Dear Dumbass,
This weekend was probably the best one I've had in a long time. My good friend Tap just bought a house, and invited us all to a housewarming to break in the house. I had the hardest time picking out a gift, but I finally got a spice rack as a serious gift. I wanted to get something really tacky for Tap's yard as a gag gift, like a flamingo or yard gnome. My friend Shashank and I found this at Target and chipped in to get it, because it was so perfect:
Once everyone was awake and we cleaned up, we were wondering what to do. I'd never been to the Alamo or the Riverwalk (I know, I've lived in this state for 15 years. But I haven't done a lot of the touristy things). So even though my friends had already been there multiple times, we went to check it out. (It was funny, on the way there, we passed that exit that I missed several years back when driving through with my dad.) I was not disappointed by the Alamo at all. I thought it was really cool. It is very small though, right smack in the middle of downtown San Antonio.
If you had to be trapped in a TV show for a month, which show would you choose?
I think the answer to this is obvious.
All through college, I kept a secret blog. I didn't tell ANYONE about it. Well...maybe a couple of people knew about it at first, but then I figured they'd stopped reading it, and would get very personal with it. It seems like a stupid idea now - why put your most private thoughts in a public forum? It still exists, and unless you are a stalker, I doubt you will ever find it. If you do...then you're a stalker. Period.
I do not like driving in the rain, in traffic. This morning I had to head back downtown for the rescheduled meeting. I left at 8:06, which was a mistake; usually, I can get downtown in 45 minutes with traffic and still make the meeting on time. But this morning was just a clusterfuck. I didn't get to the downtown office until 9:20, and by then, the meeting was canceled (again) because another coworkers had been stuck on the same freeway was late just like me, and my project manager had to go to another meeting by then. Sigh.
Right now I am working on a massive Microsoft Project file for work. I can't work off the originals since I don't have the program uploaded on my computer yet, so I'm working from scratch. I'm not sure how much of a benefit it is to start from scratch, but I can at least play around with the file a little more.
I am feeling better today. I am a tough cookie.
I am very tired. Lately I can't fall asleep unless it's past midnight. And last night my neighbors downstairs were slamming doors and walking loudly and God knows what else. For once it didn't bother me, because I know that it's hard to gauge sometimes how loud I have the TV - maybe they hear my TV all the time and don't complain. I ended up drifting off to sleep anyway and woke up this morning to head downtown for my 9:00 meeting. Except the meeting was canceled by email at 8:20, when I was still in the car, so I drove 45 minutes for nothing. Oh well. Good driving practice, right? Right.
This weekend was fun. I went with my friend Conrad to the haunted house and a movie on Saturday night. It wasn't scary, of course, but they did a really good job with it. There were two little kids in front of us freaking out. Some guy dressed up as the dude from Texas Chainsaw Massacre started sniffing me too, which was kind of funny. There were only 2 parts of the haunted house that were a little creepy. The first was when we were walking through what was supposed to be someone's living room, and this guy ran by in his underwear holding pictures. You got the impression that he was a serial killer or pedophile or someone gross, and I found that part creepy. Then we walked through this room where a bunch of fake meat was hanging, and they had the strobe lights going so you could barely see what was going on in front of you, and everything came in flashes. That was a little creepy too. But other than someone jumping out at me at the VERY END and making me jump, no thrills.
I have been trying to exercise more regularly lately. Usually I only work out 2-3 times a week with a run, but I don't think that is enough. Not counting dancing, I worked out 4 times last week, so that is good. I had a really good run on Sunday. It was just beautiful outside. I warmed up by walking about 1.75 miles listening to The Beatles, and then ran about another 4 miles afterward. My only mistake was I hadn't had anything to eat since I didn't want to be full while I ran, so I was completely starving by the end. If I'd had something to eat, I think I may have been able to run longer.
I had a really good run yesterday as well. I had been planning on sandbagging it, but we had to do relays with a partner. My partner ended up being one of the fastest girls in the group, so I was like, craaap I have to bring it. I am nowhere near as good of a runner as she is, but I had to at least be respectable. Our relays were 8 x 300 m. It's all mental - 300 meters is just short enough for me to be able to run fast without feeling like I'm going to collapse. I was doing pretty well until after the 6th one when my stomach was all, "Hey, so I'm kind of in pain." "Shut up, stomach," I said to myself firmly. "You only have two more left to go." After the 7th lap, my stomach said, "OK LOOK, Jenny, I'm in pain. Why don't we stop? You can finish your lap later." "Stop being a pussy," I retorted. "You have only 300 meters left! That's less than two minutes out of your life. Woman up." So I put on "All My Life" (seriously, Foo Fighters is my running soundtrack, especially for the end when I need to feel motivated - even if I'm tired, I'll just put on "All My Life" or "The Pretender" and feel like kicking so much ass). I found myself running faster and faster, passing people up and sprinting towards the finish line.
