Bacon IS Life!

A hilarious picture from passiveaggressivenotes.com:



And my dessert at the fabulous restaurant Animal last night:



Yes, that is a bacon chocolate bar. It was phenomenal.

Truly, bacon is life.

Oh, that's right...

There's a reason I don't drink the free coffee at work: it doesn't taste good and it seems to be 100x more caffeinated than other coffee. Hence my current feeling that I could only described as "cracked out." This, after one cup. Just one. At least I've been really productive on the work front this morning--even despite significant computer failures that prevented me from getting online until around 10:30 am. Which also meant I had a nice two hours to enjoy a leisurely breakfast and call family members. Just lovely!

Twitter Campaign

My latest goal is to get more of my friends/contacts onto Twitter. It really is revolutionizing online media and is such a fascinating tool, especially for people in the press world and for writers--I think this is going to blow up soon, if it hasn't already. And I don't think it has because Twitter's main demo is Gen X (I was reading somewhere that the average Twitter user is 31). Gen Y, what's going on? You are missing out! Of my roommates, Annie is on it and we've been going back and forth a little bit, but Ashleigh refuses (so far, but I think we'll convince her). In fact, she just sent me this someecard:



I then threatened to make an account for her, considering I know all her passwords and as she is a manic Gchat status updater I would have plenty of material for updates. But I'm too self-absorbed at the moment to really get into identity theft. I figure when she realizes that Annie and I are just really leaving her out of a lot of inside Twitter jokes she'll finally cave and want in. As for the rest of you--get on Twitter, check out who I am following if you need ideas... and go from there!

Worth Noting

1.) Per last night's terrible dream I've spent some time googling Earthquake Phobia this morning (also known as Seismophobia). In addition to that nightmare, I keep having sensations where I feel rumblings and I am convinced we're about to have a big quake. The dream was super realistic though--very scary. Took a strange turn with the looters/vampires.

Oh wait a minute. I watched an episode of Buffy last night in which there was an earthquake. Well that explains the vampires and the dream... and my general phobia contributed I am sure.

2.) I am channeling my inner hipster today with a flea market men's plaid shirt that I've belted with a thin braided gold belt, skinny gray corduroys and gold ballet flats. Normally when I wear this shirt sans belt I just look like a boy, so I'm hoping the gold flare ads a feminine touch. Undetermined thus far.

3.) I have the thinnest traces of a hangover this morning due to drinks last night with co-workers, followed by trivia with friends (we came in 3rd after most incredible comeback). The downside of all this (besides slight headache) is that it felt like a Friday when I woke up. Sadly, it's not.

4.) Twitter addiction continues. And I designed my own layout. It's a little too me-centric but I wasn't really sure on Twitter etiquette when it comes to design.

5.) Anyone catch Jindal's rebuttal last night? Or has anyone not seen the amazing internet lampooning he's receiving this morning? Loving the Kenneth the Page comparisons...

Morning Conversations (about nightmares mostly)

9:29 AM
me: i just remembered i had a TERRIFYING nightmare last night
Ashleigh: hahah
me: there was an earthquake and we were in someone elses apartment and the building collapsed and then burned to the ground but we escaped but then i think we were running from looters (maybe vampires?) in the street
Ashleigh: we fought in my dream
like for days
like screaming
me: REALLY?
Ashleigh: i think you punched me
me: oh no!
9:30 AM
Ashleigh: it was terrible
i was really hjappy when i woke up
me: that IS terrible!
ME TOO!
Ashleigh: i think it's cause i borrorwed your shantaram without asking and in the dream you said i should have put a book cover on it so it didn't get ruined
me: haha i would say something like that
Ashleigh: and then i yelled about my scarf with your perfume but it turned into us just going at it about how we drive and talk
it was horrible
i wanted to hug you when i woke up
9:31 AM
me: awwww virtual hug?

for the uninitiated

"Twitter, in other words, is precisely what you want it to be."

Aha!

Uh oh...

