televisionmania

Something is wrong with me (yes, yes, insert your own joke here, Uncle Al). Healthwise, I mean. Aside from the occasional migraine, I'm a remarkably healthy individual. The last time I was sick was last Christmas. Before that is had been the previous St. Patrick's Day. So I am not used to just not feeling well. Anyway, I am crazy tired, and my neck is killing me... all the muscles hurt, like I slept on it wrong or something, but also it's tender and sensitive to the touch, like when your lymph nodes are swollen, but it's my entire neck. Also, I've had some sort of a non-migraine headache (maybe dehydration? or sinuses?) for days - which I very rarely get so I can't really diagnose it. I just feel really really OFF and I can't seem to shake it. Bleh.

OK, I've had many, many inquiries on exactly how many TV shows I watch. I've never counted them up because, frankly, it kind of makes me sound like a loser, but last night I realized that since I DVR everything, I had no idea what came on Monday nights, or at what time, or on which channel, which makes hotel tv-watching more difficult. (Plus, I had left my laptop at work so I couldn't look anything up and I abhor flipping channels.) So, I decided to put my schedule in my Palm so I would always have it with me. My own personal Nielsen statistics, as it were. The answer, my friends, is 13. (Like Nielsen, that's only network shows that are currently on, so the answer is really more, but don't quibble.) I actually don't think 13 is all that bad - it's technically less than 2 hours a day, which is far less than the average American household.

So, without further ado, I present to you Jamie's TV Schedule:

Sunday- Brothers & Sisters (ABC)
Monday- Heroes, Studio 60 (NBC), What About Brian (ABC)
Tuesday- Gilmore Girls (CW), House, Standoff (Fox)
Wednesday- Bones (Fox), Lost, The Nine (ABC)
Thursday- Grey's Anatomy, Six Degrees (ABC)
Friday- Men in Trees (ABC)

Sooo, that's (loosely) 54% ABC, 15% NBC, 23% Fox, and 8% CW. (And because it can't be said enough: shut up, Aerie Girls.)

OK, so, let's factor in the fact that 24 starts in January. That's 14. Let's factor in my current cable shows. That's Dexter, Dr. Who, and Battlestar Galactica. We're up to 17. Still less than the average American household (and ps> in 1950, the "average American" was a male in his 40's who owned his own home and shared it with a wife and 2 kids; in 2000, the "average American" was a female in her late 20's who rented her home with a roomate she was not in a relationship with... so, I'm fairly average). Cable shows that aren't currently being broadcast: The 4400, The Sopranos, Big Love, Weeds, & Eureka. That's 5 more but I'm not counting them because they're not on right now, and plus, some of them overlap through the summer, when nothing is on network TV, so, neener neener. I'm also not counting things I watch when I can, but don't record when I'm gone; namely, Pee Wee's Playhouse, The Daily Show, and the Colbert Report (when I'm still awake, 11pm-1am on Comedy Central), The Twilight Zone, and The Food Network.

Two hours down, 9 to go. My frustration level is rising in exponential increments with the wi-fi in this building. I'm being dropped, no lie, every 3-5 minutes, and now every time I enter my conference code it just takes me back to the previous screen. Grrrrr. I can't even save this! What do you do without the internet, you might ask? I'm about to do the USA Today crossword and Sudoku, and then make flashcards for my tests next week. I only got 200 and it turns out I have 312 previous test questions to memorize! *sobs*

Meme me, meme me!

This week I am freelancing for AVMG - and my favorite guys, the physicists! Not just physicists, either, the worst kind- plasma physicists and the DOD, baby! I'm either SLAMMED or twiddling my thumbs, but the great news is that I have free wi-fi in this room, DVDs, and all my books to study for my big midterms next week.

Sooo, I got this meme from Kiddo, and what better way to pass the 7am-6pm hours:

1. WHAT CURSE WORD DO YOU USE THE MOST? errr, hell, I would think.

2. DO YOU OWN AN IPOD? and I treat it like my own offspring.

3. WHAT PERSON ON YOUR FLIST DO YOU TALK TO THE MOST? umm, I don't have a "FLIST" - I'm assuming that's livejournal lingo? but the person on my IM list that I talk to the most is Mr. Tom Casiello, Esquire.

