Saturday, October 29, 2005

The Sky is Falling!

I looked out my window today and what did I see?

SNOW! IT'S SNOWING!!! I had to go out and investigate further...


This California hick has never seen snow before! Better zip up...


WOW! The first snow of the year!

Friday, October 28, 2005

If I Met George Clooney Today...

If I met George Clooney today,
And we decided to go down the street,
To the nearest cafe,
And grab something to eat,
I think I would say:

Hello, and how are you doing today?
And what is it like to be you everyday?
The power, the fame, the world at your feet,
The villa in Italy and anything you want,
Is yours for the asking and taking, after all,
You are voted the sexiest man alive.

What is it like, at just 44, to have legions of fans,
Mad screaming fans wherever you go?
To be friends with the most famous and powerful of mortals,
Brad Pitt and Matt Damon, and to not ever have to,
If you didn't want to,
Work another day in your life?

What are you working on?
What are your plans,
For the good of the earth,
For your fellow man?
Certainly you see all the need and destruction,
All the pain and corruption,
All the helpless and hurting,
Who have been given so little,
While you have been given so much, so much!

What are you doing,
Or what will you do,
To make sure the wealth that God gave you is used?
To make sure it wasn't in vain that you had,
Such humor and wit,
Such glamour and style,
Such effortless charisma at your fingertips?

And in reply,
He'll probably turn to me and say,
While he looks me in the eye,

"I support various groups,
I give donations to some,
And I hope through those groups,
Much good works can be done."

"It's nice to be wanted, it's nice to be loved,
It's nice to have fans who all scream for a hug.
My friends are a riot.
We enjoy mutual admiration.
And the villa in Italy is no small consolation."

"But really, it's not what you think it might be.
There are days when even I'm not happy.
There are good days and bad days and days in between,
And no matter how much money you have,
There will always be
monotony."

"No matter how much you have,
There's always the next great big thing.
You quickly adapt and you quickly adjust,
Your standards are raised and then,
What was normal seems substandard at best,
And what was extraordinary is now,
Normal and expected."

"So really, our lives are quite parallel,
We both live in our own personal hells,
Of course my hell is like heaven to you,
But once you get comfy it'll seem like hell too.
We are all finite beings in a mysterious world,
Wanting infinite pleasure and constant perfection,
And great beauty that never tires or fades,
But always evades."

"And thus, despite all the trappings of wealth,
In all the ways that really matter,
We are really more or less the same, you see,
You and me."

Monday, October 24, 2005

Nobody's Perfect

Nobody's perfect.

So why do we try to be?

Some people hide their flaws a lot better than others.
Some people have ostensibly fewer flaws than others.

When I see an ostensibly perfect person,
with perfect teeth and skin;
and a perfect outfit on;
and a perfect resume;
and has perfect social skills;

I try hard to find the flaw in him/her.


Nobody's perfect.

But Hollywood and fairytales would make us believe differently.

Actresses have perfect skin, bodies, and accessories.
Heroines have perfect heroes.
Cinderallas have their perfect princes.

Perfection is a perpetual obsession and the obtainment of which is the human Holy Grail.

Let's abandon that fruitless effort. Scrap that misguided adventure.
Let's not reach for perfection in an impossibly imperfect world.
Let us learn to live contentedly with dusty shelves and dirty dishes.
And yet, sometimes, it is right and good that we try...

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

Finally, it's happened to me...

Life is marked by a series of firsts.

Baby's first steps. Baby's first words.
Your first crush. Your first kiss. Your first boyfriend.
Your first car, job, apartment...

Well, this weekend I had a great first.
I always wondered when it would happen to me but I never put forth any effort toward making it happened.
Just when I least expected it, it happened.
And it couldn't have happened in a better way.

Michael and I were getting ready to watch a DVD when he just happened to see that the last 6 minutes of the USC v. Notre Dame game was on. The score was so close that USC only had to score one more touchdown to keep their undefeated status as the number one ranking college football team.

I sat down on the couch next to him.
And that's when it happened.

My first.
My first football game.