I am one day in and this Twitter thing has already gotten out of control. It's 12:25 pm and I have already "tweeted" (?) 6 times today. Nothing important really.

And I just learned that you can SHARE your Google Reader articles. Did you know that? AMAZING!

THE INTERWEBS ARE BLOWING MY MIND!

I am undecided about whether or not this movie should have been made...

After years of speculation for the fans of Donnie Darko (myself included), at last we have the extended trailer for the sequel (or prequel?), S. Darko. Take a look, and see my thoughts below.



1. OMG that's ANDY from Step Up 2 the Streets (wait she can act?)
2. CHUCK BASS!
3. Wait, is that Jasper from Twilight? Can he act?
4. OMG JESSIE SPANO
5. Huh?

So, despite having a cast assembled from the greatest B movies/TV shows of the past 10 years, I have absolutely no idea what is happening in this trailer. And I am dubious, to say the least. I loved Donnie Darko because it was a serious mindfuck (pardon my language) and had some great talent (and a great Watership Down reference). Oh and a superb music. But this? I am skeptical. And what does the S stand for?

O.M.G.

My Evolving Internet Addiction

So I've made two fantastic online discoveries this past week: Google Reader and Twitter.

Okay, I realize that these are hardly new discoveries, but considering I've just learned of their bountiful fun, I'm going to gush about both right now.

Google Reader
I had initally been quite supsect of this, even though many friends have recommended using the reader--an efficient way to waste time on the internet, as well as read many more sources than might normally be possible. See, up until now, I would just click away at websites, hoping posts had been updated on various blogs, or that Entertainment Weekly had new TV spoilers or something. But with Google Reader I can just leave it open all day and see what's getting posted where and when--it's amazing! I don't have to actively and redundantly click through websites--it all comes to me. For some, I still do, and I will say that when I am bored it's still nice to look at the actual website (and then you can again appreciate design, layout, etc), but overall I am loving it so far.

Twitter
I'm a total Facebook junkie and have become a bit of a status updater recently--somewhat reluctantly (remember this anti-status updating tirade?), but since I discovered Mobile Uploads I've been even more into Facebook. Somehow, this has all turned into a sudden interest in Twitter. I signed up for Twitter over the summer but never really used it, considering the strange, self-indulgent web platform to be a tool more for celebrities with fanbases or for PR and Newspeople. Well, it's pretty much fun for anyone because unlike Facebook, you don't have to be friends with people--you can follow almost anyone's "tweet" and anyone can follow yours. It's impersonal, but also fascinating to see what various public figures have to say, as well as the general randomness of any average person. It's also useful for following certain news sites, etc. Or fictional characters (I follow Darth Vader). I tried to make a Twitter feed for the blog, but seem to have just really gotten into my own (look for me: stamos). It's like an RSS feed of people or something. Also fascinating, also good for those of us who demand constant updates of information.

In sum, I recommend using both of these tools to anyone who spends as much time on the internet as I do. Excuse me now, I'm parched and need to run to the kitchen for a glass of water. Then I've got to tweet it.

Just Because

Oscar Recap

Predictably, I watched the Oscars last night. However, there was a huge part of me that just really wasn’t interested. I had watched Slumdog Millionaire (finally!) earlier in the day, so the only nominated film I hadn’t seen was The Reader, and I seriously contemplated watching that instead, but ultimately went for the awards show. We didn’t watch in real time, which was nice and meant we could fast forward through commercials AND boring acceptance speeches. And lame musical numbers (I mean, was this the Tonys? Seriously!). About halfway through we took a break so that Annie could drive a friend to the airport, and I watched an episode of Buffy, which was much more eventful than the Academy Awards.

I don’t know... there is something about the Oscars—it’s such a self-congratulatory night... I’m really just significantly less interested in awards and film accolades than I usually am, which I guess is refreshing. And yeah sure, it’s always fun to see the dresses—but meh... whatever...

