all weekend and their shows at the Troubadour were all sold out, unfortunately. Kurt and I were going to try to catch them, but it’s such a tiny venue and I doubt that they had any tickets at the door. So my morning got off to a great start.

This long weekend was full of excitement and some surprises. Friday night was the Second Annual Tilghman/Suhr Bowling Experience. (pictured below) It was James and Leila’s birthday, so we all went out and bowled our hearts and fingers out. Kurt and Tripp joined us and it was hours of fun. A lot of people from the Animation department came and I realized that I hadn’t seen all of Josh’s friends in a while due to Christmas break. I bowled over 100 in the games, so I was happy about it, especially since I had no real game plan.

On Saturday, I went to the Body Worlds exhibit with Lisa, her mom, and Justin. It was a very fascinating exhibit, but there were so many kids running around everywhere and tons of people, so it took us a lot longer to get through it. And as I said to Tripp, colons are hot! The exhibit is only open until the end of the weekend, but there will be a Body Worlds 2 starting January 29th, so catch it if you can. It’s a great experience. We went to Tito’s afterwards and I was in heaven.

Jamie called me that day. I haven’t talked to her in a while, but she is working on her first student film and asked me to help. I am so happy that she is finally able to do this. She’s been wanting to for so long and I will gladly help her as much as I can. It’s going to be fun and a lot of hard work, but I’m excited! I’m sure I will post details when we start figuring things out.

Later that night, Josh and I met up with Jon, Erica, and Nate for dinner at Kabuki, an excellent Japanese restaurant that is apparently a chain that I was not aware of. It’s one of the best sushi places that I’ve been to in LA and it’s not too expensive. I ate so much sushi!! I hate that feeling, but I did it anyway.
We then all proceeded to go over to Tripp & Kurt’s place to hang out and check out a new bar that was near their place. It was called the Blu Monkey and it was interesting. The drinks were “LA priced” and I was glad that they didn’t play hip-hop music. They had a whole bunch of lounge seats and it was decorated in a Middle Eastern style and felt like I was in a mosque, but with alcohol and loud music and very dark. Jon was toast, but he was cute. We went back to the apartment and Tripp spun for us for a while and then, all of the sudden, we realized that it was 3am. It’s amazing how time flies.

Sunday morning was so beautiful. I believe it was the first day that it hit 80 degrees and it was soooo nice. I feel so spoiled living in LA. This time last week, it was pouring down rain and now it’s warm. I wore a t-shirt and capris that day and just enjoyed the sunshine. It was fabulous and I am glad that I am living here rather than anywhere else. I organized a small brunch at Newsroom with Kurt, Angela, Nate, and Josh. Despite the horrible service, the food was yummy and there were many distractions, such as random B-list celebrity sightings. We sat right next to Hal Sparks, who is known for his short stints on shows such as Talk Soup, Queer as Folk, and as a commentator on VH1’s “I love the 80’s (and 90’s too)” series. He’s quite the comedian! We also saw Mark Feuerstein of Good Morning Miami and Caroline in the City fame. I thought it was cool to randomly be eating brunch at the same restaurant. Small world. As Angela pointed out, it is pilot season, so I think there will be a lot more celebrities around LA than normal.
I had three cups of coffee there. Sounds like a lot, but the cups were pretty small. I think that I am kinda addicted to coffee. I have about 16oz. a day in the morning, at least. On the weekends, I drink less or not at all, but I get headaches. Kurt gets headaches from caffeine, so I don’t know exactly what my problem is. Either way, Kurt and I agree that we will drink it anyway, whether it is good or bad for us. But he does bring up a good point in that we’d rather be addicted to caffeine than anything else. The other stuff will kill you faster.

After brunch, Josh and I did our laundry. It sounds glamorous, right? Heh. It’s not very glamorous at all. We had to wash the sleeping bag that someone threw up on during New Years, so we figured that we might as well do all of our laundry and sheets and comforters, etc. Two hours and 10 loads later, we were tired. I can’t believe we had that much clothes to fill up 8 washers and 2 large industrial washers (for sleeping bag and comforters). It was crazy and I have told myself that I have to do laundry more frequently from now on.

