i saw this commercial one morning last week, and then again today. it's amazing, but i literally have to turn away from the TV or mute it, otherwise i'll wind up in tears. i wish so much that i had the time and resources to adopt a dog from a shelter, but i just don't right now. if anyone out there can pick up my slack, however, please do. check out Pedigree for information on how to adopt a dog, and why you should.
it's frickin' cold, man. but i decided it's easier to be cold in the city. sure, i have to walk several blocks to the subway, but at least i'm moving, generating heat. i think that's better than having to sit in a frigid car until it warms up, which must take forever when it's 9 degrees Fahrenheit. anyway...
WesternUnion.com. several phone calls later, i found out that multiple attempts had been made to transfer money - my precious, hard-earned money - to Romania. wonderful. thankfully, my bank has been incredibly helpful and the situation is on its way to being corrected, but i'm starting to think that old nutbag Ted Kaczynski had a point about technology. i don't click on suspicious e-mails, i'm not careless with my account information, i check my bank and credit card statements regularly. and still, somehow, i'm an easy target.
keep seeing headlines that ask the question: Has American Idol gone too far? and while i think it's just the media trying to stir the pot, i feel compelled to answer anyway: hell no. if the meanness factor has gone up at all since last season (and i'm not sure that it has) it's only because 1) paula is too wasted to pipe in with her cheesy, glowing, way off-base feedback, and 2) these judges have sat through a bazillion bad auditions by now. wouldn't you be cranky? it's hard enough sometimes getting through two hours of clips! and besides, by now the auditioners should know what they're in for. unless they're like that guy with no teeth and all that red hair who'd never really watched Idol, they should expect to be rejected harshly if they can't sing. (but thank god most of them don't expect it, because wow it makes for great TV.)
...and i'm addicted to books.
and this is why i can't wait: Paula Abdul is insane. sure, the auditions are crazy and i even get into the actual competition. but the biggest reason i tune in? to see Paula's continuous displays of asinine behavior (aka, cracked-out drunkenness). there were some unforgettable moments last season, but if this interview is any indication, there is much better stuff in store this year.
clearly instigated the whole thing. most importantly - Tigger didn't even hit him! it was a playful sort of thing. god, what's wrong with people? they should have seen what Buzz and Woody (and the Grinch at Universal) did to Mikey when we were trying to pose for pictures together. they literally shoved him out of the way! it was funny. emphasis on fun. which is what vacations are supposed to be.
OK, i have a confession: i'm a wee bit obsessed with the former WB show Everwood. i blame my WB (now CW) habit on my old job at Seventeen. i wasn't exactly teenager-ish when i was a teenager, so i sort of got a do-over the four years i spent there immersed in boy advice and prom dresses and embarrassing period stories and, of course, teen TV. hey, i was just doing my job.
Speedy-Workout-Pants was there washing her hands, too. i glared at her for a second and then it hit me - she was no cube-dweller. she was the actress who played Madison on Everwood! i stared at her for a second (definitely a beat or two longer than anyone should stare at anyone in a locker room) just to make sure, and she gave me a what-are-you-looking-at look and took off, while i stood there trying not to burst out laughing.
it's a super-slow day at work, so i've been doing some, ahem, important research online. i just-just found this lovely quote from Angelina Jolie. go. read it.
so i've been 30 for a whole month now, and it's painfully apparent that all my counting down and anxiousness last year was sort of ridiculous. i think i expected to mourn my 20s, to regret not doing more, to feel some sense of loss. in fact, i feel a tad bit liberated. it's true, what they say: you stop caring so much in your 30s. or, rather, you stop caring so much about stupid things in your 30s. and lemme tell ya, that feels pretty darn nice.
e truly saved a life. he showed courage. yet, i can't help thinking he showed a little carelessness, too. he had his two little girls with him, on the platform, and they witnessed the whole thing. they had no idea for a while if their dad was dead or alive. isn't that a little traumatic for a 6-year old and a 4-year old? didn't he think about what would have happened to them if he'd died, which, in fact, he almost did? maybe what's really bothering me about this whole thing is all the fuss being made. Donald Trump is throwing money at him, he's a guest on Letterman - they're even going to Disney World! it just seems to me that helping your fellow citizens - in times of distress, in any situation - should be the norm. it should be expected. and blowing an act of bravery like this so much out of proportion taints it a little, sends the wrong message. like Mikey said last night, don't be surprised if a couple of idiots stage something similar, just to get Trump to toss $10K their way, just to see their name in lights.
out it and i felt vindicated. to all the lose-weight-get-in-shape resolutioners out there: good for you. congratulations. i really, really hope you're successful. but please, stay out of my gym. i dread the month of January, solely because i know i will be waiting in line for the elliptical machine that is absolutely free the other four-days-a-week, 11-months-of-the-year i show up. the locker room will be packed with women idly chatting, snipping tags off their new workout gear, not bothering to use locks (last night i literally tried eight lockers before i found one that was empty - i almost wanted to steal someone's stuff just to teach them a lesson!), leaving their used towels everywhere. perhaps i'm easily irritable, but it's like a bunch of strangers busting into your house and trashing it. on Tuesday night, my gym was so busy i had to settle for a painfully outdated machine in the corner. and i got stuck next to a girl who was clearly starting to develop the flu. i was sneezed on and coughed at for 30 minutes straight. arg. i wish there were special gyms that are only open in January. all the newbies - the resolutioners - could go there while the rest of us who drag our rear ends to the gym all year long could be left in peace.
and i couldn't be happier about it. he never fit in here, and i gladly welcome some young blood in exchange for that old crankpot with the balky back. i have to give credit where credit is due, however: Randy's locker was the most entertaining in the clubhouse when my dad and i took the Yankee Stadium tour. whether it was a joke or not, let's just say his nickname suddenly made sense to me...
today is the day most people drag themselves back to work, officially start their new year's diets, and/or delve into the winter doldrums. but this date has a different significance for me, especially this year. today marks 10 years since my Grandpa Brady passed away, and i miss him more each year.
