Puff pastry party

To celebrate the return of The Hills and The City to my weekly television rotation, VALedictorian and Roommates A and J came over for a little viewing party. I prepared an assortment (two) of different puff pastry-based munchies, procured from the Food Network.

So, we drowned ourselves in greasy foods, sipped some bubbly wine and watched these two "reality" shows kick off their most recent seasons.

The Hills met my expectations with Kristin's return and I was pleased to see that she brings the same energy that made me love her in Laguna Beach. As much as I adore LC, Kristin seems like a much more fun gal to hang out with.

And this season of The City looks to be much more interesting, with dumb Olivia stirring things up as the girl with no workplace etiquette! It's only a matter of time that poor, boring Whitney departs from the drama, but at least this season looks to be a million times more interesting than last.

Tuesday is the new Monday, indeed! With the new 90210, Melrose and now two of my MTV faves.

Pauper pasta

In an effort to save money on extraneous things like eating, I recently made a lasagna, hoping that it would last me several meals.

Sadly, I just ended up eating the lasagna as snack (and maybe breakfast) in addition to my regularly scheduled meals. I'm not succeeding in saving money, but I am growing a nice belly!

On a related note, Victor Kiriakis was really, really interested in the lasagna. Much more so than in any other food that's been made in his presence.

Seafaring Saturday

My very busy Saturday had a decidedly nautical bent to it. After an early morning haircut, I traveled to Treasure Island to see Cousin Beezey compete in the San Francisco International Dragon Boat Festival.

It was a very warm morning and hundreds of people had assembled to compete and spectate. Cousin Beezey's boat was composed of co-workers who'd been training for several months. While I watched her first race (they came in second), an elderly Chinese man tapped me on the shoulder and yelled at me for being too tall. He implored me to sit down, but I pretended not to understand his Chinese-speak. Instead, I turned my attention back to the race, snapped some pictures, then left the scene. If they wanted to cheer on the race, they should have been standing up also!

Evidently, Cousin Beezey and her team won a gold medal, but I only watched the first race of the day - and I stuck around long enough to witness some Cantonese rapping, which was quite interesting in itself.

Later on Saturday, I joined friends from grad school on a booze cruise of the Bay, to celebrate some friends' birthdays. To celebrate the '80s theme, I donned a 21 Jump Street t-shirt and some snappy suspenders. It was a gorgeous, clear, warm night and it was fun to down some drinks while cruising around the Bay.

The rest of my friends went on to an '80s cover band, but I took my leave and returned home to meet Puppy and his visiting friend for dinner and to regain my land-legs.

Stop having sex with babies

I took the advice of several television columnists and watched Cougar Town last night. It was actually quite funny and I enjoyed watching Busy Philipps act like a hot mess.

But I really couldn't get over the idea that Courteney Cox would have a hard time finding a date or bagging a younger man. Especially since she spends approximately 1/3 of the first episode in her underwear, obviously showing off that she has a flawless little body.

Off the wagon

Since my little vacay in Austin for Labor Day, I have been abstaining from alcohol. It's been a little experiment that I planned to endure until my upcoming trip to Los Angeles next weekend.

Well, I officially fell off the wagon last night. You see, Blanca is in town so a bunch of us enjoyed a backyard dinner at Mattress and Beetle's, accompanied by generous pours of wine. I simply couldn't resist! And truthfully, I had no real reason not to imbibe - I was just being stubborn for the past 2.5 weeks.

I guess the timing is right because now I'll feel no compulsion to adhere to sobriety for the weekend, the activities for which include a booze cruise and outdoor beer drinking.

Verified account

Recently, I've been following more and more "celebrities" on twitter and peeking into their lives. It's interesting to follow these folks during the normal course of their day, drinking coffee, going to the beach, getting their nails done, picking up kids, saving the world, etc.

Some of these folks simply use twitter to promote their or their friends' projects:
"The real housewives of Atlanta & me! LOL! We r on tonite @ 10pm BRAVO tune n boo boo cause it's on" - NeNe Leakes

"Heading 2 Days - shooting 2 eps today, then off to see @BrookeBurke and @DENISE_RICHARDS strut their gorgeous mom selves on the catwalk" - Alison Sweeney

"Today is the third and final day taping Sweatin' to the Oldies 5. Tomorrow we will tape Tonin' to the oldies. In... http://bit.ly/1k3bcm" - Richard Simmons

Others invite followers into the more mundane aspects of their lives:
"Getting my hair cut & colored this morning." - Candace Cameron

"School drop off, pilates, Book, meeting new girls for Belle Gray, car pool, Delilah Ballet, Amelia in after school, homework, dinner, bed." - Lisa Rinna

A few try to show they have a social or environmental conscience:
"Right Action for Women is my foundation.We will provide funds to those at high risk to get the proper screening they need for breast cancer" - Christina Applegate

"Another day of studying modern day slavery. I'll let u know how it goes." - Ashton Kutcher

Some have day-long conversations with each other:
"you lookeed gorgeous, and did really well. It's hard to go out there, and you were so lovely and gracious..." - Denise Richards to Kathy Ireland

"Speaking of GORGEOUS>>>>Pardon me..but UR just as beautiful as can be..and so warm..." - Kathy Ireland to Denise Richards

"thamk u so much, so sweet of u..didn't get me far on the show:)) I sent u a DM...xo" - Denise Richards to Kathy Ireland

Many just try to stay relevant:
See above.

For whatever reason, I find this pretty fascinating and time-consuming. Work productivity has definitely plummeted.

Life on Mars

Images from the recent dust storm in Sydney are pretty amazing. It's like the whole city was transported to Mars! I wonder if it's safe to breathe...