"Daaaamn!" my partner said when I finished. "That was your fastest yet!" I hadn't been timing myself, but apparently I'd been running each lap faster and faster after the fourth lap, finishing lap #8 off at 1:12. I felt really proud of myself and we talked for a bit afterward. Then my stomach was all, "BITCH. I TOLD YOU. I AM IN PAIN. PAIN PAIN PAIN." So the next ten minutes were rather painful, but other than that, I felt great with my run.
I want a nap. I am looking forward to this weekend.
Here's part 2.
- The Informant! - Matt Damon deftly plays an employee rising in his agri-business company (based on a true story). Along the way (with some nonsensical voiceovers and observations from the main character), his character becomes a whistleblower to the FBI, alleging that his company is engaging in price-fixing. But along the way, it becomes hard to tell who's really telling the truth. This movie would have been better if it didn't drag on toward the end. B
- Star Trek - Believe the hype - this movie was awesome, and I'm not even a Trekkie (though I did love The Next Generation when I was a kid). This prequel follows the early years of Captain Kirk and Spock in an alternate universe. Good performances by Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto, along with a special guest appearance by Leonard Nimoy and excellent special effects, buoy this flick. A
- The Proposal - This is another one of those romantic comedies where you have to suspend your disbelief (isn't that how they all work)? But hilarious performances by Sandra Bullock, Ryan Reynolds, and Betty White make you overlook the plot holes. Sandra Bullock plays a bitchy boss who's about to be deported to Canada on Visa issues, so she plans on marrying her assistant, Ryan Reynolds, to stay in the States. They just have to convince Reynold's family (and the immigration agent) that their love is for real. But will they fall in love along the way? SO HARD TO GUESS. B+
- Toy Story 3D - I just had to see this in 3D, and it was a lot of fun. Pat and I watched the first one so many times that I can still pretty much quote the entire movie. But I'd only seen the second movie when it first came out in '99, so it was pretty much a brand new movie to me. A
- Meet Me In St. Louis - True story: so this movie accidentally made its way up my Netflix queue, and I was not excited about watching it. At all. So it sat in my basket on my desk for an embarrassing amount of time, until I finally realized how much money I was wasting a month on Netflix by NOT watching it. Turns out that this is a great movie and I should have watched it a long time ago. This film follows the adventures of a family in the turn-of-the-century St. Louis. Judy Garland is, of course, a standout, and this is the film where she famously sings "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." A
- Away We Go - I was all excited about this movie because I'm a fan of John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph, and it's directed by Sam Mendes, who only directed one of my favorite movies of all time, American Beauty. Away We Go is no American Beauty, that is for sure. The concept is sweet, though - a young couple, expecting their first child, try to find the perfect place to raise their daughter. I've read reviews calling this movie too "twee" and they are so right. It's bolstered by an annoying indie soundtrack and Mr. Mendes tries to hard to make the film seem "indie." The only part I really enjoyed was Maggie Gyllenhaal's New Age character. John Krasinski was so adorable in this movie, though. His character in this film is not as vanilla as Jim is, but he still manages to come off as the perfect guy. C-
- Zombieland - I've heard mixed reviews from people on this flick; my dad couldn't finish watching it, but others said it was hilarious. I will say that it's definitely entertaining. There are a couple of parts that are a little self-indulgent or drag on too long (I don't want to spoil anyone, but the cameo performance, I think, went on a little too long). But overall, this was a funny, mindless movie about what happens when the world is taken over by zombies and there are a couple of human survivors left. B
- The Exorcist - After last night, as the haunted house I went to didn't scare me, and Zombieland was more funny than scary, I decided to do something I said I'd never do, and watch The Exorcist. I figured it would do the trick - after all, pretty much anyone I talk to says it's a really scary movie. Respectable institutions rank this as one of the scariest flicks ever. Even my tough ex-military dad refuses to watch it again. So I turned off all the lights in my apartment, cuddled with a blanket and a pillow, and excitedly turned it on.