I then watched the Golden Globes. It’s my favorite awards show because it encompasses TV and film and they also divide the film categories into drama and musical/comedy. It’s better that way. I was sad that Zach Braff didn’t win, but he lost to Jason Bateman, so that was okay. Jamie Foxx was wonderful and I am glad that he won. Natalie, yes, my Natalie Portman won! She looked like a little girl in her dress and sounded like one when she spoke. I’m not impressed, sadly, but I am happy that she won and her fellow cast mate Clive Owen won. I’m glad that Nip/Tuck and Sideways won as well. Yay! Overall, it was a pretty bland awards show, but I am glad that I was able to watch it. I realized that that was the longest that I’ve sat in front of the TV in a long time. I guess that is a good thing. I do miss cable and The Daily Show though. Sigh.

My day off today was nice and relaxing. I am grateful for Martin Luther King Jr. He was such a wonderful man and, like JFK, died way too young. I wonder how things would be if both of them weren’t killed and lived to do more great things. But such is history and life.
I met up with Alexis for lunch at Damon & Pythias. I hadn’t seen her in a while and just hanging out with her is always a blast. We went shopping and I was trying to find a particular item for a friend that I could not find and became frustrated at Aah’s. But we sang along to cheesy pop music with the windows down and cruised down Wilshire Blvd. The business people driving around in their flashy cars were not amused. But we had a blast and the weather was perfect for cruising, not too hot and not too windy. It was lovely.

Josh and I grabbed some pizza at La Monica’s with Shahab and it was divine. I forgot how good that place was. It was the perfect ending to a lovely weekend.

So there it is, my long weekend. I got a lot of rest and had a wonderful time and though it may not have been the best ever weekend, it was just nice to be active and remind myself that I should just live. I hope that this year will continue in the same manner. Also, I do hope that all of the sickies get better soon though, I miss you guys.

SATC quote of the day:
Charlotte: “Carrie, you have to know where he's been so you know what you're getting.”
Samantha: “As long as what you get doesn't itch, I say you're fine.”
(Season 6 – The Perfect Present)

Link: http://www.billyjoel.com/

Josh and I met up with Wen (Josh's old roommate) last night for dinner at El Rebozo, a small little Mexican restaurant near the NuArt Theater off Sawtelle Ave. It was very yummy and on Thursday nights, they have a $0.99 taco special. So in true Josh fashion, he ordered 1 of each kind of taco. We will have to go back there soon! I finally met some of Wen's friends after all of these years and they were really cool and all Asian. Heh.

After dinner Josh and I went to Albertson's to pick up beverages for Kurt and Tripp's get together. I owed Tripp a six-pack of Hornsby's and I found out that they didn't have any left. So random. I also discovered that Mission makes guacamole flavored tortilla chips so I HAD to buy them. They weren't bad at all. They were a bit salty, but very good. I saw that they had Boone's Farm Strawberry Daiquiri and I HAD to buy it. I hardly see that flavor in stores anymore, so whenever I see it, I have to get it and plus, I have to represent Modesto (209)!!

We heard "Roots Radical" on the radio and I realized that I rarely hear Rancid on the radio anymore. Indie 103 was interviewing Lars Frederiksen, the guitarist and sometimes vocalist and it was hilarious. I love them. And my theory with them usually is that whenever I hear them on the radio, it was going to be a great night. And you know what? It was.

I had much fun just hanging out at Kurt and Tripp's place. I met two new people and drank a little more than I expected. Tripp had his camera on so he could experiment with it for his thesis project. I actually didn’t really notice it that much, surprisingly. The only time I did was when I would look over at him and talk to him directly and then I would see it over his ear and be reminded of it. It’s a really cool project and you guys should read about it if you can. We watched a lot of cool shows and talked about the randomest things. All I can really remember is Kurt talking about “Jackson Pollock in UV light” and drinking a lot of Pitch Black Mountain Dew (which tasted exactly like grape flavored Bubble Yum). So yeah, I stayed up too late and didn’t get enough sleep. That’s my life right now. I just hope that I don’t get sick. At least I can try to catch up on my sleep during this three day weekend. I need it.