4. WHAT TIME IS Y0UR ALARM CLOCK SET TO? This week it's 5:30am, the last 2 days it's been 4:30am, ACK, and when I'm home I usually don't set it, but get up around 8ish.

5. DO YOU STILL REMEMBER THE FIRST PERSON YOU KISSED? Justin Pollard, Pineywoods Baptist Encampment, 1988. A couple of years later I kissed his twin brother Zack. Zack was a far superior kisser.

6. DO YOU REMEMBER WHERE YOU WERE ON 9/11/01? I was getting breakfast at the office cafeteria place when I saw it on the news. Bacon, egg, & cheese on whole wheat.

7. WOULD YOU RATHER TAKE THE PICTURE OR BE IN THE PICTURE? In it... partly because I'm vain and partly because I'm a horrible photographer.

8. WHAT WAS THE LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Last Saturday Sandy and I watched "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" and my favorite part was at the beginning, right when we figure out that their names are "Jane" and "John," I turned to Sandy and sarcastically snarked, "What's their last name, Doe?" and she was like "um, it's Smith." And I was like "oh." Sheepish, table for one?

9. DO ANY OF YOUR FRIENDS HAVE CHILDREN? Yes.

10. HAS ANYONE EVER CALLED YOU LAZY? If they haven't then we only have to point to Exhibit A, the fact that I'm doing this instead of studying the biological composition of muscle fibers.

11. DO YOU EVER TAKE MEDICATION TO HELP YOU FALL ASLEEP? Hell yeah I do! I have the good stuff (Ambien), the it'll-do stuff (Simply Sleep), and then there's always the good old-fashioned cocktail.

12. WHAT CD IS CURRENTLY IN YOUR CD PLAYER? Did you not read question #2? I'm all digital baby. What's a cd?

13. DO YOU PREFER REGULAR OR CHOCOLATE MILK? Ick. Soy, unsweetened.

14. HAS ANYONE TOLD YOU A SECRET THIS WEEK? Hmmmm. Not yet!! Someone call me!!

15. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU HAD STARBUCKS? Unfortunately, this morning. I think Mr. Marriot and Mr. Starbuck are certainly in bed together.

16. CAN YOU WHISTLE? I HATE whistling!!

17. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT THE OPPOSITE SEX? attitude.

18. WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO? Thanksgiving!

19. DID YOU WATCH CARTOONS AS A CHILD? What do you mean, as a child?

23. DO YOU OWN ANY BAND T-SHIRTS? I have a Rolling Stones t-shirt and a Doors t-shirt... both poseurs from Target.

24. WHAT WILL YOU BE DOING IN ONE HOUR? Still sitting here in the SRR, bored out of my skull. And the hour after that, and the hour after that, ad nauseum.

25. IS ANYONE IN LOVE WITH YOU? No.

26. WHAT WAS THE LAST SONG YOU HEARD? There was some muzak on in here earlier. I nipped that in the bud.

27. LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Ummm, last week during Studio 60, I'm embarrassed to say. I'm not going to lie, I'm a sucker for old people.

28. ARE YOU ON A DESKTOP COMPUTER OR A LAP TOP? Laptop. Dell Inspiron E1405.

29. ARE YOU CURRENTLY WANTING ANY PIERCINGS OR TATTOOS? Yes.

30. WHAT'S THE WEATHER LIKE? I can't remember... the halls of the Marriott have completely obliterated my senses.

31. WOULD YOU EVER DATE A GIRL/GUY COVERED IN TATTOOS? Covered? Probably not. Strategically placed and rife with personal meaning? Hott.

32. WHAT DID YOU DO BEFORE THIS? See question #24: sitting here in the SRR, bored out of my skull, since 6:45am.

33. WHEN IS THE LAST TIME YOU SLEPT ON THE FLOOR? Gosh, I can't remember! Which might mean I have Alzheimer's. Or, just that I haven't slept on the floor in a long time.

