Sam's Blog

Link: http://www.thecure.com/

I really do hate dial up. I think that we have to endure another week of this, so I’m frustrated. But it will all work out soon enough. I was tired and sluggish all day today, but I was able to catch up from Friday’s work and catch up on people’s lives. It felt like I was disconnected from the world this weekend. But I talked to Nate today and he had just worked a 20-hour day because of the Oscars last night, so I had no reason to complain.

I met up with Josh and Lisa at Enzo’s for lunch and I had excellent ravioli. I am not usually a ravioli fan, but I was quite impressive for the price. I am glad that Lisa is still around the hood because I can see her regularly. I am jealous because she gets to wear jeans at her new job. I miss wearing jeans.

It is crazy how something so little like changing the battery on my watch can become such a chore. My watch stopped on the 22nd and I haven’t had time to take it anywhere and I’ve been watchless since then. I would wear it and look at it, but it was always 1:00. Things like that usually bother me so much that I would have to get it fixed within the day. But this time around, it wasn’t that bad. Maybe I am becoming more tolerant…or maybe I’m just lazy or busy or whatever. So I finally stopped in to one of the many jewelry stores in Westwood and changed it. It’s a lovely feeling to know that it’s there and that it’s now reliable again.

Josh and I have been talking about getting Netflix for a while now and I think that we may actually do it. Josh was one of the first to use Netflix years and years ago, but he stopped because they were giving preferential treatment to the new customers. But they now have a lot more customers and seem to be doing a great job. It beats late fees any day. Alexis introduced me to Niche Flix and that looks interesting as well. I don’t think that we will do both, we will see. Any recommendations and/or suggestions anyone?

A group of us went to Acapulco’s tonight for Margarita Monday. They totally redecorated the interior of the place and it looks nice, especially the bar area. We ran into Alexis there having dinner with her coworkers. We did the chicken dance from episode 210 of Arrested Development. I was Lindsay and Alexis was Gob. It was very funny and we made fools of ourselves in the restaurant, but it was so much fun. I ran into Cameron there also. He and I use to have so much fun in the Orientation office. He’s still around the area and it’s always a pleasure running into him at random times. I feel bad for him because all of his good guy friends moved far, far away from LA. But he is doing rather well in general and he still has lots of friends in this area, so I know he’ll be fine. I do miss working with him and that staff that year.

SATC quote of the day:
Samantha: I'm starving! Where's the food?
Miranda: They're WASPs. There's never food, only booze.
Samantha: Fine. One martini, six olives. (Season 3 – All or Nothing)

Ok, so I am sitting here on a makeshift set at LMU for Jamie's film. I felt so lost without the internet all weekend, so it's nice that this location has it. Well, it's what I expected...long hours, lots of waiting, heavy lifting, etc. It's actually quite rewarding and I am sure that Jamie will find it more rewarding when it's actually over. The desert scenes will probably be shot tomorrow evening, so I doubt that I will be able to go with them. But as I sit here watching them set up, I am fascinated by the amount of work that it takes to make a 7 minute movie. I am glad that Jamie is finally able to see part of her dreams come true by directing a film. She has always wanted to do it since I've known her and I am happy to be able to help her achieve it.

In other news, I finished watching the entire series of My So-Called Life. It ended a bit too unresolved, but I attribute that to it being cancelled without much warning. In a sense, the ambiguity leaves room for me to wonder what could have happened, which is kinda nice. I really wished that they didn't cancel it so soon though. It was such a great show.

I am kinda bummed that I am missing the Oscars. Josh is hosting a party at our place right now. This room has internet, but no TV, which is odd because I thought that it's usually the other way around. But I am searching to see if there is a site that will be streaming it live. There has to be one out there, right?

-------

Well, apparently not. I was able to find out through a live blog that Defamer had up (thanks for the link Tripp) and also through many news websites, so that was good. From what I gather, it was a pretty uneventful ceremony this year, so I don't feel so sad that I missed it.

It was a very interesting weekend. I talked myself out of 2 parking tickets today. Did you know that it's illegal to park in a handicap spot, even if you're still in the car? Well, I feel sheepish, but I didn't know that. I was totally lost at LMU and I was waiting for Ryan, the gaffer, and the "cop" was giving me a lecture about parking in handicap spots, yada yada. And then the other one was when I was parking in a red zone, with my emergency lights on, loading up Aaron's truck with a whole bunch of stuff from my car. It was ridiculous because I was standing right there and he came up to the car, looked at it and I was like, "can I help you?" I was obviously "loading" stuff, so he didn't really argue. Crazy day.