Biggest. disappointment. ever. The movie was so slow, for one. I was getting ready to fall asleep. It took about 45 minutes for Regan to finally get "possessed" and even then, the only "scary" scenes in the movie were the ones I'd already heard about or seen parodied. This version didn't even have the spiderwalk. There was no element of surprise. Now, I'm not looking down on anyone who finds this scary. My dad was a teenager when it came out in the 70s, and this was before everyone was desensitized with scary and gory flicks. I imagine that watching this film, in a dark theater, without expecting the iconic scenes, would be very scary. Or if you find the idea of demon possession scary, then this movie would terrify you. But all these years later, after hearing about it all my life? Nope. It's just like when Patrick watched The Ring. I'd seen the movie right when it first came out, and find it to be a genuinely creepy movie. One of my friends, who shall remain nameless, couldn't sleep with the TV on after seeing it. Pat saw it four years later, after all the hype and endless parodies. "This movie sucks," he said when we finished it. I feel the same about The Exorcist. D
Here's a whole list of movies I have been watching since probably July and hadn't blogged about. Since I've been lax on blogging these, I've split them into parts 1 and 2 for your reading enjoyment.
- Falling Down - We watched this after seeing previews for it on TV back during the summer. Michael Douglas plays a guy who's basically gone crazy, and makes this trek across LA to see his estranged daughter for her birthday. This movie was great. See my favorite scene below - it really sums up the tone of the movie perfectly. A.
- Taken - I saw this movie back in the beginning of the year but forgot to blog about it. I don't know how because this movie is so KICK ASS. Seriously! Liam Neeson plays a former government agent who has to rescue his kidnapped daughter from sex slaves. It's all action from start to finish. A
- I Love You Man - You can't go wrong with Paul Rudd. This enjoyable flick follows the plight of a dude who just wants a good bromance. B+
- The Accidental Husband - This is a very flawed, but watchable film, about a firefighter (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) whose girlfriend calls off their wedding because a self-help guru (Uma Thurman) advised her to. The firefighter wants to ruin the guru's life by forging a marriage license between the two, thus throwing a wrench into the guru's own wedding plans. Uma Thurman's and Jeffrey Dean Morgan's characters get closer as they both try to undo the fake marriage license, but OH NO! Will they fall in love along the way? SO HARD TO GUESS, RIGHT? If you want to enjoy this movie, you just really have to suspend your disbelief. C+
- Knowing - Oh lord, this movie nearly put me to sleep and granted, I was fighting off a small cold, but it's very rare when a movie will make me want to go to sleep. This is one of those weird movies Nicolas Cage has insisted on doing for no reason at all. He finds some code or some bullshit that predicts all these catastrophes, and there are supernatural beings in it, and blah blah. C-
- Moon - To be honest, I was not expecting much from this movie at ALL but it turned out to be a really good flick. Sam Rockwell plays an astronaut fulfilling a three-year mission on the moon harvesting energy. About two weeks before he's due to return to earth and his family, weird stuff starts to happen. I don't want to say any more about it because I don't want to give any of it away. But it's a great movie. David Bowie's son, Duncan Jones, directs and did a really good job. A+
- Observe and Report - I had heard a lot about this movie, only because of the supposedly controversial sex scene (which, to me, was much ado about nothing). Seth Rogen plays a delusional mall cop determined to keep his mall a safe place. Along the way, he decides to try out for the police academy. There are some pretty funny scenes, especially with guest appearances by Aziz Ansari. B
I like to call myself a tomboy fashionista wannabe. I have the capacity to be pretty girly, but there is still too much of the tomboy in me from my youth to be a total girl. I am not a fan of pink and have to force myself to wear it. I don't wear skirts and dresses too often, often resorting to pants or jeans. I have a mean hand shake too; I may be slight, but watch out. I can shake hands like a man.
Lately I think my style has been more "tomboy" than "fashionista," and I'm trying to renew my passion for fashion. This culminated in a trip yesterday to Express.
Y'all, this dress is SO FREAKING CUTE. I can wear it with my new necklace and a pair of killer peep toes. And it was only $20! This is cheap anywhere, but especially at Express. I bought two different colors of the shirt at the right. I didn't get it in that color, but I bought it in burgundy and forest green.
