swapping stories

I'm so glad that I don't have a headache this morning. I went to bed last night with a wee nagging ache in my skull (probably from not having eaten too much and drinking two strong martini's) but had no energy to get up to pop a few ibuprofen. Thankfully (knock on wood), I'm headache free now! I hadn't planned on drinking last night - Kirsten and I had made plans to hang out and just chat and perhaps catch a movie or something low-key. We both agreed that on Friday's we are usually spent from the hustle & bustle of the week. I planned on meeting her at her house at 8pm and going from there. Plans changed a bit and the boys entered the picture, which was totally cool. Mike ended up being at Kirsten's place and the three of us headed out for dinner at the Inn Season Cafe. We had to wait a little while which was fine because the food there is excellent. It was both Kirsten and Mike's first time and I think they really enjoyed their meals. While we waited, as well as over dinner, Kirsten and I swapped our similar stories with Mike chiming in every now and then. I hope he didn't feel ostracized as we "girl talked!" It was great to share similar thoughts and experiences with Kirsten. We've only hung out "on our own" once before, for shopping. As you can well imagine, it's hard to chat and get to know each other while searching for the perfect top. So this was a nice treat.

We had then talked of either going to a movie or renting one and staying in at Kirsten's. However, Erik & Trent met up with us after dinner and we ended up hanging around K's for a bit before heading off to The Living Room in Berkely for some drinks.

We each picked something for one another to drink and experimented with what ended up in front of us. Erik ordered me a "Nutty" which was a very enjoyable mix of vodka, Frangelico & Bailey's Irish Cream. niiiiiiiiice. I, in turn, ordered him a Vesper - which was straight up gin, vodka and campari, if I remember correctly. YIKES. It was a nice evening, pointing out each other's obvious character traits (Trent's "it's so good, it's SO good," Erik's invisible hair-on-forehead brush, Kirsten's point-then-talk-to-the-hand-she's-done motion, Mike's innumerable faces and gestures...) and discussing good movies. Good friends. Good deal.

Insighful Linguist

In other news, besides that I'm brilliant (har har!), did y'all hear about the awful 100-car pile up that happened here and in Indiana!? It's so awful. Where it happened, on I-96 near Lansing, is RIGHT by my mom's exit for her house! I was worried, but was reassured when I called her and she was safe and sound at home and watching Lost. :) Also, Bob Marley's wife is going to be digging him up soon and re-burying him in Africa - Ethiopia to be exact. "Africa Unite! Cuz we're moving right out of babylon... and we're going to our father's land..." How good and how pleasant it will be indeed, Bob. Rest in peace..... mon.

Addendum: crap! I hope that his grave is still there (and accessible) when Mark & I go to Jamaica in March! How can we go to Jamaica, mon, and not see our brutha from another mutha, the revolutionary Bob Marley? dang.

the new counter-culture

zach braff makes me laff

if i was ever going to steal someone else's new years resolutions, it would have to be these:

My new year's resolutions:
-Forgo all exercise (including walking),
-Learn to smoke (something thin like Capri's),
-Take my loved one's for granted,
-Stop washing my hands after twosies, <---- this one made me pee a little
-Laugh at babies who are late walkers,
-Pull leaves off trees that appear to be flourishing,
-Name the yet to be named voices in my head (something tough like Carl or Kyle)
-Be less kind to bunnies,
-Floss everything but my teeth,
-Travel (but only around my yard and with a light carry-on)
-Stop and smell the Rosens. (They're a wonderful family and absolutely compulsive about showering.)

i should be $250K richer

...because I am the biggest loser for having just watched (and clapped for!) The Biggest Loser on NBC. i'm not even kidding. is there nothing better on tv for me to watch? how do i get sucked into this shit!?

but seriously, did any of you SEE those people? they lost a tremendous amount of weight. we're talking gigantic manboobs GONE, down to actual peck's. ::shudders::

anyways.........

tsunami aid is the new live aid/farm aid

While moping through the day at work, i did find a little glimmer of coolness when i read that my boys, Maroon 5, will be joining the likes of Madonna, Nelly, Mary J. Blige, John Mayer, Sheryl Crow and others for a benefit concert to aid in the Tsunami Relief efforts via the American Red Cross. It airs live this Saturday (1/15) at 8pm EST on NBC and sister stations. Visit here for more info.