But the bright side was that I was able to hang with Jamie's family. I haven't seen her parents in like, two years, I think. Her sister, Jenny, came up from San Diego, taking time out from her busy med school schedule to help out her older sis. It's weird to kinda watch her grow up through the years. She's only 2 years younger, but it seems like a whole generation. She is engaged now, before Jamie and I. The wedding is in August. Her ring is so awesome. She grew up way too fast.

So now I must recover from this weekend. I hope work isn't too crazy tomorrow.

SATC quote of the day:
"First come the gays, then the girls, then the industry." - Samantha (Season 6 - Hop, Skip and a Week)

Link: http://www.askmeaskmeaskme.com/

So I took the day off today because of the film shoot that was suppose to occur last night. I guess Jamie was having problems with permits and location issues, so we weren't able to shoot. It was kinda nice to take last night and today off, but I know that there will be a lot of work in the near future. We were suppose to go tonight, but I am not sure if that's going to happen. I am kinda just waiting around to see.

I was glad because the situation allowed me to be able to make the monthly PRO meeting. We got a lot accomplished and are shaping up and it's exciting to see it progressing. It seems like I don't see them as often as I should. They are a great group of people and I am sure that we will be doing wonderful things together in the name of politics.

After the meeting, Josh and I stopped by Barney's Beanery to say hello to Nate and his coworkers. It was fun and crowded. I was glad that Jon and Lisa wer able to make it out and I finally saw Kevin again. He cracks me up everytime I see him. We didn't stay too long though because we were both so tired and Josh had to work today.

So now, I guess I'm going to use my day off wisely and get stuff done. Sweet, I'm going to have lunch with Angela soon. Makes me wonder how fabulous my life would be if I didn't work everyday. But then again, I guess I would be broke as well. That's why I don't like money. It's evil.

SATC quote of the day:
"Money is power. Sex is power. Therefore, getting money for sex is simply an exchange of power." - Samantha (Season 1 - The Power of Female Sex)

Link: http://www.spfc.org/

I woke up not feeling that great. I hope this feeling subsides soon, or else my day will not be pleasant. I’ve got a lot going on the rest of the week with the film shoot in the desert and everything else. It’s going to be so crazy!

M and I had a conversation last night over dinner (chicken tikka masala, yum!) about how different our lives have been after moving to LA. She had just returned from Modesto and she realized that the only reason why she goes back is for her family and she doesn’t really miss the actual city. I kinda miss it because I haven’t been back in years (because I have not really had a reason to ever go back). There are new shops and housing developments all around, which is a good thing for the city, but I am sure that it will feel more and more like an unfamiliar place to me as time goes on.

I think that M knows me very well, considering the fact that we’ve known each other for over 10 years. We came to the same conclusion last night. We realized how fortunate we are to be here in LA at this very moment in our lives. The events of this past weekend only reinforces this notion because I was able to see almost all of the people that I care about within the span of three days. To me, that’s all that I need. I am content and so is M because she is in a similar situation with her friends. We have decided to enjoy it as much as we can because we don’t want to look back and regret anything. I hope all of my friends do the same because once we get a little older and married and such, what we have right now may not exist. It saddens me to think about it, but such is life.

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Costco wasn't so bad today. I had to get a whole bunch of stuff for the film and I kinda went over budget already. I don't feel too confident about htis weekend because I really don't know what I'm doing. I've never been on the set of anything before and now I'm going to be working on it. I don't know what Jamie is expecting or what the crew is expecting. I'm kinda going in there blindly and hoping for the best. But it is my first time, so I am hoping to learn a lot from it...I just got off the phone with her and I am feeling better about it now, yay.

I had dinner with Jon and Nate tonight at Paco's Tacos. I get random cravings for good Mexican food and it's the best place to go to satisfy it. It's so fun to hang out with those guys. They've known each other since they were 8 years old in St. Louis and they have such great chemistry. It's fun to sit there and watch them talk about everything from perfect breasts to Fatboy Slim. We're all fairly busy nowadays so it's nice to be able to spontaneously have dinner with them, especially Nate because he lives so far far away in his mansion.

I feel better than I did earlier today. Yay! And it didn't rain at all.

SATC quote of the day:
Random guy: Every girlfriend I've had wants me to change something. Change your job, change your friends, change your attitude...The only thing I change is girlfriends. (Season 2 - Old Dogs, New Dicks)

Link: http://www.blind-melon.com/

So first off, I love 3-day weekends because KROQ almost always has a 90’s weekend. It really is the best time to listen to KROQ because I know every song and almost all of the lyrics to them. It’s so weird that I get excited over something like this, but when it’s raining hard and I have to drive somewhere, the last thing that I think about is music, especially since the traffic is so bad when it rains.

