Girls' Night Out

Last Saturday, the boyf went out to a bachelor party to celebrate our friend T's upcoming wedding. I had a good time puttering around the house in my pajamas with my cat, watching TV, writing, doing nothing at all.

But tonight, it's the girls' turn! I'm going to the bachelorette party for S. We will have drinks and dinner while our boys stay at T's house playing video games and drinking beer, or whatever it is boys do when left behind.

I have no idea what to wear, though... I'm going to go rummage in my closet now in the hopes that I find something.

Last night, the boyf and I went to see "Coraline." It was breathtaking, just beautiful and perfectly adapted from the book. We had the choice of seeing it 3-D or not, and we opted for the former. It was so worth it!!! Even though the plastic glasses left a funny mark on the bridge of my nose that lasted an hour, it was worth it.

Enjoy your weekend! :)

(Picture by Marguerite Sauvage)

These are a few of my (current) favorite things...

crème brulée
If you've never had this dish, you don't know what you're missing! It's my very favorite dessert despite the fact that it has absolutely no chocolate in it, which is saying something because I am a Class-A Chocoholic. It's a custard topped with a layer of burnt sugar that is ever-so-fun to crack with your spoon, as portrayed in the French film Amelie. Every time I go to my favorite restaurant, Les Halles, I order it. Try it, you won't be disappointed. Trust me.

A Fine Frenzy
I discovered this singer on Amazon, thanks to the recommendations they do on that website now. I was looking for a song by another artist and when they suggested I give A Fine Frenzy a listen, I said all right.

I wound up buying the album that same day! Her voice is honey-dripping sweet and her lyrics are profound. Here's my favorite song of hers:

Come On, Come Out - A Fine Frenzy

The Bird and the Bee
Yet another musical act I recently discovered (what can I say, it's been a musical month thus far). I first heard about this band from the crazy, crazy show "Tim and Eric Awesome Show Great Job." No, I'm not making that name up. It plays on Adult Swim, and it's the most bizarre, disgusting, hilarious show I've ever seen.

As for the band, they are really trippy and sound like they just stepped out of the sixties. I love their beats and this band really knows how to harmonize. If you like Radiohead and Imogen Heap, you'll like The Bird and the Bee. This song is one of their best:

Polite Dance Song - the bird and the bee

Ojon
I have to wash my hair at least every two days, as it gets quite greasy and I wind up resembling a drowned rat if I don't. Not pretty. Unfortunately, my hair is not of the wash-and-go variety. If I don't style it, I wind up looking like an electrified poodle, which is waaaaaaay scarier-looking than a drowned rat, believe you me. So I go through the blow-dry and straightening iron ritual at least twice a week. Quite a work-out! As a result, the ends of my hair can get a wee bit scraggly and prone to knots. This deep conditioning treatment by Ojon is a must for girls with "artificially straight" hair. It leaves your hair silky smooth, and ever since I started using it once a month, I've noticed that my hair no longer frizzes as much. A must-buy!


Do you twitter? I do. It's heaps of fun. I don't know what makes it so addictive, but I love finding out what my friends are up to and letting them know what I am up to. Plus, you can find the twitter feeds of famous people if you look hard enough, like Neil Gaiman and Kristen Stewart and countless others. I'm not nearly as famous or cool as those two, but you can follow me, if you like. :)

Filmtastic

I cannot wait for the following movies to come out...

That's cold ... Ice cold.

So I wake up today and guess what, guess what? It's 30 degrees.

When I left the house at 7 AM, the temperature went up a measly 2 degrees. Believe me when I say, you couldn't tell the difference.

The funny thing is, while my body recognizes it's cold and shivers appropriately, I still remember the cold I felt in Tokyo last April. It was much colder then. I still remember that cold in my bones and know that even this chill doesn't come close.

Speaking of cold, celebrities have recently felt the need to vent their frustrations in a very, um, non-polite way:

Stephen King says 'Twilight' author 'can't write.'

Christian Bale goes ballistic.

I'm surprised about Stephen King going there, but not really that surprised about Christian Bale. He's been sipping the krazy kool-aid for a while now.

In other news, my brand-spanking-new laptop arrived yesterday! It's a Toshiba satellite something-or-other (a bunch of numbers-gibberish that basically mean it pwns my old computer). If you want to see it, go here. I ordered it from Amazon and was pleased to find that it was much cheaper than if I bought it, say, in Best Buy, plus it shipped really quickly, too.

Of course, it cost more than half of one of my teacher paychecks, but hey, at least it's pretty and pretty damn fast. ;)

Circadian Confusion

This is how I feel today...