And lastly, what’s Prince Harry thinking? Seriously. I am fascinated by the Nazi party as well, but it seems that it would be offensive to many, many people.

And tonight, we keep it low-key and go bowling.

SATC quote of the day: “Oh please, if you're a whore, what does that make me?” – Samantha (Season 3 – Are We Sluts?)

Link: http://www.subpop.com/bands/shins/

I hate to be a whiny SoCal driver, but the traffic has been so horrendous on the Westside lately. I know there are closures due to the mudslides and recent rain, but it has taken me so long to get home or run errands after work. There has to be a better way. Unfortunately in LA, there is no better way unless they allow the subway systems to somehow get to the Westside, which will take about 5 years to build, at least. It also affects work as well because people will show up late due to the traffic and are almost always in a bad mood. I don’t blame them. I wanted to scream. I also realized that I left my “Driving CD” at work, so I was a little bitter. Ah well, at least I was finally able to get an oil change for my car.

I had dinner with Lisa tonight at the Apple Pan. Lisa has been really busy with her new job and I hadn’t really seen her in a while, though we do talk on the phone and IM every so often. It’s nice to know that though we don’t live together anymore, we still have the same friendship that we had when we did live together. She is one of the very few people who have met or know a majority of my friends and therefore conversations are easier because she would know who I was referring to and such. I am glad that we can not see each other for a while and still know what is going on in each others lives to the point where she and I accidentally repeat stories. I know that she is going through the post-college career search and I wish her much luck. The job market is horrible right now. It makes you wonder if a bachelor’s degree in anything is of any value around this town anymore. Sigh. Keep hope alive. I am glad that we can vent to each other and talk about life so openly and honestly. Sometimes that is all you need to feel better after sitting in traffic for hours.

SATC quote of the day: “After all, seasons change. So do cities. People come into your life and people go. But it's comforting to know the ones you love are always in your heart.” – Carrie (Season 4 - I Heart NY)

Link: http://www.toriamos.com/

I had lunch with Amy and dinner with M today. It was nice to see them on a one on one basis and chat about the goings on in our lives. Amy is going to be leaving soon to work in Telluride, CO again this summer! I’m glad that she will be doing her work there, but I’m going to miss her terribly, especially if she goes to New York in the fall for school. M is taking on a full semester course load at USC for her masters program and working full time for the city of Pasadena. She really is a crazy girl. I do hope my “Tuesdays with M” will not change or get cancelled, but I won’t mind if she does because I know that it would be for a good reason. During conversations with both of them today, I wondered why these fabulous and wonderful people are still single and having man problems. They’re smart and ambitious and gorgeous. I can see men being threatened or intimidated by them because they are brilliant, but I would only want someone who is as equally smart and cute for them. I would accept nothing less. M is afraid that her parents are going to find a random guy and fix her up in an arranged marriage, which is actually quite possible at this point. But I know she deserves better. (If you know a single Indian male who is smart and likes to have fun, let me know!)

I honestly can’t imagine myself dating right now. I’m not saying this in a condescending or mocking way. But I’ve been out of the game for so long that I wouldn’t know where to start. Am I really going to date someone that I meet at a club? Are there any quality guys that go to the clubs at all? How can you build trust with someone that you hardly know? Will I allow myself to do that? I don’t even know the proper dating etiquette anymore. Most of the things about dating I observe from Sex and the City and things that my friends talk about. I feel very fortunate to be in a long term relationship and I am very sympathetic to all of my friends’ plights for their own form of a relationship, whatever it may be. I have a lot of single guy friends and a lot of single girl friends and every time we go out, there are no quality people out there. It would be logical to pair up my single guy friends with my single girl friends, but I know that some combinations and personalities will not work out. It’s too much pressure. The last time I tried to play matchmaker, it wasn’t as successful as planned. They all deserve great and fabulous people to share their lives with, whether it’s for a long term relationship or something that falls in the “other” category. I wonder where all of the cool people hang out because we’re not going to the right places. According to Andrea, there are no quality guys in Denver. So that place is out. So where to now? I really admire all of my friends that put themselves out there because it’s so exhausting. I know that most of this relationship business depends on timing, so I hope that the timing will work out for a few of my friends soon.