The rain put a slight damper on my plans this weekend, but it wasn’t too much of a distraction. My friend Ramona was visiting from DC and we decided to try out the brand new Corona Cantina on Sunset. It’s only been open for a few weeks and it’s a pretty neat place, besides the parking situation. There’s a back lounge area and a downstairs outside patio area and it’s full of TV’s and there’s a pool table as well. Nate found out about this place from a coworker and it has a fabulous 4-10pm happy hour everyday. It was a lot of fun and I was glad to finally meet Ramona’s new beau, Brad (who has the best subtle Boston accent I’ve ever heard). It was nice to hang out with them and all of her old friends, including her sister Kiran. Nate and Lisa and Erica and her coworkers came as well and we all had so much fun. Not many people know about the bar yet, so it wasn’t crowded at all and our group had an entertaining time. We saw Trishelle and Blair of MTV fame. I wasn’t too excited because I didn’t really know who they were and I honestly didn’t care. We went to Saddle Ranch afterwards and it was crowded and hot, like usual. It was raining a lot throughout the night and it wasn’t too pleasant in there, but there were plenty of willing people to ride the bull. It was a lovely sight.

On Saturday night, the gang ventured out to the Valley and went to the Outback Steakhouse for Angela’s birthday. I haven’t had steak in sooo long. It was yummy. We saw Dub C eating there, which is so random to me. And our conversations ranged from how many movies Peter North had been in to which graduate programs are good for set design. It was a very good dinner overall.

Afterwards, Matt was celebrating his birthday with Mike and their friends at Jumbo’s Clown Room and we met up with them. Jumbo’s is such an interesting place. It’s a “burlesque” bar, meaning that there is alcohol served, therefore no real nudity. The girls do take off their tops, but their nipples are covered with some decorative pasties. It was amusing for the first half hour and then after that, it just got old. The dancers are very interesting characters and the coolest one we met was named Debbie (hehe). The dancers choose their own songs and they ranged from old vaudeville classics to Nine Inch Nails and Radiohead. Yes, it was a noteworthy night indeed.

Sunday was another day of celebrating. This time it was Josh’s birthday outing and we went to the Corona Cantina again since a majority of the people attending have never been there. We had a pretty good sized crowd considering the rain and the last minuteness of the event and we had a lot of fun! Kurt and Nate were in a pool competition and eventually decided to have a rematch when they were both drunk because they apparently play better that way. Lisa and her old coworkers were there and Tony Lucca met up with them. He’s so cute, but he was hairier than I remembered him and I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or not.

Today, I had brunch with Josh’s parents and his sister at the Omelette Parlor. This seriously is one of my favorite brunch places ever. As I walked in, I saw Lou Pearlman sitting in the restaurant and as I was leaving, I saw Dermot Mulroney leaving at the same time. It was so random, but I guess that's LA for you. It was nice to see his parents and Natalie again. It feels like it’s been a while. His mom works for The Pampered Chef and she has a new website. Please check it out if you are interested in any kitchen supplies, it’s a great and reliable company to buy from. I will add her link to my toolbar once I remember how to do it. For some reason, I cannot remember how I did it before.

I went shopping with Angela and we both realized that we have become a lot pickier about the clothes we wear. Maybe it’s because we work full-time now or maybe it’s because we work so hard for our money that we only want the best quality and look. But it’s becoming a lot harder for us to find clothes that we actually like and are willing to buy. But it was a successful trip though because I finally got my much needed moisturizer that is too expensive for my own good, but I needed it so badly. Nothing else works so well on my skin. So for that, I have to pay the price. And I just got more yarn to knit with. Yay! I’m excited because it’s brown and sky blue, my most recent favorite color combination.

Josh and I went out to dinner with Ramona, Brad, and Kurt. It was Ramona and Brad’s last night in LA. They just got back from Las Vegas in the morning and were extremely tired, but they mustered up enough energy to hang out with us. I finally realized who Brad reminded me of: Taylor, a guy that lived on my floor first year. They look almost identical, it was creepy. Luckily Josh was able to help me because it would have bothered me for the longest time. I was thinking about it all weekend and am glad that we figured it out! He is a very cool guy and I hope to see him and Ramona soon.

Has anyone read Ron McLarty’s The Memory of Running yet? I’m curious to see if it’s good or not. Maybe I’ll pick it up the next time I am at a bookstore. But I would love to hear comments from those who have read it.

I’ve had a few conversations with Tripp this weekend and he is definitely feeling better, but is so high on meds right now. It’s nice to have him back, even if he is loopy.

So, Happy Birthday Josh, Matt, and Angela. It’s crazy how many people were born in February, especially since it’s the shortest month of the year.

