Blue Rain

I'm listening to some k-pop songs that I listened to a lot during freshman year of college.  This is bringing back an insane amount of memories.  I love youtube. :)

American Idol 6.24

Well, that was entertaining. Not as good as last week, but entertaining. But what exactly was the theme? Pop? Music of the past half century? Unclear.

As for the performers: Lakisha was fine but now that she and Melinda both sang upbeat songs, I don't remember what she sang. Chris S was off. Gina sounded great and I love that song. Sanjaya's fluffy mohawk was hilariously distracting from the fact that he couldn't really sing that song. Haley sounds like she would have a good studio voice. Phil was fine and it was a good song choice, but I kind of don't care. Melinda sounded good, but I'm sure she'll have a great career regardless so I don't care if she wins. Look, they put all my favorites together this week! Blake's voice was perfect for Love Song; I loved it. Jordin was cute, but I liked last week so much better. Chris R was ok, but I've never figured out what has been so special about him.

Gwen Stefani looked absolutely beautiful and like a 20 year old schoolgirl. I'm not sure how excited she was that 3 people were singing her songs though...

I was waiting all night for someone to spell bananas. I really was.

How is it that it's 1 am and I still don't know who got kicked off of Dancing with the Stars?

Yan Yan

Sad news.  Poor Yan Yan.

 

http://edition.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/03/27/knut.panda.ap/

What About Brian

Last night was the season finale of What About Brian.  The show has been shaky at times and not the best, but it really felt like it had been hitting its stride in the last few episodes and the finale really delivered.  ABC didn't renew it in the big string of renewals but I kind of want another season.  I think I'm actually going to miss it if it doesn't return.  (But on a side note, I'm glad ABC has turned into the "relationship TV show network."  I think I like that better than the "serious crime show network.")

Seventy

It is so unbelievably gorgeous outside that it made it very, very, very difficult to pull myself into the office.  One of the pleasures of walking to the office is being able to take in the sunlight and the gorgeous gorgeous weather.  So nice.  That's the one thing that's nice about winter - you really, really appreciate the coming of spring.

 

Anyway, Weather Channel says it is 63.  Maybe in the wind and shade.  I highly doubt it.  It feels so much warmer than 63 out there; it feels like 70.  Warmest day in months and months and months.

Musical

Last night, I had a dream that the law school musical was being shown on Soapnet. I didn't know it was airing, but caught the end when channel surfing. It wasn't just our school; there were musicals from other law schools too.

It was so bizarre.

I wonder what dreams tonight will bring.

Fifth Grade US Geography

The question was, "True or False: Ohio shares a border with Illinois."

Did the contestant really try to figure out the answer by saying, "Well, Fargo is near Wisconsin..."?

What do Fargo and/or Wisconsin have to do with Ohio or Illinois?!

Happy

I am happy about TV!

 

This afternoon news broke that ABC has renewed for next season: Brothers and Sisters, Men in Trees, Ugly Betty, Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, Boston Legal, Dancing with the Stars and Lost!

 

Happy!

 

Especially about Brothers & Sisters.  It doesn't get blockbuster ratings like Grey's, but it is an amazingly well-done show.  I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a good drama.  It's fabulous!

 

Yay!

 

And this happened the night after a great Boston Legal episode (I love James Spader!!) and I had started wondering if the show would be renewed.

 

Yippee!! :)

 

Now if only my eye would stop twitching from sleep deprivation and eye strain...

Laugh

I'm terrible. I rewatched the Sanjaya performance solely because the splicing together of Sanjaya singing and that crying girl is just hilarious. It was even funnier on second watching. Soooooo funny.

Again

I cannot believe Ryan called up the sobbing girl at the end of the show to the stage to hug the Idol competitors. She was bawling!!

Camera

That was such a strange segment of American Idol.

It started as, "Who is that sobbing girl that they keep showing on camera?"

(Seriously, sobbing. A lot.)