To answer many of you, Josh and I have discussed marriage on many occasions, especially since his brother had just recently gotten married and his best friend, Greg, will be getting married this summer. Josh does not believe in marriage in the traditional sense, so it is really hard to convince him to go through with any type of real ceremony or fanfare. (Kinda like the Woody and Mia thing, without the adopted children.) I have accepted this in a way because I realized that I am really not ready for marriage yet either. We are taking things slowly with baby steps and I like it the way it is right now. We are young and in no rush to do anything at this moment. We are just content with life right now. I will let you all know when things change, believe me.

On a sidenote, I talked to Amy P. the other day. She’s back in Japan and it’s snowing over there. Unfortunately, we were not able to hang out when she was in LA, mainly due to the fact that she was only in town for a short amount of time. But I miss her dearly and I am glad she is doing well.

Also, I heard from Kate that Monica came back from India okay. I am so happy and relieved to hear of the news. I was getting really worried for a while there.

**New** SATC quote of the day: “The most exciting, challenging and significant relationship of all is the one you have with yourself. And if you can find someone to love the you you love, well, that's just fabulous.” – Carrie (Season 6-An American Girl in Paris (Part Deux))

Link: http://www.greenplastic.com/

I don't mind rain. Rain is fun. I was tempted to play in the rain during lunch, but I realized that I had to go back to work soon, so that wasn't the best thing to do. It's cold and wet and really pouring down out there. I like it when it rains hard because what's the point of it just drizzling? If it's going to rain, I prefer it to all come pouring down. And that's what it's been doing all weekend. It feels like El Nino Dos or something, but I don’t quite remember it ever raining so hard for so long. I am used to it because of growing up in Modesto (though it’s usually plus fog), but I've been gone so long that I'm still in shock from it all. The weather did hamper my weekend plans somewhat, but we were able to go out to some places.

Samantha came into town from Washington DC on Thursday and I posted some pics from the weekend above, but the rest are on the pics page. Nate wanted her to experience Barney’s Beanery Thursday’s that he and his coworkers normally attend. I had yet to experience the craziness that I always hear about, so I was excited to go. I’ve always like Barney’s, it’s a cool place to grab a drink and chat with friends and play pool. By the time we arrived, Nate and his coworkers had been there for a few hours, so they had a jumpstart on the evening. Kevin, one of his coworkers (and who is one of the funniest people I’ve met recently) had been there since 5:30 for happy hour, so yeah, he was amusing. I finally met Jon’s (Nate’s best friend from St. Louis) ex-girlfriend, Florence, who was gorgeous and sweet and very tall (6”1’). We met a lot of Nate’s coworkers that we saw at the New Year’s Eve party and they were cool. Kurt stopped by for a while and played pool with us. We all had a gay ‘ole time.

Friday night was thwarted by some events out of our control. Samantha wanted to go dancing, but we had not chosen a venue. But Nate got called into work because Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston announced that they were getting separated, so they had to change all of the weekend shows around to cover the story. So we planned to all meet up at Kurt and Tripp’s apartment in Hollywood and grab a drink before we went out. By the time Nate got there, it was kinda late, so we all just drank and hung out there. It was fun to just chill and talk amongst ourselves. Tripp spun a few records and it was lovely. I had wanted to introduce Tripp to Jon ever since I met him and I am glad they were able to finally talk shop about music and such. We stayed late, a lot later than planned, about 4am, but it was worth it. They are going to try to have people over more regularly, so I am looking forward to it.

On Saturday, I watched In Good Company with Samantha, Nate, Josh, and Lisa. It was actually a lot better than I thought it would be, but I went in with no expectations. It’s a cute movie, with a great soundtrack…Iron & Wine, The Shins, Peter Gabriel and more.

We went to Saddle Ranch later that night, and though I am not a huge fan of that place because the music selection is all pop and it’s the exact same music every time I go, I still went because Samantha wanted to dance. I had fun. It was predictable, but it was amusing to people watch and see Kurt and James dance. That was another late night out and I was exhausted.