SATC quote of the day:
Samantha: Is a three-way with a 21-year-old a bad idea for Richard's birthday?
Carrie: What are you going to give him next year? A four-way? (Season 4 – A ‘Vogue’ Idea)

Link: http://www.remyzero.com

This quote was taken from the theme song of Smallville, a show that I used to watch when I lived with Nate years ago. It's a great song, but it saddens me that they broke up. I was watching the show last night while I was visiting Tripp in the hospital. He had to fill me in on a lot of the plot and I was confused as to why Lois Lane was there already. Tripp looked very good, despite all of the pain he was in. They started giving him a liquid diet that day and therefore, his body had to "adjust" to it. But his nurse gave him drugs and he was feeling good by the time I got there. I can't imagine being in the hospital for that long and just lying there watching TV and not doing much. I would get bored so fast. I haven't been in the hospital since I was in 8th grade, when I got my appendix out. I remember that day because my stomach hurt so badly that I gave Roni my Snickers bar. It's weird that I remember the randomest things sometimes. I don't remember my hospital stay too much though. I actually remember visiting my dad a lot when I was younger; those memories come to mind and are more vivid in my head when I think of hospitals. Anyway, I figured that instead of lounging around at home with not much to do, I should pop in to keep him company since I would probably want the same if I was in the same situation. He saved me from a night of boredom and I would like to think that I did the same for him, though I am sure he wouldn't have minded more sleep. When I arrived, he wasn't as loopy from the drugs as I expected and it was then that I realized that it's great to just talk to someone about so many random things. I have become comfortable with my friends and they know a lot about me already, but since Tripp and I are in the early-mid stages of our friendship, we are still trying to get to know each other a lot more and that's always fun. I am glad to say that he was released from the hospital today, which was a day earlier than expected and is recovering very well despite some normal pain and
discomfort.

I realized that haven't mentioned saving Arrested Devlopment. There are rumors going around on the Internet that the show is going to be cancelled. It really saddens me to hear that because it's one of my favorite shows on TV right now. This article explains what is going on and there is a link at the bottom of it for viewers to sign a petition to keep the show on the air. FOX just released this statement denying that they are going to cancel the show:

Dear Arrested Development Fans:

Thank you for your e-mail and your passionate support of Arrested Development. While the show has finished production for its second season, contrary to the rumors you may have heard or read on the internet, it is NOT cancelled.

We at FOX love Arrested Development and we look forward to having the Bluth family back on FOX in the future – hopefully for many years. You can help make the show a bigger success by getting as many people as possible to start watching the show this Sunday and every Sunday at 8:30 p.m. ET/PT.

Sincerely,
Fox Broadcasting Company

I'm not sure what to think anymore, but I do wish that they are going to keep it for at least one more season and hopefully more people will start watching. I am convinced that most people aren't smart enough to get the show, but those are the people that actually matter when it comes to ratings.

I spent all day yesterday thinking that it was Thursday. I even walked to the Farmer's Market and was confused as to why they hadn't set up yet and then realized that it was Wednesday. I'm not as perceptive this week for some reason. Work has gotten better, but still overall busy. I wish that someone would just rescue me and take me far, far away.

Speaking of which, I've had many conversations with Angela about how women's roles have changed so much throughout this past century and how it's normal for women to work full time and raise a family. What if I don't want that? Would I be judged by society? What if I want to stay at home and raise my children and give up my career? Is that bad? I suppose that's the "liberation" part for women: being able to choose. I also understand that sometimes the economy will force you into making that decision. But is it wrong of me to assume that it's okay for the husband to be working (since he will probably make more money) and the wife to stay at home and raise the children? Do women deep down inside just all want to be rescued by a successful man? We were fed this fairy tale concept ever since we were able to read and a part of me knows that there are a lot of women out there that believe it. But as for me, I just hope that I will be fortunate enough to be able to raise my children and watch them grow up and do the same.

It started raining again today. It was a strange weather week. It was sunny and somewhat warm all week and even this morning was a bit warm. I was running errands for work around 10am and I was wearing my new pink sweater and I started sweating because it was so warm. I then went out at 12pm to do more errands and it was really cloudy, but not that cold. By the time I went out for lunch at 1:15pm, it was dark and cold. I wasn't prepared for rain at all because the weather has been so pleasant, but luckily one of my coworkers had an extra umbrella and saved me from getting drenched. It just all of the sudden startd raining really hard and I was amused at all of the business people in Westwood running for cover because they didn't have an umbrella. With the rain comes traffic and accidents and bad drivers. Yay!

Josh and I went to The Animation Show screening on campus and Don Hertzfeldt was going to be there for a Q & A, but because of the weather, he was stuck in Santa Barbara and wouldn't make it on time. The guy that had the film was also stuck there as well, so they had to cancel the show. Josh is going to the NuArt screening tomorrow instead. I will not be able to attend because Ramona will be in town and we are going to hang out. I'm excited that she is visiting.