In other news, I spent four hours on Saturday cleaning my room, which should give you a sense of how much unnecessary crap I had cluttering up all the space. It’s spotless now, and hasn’t looked this good since I moved in. What a feeling! I deserve an Oscar for most cleanest room or something.

Which reminds me, when I wanted to be an actress I was obsessed with these awards. In 8th grade I wrote an Oscar speech in which I thanked my orthodontist for my beautiful smile (I should really rue the day I met him because 8 years later I had to have braces and jaw surgery, so it’s probably my surgeon I should think for the killer grin) and considering that’s likely to never happen, I’m going to start giving myself some self-congratulatory award statuettes. So, hah.

A Rhetorical Question

Why does the 7 Eleven on Wilshire and 8th (in Santa Monica) play really great rock and roll music, but only under the outside awning? And why are there always incredibly suspicious characters loitering in the parking lot--it's such a nice part of town, it seems odd...

Just wondering...

In other news, it's nice to know how reliable 7 Eleven's are for things like Slushees and Cheez-Its and Snickers Ice Cream bars. Whoever it was that decided to add the ice cream component to a Snickers was genius.

And now you have a good sense for my Thursday night.

One of those days...

Eek. Just realized I haven't posted today... super busy at work translates to far fewer blog posts. Actually that doesn't always work out... sometimes if I am procrastinating I get really into blogging. But today that definitely has not been the case.

So glad there is only an hour left of work... happiness.

And in case you were curious, today's outfit is pretty much the opposite of yesterday--very Santa Monica hippie: brown cords, cowboy boots, grey t-shirt with a navy v-neck sweater over it, big coral beaded necklace with a red pendant on it... and I am 100x more comfy than yesterday. I've also nailed getting read in 2o minutes in the morning. 7 minute shower, 13 miuntes for clothes, make-up and hair. Lots of time for sleep.

Hollywood Assistant Life... the rap musical?

Strangely, these guys have the LA assistant experience pretty dead-on... well... some of it. Maybe not mine. I mean I don't see trips to the aquarium mentioned and I happen to harbor a supreme dislike for going anywhere in Hollywood. (I pride myself in my Westside location.) But this is pretty amazing, and a lovely way to explain what an ASST is to all you non-Hollywood types.


Hollywood ASST from Back of the Class on Vimeo.

Also, I'm not that douchey (no-offense to the aspiring assistants who made this gem).

And, as DiTonto mentioned after viewing, this "is REALLY well written. Which only proves further that our genius and wit is wasted at a desk rolling calls." Hear that all you Hollywood execs?

Wardrobe Tales

So today I decided to spruce things up a little bit. We're talking clothes here, FYI.

My standard work outfit, now that I've hit that post-six months slump is corduroys, a sweater, ballet flats. And I have enough of the same of those three items to mix and match and essentially wear different colors of each, however I'm getting a little tired of my laziness and tendency to repeat clothes a lot. So like, I said, today I decided to mix things up... sort of. Occasionally I think, okay I work at this trendy office place so I am going to bust out my inner-trendy/fashionable girl and get after it. Hence today's outfit choice: Burgundy t-shirt dress, opaque black tights, black ankle booties. Very dark.

Usually I am wearing a lot of green and turquoise and hot pink. Anyway... I went into the bathroom a minute ago and realized that this lovely t-shirt dress is less of a dress and more of, well, a t-shirt. It's from American Apparel and for some reason I thought it had a little more shape to it... turns out it doesn't. And I didn't belt it or anything so it just looks like I am wearing a big t-shirt and no pants. Which is awkward. So this whole "spruce things up a bit" might not be working in my favor.

I can guarantee tomorrow it will be back to cords and flats and a cable knit... hey, I tried!

Oh here's the shirt dress--although sans belt it looks nothing like it does on this trampy Am App model.

I love you EW, but...

I often write about my love for Entertainment Weekly (as well as my serious envy for a handful of the staff writers, reporters, and editors) and yes, I often write about Twilight. However, I have to agree with this entertaining TV Addict article that EW needs to cool it on the Twilight covers.

