Sam's Blog

Link: http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/buggles/bio.jhtml#/music/artist/buggles/bio.jhtml

I finally got a laptop! I got it for way more than the listed price because I added so much stuff to it. But I am very content and I will be getting it in 1-2 weeks. I feel as though I am finally catching up to technology. It took me forever to get an ipod and now a laptop. My desktop is still working great, which is why I haven't gotten a laptop sooner. I've had it since 1999 and it's pretty much my little baby. I never had it "crash" or lose any information on me and I took good care of it by upgrading it with memory and fun stuff. I think I am going to miss it. It has been performing slower and it can't take a lot of video and musical content and some more advanced features in a timely manner, so I figured now is a great time to get something new. I opted for a PC again (instead of a MAC) because I basically really like PCs. I guess I can take the time out to learn the new operating system on the MAC, which is actually pretty easy, but I am so used to PCs with work and everything that functionally I am a much better PC user (with knowing shortcuts, troubleshooting, etc.) than I will be with a MAC. Though I really like the design of the MACs and a lot of their features, I can still get something similar in a PC. I really only need it for music, some movies, internet and writing, for the most part. Nothing too complicated, so I don't need anything complicated and full of things that I won't use. I really don't need to justify it actually. I really like it! Hooray! I am so excited.

This past week was full of birthday celebrations. Kurt came down to LA to celebrate. I was glad to see him. I don't see him as often as I should. He's probably going to be down here more frequently now, so I am happy. We went to a place called Electric Lotus for dinner and then walked over to The Dresden for drinks. He said something to me that I will never forget - that he was very very very happy. Kurt's never said that to me, ever. Not for the 7 years I've known him. I didn't think that I was going to ever hear that from him and have him actually meaning it. I am happy for his happiness and I hope it continues on for a long long time. He totally deserves it after all that he has been through.

We went to watch Snakes on a Plane on Friday. There was a pretty big group of us - 8 total. Me, Kurt, Keren and her friends, Alexis and Erica all went to the Vista Theater in Los Feliz to watch it and it was so bad it was good. Cheesy and over the top at some points. It was awesome. I freaked out during one part in the movie when someone threw a rubber snake at me during a scary part. That was frightening. But other than that, it was a great time. After the movie, we went to The Well to meet up with Nate & Co. for his birthday festivities. It was crowded and hot, but fun to see everyone again.

I spent the night at Alexis' new loft in downtown LA because we had a whole day of fun ahead of us. It was going to be an "All Alexis All the Time" day. We met up with Erica and went to brunch at The Omlette Parlor (yummy!) and then went bike riding in Santa Monica and Venice. We went shopping for a while and then had dinner at a fabulous tapas restaurant in West Hollywood called The Courtyard. We had tasty blueberry lemonade sangria and yummy tapas all night. We had a delightful cremem brulee for dessert. It was an excellent meal. Many thanks to Erica for choosing the restaurant! We rented Tristram & Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story. It was such a great movie!! I loved it. It was full of British humor and Steve Coogan is wonderful in it. I highly recommend it.

That pretty much sums up all the birthday fun that I've been having. August is full of them!! Happy Birthday to Greg today over there in Texas. And I probably won't post another entry for a while, so Happy Birthday to Marita as well. She will be turning 26 on the 23rd! Whee!! Pictures from last week's crazy birthday celebrations are here.

Link: http://www.snowpatrol.com/

Okay, so my new celebrity crush is a bit unconventional, but his accent kills me everytime: James McAvoy. He is in the upcoming movie The Last King of Scotland (with Forest Whitaker) and it looks fantastic. Speaking of great movies, I saw two this past week that will probably be on my top 10 list for the year. The first movie has not been released yet, so I can't really go into much detail. It is appropriately called The Last Kiss (check out the awesome soundtrack too), which is written by the lovely Paul Haggis (Million Dollar Baby & Crash) and it does star one of my favorite actors - Zach Braff. Tom Wilkinson and Blythe Danner (aka Gwenyth Paltrow's mom) are also in it. It's like a better version of Garden State but he is in his late 20s trying to figure out whether or not to settle down. It's actually a great film for guys and their friends and is also for couples. I highly recommend it! The second movie is Little Miss Sunshine. It is a breath of fresh air. It's such a wonderfully written film and the cast is perfect. Greg Kinnear and Steve Carell are magnificent as foil characters and the little girl is so cute. It looks like it could be boring and formulaic, but don't be fooled. It is neither.

Random thing that I discovered that helps pass the day at work. MTV turned 25 this year and they have a yearbook vault that has popular videos from the past 25 years. Just go here and click on which year you want to listen to. There's about 20 videos a year and it is such a great trip down memory lane. I love it!

Went to Las Vegas a few weeks ago in celebration of Mike's finishing the BAR. Though he won't find out the results until November, we still wanted to celebrate because we are so proud of him taking it. Me and Angela rode up with Nicole and Nadja. We went to Krave with the boys and got a table. It was great having our own waiter and half off drinks! He liked Matt and so we got a great discount even further. It was lovely! We did the whole buffet thing at the Bellagio and walked around and drank and hung out. It was actually really relaxing and I enjoyed my time there. I think I have been there enough that I don't feel as though I need to go out and see everything all day and wear myself out. This time, we went at our own pace and had a good time together (even though it took us FOREVER to get home). Pictures are here.

Josh and I had a party last week. We have a small place but when it's full of more than 20 people, it feels so tiny. Even the air conditioning didn't help too much because of the body heat. I was so happy that a lot of people were able to come out for it. Kurt came down for it (even though he was in LA for other reasons, it was nice to see him). Even Ramona was in town as well. A lot of Josh's coworkers and classmates were able to hang out and we all had a great time. The director of his program even came and had a few drinks. It was cool! I guess our 7 year relationship becomes more apparent in situations like this because I realize that we both are familiar and comfortable with each others friends. It's a great feeling and it only gets better with time. I really feel as though we integrate really well into each others lives. It's a beautiful thing. Pictures are here.

I am at a point in time where everyone around me is super busy. I guess it doesn't help that I've been really busy as well. It reminds me of that famous Ferris Bueller quote - "Life moves really fast. If you don't stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it." So I have a little bit more time now and I will have to reorganize things and make sure I get a chance to see everyone again. I think Andrea's arrival will help in that endeavor as well. I am so glad she will be back in LA. We need a little more Plato in our lives!