Atreyu!

I couldn't believe my ears when I heard this song play at the gym!
I don't think I've heard this song since ... well, maybe since January at Mattress and Beetle's house.

Jumped the gun

It seems I was premature in praising Cashmere Mafia, since the show seems intent on irking me whenever I watch it. Whether it's thanks to the looney costumes, the dialogue or the "plot" twists, it all seems rather contrived.

However, I am enjoying Lipstick Jungle more than I thought I would. While Kitten prefers this show because of its eye candy (Robert Buckley certainly is a valid reason to hop on board this show), I actually do think it's (moderately) superior to the ladies of Darren Star's show.

Umbrella, ella, ella, eh, eh, eh

Look what Cousin Steppynose brought me tonight! I kind of hope it rains soon...

Sunday suburbia

It's not often that I spend time outside of the city, but yesterday I made a special trip to visit Gigi, whose kid count went from 0 to 3 in the blink of an eye. Since we finished graduate school, Gigi has been blessed by the arrival of a 3-year-old daughter and twin 6-month-old sons.

Seeing as how she was responsible for three kids and a sick husband, I traveled out to the East Bay to spend some quality family time. And I brought a cake!

The kids are adorable. So cute and so congenial and easygoing. Gigi is truly lucky that she has such agreeable kids who don't seem fussy at all. Plus, she was able to nonchalantly nurse the babes whilst carrying on a conversation, thanks to her hooter hider.

But it was such a different environment for me. I'm not often around young children (let alone three!) and it was kind of overwhelming! Most interesting to me was how Gigi and her husband just let them go and the kids minded themselves, playing with toys, falling asleep, crying a bit, etc. Meanwhile, the adults ate a lovely risotto and caught up on old times. I couldn't keep my eyes off the little ones, but the parents seemed sort of oblivious to them unless they started to really make a fuss. I guess you get used to kids if you're around them 24-7.

I also decided that if I ever wanted to have kids, I'd have to become more diligent about vacuuming. And cleaning my house.

McHealthy?

So, I may have just visited McDonalds and indulged in a sausage mcmuffin with egg. It's one of my favorite treats and I often feel that I'm allowed to eat one if I'm at an airport, waiting for a flight. Today's excuse? Well, none really. I had just finished a workout and I saw the golden arches so I went for it!

Recently, I've also been consuming many of Starbucks's classic sausage, egg and aged cheddar cheese breakfast sandwiches. It's a great accompaniment to my morning chai or vanilla latte. But as I bit into my sausage mcmuffin this morning, it struck me that it seemed lighter and less greasy than the Starbucks alternative.

So, when I looked up the nutritional information for both sandwiches, it was interesting to find that the mcdonald's variety (and the one I prefer) seems to be "healthier" than the Starbucks one! It has 90 fewer calories, 8 fewer grams of carbs and 3 grams fewer fat! Does this mean I should give myself permission to start my days with a little sausage mcheaven action?

Wretched wireless

I decided to finally untether my laptop computer from the cable that connects me to the internets. Yes, I was finally going wireless!

So, I headed to the store (where I ran into Charlotte York!) and purchased an Apple AirPort Express. Upon installing the device and creating a local network (named "Panda" of course), I successfully connected to the internets from my couch, while watching Rock of Love.

But without warning, everything stopped! I was in mid-chat with Roommate J and Kitten, but I was unable to reach the internets anymore. Several hours later, and after a couple of calls to my internets provider, I'm finally back on the internets, but back through the old-fashioned cable. I think I'm cursed to be always a step behind...

Harriet Tubman tater tots

Last night Mattress hosted a surprise citizenship party (some of us may have thought it was a birthday party. The evite text message was kind of lacking in details...) for a friend who recently became a naturalized US citizen. He prepared a buffet of Americana that featured foods such as the aforementioned Harriet Tubman tater tots, Roe v. Wade RU486 punch, Victory veggies, Liberty Bell something or other, etc. I was impressed with the creative labels, but clearly I can't remember many of them...

After a false start where the guest of honor's phone had run out of juice and he waited for his friends at a restaurant, we were able to surprise him and celebrate his citizenship in the only way we know how. By getting drunk!