I credit EW for being a major component in my pop culture prowess, as well as the common movitator for me to start watching shows. (Shows I started watching after EW reviews or buzz: Battlestar Galactica, Friday Night Lights, Bones--I've yet to be disappointed). However I will say that I am finding myself less excited about the print magazine these days. I still read it cover to cover whenever it pops up in my mailbox, but considering I obsessively reload EW.com all day long, it's not always the freshest material. Sure, Twilight sells issues, but I want more of the serious behind-the-scenes interviews and introspectives I am used to. Or maybe what they're missing over there is me--yep, again, I feel pretty strongly that I should be on staff there. Just saying.

TV vs. Film

Okay so remember last week when I casually mentioned that I had started watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer which I somehow missed out on in the late 90's due to my intense X-Files obsession (that or my devotion to being a high school overachiever)? Well this weekend I certainly made up for lost time.

In addition to going out to dinner twice, running some errands, cleaning my room, playing Monopoly with roommates, going out to the Topanga Roadhouse for some awesome tunes Saturday night, poking around vintage stores in Topgana Canyon on Sunday, visiting with a friend from the East Coast, among other things, I somehow find myself 17 episodes into Season 3 of Buffy today. Yes, Season 3. Which means since my last Buffy mention I have burned through Seasons 1 and 2, and most of Season 3.

Oh my God.

I'm not going to get into the exact episode count that was maybe a record high for me on Sunday--but I will say that I somehow managed to watch a lot of BtVS and do all these other things, which makes me think I must not have gotten enough sleep this weekend. (Although to be honest, I feel okay right now--so maybe I've discovered the elusive equilibrium to obsessive TV watching and sleep?)

In any case, I am in full-fledged obsession mode, and am honestly not all that suprised. I mean I know so many people who were obsessed with Buffy back in the day, so I imagine it was only a matter of time before I jumped on that bandwagon--actually it was just that--time, which I never seemed to have enough of, which is necessary for devoting the hours to the show that it deserves. Suffice it to say, this weekend was time and a half--because I managed to somehow have a life and geek out over what I would now agree is one of the best television shows ever produced.

And now here it is a lovely, rainy Tuesday morning and I'm finding it difficult to get work done because I really want to keep watching more Buffy. Yes, this is a problem.

However, the obsessive TV watching has once again reminded me why I sometimes prefer TV to movies--I mean I even skipped out on watching two Academy screeners yesterday to watch Buffy, and I haven't seen nearly as many of the nominated films this year as I did last year. Sure I go through phases where I get obsessed with good movies, although I think right now my phase is just feeling burned out from Hollywood, and therefore less interested in all the films and the accolades.

I'd rather get attached to good characters and good stories--things you find in TV shows, things you can follow week after week, episode after episode, for multiple seasons. Some TV shows remind me of all the fantasy series I used to read when I was little, like David Eddings' Belgariad, or the Susan Cooper books, His Dark Materials by Phillip Pullman, and of course, more recently--Harry Potter and George R.R. Martin's amazing A Song of Fire and Ice series. Certain TV shows tap into this, and I will say that sometimes watching a string of episodes ranks right up there with reading a good book series. I could do without the all-consuming obsession I seem unable to separate myself from, but that seems to transcend both mediums--I couldn't put Twilight down when I was reading that, and here I am this morning incapable of having much intelligble thought beyond the action of the Buffyverse. And you know, I still haven't seen Slumdog Millionaire. Which is weird... I guess. I wonder if I will watch the Oscars this Sunday... and to be honest, at the moment I am undecided. Maybe I'll just be watching more Buffy...

"I want pie. I WANT BEEF JERKY!"

Thanks to Ditonto, for this gem, hilarious!

I'm so excited!

It's Friday.
Work is a half day.
It's a long weekend.
Here's some hilarious footage from one of everyone's favorite 90s show to kick off the weekend.



I'm so excited!