I knew I was experiencing my baptism into the world of football the second my cheek touched the couch cushion. With 6 minutes left in the game, USC scored an amazing touchdown. And then the unbelievable happened. Like an unstoppable tsunami wave, Notre Dame scored a winning touchdown! And then, with less than two minutes on the clock, a true miracle happened on USC's fourth down. They advanced all the way from like the 35 yard line to somewhere near the 90 yard line before someone got tackled. The clock ran out of time and Notre Dame's fans came cheering onto the field. But wait! The refs reset the clock! They ruled that the clock should have been stopped at the 7 second mark! And with just 7 seconds left to go, USC scored the very last touchdown with only 3 seconds remaining! Go Trojans!

And that, children, is how mommy became a football fan.

Saturday, October 15, 2005

Perfect Weather

It's dark and rainy at 4:00 in the afternoon.

I love this weather because it doesn't make you feel like you're missing out on life if you just stay indoors to study all day.



It's the perfect weather for lighting some candles, sipping a mug of steaming hot latte, and bundling in a soft fleece blanket while reading Contracts: Cases and Materials. Ok, that last part doesn't quite fit the ideal. I'll just pretend I'm reading Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

The Big "C"

They warned me about it.

Every single person I met in Boston warned me about it.

I laughed it off cockily.
I welcomed it.
I smiled. I sneered.
I spit. (figuratively)
"Bring it on," I said,
"I'm looking forward to it."

And now, without any warning,
it's heeeeeeerrrrreeeee...

The Big "C."

"C" as in COLD.
"C" as in cheek-chilling, cuspid-chattering, COLD.
"C" as in, I-have-never-worn-this-much-clothing-in-all-my-years-of-living-in-California COLD.

And it's only the first week of October...

Saturday, October 08, 2005

One for the little guys everywhere


In a way, I'm kind of happy that Harriet Miers was nominanted to be the next justice.

She stands for the "everyman." The normal. The average.

If she, a graduate of a law school that most people have never heard of, can be nominated for the highest honor in her field, that gives hope to all average Joes everywhere. Just because you're not highly regarded by society's standards, doesn't mean great things can't happen for you.

Miers is a symbol of egalitarianism and democracy in an Andrew Jackson sort of way. Many people balked when good ol' Stonewall was elected since he was the first president NOT come from an elite background.

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying she's qualified (or she isn't). I just like when there's an anomoly in an elitist world.

This link to Mier's blog is awful, but so funny.

Friday, October 07, 2005

Three Great Things

1. The leaves have started to change color. This picture is from the White Mountains of New Hampshire (not taken by me).


2. I found this shirt and intend to buy it. I know you all want this shirt too, but you can't buy it cause I claimed it first. Ggggosh!


3. I learned to use the VCR so I can record all the L&O I can handle. Twice a week, every week baby. (Jerry Orbach, we miss you!)

Wednesday, October 05, 2005

Dare to be an Optimist

Well, in response to my post, "Poisen Preference," some of my optimist friends have weighed in.

Melissa says:
maybe pessimism poisons the future as much as it forestalls possible disappointment. personally, as an optimist, if you always think things will look up, you'll always feel happy and hopeful. and when things are down, that's ok, cause you are sure the situation will improve. after all, this too shall pass.

Eddie says:
I think it's better to be an optimist. At least that way you're going to pick yourself up when you fall, instead of staying down and waiting to be picked up.

And in response to that, I say:
Hmm..you're all optimists and you tell me it works for you. I'm a pessimist and it doesn't quite work for me. Ok, I'm convinced. I'm going to be an optimist from now on. I'm going to quit cold-turkey.

No more gloom and doom.

Today is going to be great! Tonight is going to be great! Tomorrow will be great!

Great things are going to happen to me!

I'm beautiful and smart and people like me!

Yeah baby, I feel the magic working already! Watch out world, make room for me and my new robust sense of optimism, yeah! (image: Me doing a double-fist pump)


Everytime I start to feel bad, I'm just going to repeat this mantra:
Everything's going to be great!

Stay tuned, dear readers, to find out what havoc these new rose-tinted spectacles shall wreak on my week...

Sorry! No! (Bad optimist! Bad optimist!) What I meant to say is:
Stay tuned and witness how great this new point of view will be for me throughout the week!