I slept in really late on Sunday and relaxed all day. It was nice to recuperate and hang out with Josh all day while it was raining outside. We caught up with The Simpson’s season 5 and tried to clean up the place. I love lazy days.

Josh and I are watching Days of Being Wild, another collaboration with Wong Kar-Wai and Christopher Doyle, on Wednesday night at the Nuart, if anyone is interested in coming, let me know.

Link: http://www.about-a-boy.com/

So I saw Hugh Grant this morning on my way to work. I was at a stoplight and singing along to “Don’t Look Back in Anger,” by Oasis and he pulls up next to me and as I look over, I see his brilliantly blue eyes and he’s totally laughing at me. He caught me at mid sentence…“stand up beside the fireplace…” Ah well, at least I made him laugh by making an ass of myself. I love random celebrity sightings.

Well, I now have a new obsession. I learned how to knit yesterday with the help of Angela and Kurt. Wynne and Buff Mike joined us and it was fun! It was a totally female-oriented night with the knitting and watching Sex and the City and all, but Kurt was really wanting to learn how to knit a bikini for someone, anyone. I’m not sure if wool or any type of synthetic yarn would be waterproof or sturdy enough, but it was a novel idea. Sadly, my fingers are sore from all of the knitting. I’m making a scarf and I hope it turns out okay, especially since I started with 10 stitches and now I’m up to 14. Hm…funny how that happens. But I am glad that I am learning because it’s fun and useful. So if anyone is interested in knitting, let me know! I also got a haircut yesterday. Nothing too drastic, but it’s nice to have layers again. I hate having curly hair. I wish I was able to get up early enough to actually care about my hair and straighten it and make it look decent.

I talked to Samantha (Nate’s sister) this afternoon, right when she landed. I’m excited. It’s so hard to figure out what to do and where to go when friends are visiting. LA is so spread out and there are a lot of things to do, but it’s a matter of picking and choosing and deciding and compromising. I hope that it all work’s out and we’re able to have lots of fun. I just hope that it doesn’t rain!

I’m kinda liking the band, The Arcade Fire. They are a Canadian band that is getting a lot of airplay on KCRW. They did a story on them and interviewed them this morning, so check them out if you are bored.

I’m currently reading Mean Genes, by the ever so popular UCLA biology professor, Dr. Jay Phelan. I've liked him ever since Nate told me that he was in a Pat Benatar video. That's awesome! The book is funny and informative and very interesting. It makes you think a lot about why you do the things you do and why you act a certain way. Though I do question some of things that are brought up, it’s still a good read thus far. Check it out if you get the chance.

Link: http://www.jeffhanson.net/jeffhanson.html

I’ve been listening to Jeff Hanson more and more lately and he has the most fascinatingly hypnotic sound. You should check him out if you have time.

It’s nice to be back into my routine. The holidays messed it up for a bit. I just hope that my sleeping pattern will return to normal soon. I finally saw M after a week and a half and we had our weekly dinner. We wanted to watch the USC game, but every sports bar in Santa Monica was packed with USC fans. M was cheering…and I then heckled her because she had become a traitor to UCLA. But everywhere she goes, that school does well. She was at Syracuse when their basketball team won and is now at USC and they just had 2 incredible seasons. Hmm...interesting. I have decided that M and I are almost the same person. We think very similarly and rationalize things in the same way. I guess that’s why we get along so well. I really missed her. Last Tuesday was weird because we didn’t have dinner and I didn’t know what to do with myself. But it’s nice to have her and a lot of other people back in town.

Speaking of which, Nate’s sister is going to be in town visiting for a week. She is great fun and is so sweet. Everyone thought that she looked like Britney Spears the last time she visited. We took her to the end of the quarter “Century Club” party that the boys had and she had a lot of fun. I visited her in DC last year and she was such a wonderful host. So I am excited to see her again and am glad that we are finally able to go to bars together. So this weekend should be busy, but I will have to get through these next few days…

Link: http://www.subpop.com/bands/postalservice/

So while we were eating dinner at Paco’s Tacos, Nate told us about a cover of “Against All Odds” that The Postal Service does and he later played it on his ipod for Josh and I. The thing is, I love that song. I love Phil Collins and it reminds me of my friend Mark because that was his favorite karaoke song. Their version is very different, but I like it, which is very unlike me because I usually don’t like covers of songs that I already enjoy.