34. HOW MANY HOURS OF SLEEP DO YOU NEED TO FUNCTION? Six-seven a night is OK as long as I can get one night a week of 9-10.

35. DO YOU EAT BREAKFAST DAILY? Every single day.

36. ARE YOUR DAYS FAST-PACED? Depends.

37. WHAT DID YOU DO LAST NIGHT? I worked until 8pm, ate soup at the sports bar, and was in bed by 9pm. Watched Friends, Will & Grace, and Brothers & Sisters, and went to sleep.

38. DO YOU USE SARCASM? As a weapon. A weapon of LOVE. Also, as an escape mechanism.

39. HOW OLD WILL YOU BE TURNING ON YOUR NEXT BIRTHDAY? 30. Again. And for every birthday for the rest of my life.

40. ARE YOU PICKY ABOUT SPELLING AND GRAMMAR? I'm a Nazi.

41. HAVE YOU EVER BEEN TO SIX FLAGS? Yes.

43. DO YOU GET ALONG BETTER WITH THE SAME SEX OR THE OPPOSITE SEX? I will have to say that generally speaking, I get along better with the opposite sex, but when I say that, the same sex looks at me like I'm a lady of the night or something, which is probably why I don't like them as much to begin with.

44. DO YOU LIKE MUSTARD? I like yellow mustard.

45. DO YOU SLEEP ON YOUR SIDE? I sleep on my stomach, mostly.

46. DO YOU WATCH THE NEWS? Do you consider Jon Stewart the news?

47. HOW DID YOU GET ONE OF YOUR SCARS? Skin cancer.

48. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON TO MAKE YOU MAD? Earlier this morning a guy that's working for us came back with enough Chick-Fil-A for everyone except me and now I hate him.

49. DO YOU LIKE ANYBODY? I like a lot of people.

50. WHAT IS THE LAST THING YOU PURCHASED? Dinner last night, I guess. Other than food... shampoo.

Friday

A cold front blew in last night. I know because my thermostat was off and my windows were open all night, and when I went to bed it was almost 80 (in my apartment!) and when I woke up it was 67. Colder in the bathroom and the kitchen where the windows were still open- the wind woke me up at 3am and I closed my bedroom window then.

I had to get up at 7 to spot-clean my apartment - yay for unexpected parental visits!! My stepdad is coming here tonight and spending the night with me. I'm happy to have him, I have about a bajillion things to do tonight, like school work, laundry, packing, and cleaning off the TiFaux, but now I have to work "hosting" into the mix. Luckily he is pretty low-maintenance so I'm pretty sure I can just park him in the corner with a glass of wine and he won't bother me. Although I will have to censor my TV watching... namely, I doubt he would enjoy Dexter. Or the sci-fi. That leaves me with Heroes (still haven't seen this week's!), LOST & Men in Trees. Oh, and the PBS Independent Lens on the international versions of Sesame Street in Bangladesh, Kosovo, and South Africa.

So, I'm working all day tomorrow at the Gaylord, maybe until midnight, and my flight Sunday is at 7am. One of my co-workers offered to let me stay in her room that night since it is so close to the airport, but the trick with that is that I have to be ready to leave my house for a week a day earlier than originally planned. Not sure that is going to happen but I'm shooting for the stars.

Doh... I just made the mistake of checking my work e-mail and spent 20 minutes working on something - now I have to jump in the shower so I can go get birthday cupcakes and still be at the Gaylor by 10:30.

Happy Friday!

a word on magic

So, Bill and I went to see The Prestige yesterday. I was uber-excited about the movie, because the trailer has been intriguing me for months. I hadn't read a review (and still haven't- except for Jules's "it kept [her] guessing until the end"), so although I thought it was interesting and (mostly) well-made, I was a little disappointed. First of all, I found myself really having a hard time suspending my disbelief. It was odd, because usually I'm happy, nay, ecstatic to completely immerse myself in the land of fantasy- but I was distracted by a couple of scenes where I thought both actors had on too much make-up, I was distracted by Bale's accent- it was done very well, flawlessly, actually, but for some reason he just never owned it for me, and I was distracted by SERIOUSLY, I really like Scarlett Johansson, but I am so tired of seeing her play opposite men twice her age. It's ridiculous.