SATC quote of the day:
Charlotte: You're not going to defend children?
Miranda: No, I don't like any children but my own. (Season 6 – A Woman's Right to Shoes)

Link: http://www.guster.com/test/tanindexflashsite.html

I miss fast Internet. We are switching providers and it's going to take about a week to get the new DSL installed. Sigh. I didn't realize how much I would miss it. We are using dialing up, but it's so slow. I guess we are spoiled in a way. I actually miss reading the news online and I now feel so uninformed. I only listen to NPR for about 20 minutes on the way to work and 40 minutes on the way home, but that's all. I guess we will make do with what we have for now.

My Valentine's day was cute and fun, but nothing really special, except for the fact that Josh paid for dinner and we were kinda dressed up. We ended up going to Kabuki at the Howard Hughes Center and dinner was fabulous. I realized that Josh and I never actually had sushi together, like on a date before, so it worked out nicely, given the occasion. But the night overall was quite lovely and I am glad that I was able to spend it with Josh. We have become very indifferent to Valentine's day in general. It's our sixth one together, so I guess it's getting old or we're getting old or something. I just don't like "holidays" in general though.

Work has been getting me irritated a bit, but I am hoping that it won't get to me for the rest of the week. It's been super busy and stressful, so I am hoping that it's just a phase and that it will slow down soon. But overall, it's not that bad.

I was able to have lunch with Angela, Eva, and Lisa today. It was a spontaneous gathering, but I am glad that it worked out. We went to Damon and Pythias...such a great restaurant; one of my favorites in Westwood. It was nice to see Eva especially since it's been a while since we hung out. I just gotta say that today was a day for random conversation topics. It was an enjoyable lunch and I learned a lot about each person. It's amazing how much talking you can cram into one hour.

I had dinner with M tonight (yes, it's Tuesday) and we went to the Olive Garden. It was a good time because she was telling me about her crazy and tumultuous weekend. I can see the waiter eavesdropping unintentionally on our conversation, but it was fine, he laughed with us. I am glad that she is overall doing better and that she received a very important phone call during dinner that made her feel better for the rest of the night and hopefully will allow her to sleep better tonight. Again, the topics of conversation were a bit risque, but it was great that she and I can talk about things so openly and honestly.

After dinner, I went to see my mom for a while because she wasn't feeling too well. By the time I got there, she was feeling a lot better and I just hung out there for a while and helped her out. It was nice to see her again. I figured that while I was out in that neighborhood, I might as well visit Tripp in the hospital. (It wasn't like that at all; I had planned to visit him after seeing my mom!)

He looked so much better and they took his tube out so he can actually speak coherently. It was so great to see him doing so well. They are going to start giving him real liquids tomorrow and work him up to solid food by dinnertime. I am very impressed that he is recovering so swiftly. He had his camera on for his thesis project and recorded our whole conversation. It was a good hour and a half at least. I am curious to see myself and how stupid I sound on it. We did talk about the most random things though, so I may have forgotten a lot of the things that I've said. It will definitely be interesting to watch. And it's not fair because he can always say that he was drugged up if anyone questions what he says...but as for me, I was totally sober! I know that I will be seeing it shortly.

SATC quote of the day:
Miranda: They don't cook the food here?
Samantha: That's why they call it Raw. The raw food movement! People love it: Sting, Demi, Soon-Yi... soon me! (Season 6 - Great Sexpectations)

**Oh, I forgot to mention that M and I saw Tobey Maguire last night in front of Jerry's Deli. M is in love with him, though she was turned off by the fact that he was so short.**

Link: http://www.mscl.com/

So I’ve been watching My So-Called Life all day today. Yes, it was a very productive day because I finished four episodes in one sitting. I am thankful for this weekend because I needed some sort of recuperation period from these past few weeks. It was nice just hang out with Josh and watch TV and just doing little things here and there.

Inspired by Angela in the show, I dyed my hair a tint of red and though I’m not sure if it will be that noticeable, I hope that it will be in the sunlight. I would love to do a bright red or blue or orange or something, but my dark Asian hair won’t allow it. It’s way too hard, but if I really wanted to, I suppose I can go to a salon and spend oodles of cash on it and watch it fade away in a few weeks and see my black roots grow in. But I don’t really think that it’s worth all the effort. The smell of the hair dye is still getting to me, even now.

