Tag Archives: friends

out and about

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Can you believe that I’ve actually been out doing stuff recently? I can barely believe it myself. 🙂 A quick rundown with pics…


A few weekends ago, Rob and I went to the Team LA store at the Staples Center to see what Lakers goodies we could find. Sadly, not much. They had A LOT of stuff but nothing particularly exciting. So disappointing. I mean, LA is a long way from Orange County. Wowzers. I did find this awesome Mickey Mouse tee and had to take a picture of it. No, I didn’t buy it. (They didn’t carry it in women’s sizes, heh).


The following weekend Rob and I “crashed” an old friend’s surprise 30th birthday party. HEE! We were invited by a friend who actually WAS invited. That’s not technically crashing, right? Anyway, he had a freaking In-N-Out truck at his party. I took full advantage and enjoyed a Double Double cheeseburger. Sooo good.

And yes, I cut my hair. I go back and forth between liking it and not. It’s a *tad* shorter than I wanted. Oh well.


Finally, this past weekend on the 4th of July, we went to a barbecue at Daniel and Carolyn’s place across town. There was this guy using the grill next to us (he’s behind me in the above pic) and he was wearing… get this… cargo shorts, white sunglasses, a red/white/green wristband, Louis Vuitton belt, Gucci loafers… and no shirt. He was such a character! My friend Rob (not to be confused with the hubs) really wanted a picture of him so he pretended to take pictures of me. Too bad I leaned over too far and got in the way. We’re so mean! I’m going to rot in hell, aren’t I? 😛

Anyway, no SYTYCD updates tonight. Rob’s out of town again so I have to wait to watch this week’s episode until he returns. Can’t wait!

a day of (california) adventure

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My friends Ruby and Jason were in town a few weekends ago and where did we go? California Adventure at the Disneyland Resort.

🙂

The park is undergoing major construction right now (it’s scheduled to be finished 2010-2011) but we managed to keep ourselves busy for a few hours.

I’m not allowed to post pictures of Jason (hehe) so I’ll share random ones instead.



First we hit Toy Story Mania. I love this ride. Too bad I suck at it and only scored 91,600 to Rob’s 171,800.



The Food and Wine Festival was going on and while we didn’t attend any culinary demonstrations, we saw Food Network Star Guy Fieri. I love him! I could watch Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives all day long.



We stopped in the candy store at Greetings of California to drool over the treats. Look at those HUGE caramel apples. YUM!



If you’re familiar with my love for all things Disneyland resort, you know that Rob and I always go to the Animation Building to draw at the Animation Academy. This is one of our favorite attractions ever. This time we drew Mickey’s best friend, Pluto.



Since we were in the Animation Building, we thought we’d check out the Sorceror’s Workshop. Surprisingly, I’ve never been in there, hehe. In Beast’s library, you can find out what character you’re most like. First, you get your picture taken and then you answer a few random questions. It turns out I’m most like Mulan. Pffft. Just because I’m Asian. HAHAHA.



Here’s the picture Rob took.



Rob is most like Timon. BWAH.

We had fast passes to go on Tower of Terror but I just could not convince Ruby and Jason that a multiple drop thrill ride is fun. Hee. I’m always a little apprehensive before I get on the ride and I’m totally screaming and clutching at Rob for dear life during all the drop sequences but I just love it when it’s all over. I guess it’s the adrenaline kicking in.

At that point, we headed out of the park and continued our Disney day by watching Up (my review is below — highly recommended). All in all, we had a great day (no, great weekend) hanging out. Miss you guys and hope to see you again soon!

moving update

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Moving day is coming up so FAST! We still have so much packing to do! ACK. The movers are set to pick up our stuff on Wednesday and we’re going to drive down to Orange County on Thursday morning. CRAZY. I really can’t believe it’s almost here. It doesn’t seem real somehow. A lot of people are asking if I’m more excited or sad. Definitely both. In equal amounts. I’ve lived in the Bay Area for almost 12 years — since I was 17. So my “adult” life is rooted here but Southern CA will always be “home.”

So I haven’t mentioned it here because I was waiting for official confirmation and I got it on Friday… my company is letting me keep my job and work remotely from home! YAY. When I gave notice back in December, I mentioned to my boss that I would be interested in working from home if she was willing to try it out. She sent a recommendation to corporate weeks ago and they finally approved it. 😀 Right in the nick of time since my last day in the office is tomorrow (Tuesday). I’m so relieved I don’t have to look for a job! Phew. Plus, I can wear jeans every day. WOOT. It’s always the little things that make me so happy.

