Babies everywhere

Alternate Title: Anne Geddes is a menace to society

Last night I went to dinner with a good friend from grad school who was unfortunate enough to spend this very frigid week working in her Boston office. We used to live blocks away from each other in San Francisco, yet I rarely saw her - especially after she birthed a baby.

Catching up over delicious fried foods and burgers, we basically spent 30 minutes talking about work and 2 hours talking about babies, parenting techniques, her knocked-up nanny, the controversial Ms. Chua, the priviledges of being born into the upper-middle class and "16 and Pregnant". Now, I don't have any kids, so I'm no expert on any of these topics, but since when did my whole life become about babies?

I guess I'm just at that stage of life where all my friends are starting families and it's become the topic du jour. Fortunately, I have enough friends with babies so I understand the concept of the Pack N Play, the Hooter Hider and the complications associated with selecting child care options. I've heard about how trying it can be to "sleep train" an infant and how weekends are scheduled around nap times. And after you see a few friends completely frazzled by sleepless nights and worrying about newly mobile toddlers, all the glamour associated with newborns seriously loses its luster.

So, Anne Geddes, with your posters of "cute" babies in various flower or animal costumes, maybe you're doing the world a disservice by perpetuating an image of peaceful, clean, sleeping angels. But fortunately for me, I've always found these images to be so creepy and so disturbing that I was never bamboozled by your horrific photos.

Movie note: Blow

THREE STARS

Pee Wee Herman was especially good at playing a gay hairdresser/coke dealer.

Where is my febreeze?

For lunch today, I had some sort of wrap containing roast beef, cheese and caramelized onions. Now, sadly, my office reeks of caramelized onions and altoids. Thank goodness I have no more face-to-face meetings today.

Movie note: Grown Ups

TWO STARS

One extra star for making fun of Massholes!

Rooty tooty fresh 'n fruity

If anyone wonders why my posts have become less and less frequent, I think it's a reflection on how interesting my life has become. Take, for example, this weekend. I think the most interesting thing we did was go to IHOP for brunch yesterday.

And yes, I did have the rooty tooty fresh 'n fruity.

The driving snow

Even though I've lived through snowy winters before, this is the first time I've ever had to commute in one. And let me tell you, it is not pleasant.

This morning, the weather lady mentioned that Boston was expected to get 4-7 inches of snow, most of it landing right during the morning commute. She said, "New Englanders can handle 4-7 inches, no problem!" I, however, am not a New Englander, so I was a bit petrified at the thought of driving to work while blinded by the white stuff.

So, I got up hecka early and left my house around 6:15 this morning to drive to work. Mother nature had already been doing her thing, so I had to spend the first few minutes brushing a layer of snow off my car before gingerly exiting our parking lot. 6:15am, it turns out, is also about the time the snow plows get deployed, so some of the roads were clearer than others. I also got stuck behind a train of about 10 plows, all headed onto the highway. This actually gave me a sense of relief because I couldn't be blamed for the snail's pace at which we were traveling.

Once I got onto the freeway, all the snow on my roof slid down to cover my rear window, making it nearly impossible to see out the back or the sides (thanks to the nearly horizontal sheets of snow). So, I poked along in the slow lane and let everyone zoom past me at 25 mph.

I definitely lost control of my car a few times along the way, and that was very disconcerting, but it was nice that the car sort of corrected itself, thanks to the grooves in the snow from travelers in front of me. I'm thankful I didn't slide into a snow bank or off a bridge, but this is not an experience I need on a regular basis.

It seems like even native New Englanders also get freaked out about driving in these conditions. Some colleagues commented on how unnerving this morning's commute was and another encouraged me to get a four-wheel drive. He said, "You know how you lose control on the road all the time? In a four-wheel drive, that happens only about a quarter the amount as you experience in your car." Actually, he said "cah."

Movie note: Elizabeth: The Golden Age

THREE STARS

If it weren't for the gorgeous costumes and sets, I would have been pretty bored. More women should wear fantastic red wigs with feathers on their heads and ruffs around their necks!

MLK getaway

Since it was a three-day weekend, Puppy and I decided to get out of Boston for the weekend. People probably expected us to seek out a more tropical climate like Florida or the Bahamas, but instead, we decided to celebrate our nation's civil rights with the First Family in Washington DC!

It actually was about 15 to 20 degrees warmer than in Boston, so it was a welcome change from the freezing cold blizzard conditions that have been common in Beantown. Upon arriving on Friday night, we headed out directly to the bars, where one bartender asked me where I'd been. Since I moved away in 2002? Is that what you mean? In any case, it felt nice to be recognized, even if I was charged full price for my drinks.

Saturday's plan was to enjoy a Mexican fiesta at one of my favorite Mexican restaurants in DC. I'd invited four friends, their husbands and babies to meet us for a rowdy, kid-friendly margarita session. Little did I know that it would be so difficult to organize around seven kids' schedules. Not being a parent, I guess I underestimated how unpredictable naptime can be! Only one friend, her husband and their twin boys showed up. It was very fun to see them, but sadly, I didn't get to see the other friends and their families. I guess it means I have to return to DC to visit them sometime in the future.

We spent Sunday walking and walking. We visited the stores in Georgetown, got Puppy a haircut and rested back at my friends' house. For dinner, we met up with some old friends of mine from the swim team and I realized quickly that the drama from nearly a decade ago still consumed their lives. Some people didn't want to sit next to others, there was complaining about the same old characters and similar concerns to those from the early '00s took up a lot of conversation.