I also did some online shopping yesterday at New York & Company, Victoria's Secret, and Body Central. There are crazy sales at New York & Company right now, so I highly recommend you check it out. Victoria's Secret is good for their sales only, because their normal prices are pretty expensive. I bought a nice pair of jeans for only $20. Their jeans are fabulous. I get compliments on the pair I have from them a lot.
I haven't bought anything from Body Central before, but the prices are amazingly cheap...I'll wait until I get the clothes in to dish!
I also checked out samples at Sephora. My problem skin is really bothering me, so I asked one of the assistants for her advice. The people who work at Sephora are incredible. First, they don't work for a specific brand, so it's not like going to someone at a makeup counter in the mall. They will tell you the brands that really work. They're also incredibly helpful and give a wonderful amount of sample products to try. I showed up right when it was about to close (thanks to someone submitting something a day late on their deadline at 6:15, but that's a WHOLE OTHER STORY), but the employee took me under her wing, giving me cleansers, moisturizers, serums, and foundations to try. I left 20 minutes after they were due to close and felt so bad, but they were so helpful! I love Sephora, and I love having new products to try. I'll let you all know if they work!
Well, I think I need to clean this place up and head for a run.
A real update is warranted, I suppose. Even though this last week hasn't been really eventful...just dealing with a lot of stuff at work.
I never blogged about the Them Crooked Vultures concert last Thursday. Well, it was awesome. The doors opened at 7, so Pat and I showed up around 6:30. There was already a long line looping around the venue, so we stood in it for awhile and waited excitedly. We were told the band would come out at 9 without an opener. It was a little while to wait. I bought Pat a beer and we waited around impatiently, texting friends and listening to the other excited drunk people around us. Finally the band came out and everyone started screaming. I think a good 95% of the crowd was there to see Dave Grohl on the drums. I can see why - just watching him was worth the price of admission alone. The guy is INCREDIBLE. He puts so much energy into it that it's amazing. Even though we were pretty close to the stage, it was hard to see Dave drumming, so the majority of the concert, I was just trying to catch glimpses of him. One girl and her boyfriend shoved by us to go to the front - I have to say it was funny to see them straining to see Dave later, when my view had gotten better. Seeing a former Led Zeppelin band member in concert, John Paul Jones, was pretty cool. Josh Homme was a better front man than I'd thought he be. I was pretty disappointed that the band left without an encore though. It's hard for me to remember all the songs, but I really liked "Dead End Friends" and "Interlude With 'Ludes."
It's funny because last year, before I'd gone to the Foo Fighters show, I was a casual fan. I mean, I'd listened to all their albums at least once, and I liked a lot of their songs, but I didn't call myself a huge fan. But the Foo Fighters show turned me into a fan for life, and seeing Dave drum turned me into a fan of his even more. There are very few musicians I'd be willing to wait in a line all day for, but Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters are one of them. Incredible, talented, down-to-earth musicians.
I took Patrick downtown on Friday so he could check out the record shop and the awesome candy shop. He really liked that. Then I drove him back home on Saturday, and came back up to the City on Sunday. I'd driven over 1000 miles that week by this point, but it was worth it! So much fun.
However, guess what I missed on the 28th? Apparently, ALEXANDER SKARSGARD was here for some festival and was at a movie theater that is very close by to my downtown office for this said festival. ALEXANDER SKARSGARD. HERE. AND I MISSED IT. I was in a bad place when I found that out. I've recovered...only a little though.
So what do you all think about President Obama's Nobel Peace Prize award? I think it's absolutely ridiculous and cheapens the award. The man was only nominated for the award after less than two weeks in office. Two weeks! And he has not done anything significant to warrant the Prize, only give a couple of speeches and otherwise fulfill his job duties. I got into a pretty heated debate about it last night with one of my friends over Facebook (I guess you can tell I didn't do anything else last night). There were 51 comments total to the thread...my aunt Chris kept egging us on too because she was enjoying reading the debate. It was funny.
Yesterday I was eating lunch with my coworker Thomas and the client's project manager. We were enthralled by a high-speed chase taking place in Dallas. I don't know what it is about high speed chases...you're just watching someone driving, but it's addicting. I don't know why Fox News devoted so much time to covering the high speed chase, but thaaaat's another topic. Right when we were finishing lunch, the cops had successfully run the guy off the road, and everyone started clapping and cheering. "SHOOT HIM! SHOOT HIM!" people were shouting. Gotta love living in Texas!
Ok, I think I have updated you all enough. Stay tuned for a fashion post this weekend.