Josh and I met up with Angela and Randy for dinner at Paco’s Tacos. The place was crowded, like the last few times that we’ve been there. So we decided to go to Tito’s Tacos instead. Though not as fancy as Paco’s, it was yummy and we didn’t have to wait too long at all. We went to Angela and Randy’s place and watched a bit of the Grammy Awards ceremony. I haven’t been too interested in the Grammy’s these past few years because I haven’t been into mainstream music all too much. It was an interesting awards show in that they had many Lifetime achievement awards recipients, all of whom are dead and therefore they got current recording artists to sing one of their songs. It seemed like a waste of time to me in a sense because I sat there watching for about 45 minutes and they only presented 3 awards. Granted, the performances were pretty good, but I am just wondering why they didn’t choose recipients who are still alive so they can actually perform their songs themselves, or is it a requisite for them to be dead to win the award? Either way, it seemed like it dragged on for a really long time. Though it was nice to see Scott Weiland onstage again performing to benefit tsunami relief efforts. Even that didn't keep my interest much, so we left.

Bleh, tomorrow starts another work week. I don't want to work anymore. I wish I can get paid but do nothing. That would be awesome. Eh, I guess work's not that bad though.

SATC quote of the day:
“It's your day. You get a day. Not a week.” – Miranda (Season 3 – Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell)

Link: http://www.beck.com/

My site has been down a lot recently, so it’s been frustrating for me to try to post. I am glad that it’s finally up and running again.

It’s been a really interesting couple of days. I was at the Farmer’s Market on Thursday and I randomly ran into an old friend, Kevin, from years ago when I first started UCLA. We actually met at orientation and I hung out with him and Arthur most of the time. We hung out a lot our first year and some our second year and then, he fell off the face of the earth. Last I heard, he had moved to San Diego and that was about 3 years ago. But I stopped dead in my tracks and stared at him. Luckily, he recognized me too and it was a pleasant reunion. Though both of us were in a rush, we were able to exchange our info and I hope that we can keep in touch in the future. It’s so weird that Westwood is such a huge source of my reunions with old friends. In a way, I love it, but it also reminds me of how old I am starting to become as the incoming freshmen look younger and younger.

Later that day, Josh and I went to visit Tripp in the hospital. Given the situation, he seemed to be in good spirits and though he was drugged up, he was able to hang out with us for a few hours. He didn’t seem like he was in pain, even though I knew that he was. He is so brave and I admire his diligent and positive attitude. I was getting worried because it started looking like he was going to have to go into surgery and if so, they would have to operate very soon. I found out on his website today that he did have surgery and it was very successful:

“Tripp did have the surgery and it went well. he is in recovery now. it was scar tissue blocking things up. everybody can let a deep breath out now.”

I was very delighted to hear the good news. It will take him a few days to recover, but I am so happy that he is on his way to his normal self. I wish him the best and hope for a speedy recovery. Thankfully, Kurt (his roommate), Carter (his sister), and Rachael (his girlfriend) have been keeping everyone updated on his condition.

Last night was very low-key, but I loved it. Lindsay and I went on a “date.” We had dinner at Barney’s Beanery on 3rd Street and though I’ve been eating there a lot recently, it never gets old because their menu is ginormous. It’s in the form of a newspaper and it has 12 pages. It’s a great place for large groups because of the variety. Lindsay and I talked a lot about life and work and all of the normal things friends talk about. It was refreshing and I feel very lucky to be able to hang out with her as often as I do. She is a wonderful friend and is always there for me. I think back to a year ago and I realized that we weren’t that close of friends…we had lunch pretty frequently, but it was always in a group and we never really hung out outside of that. Things have changed so much this past year and it’s great that she and I make an effort to see each other, despite the fact that she commutes so far to work everyday.

Today, I slept in for the first time in a while and it felt good. I had a lazy day and basically did nothing in the afternoon. I love these days and I love that Josh and I live together and are able to spend these days together.

We went to watch the play Tartuffe at The Actor’s Gang tonight and it was fantastic. Amy was the assistant set designer and got us tickets to the opening tonight. I had read the play in high school and I loved it. I love French satire, especially during the 17th century. The play was adapted so well and the performances were flawless. It was so funny and I couldn’t stop laughing. Valere was my favorite character. He had a great panache about him. I highly recommend that everyone go see it, if possible. It will be playing until April. The play ran kinda late and they had an after party of sorts. The food and dessert were excellent and the drinks were stiff. I had a fabulous time.

I was kinda sad because I didn’t get to go to Prey, a fairly new club in Hollywood that became a “hotspot” since its opening. Angie was having a “Single Awareness Day” (SAD) as a response to Valentine’s day. It was nice of her to invite me, given that I am not a singleton. But when the play was over, I called Lisa and she said that the club was lame and they went to a different bar. That’s why LA is such a hard city to have fun in sometimes. Places are always hit or miss, depending on which day you go.