Then, "Sanjaya is singing to the girl who is crying while he's performing?"

Not only that, but the people on the cameras kept cutting to that girl every single time they showed the audience. She got more screen time than "team Sanjaya" (although the camera people did seem to like his sister's chest...). She seemed to cry less as the song went on, but she started out crying.

Sanjaya finishes and the judges start up, and Simon directly draws attention to the girl! And then Ryan asks for her name! And then Sanjaya gives her a hug! Oh, this is too bizarre.

Go Blake and Jordin!!

Mayo Shrimp

Do you like this dish?

It's served quite often at Chinese banquets here, often the 2nd dish. Lots of shrimp, drenched in mayo, topped with nuts and on top of a bed of broccoli.

I always thought the mayo was a little too much, so when I was younger, I would scrape it all off with a napkin. (Well, as much as I could). My family would usually order it (if we did) without the mayo, but at banquets, it would usually come out drenched. The mayo just made it feel really heavy. Without it, I don't mind the shrimp too much.

I'm allergic to broccoli and not a big fan of nuts, so this is definitely not one of my favorite banquet dishes (it's not bad, it's just personal preference). But it came up for my RCSP, so here it is. I'd rather this dish get replaced with black pepper scallops on a bed of Chinese vegetables. Yum.

Jedi Master

I saw this on my snow/sleet-filled walk to work this morning. I pass by this corner all the time, but I've never seen this, so I wonder if it's new or if I'm just in my own world when I walk to work. (It may have been there yesterday, but this was the same corner as the Expedia yellow suitcase promotion so they were probably blocking it).


So what does it mean? I go to the site and get a trailer. Does anyone know what this is for?

Developments

Apparently, the winter storm watch is no longer in effect.

 

Instead, we have a winter storm warning.

 

Wheee...

Vicinity

From my look out the window, it looks like it has started to rain.

 

I checked the Weather Channel online and you know what the current weather status is?  "Showers in the vicinity."  Now, how exactly does it help me if I am going out (which I'm not, but hypothetically) to know that there are showers in the vicinity?  Yes, take an umbrella, but does that mean that it's raining or that it's not raining?

Weather

This weather is crazy.

 

The local news station this morning was like, "Yesterday's high was around 70, tonight there's a winter storm watch."

 

That just captures the rollercoaster-ish-ness of it all.  (Yes, I agree, I don't think that's a real word).

 

Anyway, yesterday was glorious.  Even this morning was pretty warm.  I ended up walking through Times Square (where I got my free Expedia luggage tag - thanks Expedia!) in sleeveless and a skirt.  It was awesome.  Unfortunately, the temps are just going to drop throughout the day and it might snow tonight.  Possibly some snow and then I think they said sometime tomorrow the noreaster is supposed to arrive.  Bringing possibly 5 inches of snow?!

 

Snow?!  Yesterday it was close to 70!  It was spring!  -ish...

 

The poor crocuses that bloomed that they had a picture of in one of the local papers.  I can't imagine they'd like the snow.

 

It's dropped a few degrees in the past few hours.  It's gotten cloudier and more windy.  Ick.

Spring

August 2006, Chinatown, New York City

Some random thoughts:

- It was supernice out today. I think the temps got up to 70 and it was still 65 on my walk home. It was fabulous. The only downsides were: (i) the massive crowds on the streets - when I was walking home, it was like a swarm of people all over Times Square; (ii) the fact that it was on a Wednesday and that means a work day, and (iii) I had a lot to do at work today so I couldn't hang out at the park or something. It's what I would have done if I were still in school. It's going to be the last really nice day for awhile (I think tomorrow is supposed to be warm but pouring, and then it's going to get like 30s cold again). I was really getting used to the idea that spring is coming...