I added a brief blurb about myself in the My Profile section of this website. I will periodically update it soon and try to make it more interesting and personal. It was harder than I thought it would be, so it may take a while.

It was weird to be back at work again today. I wasn’t “on” as much as I wanted to be. I think I needed to recover from the long weekend. But there are some things that made me happy, like lunch…the Monday Fatburger days. Something about its regularity and the company is so pleasant.

Shahab showed me the cool Beta Google suggest website. It auto completes based on the top searches on the site and lists how many results they have in their database. It’s cool for people like me because I am lazy. Check it out!

Well, it was Greg’s last night in town before he goes back to Texas, so we decided to get together again and have fun. We ended up playing 90’s Trivial Pursuit and watching Hiroshima mon amour. I didn’t pay attention to it as much as I would have liked to, so I will have to watch it again soon. We later found out that it is impossible to eat 10 saltines in under 1 minute. Kurt and Greg tried, but the most they could get was 5. It was a fun little exercise. Maybe we should try drinking a gallon of milk in an hour or eating 50 hard boiled eggs in an hour. We will have to do that when Greg comes back into town.

Link: http://www.hbo.com/city

I just had hours and hours of good sex (and the city, that is). Lisa and I had our annual Sex and the City marathon this weekend. We had a late start, but were able to finish up the first two seasons thus far. It doesn’t sound like we watched a lot, but we did. The first season had 12 episodes and the second season had 18, and at a half hour a pop, we’re talking about 15 hours of sex. We will have to finish them up in the coming weeks. I’m glad we are starting from the beginning again because I rarely watch the first season. It just wasn’t as good as the others, but as I watch the show in order, I find myself hating Carrie a lot more. She’s so petty and dramatic most of the time early on and I never really noticed it that much until now. But in any case, I did see my favorite episode, “Ex and the City,” which is the very last episode in season two. It’s the one where Carrie finds out about Big and Natasha’s engagement, Samantha dates Mr. Cocky, Charlotte tries to ride a horse again, and Miranda and Steve try to be “friends.” Now that’s quality right there. Sigh. I am missing that show so much. I’m missing good TV in general. I miss having good Sunday night TV, whether it be SATC, The Sopranos, or Six Feet Under. I only watch The Simpsons and Arrested Development now and even then, they’re not always new either.

It’s weird that I will have to write “2005.” My hand can not write fives very well. It will take me a long time to get used to. On a side note, last night was the first night in a very long time (like 4 years) that I fell asleep with my belt on. I forgot my packed overnight bag for the marathon and didn’t have anything to wear to bed. I know that I could’ve borrowed some clothes from Lisa, but I just fell asleep during the show and didn’t wake up until 9:00am. My stomach is still sore from the belt, but I just thought that it was the randomest thing that I’ve done in a while.

I had a lot of fun though. It was nice because we’ve all seen the episodes, so we were able to talk over them and add interesting tid-bits or comment on them and that’s the funnest part. Lisa and I get each other so well…we share a great sense of biting humor, cynicism and she gets my jokes and obscure references and quotes, which isn’t surprising because that is usually one of my prerequisites when looking for a roommate, heh. It seemed like I lived with her a lot longer than a year. I kinda miss living with my friends partially because I am really lazy and time spent with them would entail just going home, but I can say the same thing for living with Josh, so it’s a tough trade-off. Living with Josh hasn’t been too hard of a transition, so I am very happy about that. I just hate that I end up waking him when I go to work in the morning. I feel bad. He is such a light sleeper. I was fortunate enough to have deep sleepers as roommates in the past, so I am working on it. I compiled a list of roommates that I’ve had since the start of college and I believe the count is up to 19. Wow, 19 people that I’ve lived with in approximately 6 years, including summer sublets and everything. That is crazy. And I’ve only had problems with one roommate so far, so I guess that’s not bad. It would’ve helped if I knew that she had problems with every single roommate she’s ever had in the past, but I guess I had to learn the hard way. Oh well. I still can’t believe that it’s been exactly 3 years since all of that drama and I hardly ever think about it at all anymore. It’s strange how time can either make things better or worse and in this case, it has made it more tolerable. I usually hate leaving things unresolved, but in that case, it was the best option. I hate drama.