I'm having a great hair day

It's always wonderful when you have a good hair day, especially after those days when you don't wash your hair before work and it looks like shit. I mean I am not one of those girls who can go like five days without shampooing and still pull off some nice style. I am one of those people with hair can look strangely different from one day to the next, so much so that the dude who shares your cubicle even remarks on a nice coiff.

In other news... my love for Bones has me watching a new (old) show... Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I KNOW, I KNOW, so many people will find this incredibly hilarious/cheesy/dork, but we all know I am huge tool (click on that "geek" label down below for more) and it's a surpise I missed the show the first time around... Probably because I was too focused on watching The X-Files...

For All the Trader Joe's Fans

Today's Lunch

Welcome to a new feature in which I am going to tell you about what I had for lunch.

That's a lie.

Why would you want to know what I have for lunch every day?
Exactly.

But for lack of anything else interesting, here is lunch:

One "Asian Slaw Salad" from Trader Joes
Four Morningstar Farms Vegan Soy Chicken Nuggets
One Diet Coca-Cola

Try not to be jealous.

The Mystery of the Sleepless Nights

The past few nights I have had some serious difficulty falling asleep. That happens sometimes with me, especially when I am not exercising on a regular schedule everyday (which of late, I haven't been), but this time around it's been... different.

But then, last night, I figured out why.

Ever since I was little, in fact, I think since I was a newborn, I've slept with my stuffed polar bear Snowy and my special blanket. Yes, I realize that I am way past the age where it is appropriate to sleep with such things, but bear with me for a second. Snowy, I intend to keep until that far off day when he disintegrates. Honestly. I usually sleep with him tucked under my arm, which has resulted in his shape resembling less of a polar bear and more of a flattened seal. At somepoint in high school or college some friends started calling him Square Bear. The blanket is silk, or it once was--now it's very thin and bear, and tattered, although it still feels silky. The thing is, the blanket I wrap around my head when I sleep.

I realize this sounds ridiculous, but again bear with me.

When I was little I used to have terrible nightmares--I started wearing the special blanket around my head because I would use it to cover my ears. Overtime I became essentially addicted to this--having my ears covered while I sleep, and by a silky feeling fabric (one reason I've always loved camping and sleeping in sleeping bags, because the sensation is quite similar). Because of the whole wrapping the blanket around my head thing (some friends would call it my turban), when I actually do sleep (you know for some reason I feel like I have blogged about this before but I have terrible memory retention so who knows) I have the blanket wrapped around my head and the covers up to my chin. There's really just an opening for the lower half of my face.

When I was in New York over the holidays, just before flying back to LA, I decided that as I was turning 25 I would no longer sleep with the blanket. Snowy would never go, but it was probably time for the blanket to get tucked away somewhere. I am a big girl, after all. I debated leaving it in New York, but ultimately brought it back to LA with me--a mistake though, because I didn't let go of it right away (although I told my family I did. Oops).

Last Thursday I had sort of interesting day--I was home sick but also got a bit of good news that closed a chapter of my life (in a sense), and I decided that was IT--the day I was going to set aside my Special Blanket.

Because I was extra tired, I had no trouble sleeping that night, or the next, or the rest of the weekend. Until Sunday night--when it was nearly impossible. And then last night, after being in bed for two hours and still not succumbing to my exhaustion I realized the problem was that I couldn't fall asleep without my ears being covered. I attempted to put one of the pillows over my left ear while I slept on my right side, but this just didn't work.

Finally, I gave in and accepted my fate. I am likely to sleep with that blanket until it falls apart (or until I have boyfriend/husband who burns it or something) and a day will come when I will have to put it away. But today is not that day. At 1 am this morning, I ran into my closet, dug through my bags and found my blanket. I wrapped it around my head, and fell asleep almost instantly.

I feel much better now.

