Yogurt

So in the battle of Red Mango v. Pinkberry...

I vote for Red Mango.

I can't wait for the one to open near our apartment. It can't get here quick enough!

Idols and Resolutions

I'm not doing well on my email inbox resolutions.  On either mailbox.  Oh well.

 

My 2 favorite parts of Idol last night were (a) when the guy says that Simon goes down on a lot of people (and totally didn't mean it that way) and (b) the guy at the end singing We're Brothers Forever.  Thing is, he didn't have a horrible voice, and he just seemed so happy to be there and singing to the judges that the happiness was infectious, and the judges were already so loopy by the end of the day that the whole thing was hilarious.  If only I could save just those last 10 minutes of the episode and erase the rest.  It makes me happy.

 

I don't bother paying that much attention to the good singers at this stage because I won't remember their names anyway (although I might remember their stories considering that this season is emotional story Idol) and there will be so many recaps later.  And half of them look like Carrie anyway.  I'm just on the lookout for the ringers.

Pizza

A lot of times when I see "pizza" I think of that playstation game Bust-a-move/Puzzle bubble.

Veggie Pizza

Upscale and trendy. You're the most likely to go for a gourmet pizza. You have impeccable taste in everything. You truly enjoy the finer things in life.

What's Your Pizza Personality?

Driving

I am generally in favor of congestion pricing. I think it works in other cities, and something really needs to be done here.

But one of the proposed "alternatives" this morning that I heard on the news annoyed me. Perhaps they didn't give all of the details, but what it sounded like was that if your license plate ended in a certain number, then you couldn't drive on a certain day. Sure, that would cut down on congestion. But it's a bit impractical! We live in the "congestion zone." So does that mean that if I really need to take my car out one day, but it happens to be the wrong day, I can't do it (without penalty, I'm assuming)? What if I want to drive out of the city? What if I'm just taking my car to get inspected? It's not like I can avoid the zone. Maybe there's some exception for residents. But this sounds a lot like Survivor alphabet strategy.

Spring

This afternoon, it felt like springtime outside. It was exhilarating. Not so exhilarating was my 30 minute errand to the post office to buy stamps. At least I picked up some pretty stamps - the 90 cent air mail stamps have pictures from Guam, and I also got a book of pretty flower stamps and the American favorites - Louis Comfort Tiffany ones. I always end up spending a lot of money on stamps when I go to the post office. I need to send more mail. :)

NFL

What's wrong with this picture (from nfl.com)? (Click to view larger size.)


Who made all those mistakes??

Amusing Results

Your Mind is 62% Cluttered

Your mind is quite cluttered. And like most clutter, it's a bunch of crap you don't need. Try writing down your worst problems and fears. And then put them out of your mind for a while.

How Cluttered is Your Mind?

And just how do you de-clutter your mind?

Shocker

Brainy Kid

In high school, you were acing AP classes or hanging out in the computer lab. You may have been a bit of a geek back then, but now you're a total success!

Who Were You In High School?

Smoke Update

Thank goodness it's winter and we don't have to worry about massive numbers of insects coming in through the window, because we had to crack the window open in the bedroom in order to even sit in the room. It's almost as bad as sitting next to someone smoking, and it's in the bedroom! Which has no window open and no vent going... so how is that happening? It's usually worse in the other rooms and ok in the bedroom, but now it's backwards!

The "fresh" (street) air was refreshing and cleaned the room out in about 5-10 minutes, but that's also about how long it lasted. Whoever is chain-smoking hasn't stopped because it's not too good in there again. So annoying that I can't breathe at home. So, so annoying. It's not just the breathing thing... it also makes me physically sick. Grr.

Oh well. Just going to have to open the window again soon. And start reading reviews so we can buy more air filters.

Suffering

After an excellent dinner at Gazala Place (the borekas were delicious), we came home to find our apartment completely full of cigarette smoke. It was so bad that it was like someone was actually smoking in our apartment. I hate when it's hazardous to your health to be in your own home. And that there's nothing you can do about it. If you don't know who's causing it or where it's coming from, you can't stop it. And even if you knew where it was coming from, you're powerless to stop people from having their habits invade your space. In the name of their personal freedom, you need to give up your own freedom to breathe clean air. It makes me sick. Another night of wearing a dust mask to survive, it seems.

Deal or No Deal

(Spoilers follow - if this was a new episode of Deal or No Deal, I have no idea)

She could have had $200,000 but she got a penny.

It's horrible, but I was laughing. Because it was their own fault!

It was kind of genius of the banker to smash the piggybank, so that they could go on and on with the emotional reason to keep playing. "He smashed your piggybank! Take him for a million!"

The people she brought with her didn't help. Between the emotional playing and the "you've always got it in you to go for one more" (when this is really gambling and not the gym), it's not a surprise they played to the end. But when your deal is $2,500, I guess you don't really see a choice.

Celebrity Apprentice time.

Holidays

1.  It doesn't feel like a Thursday. I keep forgetting it's already Thursday and I feel like I have the whole week ahead of me.  Although, it's a good thing because it means "sleep-in morning" is coming up soon.  Yay for Saturday mornings!

 

2.  There is still confetti all over Times Square.  I guess that's what happens when you drop a literal ton of confetti.

 

3.  I tried a roasted butternut squash soup for lunch but ended up getting the split pea because the butternut squash soup didn't taste like butternut squash.  At least it didn't taste like the kind I get at Just Salad.  It was a little closer to the flavor from the ravioli we got where it was mixed with cheese, but even that had more squash-y flavor.  I guess maybe I like raw butternut squash?

 

4.  It's quite cold outside and I'm really trying not to get sick(er).  Of course, going outside in a skirt to get lunch, even if it's 20 steps, was probably not a good idea.

 

5.  I didn't start this as a numbered list, but the list is so random that it started to make sense to do so.

 

6.  My grandparents flew down to Florida today.  I wish I were in Florida.  Even if it's "only" in the 50s.

 

7.  I want to go on vacation.  I would really like to go to South America.  I just want to go somewhere international... where the dollar doesn't suck.  And somewhere warm.  That would help.

 

8.  Still have not made any progress on the first resolution to get a sunrise alarm clock.

 

9.  I keep trying to clean my desk but it doesn't look like I made any progress.  I got rid of a really thick pile of stuff though!

 

10.  I got cookies from some document company that were delivered by our page department and I was confused because I didn't know who they were from or why I was getting them.  (It had the company name and the person's name.)  I started wondering if the "Halloween rule" should be in effect and I shouldn't eat them because they were not packaged cookies.  I dwelled on this for quite awhile because I actually really wanted a cookie this afternoon.  Eventually, I just ate both cookies.  It was a nice gesture, but perhaps packaging would be good so this type of issue doesn't come up!

Cold

Apparently it's 24 degrees, but it feels like 8. I believe it. My skin hurts. I think I was more accustomed to this in Chicago but I've gotten weak. Thank goodness for the heavy sweatpants I bought on the Alaska trip. They have been quite helpful this winter.

Nonfiction

I'm looking for books in the Barnes & Noble warehouse sale, and under nonfiction found the following titles:

- Arabian Nights
- The Odyssey
- Grimm's Fairy Tales

I had to check to make sure I was in the right section!