But beyond that, the movie did NOT keep me guessing until the end. In fact, I didn't really guess at all - or rather, I guessed correctly. But that's not what bothered me. My problem with the movie lies in this: both characters (and their careers) fully and unwaveringly operated on the principle that a magician should never reveal the prestige. Once you know how the trick is done, it ceases to be magical; in fact, it becomes foolish. The audience doesn't care about the man who falls down the trap door; they only care about the one they see come out the other side.

So, why, then did the movie feel necessary to explain to the viewer, step by step, exactly how the trick was done? It didn't leave ANYTHING to the imagination - it spelled out not only how the magic worked, but how the characters pulled off the illusion. It showed us, complete with flashbacks, and you know what? They were right. It ceased to be magical.


Ya wanna know where the magic is? HEROES. Ooh-boy, this show is mesmerizing. Despite the fact that Milo Vilamaglianawhatever was tragically miscast, the rest of these heroes are gripping and magical and I want to continue to watch them every week and I hope I never find out all their secrets. I love the comic book feel, right down to the opening titles, I love that they showed us "the end" in the first episode and now we're working up to that, I love Hiro and his infectious giddiness and I love The Cigarette-Smoking Man The Retro Glasses Man. I love its entire eclipse-y tone.

I got myself stuck in some Monday Night Football traffic coming home from Grapevine tonight, and I'm a little wound up. I don't know how you people make that kind of commute every day; I almost had a heart attack. I miss the train.

I hate working "at home" - I'm almost always in work mode in a hotel room and at home I do whatever I want - this trying to get out of my bed at 5am with shirt ironed, coffee brewed, and lunch packed just really doesn't work for me. My next month is extremely busy and I have a feeling the few days I will be home (Nov 4-9 and 16-20) I will be somewhat anti-social. But no worries, December is mine, all mine. You guys won't be able to get rid of me. And now it's the time to pour a glass of wine and watch tonight's Heroes... so I can go to bed and get up at 5am. *slump*

My very own Carl Jung

So, if you have yet read the previous post - do that now. OK, caught up? I wanted to share some of my friend Brad's thoughts about the dream - he has a couple of degrees in Psych and interpreted it for me- unsolicited, but I think it's genius and wanted to share:

(I edited a little for grammer and spelling; I'm sorry, I can't help it, but I kept it as intact as possible as to keep his original tone.)

With impending travel (on top of the vagabond lifestyle that you lead), it is comforting for you to be in Manhattan as it represents a place that is quite far but one in which you feel at home; you can also draw the feeling of home you get from being around good friends. The focus here also represents more than just the wedding couple, for knowing you'll be able to see them soon also conjures up feelings of excitement, guilt, & longing that we harbor for our other friends.

The difficulty with the shoes directly relates to this. Theft = the loss of control, the expense of the shoes = things are harder without your tight knit group around, life can just be harder than it should be or used to be, your bartering and getting a fair price for the shoes = you know that you have all of the tools necessary to make things happen, this being represented by the "something" extra in your purse . . . there's something inside you that allows you to be independent and stand on your own.

Couches and innertubes are basic archetypes of independence. Everyone to their own but at the same time everyone is on a similar pedestal (different couches in the same room, different innertubes in the same body of water). Your friends are always there but seemingly not quite as close as you want them to be; however, when everyone is together the situation is always comforting (couches, innertubes, going to the Caribbean together). That no matter how far apart everyone is or how long it's been since you've communicated, you will always be together. Water is an archetype of flow and fluid behavior = the continual flow of life.

Oh yeah, the bathroom: Even though there was one in the apartment you went looking for another one = although something else might be more convenient you're perfectly happy carving out your own path and finding your own way . . . but you don't need to ask questions because you already know which way to go. Use your intuition, enjoy your independence, but don't let it be too long b/w talking with your friends.