SATC quote of the day:
“Think about it. If you are single, after graduation there isn't one occasion where people celebrate you... Hallmark doesn't make a ‘congratulations, you didn't marry the wrong guy’ card. And where's the flatware for going on vacation alone?” – Carrie (Season 6 - A Woman’s Right To Shoes)

Link: http://www.cornershop.com/2002/index.html

Stupidest thing that I've done in a while:

I was asking a question to one of my coworkers in the front lobby and I notice that there was some sort of black ink smudge on her forehead. I kept staring at it because it was a pretty big mark and as she starts answering my question, I say to her, "Missy (that's her nickname), you have some ink all over your forehead." She replies, "It's Ash Wednesday retard." I felt stupid, but then I said, "How am I suppose to know? I'm not religious. Isn't it a bit early though?" And then she rolled her eyes and laughed. But I guess there are disadvantages for being apathetic to religion.

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I just got back from a fundraiser for the Tsunami Relief Efforts that my friend Aussie put together for the Center for Southeast Asian Studies. Lisa and I liked it a lot. There were a lot of traditional and modern dance performances that represented the countries that were hardest hit by the tsunami, such as India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and Thailand. It was fantastic and I am glad that I went.

I am still worried about my friend Tripp. You are still in my thoughts and I hope you get well soon!

SATC quote of the day:
“She's fine. Can you bring some extra napkins... and some violins?” – Big (Season 6 – The Domino Effect)

Link: http://www.tupacfans.com/

To the UCLA Community:

The water at UCLA is now safe for drinking again, according to the California Department of Health Services and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP). You previously were notified not to drink water on campus until early Friday night, due to a leak in a water main at a reservoir near campus. The California Department of Health Services and LADWP have notified UCLA that this matter has now been fully resolved and that the water is safe for drinking.

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Yay! We can finally wash our hands again.

So I walked by Roll-Inn (aka Buck Fifty) today and I looked at the prices...$2.98 for an 8' sandwich. Wow. Six years ago, when I was a freshman, we called it Buck Fifty for obvious reasons. Two years ago, we changed it to Deuce and a Quarter, but now I don't know what to call it. The sandwiches weren't bad, especially after a long night of heavy drinking, but the price has more than doubled over the years that I have been here and it's just so sad. Sigh. The Westwood now is so different than it was 3 years ago...it is constantly changing.

I went to the Falling Lizard screening for Josh's animation department. There was a lot of cool stuff that they made in just one weekend. Quite impressive! It was nice to see all of his animation friends all in one room.

I have a feeling that this weekend is going to be fabulous. It's just a feeling in my gut, but I hope it's right.

SATC quote of the day:
"I don't have enough time to tell you what's wrong with corduroy." - Miranda (Season 2 - The Caste System)

Link: http://www.dmband.com/

So I walk into work this morning and this is the memo that I get:

**As you know, due to a break in the water line serving UCLA and other areas on the Westside, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power has advised affected areas including UCLA, to take certain precautions through tomorrow, Friday, February 4.

Accordingly, the following precautions are to be immediately implemented by all Medical Center staff:

Hand Hygiene
Use alcohol-based hand rub before and after each patient contact.

You may use tap water and soap to wash your hands in the bathroom but you must follow up with alcohol-based rub.

Surgical scrubs may be performed using tap water and soap but will be followed by using the alcohol based OR scrub.

Immunocompromised patients (e.g. hem onc.) should not bathe in tap water.

Other patients may shower or bathe taking care not to get water into their mouths.

Patients should only brush their teeth using bottled water.**

Lovely. I am glad that my apartment is not affected by this, but it’s gonna suck for the next few days.

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Today was a bit sad for me because one of my favorite coworkers, Mandy, was leaving and we threw her a going away party. She's from Oregon and she's the same age as me and she's a traveling nurse, so after her contract was over, she decided to move to Phoenix, AZ. We had so much fun together these past 6 months and I am sad to see her go, but I know that she really wants to experience other cities and explore all of her possibilities. She loves traveling, but hates the moving part. She hasn't even packed yet, which is typical for her, but I am sure she will take care of it. I volunteered to get the cake and stuff from Costco and it was a very interesting shopping experience last night. I didn't realize how busy they got in the evenings; it was so crazy. The only cakes they had left were ones that had prewritten phrases on them and the closest one that I found said, "Congratulations!" so I had to get it because "Happy Birthday" seemed inappropriate for the occasion. But it was well worth it because I was able to get ice cream and cheesecake as well. They were all yummy!! I will definitely miss her. She was one of the only people that I could relate to and joke around with at work. Sigh.