- I took a short walk to Bryant Park today because I knew if I didn't, I would regret it during the upcoming colder spell. Since the gym is barely on my radar due to time and energy constraints (why does the energy level just plummet in the winter while working?), I am trying to make an effort to walk outside for an afternoon break, even if it's just a walk around the block, on any day where the weather is nice and the temps are over 50. I rationalize that this is good for a "health break" because then at least I'm not sitting on my butt for 7 straight hours and it's like people who take a smoke break... but a bit healthier.

- I'm sad that Brandon went home on Idol, but I can't say I'm shocked. He had a great voice, but didn't show it during any of the 4 weeks that he could have. Sigh. But why is America still voting for Sanjaya?!

- I like instant mashed potatoes for my afternoon snack at work.

- Jack? Football with the Others? Huh? What is going on with Lost? At least we've managed to stay up to date with this one... thanks to its long winter hiatus. I think we are finally up to December for Heroes, but all of this season's 24 is still on the DVR (so don't spoil me, please!). And now my Thursday night ABC fix is back for tomorrow and I only have 2.5 definite free hours on the DVR... ick. The cast of this Grey's "spinoff" is sounding better with every new person they add. I really hope it turns out well.

- Magazines take a really long time to read. If you read them cover to cover like I do... that was seriously the only good thing about those NJ Saturday classes I had to do last winter.

- Not a big fan of this new Blogger thing where they put your pictures in the Picasa albums. It's going to eat up part of the storage space I'm paying for... great.

- Very sleepy. Going to flip on a Chinese lullabies CD and head off to dreamland. Good night!

I Need You

So, I was not into Phil's performance of the LeAnn Rimes song "I Need You" last night at all, but it has prompted me to start playing the song again on YouTube.  Ha.

 

I really hope Blake, Brandon and Chris S make it into the finals!

Numb

My dentist appointment was at 8:30.  My mouth is still numb.  Apparently the novacaine worked better this time around.  Either that or maybe it took better since these teeth were less decayed?

 

Ugh, I'm going to be going back to the dentist for months.  Those years of dreading going to the dentist so much that I didn't go are really coming back to haunt me.  Sigh.

Smoke Mask

Do they make dust mask type things that filter out smoke? Please let me know ASAP if they do and I will be so grateful. (Or do dust masks do that?)

I am currently doing everything I can to bury my face in my shirt. It is all I can do to not find a giant rubber band and rubber band the shirt to my nose to keep the smoke from coming in. This can't be just one cigarette. It's like the whole nicotine bar is back open for business. The choices I don't make slowly making my lungs black. Wheeeeeeeeeeeee. It may be hard to believe but I can actually feel it in my lungs and that it's more difficult to breathe.

Please, please, please help me!! I don't know how I'm going to fall asleep in this chimney! Any small improvement in the situation would make it SO much better. Sigh. I know I complain about this a lot but it's like being a prisoner in your own home. It's always late at night when it's time to sleep and it's not like I can just go somewhere else. (I mean, am I supposed to just drop everything and go to Starbucks so I'm able to breathe? Seriously). So I am looking for any solution. My mom already gave me a bathroom filter which was working before for the less intense cigarette smoke, so the fact that the smoke is THIS bad and overpowering the filter by this much means that it's a LOT. Someone must be doing scientific research on ways to de-nicotine your home. At least I sure hope so. It would be better than researching ways for people to eat cheeseburgers without getting fat.

It's taken me awhile to write this and still no improvement. Sigh.

I Voted For You

CRAYON17 IS ANGRY WITH THE AMERICAN IDOL VOTERS RIGHT NOW.

And this is made very clear by the final 2 guys they addressed - one who sang well and has talent but got sent home, and one who sang horribly and is being kept in ... for, I don't know what reason.

ANGRY.

And yes, I am allowed to be angry, because I voted many times for him. (Unlike times when I am upset at who goes home and didn't vote, so don't really have any standing to complain). This is so bad when a "singing competition" sends home a person who can sing and not someone who practically whispered a song with nothing behind it whatsoever.

GRR. ANGRY.