Using that same link you can see that Virgin Megastore is also helping the effort by launching "100 Acts of Support" which will focus attention on the Indonesian city of Banda Aceh. The proceeds from these shows at all 20 Virgin outlets will benenfit the Music for Relief fund, also through the American Red Cross. Tickets to these Virgin concerts are from $60 to $100.

worst. day. ever.

well, pretty bad anyways. let's start with yesterday. i took the day off to attend a funeral (see previous post) of a 'like family' person. you know those - the kind that aren't really your family, but you've known them since birth and so they pretty much ARE family? right. so he was 90, but like another grandpa (in fact, he was the grandpa of 2 of my cousins). i was okay during the mass, but buckled when my uncle said some last words and broke down crying. Seeing Pat and his family cry was too much - then I saw my mom crying. Dammit if that doesn't make me bawl every time! I lost it. [dried eyes, reapplied mascara while driving w/mom to the funeral home]. What's this we see? Men in uniform? The army honor guard was at the mausoleum saluting the hearse as we all pulled up! Mr. Riley was a WWII vet - so not only did they salute the hearse and the casket as the pall bearers took him in, they also played Taps in the chapel and then removed, folded and presented the flag in a very "pop & lock" type of manner. It was very moving, and i'm not a fan of the military. [reapply mascara again on way to luncheon]. we did end up having a very nice, tear-less, lunch at Hawthorne Valley, which was pleasant. but while i drove to and fro, i noticed that my battery light was flickering but would stop now and then. i made a mental note to have it checked the next day at lunch. so that was yesterday.

which brings us to today: cleaning off the car this morning, letting it heat up, i noticed the lights dimming and the wipers moving very s.. l.. o.. w.. l.. y.. and then ... BOOM. car dies. i had to have jeff & mike come and jump me (whoo, that sounds pervy) and follow me to the auto shop. stress, stress, stress and ... BOOM! a few hours later i'm $265 poorer with a new alternator and battery. SUCK ASS. looks like that Proform 800 will have to wait.

THEN i started my period and got a nice case of the 'my vagina hates me' cramps. let's see how the rest of the day progresses, shall we?

Rest in Peace Mr. Riley

RILEY, THOMAS F
Age 90, WWII Veteran, Staff Sgt. Army/Air Force. Husband of the late Mary "Anita". Dear father of Thomas (Barbara), Rosemary (James) Mondro, Kathleen and Patrick (Lisa). Grandfather of Michael, Hannah and Jimmy. Brother of Edward (Cecelia). Visiting Saturday 5-9 p.m., Scriptures Saturday 7 p.m., Sunday 2-9 p.m. at the Charles Step Funeral Home, 18425 Beech Daly (Between 6-7 Mile). In state Monday 9:30 a.m. until 10 a.m. Mass at St. Sabina Church, 25605 Ann Arbor Trail. Interment Holy Sepulchre Cemetery. Donations to Cure Autism Now, 5455 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90036 or American Cancer Society Appreciated.

things don't always go as planned

The Polar Express sold out, so we didn't go to the IMAX Friday night, which actually was a bit of a bummer. After the movie let-down, we went and ate at Chili's and enjoyed a couple yummy margaritas. Deciding we really weren't up for City Club like we thought we were (except for Mark, he's always up for it), we just headed over to Venue, the new Dearborn bar that boasts Blackberry Brandy as their house band. We met up with Candice and Brian. After about 40 minutes and one Captian & Diet (nursed slowly), we realized we really just weren't in a bar mood. Or pretty much anything else, for that matter. So we headed back to Mark's and Trent went home. On the way, we stopped at Blockbuster and rented Garden State, which we didn't watch until this evening. Great movie - ending a little disappointing, yes, but good nonetheless. Earlier today, before kicking back to watch GS, Mark and I ran around town.

• Target - where I took back some things and ended up getting some adorable camel-colored shoes, a jean jacket, a new shower liner, Dazed & Confused DVD, Clueless DVD and toilet paper;
• Westland Mall - ate at Olga's;
• Best Buy - bought the new(ish) Kasey Chambers CD, Wayward Angel;
• And the best errand was going to Dick's Sporting Goods in which I vetoed the Gazelle and decided firmly on the Proform 800 Elliptical Trainer. So much more for the money. I've put down 20% and it's currently sitting in layaway. I have most of the funds for it, I just need to get the rest next weekend. And they only had 2 left in stock, so... But god, who really uses LAYAWAY anymore? I remember being at Wonderland Mall and being at Marianne's and seeing women put all kinds of clothes on layaway. But that was, like, 1986. Now I'm using layaway? Oh well, it'll be worth it.

Finally, we met up with Angi & Tony at the AMC 20 theaters, and saw Meet The Fockers. Pretty funny. Not like the first one, of course, but Dustin Hoffman & Babs made it pretty good. Tomorrow is funeral home day for Mr. Riley. Sad.