NYC at night

Last night's challenge on Project Runway - an outfit for a night out on the town, inspired by a picture of NYC at night. My favorite outfit did not win, and I was sort of surprised by the winning outfit. I guess I don't have the same taste as the judges. And - I would have sent home Keith, not made him 'safe.' My choice between Emily and Jennifer, Emily would have stayed.

My Winner:

The dress was inspired by a wet/shiny grate around a tree. I think it was a great interpretation, and something people can wear!

Lobsterfest

My favorite event of the summer is Lobsterfest. (Actually called the Milford Rotary Lobster Bake). For $40, you get 2 lobsters (or steak), other dinner items and all you can drink beer or wine from 4-8pm. Fabulous, right?


It has gotten to the point where I bring a clan of friends from MA to the event. One year, 2 friends, next - 5, etc. Our group this year was 12 (+ 2 when we arrived!). Unfortunately, I was not at 100% and did not enjoy lobsterfest to the fullest extent. (No drinking, plus an exit at 6:45, to return to Archie's at 8:30)


Even though I felt sick, everyone else had fun, which is the important part!

Look out Lobsterfest, here we all come...

We are great at posing for pictures. What is Jen doing?

Summary

I went to CT to visit w/ Heather and Erik while they were home from CA. Some topline highlights:
* A trip to Christmas Tree Shops & the Outlets(see: http://whatweblowourmoneyon.blogspot.com/)

* Our favorite spots: Archies, where Heather spilled a beer on me:

Bar in New Haven, where Heather and Erik perfect their dance moves:

* Dinner with the family:

* My sister and I acting like we are still 10 yrs old:

Not a Joke

President Bush will leave his successor with a lovely gift next year.
The U.S. will have a record deficit in '09 of $482 Billion.
Yikes.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aRuHfcMIxMfw&refer=home

(found on perezhilton.com)

Campaign

I was talking to a fellow Obama supporter recently and realized that just voting for him in November isn't enough. I really don't think it will be in this country's best interest to have McCain run it for 4 years, and cannot just sit back and hope people figure that out. I was displeased when Bush* was elected**, and devastated when he was re-elected.***

So, I need to browse Obama's site and figure out how to get involved and help make people aware.

*It is incredibly shady that each election had voting 'issues'. **http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_presidential_election,_2004
***http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._presidential_election,_2000

I would not want to do this, but it is funny to watch

Check out Japanese binocular soccer. Too funny.

The Dark Knight

The Dark Knight took in $155.34 million Fri-Sun. Beating Spider-Man 3's 151.1 million in 2007. The new Batman film is now the biggest debut ever in U.S. box office history, especially impressive for an opening on a non-holiday weekend. (perezhilton.com) *Insane amount of money*

So - I contributed to the $155 mil Friday night. It was a last minute decision, and the theater was packed. It was true to its title, in that it is very dark. It was sort of sad, actually - lots of death, destruction and loss. If I didn't know Heath Ledger was playing the Joker, I'm not sure I could have figured it out.There is one character who ends up disfigured, and they keep showing the gruesome image. I had to shut my eyes and look away.

I'm still deciding if I liked it, but here are my thoughts: There was some really great acting in it; Maggie Gyllenhaal is better as Rachel than Katie Holmes, Aaron Eckhart played his character well, and I think Christian Bale is my favorite Batman. (I have had a thing for him since I saw him in Newsies.) Michael Caine was a great Alfred, but I think the role Morgan Freeman played was too understated for his talent. And, Heath Ledger did an amazing job with his part. It's not hard to understand that someone in the head of that character would have problems sleeping afterwards.

Comic book based movies sort of bug me when they have cheesy one liners by random characters thrown in. (of course I can't think of any examples right now.) I guess it lightens the mood of all the fight scenes, but they tend to make me roll my eyes. True to comic books though, the Dark Knight definitely does not lack action - fight scenes, car chases, tractor trailers flipping, and lots of gunfire. The film is almost 3 hrs long, and at some point I thought, isn't this over yet?

The strange thing was, there were parts when the audience laughed out loud. Once or twice, it made sense - if the Joker or someone made a sarcastic joke. But there were times that people laughed at things that were mean, or disturbing - not humorous. It was like someone put on a laugh track at an inappropriate scene. Maybe I missed the joke?

When I first left the theater, I thought, I don't think I would want to see that again. But now I'm sort of curious to watch it again, now that I know what happens, and catch other parts of the movie.

That's How You Know

So, I have only seen the movie "Enchanted" once, on a plane. It was cute. But this past week, I randomly have had one song from it in my head. ("That's How You Know". . . or something) Very strange since I haven't seen the movie or heard anything about it since March!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7Z8IdVwK5Y

Weekend

My sister is coming to the East Coast!

Heather and Erik are on their way to the east for a week long visit. I get to see them tomorrow, and again next Thurs/Fri. I really miss having Heather close by, but love that I can go visit in San Fran! I wish her pup Evie could come for the trip, instead she is spending her week at her WoofGangs Camp!

Other plans this weekend - Cure my Mexican food/Margarita craving w/ a dinner out w/ a friend tonight, potential Pilates class at 8am tomorrow (we'll see..), and perhaps a viewing of the Dark Knight!

bummer

I was looking forward to a visit from my friend* from Australia next week, and sadly work obligations are keeping him from traveling here. I'm super bummed bc it would have been cool to hang out w/ him and my friends at one of my favorite summer events - Lobsterfest in CT! Hopefully he will come in the fall!

* it's complicated

Make it Work!