I am sleeeeeeeeeepy. And the funny thing is, this week is the first week in a long time that I've been keeping regular hours, sleep-wise. On Sunday night, I fell asleep at 11-something (which is early for me!), but woke up at 6 AM feeling like utter merde. Monday night, I only slept 6 hours, and woke up feeling fine, refreshed, even. Last night, I fell asleep at 11-something again, and again I wake up feeling crappy.

WHAT GIVES?

Have I so accustomed my body to barely getting any sleep that by the time I am able to clock in some good sleep time, my body rebels? Is my circadian rhythm that messed up?!

And I used to be the girl who would happily sleep 15 hours if you'd let me. In fact, I even slept through the horrible Hurricane Andrew the summer before I began 8th grade, and this was a hurricane that ripped roofs off and had my cousin crying hysterically in a corner.

I'm such a deep sleeper normally that not even my alarm wakes me. True story: my alarm goes off at 5:30 every weekday, wakes up my dad across the hall in his own bedroom, and then he has to come and forcibly shake me awake. Otherwise I don't get up. He asked me the other day what I was going to do when I finally moved out, to which I replied with a sunny smile: "Ricky will wake me up." Thank God Ricky is a light sleeper.

I suspect I could sleep through a bomb.

Well, damnit, I'd better start waking up soon. I have a planning period now, so no students, but there is plenty to grade. Blarg. I need a nap.

Why I can't wait for Friday

Friday is going to be awesome for many reasons:

1. No school for students, as it is a "Professional Development Day," with meetings for teachers lasting from 9-10:30 AM.

2. I do not have to wake up at 5:30 AM. Happy, Happy, Joy, Joy!

3. I can take my leisurely time going to work, maybe even passing by my dealer on the way.

4. Teachers are free to "plan" after 10:30 (we all know what "plan" means ... right?).

5. Ricky has the day free and can spend it with me.

6. The weather is forecast to be de-lovely, with temperatures hovering in the 60's - 70's.

7. And the #7 reason, the reason why I really, really, really can't wait for Friday? It's because this comes out! Squee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've been TAGGED...

I have been tagged by Indyeah. I guess this means I have to tag some people back. If you've been tagged by me (and you will be, just wait), you need to follow these rules:.

Answer the following questions using pictures (just type in your answer in google using image search and pick the prettiest picture :p). Use as few words as possible.The picture should be able to do the explaining for you. When you're done, return the favor and tag some friends!

1.Your age on your next birthday
2. A place you’d like to travel to
3. Your favorite place
4. Your favorite food/drink
5. Your favorite pet
6. Your favorite color combination
7. Your favorite piece of clothing
8. Your all time favorite song
9. Your favorite TV show
10. Full name of your significant other
11. The town in which you live
12. Your screen name/nickname
13. Your first job
14. Your dream job
15. Bad habit you have
16. Your worst fear
17. The one thing you would like to do before you die
18. The first thing you’ll buy if you get $1,000,000
19.Your favorite credo in life
20. Now tag at least 3 people (using name or pictures)

1. my age on my next birthday

Woe...






2. a place I'd like to travel to

So much history and beauty together in one place. Hmm, possible honeymoon location?





3. my favorite place


I am a sad woman... a sad over-caffeinated woman...




4. my favorite food/drink


I love chocolate in all its forms, solid or liquid. I suspect I would take it intravenously if I could!



5. my favorite pet

I find cats endlessly fascinating. They make great pets, too -- despite the assembly. ;)




6. my favorite color combination

I think brown + light blue is adorable. A close runner-up is hot pink, white and black.




7. my favorite piece of clothing

What's that you say? It's not clothing? Well... :P






8. my all-time favorite song


Anything by this band.




9. my favorite TV show


Oh my beloved "Gilmore Girls," how I miss you...




10. full name of my significant other
the boyf ;)

11. town in which I live
















12. my screen name/nickname




13. my first job


Yes, Reader, I was a copy girl at the tender age of 17.




14. my dream job

If I could get paid to stay home in my pajamas and write, I would be the happiest woman alive.




15. my bad habit






16. my worst fear


Although I believe in God, I'm not 100% about the whole after-life thing, and as a consequence I fear both losing those I love and losing my own life.



17. the one thing I would like to do before I die


This one was an eye-opener for me. I thought I was going to give my old standard as my response, "publish a book," but when I really thought about it, I realized I want to have children more. O-O








18. The first thing I'll buy if I get $1,000,000

A big fancy schmancy house by the beach (as big and fancy schmancy as $1,000,000 will get me).





19. my favorite credo in life















20. Tagged
If you see your picture below, you have been tagged. So go forth and conquer.