Grapefruits

Are delicious. In my esteemed opinion a grapefruit is a truly excellent way to begin your morning. In fact I am cutting into one right now. I am very methodical in my grapefruit eating. I cut around the skin, then around each individual slice. Then I eat each slice with a fork, then I squeeze out the juice into a spoon. It takes a whole brigade of cutlery to finish off one of these bad boys. Every time I eat one I think of my Great Great Aunt Hiddie, who used to send us boxes of grapefruits every year for Christmas.

That Time I Was Ruined by a Sailboat

Growing up in Maine I spent a lot of time on sailboats. My family has always owned one, even now. When I was little we had an ensign, and we occasionally chartered a larger boat for family vacations. My dad is an experienced sailor, having done a transatlantic voyage, and in fact it was when he was a sailing instructor in the Bahamas where he met my mother, also of the nautically inclined.

I grew up spending a lot of time on boats and have always loved them and felt comfortable on them--yes, you could say I have my sea legs.

Or so I thought.

Sunday a bunch of us joined our other friend who lives out here on a boat. It's a beautiful 50 foot Jenneau and I've been out with him a few times before, always for a pleasant sail--really a great way to spend a leisurely afternoon.

We'd been planning on this sail for quite some time, and despite the somewhat dreary weather, we headed to the Marina on Sunday prepared for a lovely time in the sun, enjoying a nice cruise in the harbor.

What we didn't think of was that the high winds made for choppy seas (yeah, so when I said I grew up on boats I never said anything about being some sort of nautical genius) and by choppy seas I really mean HUGE swells. I love heeling (for those who aren't nautically inclined, that's essentially when the boat is tilting one way or the other due to wind pressure on the sails) and the boat was practically at a 45 degree angle which makes it really fun when you are sitting on the side that's up. Less fun for my friend who decided that sitting in the bow was a smart idea, because he ended up with a lot of water in his face. More entertaining for those of us watching, however.

So there we were, having a bit of a roller coaster ride in the uneven waves when we came about after maybe a half hour. This changed everything. All of a sudden we were traveling in a different motion with the waves and my tendency for motion sickness kicked in. Poor Annie had already been ill--she was the first one down and out--and was greener than you could imagine (or as we all noted, the palest we'd ever seen, because she's normally quite tan) and then I just knew it--I knew I was going to blow.

Did I mention we'd stopped at McDonald's before the trip? I had french fries. Huge mistake.

I am a pro at vomiting due to motion sickness. Strange, but true. I've been doing it my whole life. Once we were flying from Maine to Colorado and I threw up six times on the flight. I've thrown up on planes, trains, cars, ferries, and even once came close to getting ill on an elevator (don't ask), but I have never vomited due to sailing. I have also never missed a bag. Yep, I am so comfortable vomiting that I am not one of those people who makes a bee line for the airplane lavatory to vom--I just go straight for the motion sickness bag. No regard for my neighbors, but when you are sick you are sick--and I make the bag every time. I'm batting a thousand here, folks.

So here we are, on a boat with about 9 of us and I very calmly warned everyone my vomiting was imminent, and then I just went for it. At least Annie was nice enough to lean over the stern--I knew that wouldn't work and just vommed away into a transparent plastic bag. Disgusting. I felt great afterward--but that immediate relief was definitely temporary and I knew from experience that for however long the remainder of the sail would be, I was most likely going to get sick every half hour, regardless of the contents of my stomach (sure enough, Vom #2 followed suit). Fortunately, our generous captain took pity on us and we made way back to the marina. It wasn't until we were safely back in the slip that I was in the clear. There wouldn't be a number three. Bless our souls.

We stumbled onto the dock, our stomachs in shambles--all of us exhausted; like we'd survived a war zone or something. My body felt wrecked--we all were pretty wiped. Sure, we rallied for Chinese food later that night, but falling asleep last night was quite difficult, memories of disgusting vomiting and rocky seas preventing any rest. All in all--it was one of those "you had to be there" days, and I will say, despite (or in spite of?) the vomiting, it was sufficiently entertaining.

I have a feeling I won't be eating at McDonald's again anytime soon. Probably a good thing.