Anyway, Rob and I have been plugging away at our “To Do” list and as expected, we have hit all the foodie items. 😀 OINK OINK. Here’s what we managed to do:

1. Have the BEST RAMEN EVER at Santa Ramen. CHECK!
2. Have 1 really nice (but not necessarily expensive) dinner in San Francisco. CHECK!
We went to Michael Mina this past Saturday night and it was amazing. I was too chicken to take pictures (hee!) so here’s a rundown of our meal (we both got the 3 course dinner):
Appetizers – Ahi Tuna Tartare (mmm, melt in your mouth good) and the Trio of Dungeness Crab
Entrees – Maine Lobster Pot Pie (this was mine and it was so good I wanted to lick the plate) and the Trio of Brandt Farm Beef
Desserts – I opted for the Trio of Chocolate (the white chocolate panna cotta was the only memorable item) and Rob picked the Root Beer Float (awww)
3. Have ice cream at Sketch. CHECK!
4. Walk around 4th Street in Berkeley. CHECK!
5. Have the most AMAZING chicken and waffles breakfast at 900 Grayson. CHECK!
6. Visit the UC Berkeley campus, look at the view of the Bay from the top of the Campanile, and purchase as much school paraphernalia as possible. CHECK! And I have pictures too!


The Campanile!

It was pretty hazy so we couldn’t really see across the Bay but we could see the “Big C!”

US. 😀

Finally, last weekend Rob and I were treated to our very own farewell BBQ. Thanks to Jimmy, Eleen (happy anniversary to you two!), Victor and Susie for organizing and hosting! We will miss all of you very much! *sniff*

happy 2009

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So it’s the last day of my holiday vacation. 🙁 So sad. But before real life begins again, I have to share some vacation highlights!

1. Spending time with friends and family.
Christmas Eve is spent with my family — my cousin and his wife just bought a Wii so they asked us to bring our games so they could try them out. We brought Guitar Hero with us (with our one measly guitar) and my cousin pretty much spent the entire night playing it all by himself. Heh.

Christmas Day is spent with Rob’s family — his parents hosted lunch and there was a constant stream of relatives visiting all day. I was pretty much parked next to the food table. YUM. Rob watched the Lakers crush the Celtics. 😀

Rob and I also hung out with friends — my best friends and I had a yummy dinner and annual gift exchange (where I received the Gossip Girl s1 DVDs and a gorgeous Paris picture book among other FABULOUS presents). And our friends Daniel and Carolyn hosted a potluck where we dined on healthy foods such as fried chicken, spam musubi, and korean bbq and played Rock Band 2 all night. Well, the guys did. I sang “Hungry Like the Wolf” and that was it. I suck at Rock Band.

2. Looking for (and finding!) an apartment.
Rob and I spent all day on the 26th and 27th driving around Orange County visiting various apartment communities. OMG. They were built by the same developer so after seeing 2 places, they all started to look exactly the same. Except for the kitchens. We barely cook at all but for some reason, the look of the kitchens really made a huge difference in how we felt about the apartments. We really liked 2 communities — Option #1 is a new-ish community (6 years) on the border of Tustin and Irvine and very close to a major retail shopping center and lots of “hustle and bustle.” Option #2 is a brand new community a few miles south close to the Irvine Spectrum but in a more quiet, less developed area. After visiting both locations a second time we went with Option #2. The rent was over a $100 less per month and we couldn’t pass up having a brand new apartment with granite kitchen countertops (sooo pretty). We still feel like we’re central to lots of stuff in the OC (South Coast Plaza!) so that’s good. We anticipate moving in sometime the last week of January. CRAZY!

3. Seeing Jorge Garcia (Hurley from Lost!) at South Coast Plaza. Rob spotted him going up an escalator while we were looking around in Crate and Barrel. I didn’t believe it was him at first but it totally was! I wanted to follow him but chickened out. 😛

4. I had Pinkberry!
I snagged a Pinkberry gift card from work (for some reason, a vendor thought it was a good idea to give out gift cards even though there is not a single Pinkberry in the Bay Area) and treated myself to a large. Oink oink. SO GOOD.

5. Going to CA Adventure and Disneyland!!!!!!!!!!
I’ve never been to DCA and it’s been about 5 years since my last trip to DL so I figured it was about time and I begged Rob to go with me. 😀 He agreed to 2 whole days! WOOT.

First day was spent at CA Adventure. A rundown of our day with some pics thrown in for good measure…

CLICK to see larger versions of the pics.

Grizzly River Run. Fun but I got SOAKED. ICK.



The Golden Gate Bridge!



Tower of Terror. OMG. I screamed and held on to Rob’s arm for dear life during the entire ride. Looking back the feeling of weightlessness is actually pretty cool.

Taking a quick shopping break and trying on the bride and groom Mickey ears!



Next up we went to the Animation Academy where we learned how to draw Donald Duck. This was definitely our favorite attraction of the trip! My drawing is on the left. 😀



Walking around the Wharf (does not beat the real thing right here in the Bay Area)…



Soarin’ Over California. A simulator ride that takes advantage of scent in addition to sight and sound.

California Screamin’. Awesome wooden roller coaster. Probably my favorite ride at DCA.

Mulholland Madness. Fun little mini-coaster.

At the Hollywood Pictures Backlot, I found the cutest fountain. So here I am with my Sorceror Mickey ears taking a picture with the Sorceror Mickey fountain! I have no idea why I am smiling like that. Dork.