How cool is that? It's brilliant; I love it. Hey Krysten, you're the other psycho, er, I mean psychologist; care to weigh in?

another dream

Seriously, I think I need therapy, just for the dreams.

Last night's dream: OK, I was on my way to see Tonya and Brent for their wedding. (They are not engaged yet.) They were living on the west side of Manhattan, in 20's or 30's, near the Korean district. (Brent would rather shoot his mother than live in New York City.) I got my shoes stolen. Like, off my feet. The hell? And for some reason I was walking around the streets of NYC with no shoes on, AS IF, and my thought process was that I needed to get some more before I got on the subway. Because that would be gross. So, I stopped at one of those little Korean stores to buy some flipflops, and the cheapest ones I could find were $18.99- odd, since you can pretty much buy a pair of flops anywhere in the city, and especially in Koreantown, for like $2, so I don't know where that came from, but I bought them and the lady actually "bought" something out of my purse - I think I had an extra shirt in there or something, so I only owed her a few dollars. WEIRD.

Then, I got to Brent & Tonya's, and they lived in this building that I had been in before, but hadn't. And they lived with this guy Dave that I used to go to Prestonwood with like 5-6 years ago and haven't talked to or thought about in ages, and then this other guy who was hot and I was never actually introduced to so I didn't know his name. There were like, 4 couches in this apartment and we were all lying on our own couch, watching Battlestar Galactica. (No way would a New York apartment hold 4 couches and no way would Tonya be watching BSG.) After a few episodes, I needed to the bathroom, and for some reason I didn't use the one in the apartment, but I went looking for the public one in the lobby. Instead of finding the lobby, though, I found what appeared to be an elementary school. I stopped a blond lady who looked like she worked there, and since we had been watching all that BSG, out of my mouth came not "do you have a bathroom?" but "do you have a Battlestar?" I started laughing at my mistake, but she grabbed my arm and pulled me into the corner with a dead-serious look and said "You really shouldn't be asking questions like that." Ummm, OK.

Then, it was time for Brent and Tonya's wedding, which in real life I know will take place in Iowa, but in my dream it was happening somewhere in the Caribbean (even though I traveled to New York for it). They got married in the water. As in, floating in the water, in innertubes. We all had our own innertube in which to watch the wedding. Which Tonya neglected to tell me, and I had bought a new dress!! But there we all were, in our innertubes (not sitting, but all the way through up to our armpits) in our wedding clothes.

Then, we all got out on the island to dry off, and the way we did that was to lie on reclining pool chairs with chicken wire over us so we couldn't move. I didn't want to do that, shocker, but Bill was already there from another function and told me it was fine. Except I'm pretty sure he wasn't Bill, but some sort of evil pod-person.

Save our Bluths

OK, you all know how much I love mail, right? Especially surprise mail, and even more especially when that surprise is a snarky t-shirt!!!!

Tom has outdone himself with this little gem, "Bluth's Orignal Frozen Banana." May the banana stand and the Bluths live on in our hearts and DVD players forever. Poor little show. It was just too smart for network television.

Oh, and the best part? The back: " 10 cents gets you nuts!!"

home!

I worked 72 hours in the past 5 days. No kidding! I got home this afternoon, finally, and there's a whole crapload of stuff to do in my inbox, and I have a chapter to read and quiz to take for school, but first - oh, first. Tonight is Jamie Night. I already showered, I'm wearing clean pajamas, and I'm making some tomato soup, and I have a bottle of my favorite wine, and last week's Entertainment Weekly, and 14 tv shows on my DVR. See you on the flip side!!!

another saturday night and I ain't got nobody...

... and I couldn't be happier about it. Remember the raucous party I was bemoaning last night? Well, at 11:30ish, I called the front desk. At 12:45, I called again. At 1:30, I called AGAIN. They inexplicably stopped making verbal noise and started stomping around and finally quieted at 2am (which gave me about 3 hours of sleep). This morning when I was getting my coffee I apologized to the front desk clerk for calling her so many times, and she was all "it's OK, the last time you called we evicted them." Doh. So the stomping around... was packing. Oops. Then I felt kinda bad, but not really, because it was still dark outside and I was going to work a 14-hour day on 3 hours of sleep.