Some Wish a Genie Granted at a Phish Concert

The best part about SNL is weekend update. This, was amazing.

Of Note

I just read an LA Times story that JetBlue and Virgin America are dramatically reducing prices of cross country flights. So I went to check out a flight to New York this spring/summer and started to type "virgin" into my web browser, and you know how when you do that a drop-down menu appears and you can choose from previous links? Well I figured that Virgin America might be the first I would see. But NOPE--it was either a link to the Holy Qur'an or to the NRSV Bible (that's New Revised Standard Version for you non-Religion students) which reminds me that I used to spend a lot of time writing papers for various religion classes. Ah school, those were the days.

(What, you were thinking with "virgin" I was going somewhere dirty, huh? COME ON!)

Home Sick

I am home today. I imagine I could take this time to sit in bed and write lengthy diatribes full of award-winning blog prose, but I am probably not going to do that... I'm thinking it's time to catch up on the backlog on my DVR... which really means just drifting in and out of sleep to the same episodes of Planet Earth.

Are people trying to tell me something?

Two of my friends have sent me this some-e-card:



Okay, yeah I love J. Crew.

Hey Kids, Stay Off Drugs

Or maybe just don't visit the dentist anymore...

Wardrobe Tales

So this morning I woke up with around 20 minutes to get ready for work, which was fine because I don't put all that much effort into my appearance on a regular basis as is, this just meant I had less time to do the things I really care about in the morning like make my bed or check my email or stare blankly at the mess ontop of my dresser and consider cleaning it but then not follow through.

I had one of those moments when I was starring at all the clothes in the closet, thinking "Ugh I hate everything" so I decided to wear this dress I've only worn once over a year ago. Thing about this dress is that it has two stains on it. The stains are fairly obvious, and both from Aquaphor, which I am addicted to and if you don't get it all on your lips and then still have some on your fingers and then touch your clothing you will stain it. And the first time I wore this dress, over a year ago, I did just that.

So I am waiting for someone to spot the stains and have begun imagining excuses such as "oh yeah a bird shit on me this morning when I was going on my daily nature walk" or "WHAT STAIN?!?" or "it's a bodily fluid (blank stare)" or "I think you are imagining things" or the truth: "It's because of my chapstick addiction."

Roomie told me last night she woke up around 3 am because she heard me coughing my face off. I hate that our walls are paper thin but this is also very useful information, because I am now thinking that due to January Bender I am very close to a cold. Time for vitamins and hydration. The only way I'm going to call in sick is if I am faking it. Or have a wardrobe-related meltdown.

January Recap: Good for the times, Bad for the health/wallet

So it's February. And I am getting a late start on that universal New Year resolution to eat healthier/exercise more/blah blah blah.

January was quite the epic bender of a month. Which sure, was fun--I mean it warranted weddings, $40 winnings at the race track (Saturday), some great photos, some memories (or lack thereof), some new adventures... but as I spend yet another Monday sporting a fierce beer tan and fighting off the occasional spins, I have to GET REAL with myself.

SELF: Get real. Sure day drinking is fun and awesome and who doesn't love a cool beverage on a casual Saturday afternoon but that does not mean that tequila shots at 1:30 pm on a Sunday are okay, even if the Superbowl is on.

Actually, whatever--I'm 25. Who cares. Yeah, I took a party bus Saturday night to some crazy bar that felt like one of the basements of an off-campus house in Middbleury. And I did spend most of Saturday at the race tracks. And yesterday I hosted a Superbowl party with the roommates, and sure, maybe I didn't eat one real meal yesterday except a whole lot of beer dip and some Swedish meatballs. All worth it.

But from here on out I'm going to cool it a little... no more day drinking and no more Sunday Fundays. The roomies and I are also considering some sort of juice cleanse or something... really anything to avoid the sensation of walking to the office on a Monday morning and feeling the need to keep sunglasses on, even at my desk, because maybe they're also invisibility shades...