Tuesday, September 30, 2008

thievery

grrr. my truck was broken in to last night at my condo complex. i always park it in the same general area, right near the building that is adjacent to mine, in a well-lit area very close to two units. some irreplaceable stuff was stolen, but then that's my fault for leaving it in the vehicle in the first place. i've already emailed the rest of the board and filed a police report, and there's not much else i can do. it's just such a violation, and to have it occur where i'm supposed to feel safe. but, as long as i don't make the same stupid mistake again i'll be okay.

media update: september

this, of course, is more for my own remembrance than anything else. asterisks denote something i particularly enjoyed. follow this advice at your own risk.

MOVIES: (5 documentaries this month!)
American Pimp
Where in the World is Osama bin Laden?
Stranger Than Fiction
Burn After Reading
The Dark Knight
Vince Vaughn's Wild West Comedy Show
Cocaine Cowboys 2
Liberty Heights
Walt: The Man Behind the Myth
Pollyanna *
Imelda

MUSIC: (I went on a Rasputin rampage!)
Jenny Lewis "Acid Tongue" *
Cold War Kids "Loyalty to Loyalty" *
Placebo "Once More With Feeling"
Placebo "Meds" *
Wilco "A.M."
"American Teen" soundtrack *
Sneaker Pimps "Becoming X"
"About a Boy" soundtrack
"Sprout" soundtrack *
Tori Amos "Little Earthquakes"
The Tough Alliance "Neo Violence" (iTunes free download)
Chase the Sun "You Gotta Go" (iTunes free download)
Sen Dog "Fumble" (iTunes free download)

Sunday, September 28, 2008

bad part of town

Last weekend's southern California trip went well. We arrived Friday early early early and had a bite to eat before driving to out hotel. Seems as though we got a bummer of a car as the trunk would not close once we unloaded all of our bags at the hotel, and I spent the next two hours waiting for National to send someone out with a replacement. After about 2 hours my sister, John and I decided to head to the Irvine Spectrum for some shopping, and wouldn't you know it, they called just as I was ordering at Pinkberry. We got it all straightened out, had a nap, then headed to my aunt's house for a little get-together for the out-of-town guests.

My cousin's wedding was Saturday evening at a gorgeous golf course in Aliso Viejo. I had a pretty good time at the wedding. His bride is gorgeous, and during the requisite speeches before dinner, not one but two people mentioned how when they first met he thought she was out of his league. This struck me as an odd thing to say, partly because (without sounding creepy) my cousin is a decent looking guy. And also, who says that at a wedding? His younger brother was the best man and gave an amazingly funny speech, likening the groom to Michael Cera's character in "Superbad." The weird thing is, my cousin looks like a grown-up, much taller version of Michael Cera and even speaks with the odd halting cadence that Cera does.










I love it when the wedding party adds a unique touch to their traditional garb and Jon (I know too many Jo(h)ns) had the groomsmen and his father wearing black Chuck Taylors, Jon's perpetual shoe of choice. It was great seeing my uptight uncle (also named John) in sneakers, as he's never without his shiny pair of loafers.

My aunt and uncle recently divorced and it was the first time all of us got to meet my aunt's new boyfriend, who, oddly enough, is also named Jon. He seemed like a nice enough guy, although it was a bit awkward to sit with him and my uncle at dinner, with my aunt's brother and his wife also at our table. At any rate, there was no drama and the wedding was beautiful and brief -- we were back at the hotel before midnight.

Sunday we bummed around and headed to Anaheim to check-in and quickly headed to a bar to watch the 49ers win. I was feeling like crap that night and bowed out of dinner and instead slept from about 7p 'til the next morning with few interruptions. I'm not sure why I felt so awful, if it was the afternoon snack at Sonic or just too many late nights and early mornings for too many weeks catching up to me.


no more monkeys jumping on the bed
John bouncing off the bed


It was kind of tough to wake up Monday morning, but I did so without too much grumbling because we were headed to Disneyland! I haven't been there since Jewels and I went over 10 years ago after our freshman year of college. We could not have picked a better day to go than the first day of fall -- the weather was perfect and the lines for rides were no more than 15 minutes at any point. This allowed us to ride everything we wanted and still leave the park by 5pm. We had dinner outside the park and headed back for one more ride before the park closed at 8p.





sister and tigger

tiki



We flew back late Tuesday and I skipped out of my condo board meeting because that was pretty much the last thing I wanted to do.