Last night, instead of watching or listening to the State of the Union address, I hung out with Wen. Wen and Josh were roommates their last two years of college and he just moved to Corona a few months ago. He still works in the area and hangs ut with us whenever he is around. It was nice to chat with him while we were on a mission to try to find the perfect sized keychain for his wallet. I was also able to ride in his new car. It was lovely and it smelled like fresh new car leather. I am glad that he visits us and hangs out as often as he does.

Tonight, Josh and I went to our monthly meeting of A Little to the Left at the girls' place. We were pretty productive we were finally able to produce a mission statement and we wanted to change the name of the group to something a bit more professional and we all agreed to the Progressive Reform Organization (PRO). It just sounds more professional and serious. We're looking into t-shirts. After the meeting, we watched a movie called Dude, Where's the Party? or also known as Where's the Party Yaar? in India. One of the main characters is the husband of Sumi, one of our members and he also goes to meetings when he can. His name is Sunil Malhotra and he's been in a few movies. He's a great actor...a lot better than those in that film and I hope that he gets very far in the industry.

I am excited because Eva let me borrow the complete series of My So-Called Life. I hope that I am able to watch it this weekend, but it looks like I may go to San Diego, so we will see.

SATC quote of the day:
Charlotte: Imagine, being blind and not being able to see a beautiful day like today. Can you think of anything worse?
Anthony: Stonewashed jeans and a matching jacket.
(Season 6 - Let There Be Light)

Link: http://www.beastieboys.com/

It's such a gorgeous day today! It feels like summer. We are so lucky right now. Yay for Groundhog Day. All I can do is enjoy it while it lasts. It does get colder at night, but the days have been quite lovely. Too bad I'm stuck in the office a majority of the time. My lunches have been so pleasant and I feel great.

I've been on a pad thai kick lately. I've been ordering it everywhere I go. It's never really prepared the same way either because all of the restaurants have their own way of making it. But it's yummy and I think this kick is going to last for a few more days.

Is it just me, or am I the only one that doesn't care that the State of the Union address is tonight? I have no interest in watching it. I would much rather watch an old episode of Arrested Development or finish knitting my scarf. So sad.

Link: http://www.scug.net/

On my way to work today, I heard Johnny Cash’s version of “One.” (So this is an example of how my mind works sometimes…) It reminded me of his version of “Hurt” and then I remembered that Nine Inch Nails will be performing at Coachella this year! Hmm…did tickets go on sale yet? I heard that Coldplay was headlining as well. I wonder if tickets are sold out for the Coldplay show that KCRW is sponsoring. MichGarr represents the band, The Like, and they will be opening for them and I want to see them. I’d much rather see them in a separate gig than in a huge music festival. I have to look it up when I get into work.

When I got into work, I forgot to look them up because it was kinda busy and as I am browsing Tripp's site, I see that in his dropdown “Follow Me” menu, he has the Coachella website near the top. Cool, we are thinking alike and it all came full circle for me. And yes, Tripp, I do use the new menu and thanks for putting it on there. It gives me much amusement at work when I have time to browse. So who’s up for Coachella? I know it’s $150, but man oh man, there are going to be great bands there…Chemical Brothers, Bright Eyes, Prodigy, The Arcade Fire, Weezer, Wilco, New Order, the Faint, and so much more. I’ve never been to it before, so I am hoping that I will be able to go this year. I’m getting excited!

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Yay! Orlando Bloom is single again. That's hot!

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"Tuesdays with M" was nice. She was really stressed out, but I was able to calm her down and we enjoyed a very nice dinner at The Cheesecake Factory again. We are becoming regulars there. The waitress looked a bit familiar, but I couldn't place her. She was really young and then while we were ordering, she asked, "Were you an orientation counselor?" and I said yes and she said, "You were MY orientation counselor!" It was cute and I remembered that the hostess there was also one of my students. Very small world and I do officially feel old. But it was lovely to chat with M and we had a lot of fun. We talked a lot about friendships and how lucky we were to have the great friendship that we have with each other. Sometimes once a week with her isn't enough, so we hang out on the weekends as well. It is very uncomplicated and we trust each other so much. I really don't know how it came about to be this way, but I am glad that it is. And I think that is a testament to not only my friendship with her, but also with others as well. They feel effortless in a way and very natural. I can tell them anything and they can tell me everything as well. I can take in constructive criticism from them and I can dish it out, when needed. We can not talk for a long while and then all of the sudden pick up where we left off, as though no time has passed. It's quite wonderful actually and I love that it can be like that. It saddens me to see M in this state of mind because she is usually a positive person. I just hope that this experience doesn't break her down. And I will try my best to make sure that it doesn't.

SATC quote of the day:
"The most important thing in life is your family. There are days you love them, and others you don't, but in the end they're the people you always come home to. Sometimes it's the family you're born into and sometimes it's the one you make for yourself." - Carrie (Season 2 - Shortcomings)