Which is why, now, at 9pm on a Saturday night, I just took a bubble bath and am going to bed. I'm going to read a bit, but if I'm asleep by 10 then I can get 7 1/2 hours and tomorrow is another 12-hour day. Go, sleep! Choose sleep!!!

PS> I made a 97 and a 96 on my tests on Monday. Boo-ya!

Friday the 13th

OK, so, technically, it's now Saturday because it's past midnight, but I JUST FINISHED WORKING and am just now having time to post. UGH.

I was born on Friday the 13th. My mom had scheduled a c-section (my older brother had been c-sectioned because he was breached and waaaay back in the 70s it wasn't common practice for women to give vaginal birth after having a c-section) and her doctor was all "heeeey, I'm not working this weekend. Do you prefer Friday or Monday?" and she chose FRIDAY! I could have had an August 16 birthday all this time. Maybe she was trying to exert herself because she lost the name battle; she wanted to name me Allison. I'm quite happy Pops won that one for I think Allison would have fit me like a glove fits a foot.

And just because I thought it was interesting, I was updating a scanner at work today that had defaulted to year "00" and in that year, October 13th was also a Friday. Of course, I don't know if it meant 2000, or 1900, or possibly just the year 0, but I thought it was interesting. Because I am a geek.

It's past midnight and the people above me are having some sort of raucous party. I have to be up in like, 5 hours for another million-hour day, and I am none too happy about them. I know it's Friday, but C'MON! [/Gob] Who "parties" at the Residence Inn Nashville Airport? (And really, who uses "party" as a verb past the age of 22?) Hmph.

Oh, and dude. It's winter. It was in the low 30s when I woke up this morning!! And because I am from Texas, I had... a denim jacket. *snort*

Oh, and more cybergeekiness, look what Krysten taught me to do. B*tchin', right??? *weg*

Good night, and good weekend~

The best show you're not watching...

...is What About Brian. Seriously.

I'm about to rant about my medical insurance, so skip this paragraph if reading about the pill makes you uncomfortable. So, I've been taking the same pill for years. Each lady and her lady system are different, and everyone reacts differently to different pills. After I found the one that worked for me, I stuck with it, until a couple of years ago, when my pill went generic. Turns out, the generic formula slaps me with a big ole migraine, the day before my period, every single month. My doctor wrote me a "letter of medical necessity" and I went back to the brand name. No problems. When I was out of work last year and had no health insurance, I got my pill from Planned Parenthood. Turns out they actually distribute my preferred brand, so again, no problem. However, my new insurance does not cover the brand name. Not even with my handy little letter of medical necessity. I've talked to them every month since February (when my PP supply ran out) and been told about as many different stories as months I've been calling, and nothing ever changes, including the migraine. So I went to get my migraine medicine filled today, and even though it comes in a handy dandy prefilled 10-dose pack, my insurance would only pay for 9. The hell? Seems like they should give me at least one a month for free, since today's migraine is courtesy of THEM. I've spent most of today lying in a dark room with an ice pack on my face, silently cursing the system.

This post was brought to you by the letter "M" and the middle finger.

long time no update...

I haven't been blogging daily lately, and it could be said it's because there's not much going on, but truthfully, my days home have not been bursting, but full, flowing almost imperceptibly one into the next. I rather enjoy it. I got to have lunch with Sandy this week, which was a treat. It's almost fall. I made chili and had the nerd-patrol (Bill, Daren, Nathan, Erin, Dale) over for Battlestar Galactica on Friday, with a hearty reprise on Saturday with Charlie and Scottie-san. I had brunch with the girls on Saturday. I bought some art supplies (I love a blank canvas; it represents so much potential). I sold some clothes to Buffalo Exchange. I ate Jesus food. I cooked a spaghetti squash. I vaccuumed. I studied. I got an awesome Anatomy coloring book, which I have actually colored in, and has actually come in handy! I was studying earlier and got a question about what makes the rough endoplasmic reticulum "rough" - and I remembered coloring it purple with red ribosomes - the correct answer!! Heee! Chalk one up (no pun intended) for being a kinetic learner. Oh, and What about Brian starts again tomorrow and I'm soooo excited.