Yay for another season of Project Runway! I tried to predict the winner/loser last night, but I'm terrible at predicting the future. The dress that won was pretty creative, but I would have picked the cup dress (blue, below). And for the loser - I would have gone with that hideous thing below(last pic). What is that supposed to be anyway? The designers had to use material from the grocery store, which must be so hard! My roommate and I were discussing what we would pick - we decided on a skirt made of cereal boxes, but struggled with an idea for a top. Some of my favorite outfits: SOLO cups
Pasta and labels
Paper towels
wtf is this?

boring

I have been such a bum this week! The week of the 4th of July I got a cold. (Summer colds suck.) Then, it progressed into a sinus infection, which I got medicine for last week. But since I have been taking it, all I want to do is lay around and sleep! I looked up side effects of amoxicillan and it says, "tiredness and lack of energy." fabuloso. At least it's not just me being lazy! I can't wait til this plague is over with.



And, since I'm such a bum, I'm super boring and haven't done a thing. Not even all my laundry, which I have said I was going to finish since Saturday. Ugh.

Senate passes repeal of 1913 marriage law

From boston.com: "The Massachusetts Senate today passed a bill that would repeal a 1913 state law that prevents gay and lesbian couples from most other states from marrying in Massachusetts.
The law originated when lawmakers in many states were trying to prevent interracial couples from crossing state lines to marry. It fell into obscurity for decades. But it received new attention in 2004, when Republican Governor Mitt Romney invoked it after gay marriage was legalized in Massachusetts to prevent out-of-state gay and lesbian couples from marrying here and forcing their home states to consider recognizing Massachusetts marriage law."
Yay, MA!
http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2008/07/senate_passes_r.html

heck yes, it is Friday

It's so close to the weekend! Fridays at DD we get out at 1:30, which is fabulous! Because we usually have a ton to do, sometimes we don't get out til 3, or later, but today - the bosses are out, so you can bet we will depart at 1:30.

Weekend plans: Tonight - dinner w/ a friend. Tomorrow - possible beach day, perhaps going w/ a friend to her husbands softball game, driving to Vernon, CT to see my cousins play at 7pm. Sunday - Softball double header at 6 and 8pm. Semi quiet and relaxing, but not boring!

I'm off now to make sure we are all set with our orders for the shoot in LA next week. Oh and some billing fun. 1:30 cannot come fast enough.

cookie monster

I heart Keebler Fudge Stripe cookies. I would eat way too many if I bought a regular box, so I'm excited that they are available in 100 calorie packs in order to keep my consumption to a reasonable level.

foggy

The fog in San fran moves fast! This video is short, but you can sort of see how fast it goes.

There is always something going on in San Fran

On our walk back to H's apartment after the de Young museum, we passed a group of people rollerskating. Actually, some were roller dancing. They were playing music that sounded like the Sugar Hill Gang, and some were pretty talented. I liked this lady's shirt. In case you can't read it, it says "Wake. Eat. Skate. Sleep."

I'm pretty sure Heather will post a video of the skaters on her blog, so check it out. (http://pinkpolkadotdiary.blogspot.com/2008/07/roller-skating-in-ggp.html)

Dale Chihuly

Sunday, Heather and I went to the de Young museum in San Francisco to see the Daly Chihuly exhibit. The artist blows glass into amazing pieces, in vibrant colors. I cannot imagine the painstaking care it must take to pack and ship this all without breaking it. It was very cool to see.

http://www.chihulyatthedeyoung.org/

July 4th Weekend

I spent the 4th of July weekend in CA with Heather, Erik, Evie, and Heather's friend Cristin. We drove to Santa Cruz, where we hung out at the beach, grilled, and had a fun, relaxing weekend. Perfect!

Pictures (starting at the top:) Erik made a hat out of the pizza box top, Heather and I eating cotton candy at the boardwalk, Evie and Ti Ti (my new nickname) relaxing, the beach near the house, Heather, Evie and me on the rocks.

flight update

The plane we are waiting for is still circling. (Glad I am not on that flight) it may have to land in Manchester,NH to refuel and then come back to Boston. I think Manchester is less than an hour by car from Boston, so I wonder how high that plane actually gets before it goes back down. But you should have heard the groans and b*tching the crowd here did when that announcement came. I am pretty grateful I am in a good mood! I am very excited to go to CA and see Heather, Evie and Erik, and I'm sure I will get there eventually so I can't really complain.
*** the elusive plane has landed. I think someone actually cheered.***

**UPDATE**
We boarded the plane, sat on it for 45 min and then were told it wouldn't take off til 7:30. I thought - 1. there is no way I will make my connection in Chicago. 2. If I stay on this plane, I might not get to CA til tomorrow. So, while on board, and in the process of de-planing, I called United, and asked for any other way to get to San Fran. They booked me on a flight through DC, and while I was in line to print that ticket, I got a call from United. The Chicago flight was cancelled. I saw the entire plane line up at customer service and was grateful for cell phones and the 1800 customer service number! Needless to say, I got to San Fran by midnight, almost hassle free.

aeropuerto

Due to a lovely hail/thunderstorm, my flight out of Boston was cancelled. I was put on an earlier flight (that makes no sense to me but whatever) which is delayed. The airline rep came over the loudspeaker and said the plane we are waiting for is in Logan airspace and once it lands and is cleaned we can go. I am guessing that even with the delay on the new flight I'll be out of Boston by 4.
I think airports are one of my favorite places. There is so much to watch and people are generally amusing.For example, people really freak out about delays and not getting what they want right away. Sometimes, things get to a point when you really cannot control what happens and you have to wait it out. I guess if you are trying to get somewhere important or have been traveling for a while your patience wears thin. I'm actually surprised I am so patient with airlines, considering I have to work hard to remind myself to be patient sometimes.