As this year begins, I am hoping for it to be as drama free as possible and I hope that it is FUN. And I hope all of my friends have fun as well. We are getting old too fast, so we must seize every opportunity.

Link: http://www.u2.com/

So last night was one of the best nights of my life. No exaggeration. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that amount of my friends in one place, on any given night, ever. And I met some quality people as well, so I am very happy about that. Oh, and Jesse Metcalfe made an appearance as well, which was a bit odd because he and his entourage were at the wrong party, but it was funny because I didn’t know who he was really and chatted him up for a while and gave him directions. He looked familiar, but I couldn’t place him. But I soon found out later that he was uber-famous or whatever. Ah well, his entourage girls were really annoying and one had the hugest set of fake tits I’ve ever seen. They were awesome though.

Hm…it’s hard to sum up what happened last night. I remember everything, but I only remember talking to people, but not really the content of the conversation and I knew that Josh was toast after midnight, which was quite amusing. So I would like to take this time to apologize on Josh’s behalf if he said or did anything dodgy last night. He can’t remember most of it.

Well, let’s see, it was a very “Hollywood” party, in-between the fire department showing up, people throwing up and pissing off the balcony, dramas between couples, jello shots, flaming hot Cheetos, people getting lost up the hill, random make out sessions that I walk in on, straight boys kissing gay boys, girls (including me) kissing gay boys, Stevo passing out, meeting someone who looked familiar and couldn’t place him and then realizing that he went to my high school (sweet!), taking scandalous pictures, almost crying because the mint leaves were wilted from the heat of the toaster oven and couldn’t make the mojitos that we so desperately wanted, Tampico flavored drinks, it didn’t rain at all, mmm…Bacardi Limon, friends getting propositioned, introducing nerds to fellow nerds, drunken Turkish girls, a very inaccurate countdown, Nate being a horrible keymaster, people doing coke and getting it all over my make-up bag, changing the ipod playlist several times, never needing a jacket because it was always “warm” to me, getting a “hello” message from Dan Lawson through the girls, sleeping on something wet, hoping that it wasn’t vomit, but wasn’t that bad because we had sleeping bags, accidentally popping the lens out of my glasses and couldn’t put it back in, and so much more. And yet, the good outweighed the bad and it was so much fun. I thank Nate so much for being the best host and opening up his house to all of us.

I’m sure I’ll post pictures when I get them (I forgot my camera last night!) and I know that I am forgetting a lot of things that happened.

On a side note, I ran into a few old friends yesterday and I forgot how good it feels to reunite with someone that you knew in the past, even if it was briefly. I was in Santa Monica and I ran into Lena, an old friend from college. We lived a few doors down in the dorms my first year and she was so much fun! She’s almost done with law school at Tulane and is going to join the Navy. She’s awesome and has always been motivated and I am so happy for her. I then later ran into Nemika, which was a very pleasant surprise. I don’t see her as often as I should. But I do love Santa Monica because I always run into people there. And as I mentioned above, I ran into Don, a guy that went to my high school in Modesto. It was so random and yet very, very cool.

I need to thank everyone for coming: Andrea, Matt, Mike, Alexis, Regis, Donna, James (and gal pal Begum), Kurt, Wen, Greg, Negin, Jon (and friends), Aussie, Matt, Randy, Angela, Amy (and her sister's entourage), Deena, Dre, Eva, Mich Garr, Lindsay, Nora (a very pleasant surprise), Angela L, Raul, Lisa, Marty, Angie, Justin, Wynne (and friends), Nadja, and the lovely Jake and Nate of course, and I know I may be forgetting a few, but thank you and I hope you all had fun!