In all, it was a nice visit. DC has changed significantly since I left and there are new neighborhoods where previously only gang territory existed before. It was fun to see those friends I could and it was nice to leave Boston for a bit. Would I ever consider moving back? Probably, but it would mean figuring out where to live all over again - my old neighborhood clearly isn't as cool as it used to be!

Snow day

Thanks to today's blizzard, our office is closed and I'm at home. It's a good thing, too, because I would have no idea how to drive in these conditions.

But every television channel is now The Weather Channel. It seems all regular programming has been suspended so our local newscasters can talk about the weather. Surely there must be something else going on in the world!

I wonder if the gym will open today.

Movie note: Showgirls

THREE STARS

Who knew there was so much grunting in Vegas choreography? Elizabeth Berkley is a truly horrible actress. I considered giving this movie one star because it is so bad, but then I considered five stars, also because it is so bad. I guess that makes it three.

The business of battle

What is it about businesses that insist upon using wartime analogies to motivate people? We are not soldiers. We are not fighting a war. Yet, time and time again, executives insist on "rallying the troops" by using very aggressive metaphors.

We're in the midst of a minor crisis and suddenly everyone talks about being on the "defensive" or "offensive." I heard someone refer to the room next to me as a "war room." War room? Come on! It's a conference room! There are large black-and-white photos of birds and flowers. Women's garments hang from racks along one wall. How on Earth is this considered a "war" room?!

The only thing I hate more than the rhetoric of war is when people use sports analogies to motivate co-workers. If I were a professional athlete, I'd expect a much higher salary.

Movie note: Salt

FOUR STARS

Thoroughly entertaining! I don't think it would have been half as enjoyable with Tom Cruise. Also of note, the black hair is a much better look than the initial straw-yellow color.

Movie note: Bottle Shock

ONE STAR

Puppy was right when he said this would make a good hour-long documentary on the History channel. As a movie, it was bor-to-the-ing.

She'd only do agony flip and go ra-ra

In preparation for MTV's Americanized version of "Skins", I have been catching up on the original British version. I'm in the middle of season 3, where Tony Stonem's little sister Effy takes center stage.

I have no idea how MTV is going to make this work, given the FCC and Republicans. And how are the Brits able to produce such amazingly talented, young actors?

Please note that I am watching the discs with closed captioning on. I don't understand half the words that come out of these kids' mouths!

I know I'm no Eskimo

Today at work, a woman explained to me what an igloo is, as if I could never in my life have possibly have heard of such a thing before.

Quality control

I just finished walking through samples for our Fall '11 season with two of our Quality Assurance team members. I was looking for garments with potential social and environmental risks (hand embroidery or beading that could cause poor working conditions, ostrich feathers, etc.) while our QA team was looking for quality risks (difficult-to-achieve pleating, colored suede, etc.).

To me, I enjoy seeing the clothes that we will be producing, but it's also interesting to see how other people view the garments. Now I find myself examining today's outfit, looking for unfinished seams, poorly constructed button holes, etc. I suppose if I were in a QA job, I'd find it very difficult to buy clothes since all the imperfections would jump out at me!

Movie note: Fanboys

TWO STARS

This movie needed more Kristen Bell and more humor. Some nice cameos, though.

Movie note: The Secret Life of Bees

TWO STARS

The book and movie are equally dull. And for a movie with three recording artists-turned-"actresses," I expected more singing.

Snow parking zone

When I returned to Boston last week, I retrieved my car from the airport parking garage and made my way home. As expected, our building's parking lot was completely full and I had to search for a spot on the street to park. But since the Holiday Blizzard of 2010 had hit town, I realized there were fewer parking options than usual.

Instead, there were mountains of snow where cars used to be able to park and several vacant spots were coated with several inches of packed snow and ice. My little car is not exactly made for snow, and I am a thoroughly Californian driver, so I gingerly backed my car into a spot that seemed free.

Well, parallel parking in the snow is not a strength of mine, so I ended up leaving my car poking out into a driveway. Fortunately, it wasn't towed and i moved it to the parking lot the next morning.

But today, I realized that winter has just begun! And it's been so long since I drove to work that I didn't realize how mounds of snow had piled up on the sides of the route I take to work each day, rendering previous two-lane streets into 1.5-lane streets. So now, in addition to having to avoid the slick ice, I have to maneuver among Masshole drivers who honk at my grandma-inspired driving style.

And again, I was faced with fewer parking spots than usual this evening. Fortunately, I found a relatively close spot near my home, but the tires definitely started to slip as I backed her into the spot. This is going to be an interesting winter of commuting.

Movie note: Splice

ONE STAR

Talk about gender confusion!

Happy 2011!

I have just spent the tamest New Year's Eve of my life! No big parties, no cute outfits, no booze-a-palooza and no trannies! Instead, DJ Mother Nature and Jimmy Jam came over for a calm dinner and television celebration.

Since Puppy was working on Friday, it was up to me to do all the cooking! I have a feeling our guests were nervous since Puppy is the one blessed with culinary talents, but I think I did a pretty good job, thanks to recipes on the internets.

The good thing about our low-key NYE celebration is that yesterday was hangover-free! We were able to get food, do some shopping, get a workout in and have a normal, productive day. Not the most exciting way to start the year, but probably one of the healthier in recent memory. I wonder if that's a portent for 2011. Or my life.