Off to study. I want to be asleep by 1am. I'm way too far off a normal sleep schedule and I go to Nashville on Thursday. 250 booths all to myself, which is more than I shared with 2 CTGs last week in Seattle. *slumps*

"Looks like you got yourself a fish biscuit!"

...might just be one of the funniest lines I've ever heard. Thank you, JJ.

You know how you feel when you get stuff done?? Now, no one enjoys a good day (or week) of sloth like I do, but holy productivity Batman! I've crossed off so many things on my to-do list today that I am elated and giddy! I woke up at 8 and cleaned the kitchen, the bathroom, put away 5 loads of clean clothes, dusted, vaccuumed, showered, met Sandy for lunch, went to the tailor, and am currently getting my oil changed WHILE studying at the coffee shop next door, hello, 2 birds. Go me, GO!

So, just a quick update, because I really need to get my schoolwork done - tomorrow there's a all-day Battlestar Galactica marathon on Sci-Fi, and I can't have anything holding me back from my 100% geekfest. Tom and I are actually going to watch it "together" on IM - oh yes, my friends, you have NO idea how deep the geek really goes.

I will also be making a big ole pot of my super-duper 3-bean chili for my co-geeks (Bill and Erin and Nathan and possibly Scottie-san - sorry you have to miss out, Charlie & Tom) to have during the 2-hour premiere. I'm so excited I could wet my pants.

OK, quick update on my life: So far I have an "A" in Anatomy. I cleaned out 4 bags worth of crap from my closet and drawers. I am now a brunette. My new favorite show is Heroes. I'm going to spend Thanksgiving at Krysten's. The new Showtime show Dexter is so disturbing I couldn't take my eyes off of it, even though I watched most of the episode with my hand over my mouth. My rest-of-the-year work schedule RULES.

OK, off the integumentary system. Hugs and puppies and Cylons! ~J.

Holy frak!

Seems like the entire pop culture world is embracing the expletive "frak" these days... I was ecstatic to see BSG grace last week's Entertainment Weekly cover - their first - but the article opens up with a definition and various uses of the word "frak." Now, I frakkin' LOVE the word myself, but seriously? That's what they need to talk about on the dawn of a huge and exciting season 3 double-header??

I worked until 4am last night (this morning). Seriously. 7am-4am. If I did my math correctly, that's 21 hours straight. Frakkin' riDONKulous, is what it is. I slept a couple of hours at the hotel and about an hour on the airplane, but right now I'm forcing myself to stay up until at least 10, so I don't wake up in the wee small hours of the morning.

My week in Seattle was lovely. The weather was unbelievable, and I got to hang out with Shelly, who I'd never met in "real life" before, and Loretta, who I haven't seen in about 8 years, and I had such a wonderful time with them both. Two very enthusiastic thumbs up for the trip (barring that 21-hour work day, of course). Oh! Also, I found this bar called The Nite Lite - the actual bar is made from old pinball machines, and their jukebox is full of old school country like Patsy Cline and Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison. The bartender's name was Sandy and she's been working there for about 50 years. She was awesome. I should publish a book of the best dive bars in America.... or maybe just blog about them. *weg* I have food to emote over, too, so stay tuned.

A couple of hours into my X hours of recorded television... *yawn* Bones and House, so far. I can't decide if I want to stay on topic and watch Kidnapped or Jericho or something in that vein, or switch gears completely into something like Weeds or Gilmore Girls. I'm afraid I'm going to fall asleep either way. I have 10 days at home: a doctor check-up, a big Unit Exam in A&P, a hair appointment, and about a million errands to run. That's after I get a good night of sweet, sweet sleep.

Edited to add: I just finished last week's Studio 60, and I love having it to fill my West Wing void. Sorkin and Schlamme are like comforting old friends, with their requisite titles font and their camera angles and their smart, sassy female characters and their love of Gilbert & Sullivan.

Zzzzzzzzz....