I went to the Giants game Wednesday night, where they lost 15-5 to the Rockies. They closed the season with a victory today over the Dodgers, which is EXCELLENT, but I only wish my last game of the season wasn't such a brutal loss. At any rate, as any good fan knows, there's always next year.

six word sunday: surely someone would notice their absence








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Thursday, September 25, 2008

full frame

have i mentioned how i've been living lately? vacations, mini-trips, adventures, shopping, photography, a baseball game, DISNEYLAND, and a massage.

let me tell you about the highlight of last week.

it was a tough week, and tuesday stretched on forever. i'd been committing to too many things lately, in addition to crazy work stuff, and trying to cram everything in to just 4 days last week was stressful. i'm glad i randomly booked a couple of hours here last tuesday afternoon. they had a tub and a massage that fit my schedule perfectly, and it was pretty much exactly what i needed. i'd only been to the tubs there once before and the room i got then wasn't nearly as rad as the one i got on tuesday -- a steam shower, a hot tub and a cold plunge bath. and it pretty much looked like my ideal bathroom -- huge, bright and airy with a gorgeous skylight.









i tubbed it for an hour, then had an hour hot stone massage, and it was quite likely the best massage i've ever had. the last couple of massages i had there weren't spectacular, so this was definitely redeeming. i chose watercourse way because i was feeling especially passive-aggressive and decided to use up the rest of a gift certificate my mother had given me years ago that i told her a few weeks ago i'd give her the rest of. she's been working my last nerve lately (we cannot discuss politics, but she doesn't stop trying to push my buttons) and i decided to hell with it, i'm using the rest of it. indian giver!

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Go Giants!

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Tuesday, September 23, 2008

...SJC!

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SNA to...

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Mmmmm, Pinkberry

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Monday, September 22, 2008

Disney!

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Sunday, September 21, 2008

Six Word Sunday: I will leave no photobooth unturned

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The Sonic tour of Orange County continues

Anaheim


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Saturday, September 20, 2008

Room service

Ice cream sandwich and a cobb salad. Yum!


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Friday, September 19, 2008

Fountain @ Irvine Specturm

It's hot, jumping in sounds good right about now!


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...SNA!

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SJC to...

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Thursday, September 18, 2008

Sunday, September 14, 2008

six word sunday: staying cool in the hot summertime








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Thursday, September 11, 2008

A pint to end the week.

Well, to end Thursday anyway.


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Tuesday, September 09, 2008

last night a dj saved my life

About the time my then-favorite radio station changed morning hosts I decided I was tired of the usual morning yuks that often weren't worth more than a half chuckle. That their playlists seemed to repeat on an hourly basis also turned me off, and I switched to a locally-owned station that I listen to all day.

The station names won't make sense to anyone not local, but I've given 97.3 a chance once more after completely abandoning them about 5 years ago. I literally have not once tuned into that station since then. What inspired me to give them a second chance? Vinnie is back.

When I first started listening to 97.3, their morning hosts were Sarah and Vinnie. After some never-explained drama (rumor has it he was addicted to drugs), Vinnie disappeared "to get healthy" and he wasn't mentioned again. In his place was No Name (aka Mike Nelson) who I initially liked. But his childish comments and perspectives quickly grew tiresome and so I switched to 97.7. Long live KFOG! The truth is, I'm not generally a fan of morning programs, I much prefer music in the morning and for this 104.9 fits that bill perfectly -- no radio hosts, pretty much ever.

A couple of weeks ago in my course of internet-ing I randomly went to 97.3's website and found it touting the return of Vinnie. I've been listening ever since. Yeah, they don't act as mature as the sometimes stodgy KFOG crew, but I giggle every time Vinnie says "weepy gas bag." Sarah still bugs, and I'm of the opinion that she should have been the one replaced all those years ago.

I still don't listen to 97.3 outside of their morning program -- they play the same songs they did when I was in college -- but having Vinnie back is a step in the right direction.

Sunday, September 07, 2008

six word sunday: bringing the politics to the masses








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