Monsters Inc. Cute kiddie ride that takes you through the movie.

And to close our day at DCA, we went back to the Animation Academy to draw Jack Skeleton. My drawing is on the right.



Last picture of the day – Mickey, the “C”, and me!



Some random comments:
— Wow, I am SO OLD. We were only at DCA from about 11am to 9pm but my feet were KILLING me. What happened?!?
— I don’t know if I’ve ever mentioned it but Rob smokes. And I honestly had no idea that there were smoking areas at DCA. So Rob would leave the park every once in awhile to handle his business. Then we happened upon a smoking area in the Condor Flats area across from Soarin’. Isn’t that crazy? The other one is in the Hollywood Pictures area near the Muppet Vision show. (At Disneyland, there’s a smoking area near Big Thunder Ranch and another at Fantasy Gardens, which I dubbed “Smokey Gardens.” :P)

Overall, I enjoyed DCA but I probably wouldn’t spend another whole day at this park alone… I’d definitely have to mix it up with some time at DL. Still tons of fun, though. I’m sure I’ll be back to draw some more characters at Animation Academy and ride Screamin’!

Our second day was spent at Disneyland. YAYAYAYAYAYAY. I seriously love this place. My face lights up and I get so happy here. *giddy* There was an INSANE amount of people at DL and we missed a lot of the “kiddie” rides due to long lines (and the fact that they don’t have Fast Passes) but we trudged through and still had a great time. 😀 Since it was DL day, I forced Rob out of bed at 6am(!) so we could be at the park by the 8am opening. That didn’t happen exactly as planned but we still arrived around 8:30am.

Matterhorn. Always a classic. One of my faves.

Splash Mountain. After agreeing not to ride any water rides (considering how wet we got after GRR the previous day), we still went on SM when we saw that the stand-by line was only 5 minutes. Well, we got UNBELIEVABLY DRENCHED. So soaked that I had to buy a t-shirt and sweatshirt to replace my dripping sweater. I wish I had a picture of us after the ride but I was preoccupied.



Haunted Mansion with the Nightmare Before Christmas overlay. Going on this ride totally made me want to see this movie.



After breakfast, we made our way over to DCA to go to the Animation Academy again! This time we drew Winnie the Pooh. My drawing is on the right.



Back at Disneyland sporting our Mickey tees!



Hanging out at the Star Trader store in Tomorrowland. One of my favorite stores because they have Star Wars themed merchandise. Heh.

Rob as Buzz Lightyear.



Me as Goofy.



Rob as Eeyore.



Me with an awesome R2D2 backpack I found. 😀



It may be unbelievably crowded during the holidays but I just LOVE seeing all the decorations. Look how gorgeous Sleeping Beauty’s castle is!



Eating a pineapple dole whip. A MUST HAVE.



Indiana Jones Adventure. Not as crazy and fast as I remember but still a goodie. Thank goodness for Fast Pass — the stand-by line for this ride got up to 2 hours!

Pirates of the Caribbean. A good time to rest our tired feet. Also got to see the holiday decorations in New Orleans Square.



Space Mountain. MY MOST FAVORITE RIDE EVER. The Fast Passes for this ride ran out quickly or I would have tried to get another one so we could ride it a second time. It’s the BEST.



Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. My first time on this ride! Rob’s score: 63,800. My score: 52,200.



The HUGE Disneyland Christmas tree in the middle of Main Street. We passed it because…



… we were on our way to DCA and the Animation Academy for a second time! This time we drew Minnie Mouse. My drawing is on the left.



Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Another oldie but goodie.

The castle all lit up!



And Small World too! I took this picture as we were waiting for the Fireworks Spectacular, which were pretty fantastic. I always love the music and the buildup to the Disney “snow” at the end.



Star Tours. Went on this ride because the line was only 10 minutes. It’s ok. I kinda think the video needs to be updated.

And finally, we end our day with another ride on the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters. Rob’s score: 14,800. My score: 48,500. I WON!!!



And so ends a great day and a fantastic holiday vacation. 😀

Back to real life tomorrow.

this past week

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Ugh, I have been so lazy lately. (What’s new, right?) And today it’s raining like crazy so I’m doubly lazy. 😀

So… what have I been up to? Let’s do this in list form because it’s easier.

1. Last weekend I saw Bolt. It wasn’t the best animated film I’ve seen but definitely entertaining. Bolt was so cute! I loved his little face when he was begging for food. Awww. Although, is it just me, or does Bolt NOT look like a German Shepherd? Anyway. Rhino was pretty awesome too.

2. Ever since I got my iPhone (squee!), I’ve been a little obsessed with downloading Apps from the iTunes store. Some of my favorites are Yelp, Amazon, Style.com, Lightsaber, RhinoBall, Pop Quiz. 🙂 Anyone have any other recommendations? It’s so hard to wade through all the options on iTunes. Admittedly, I’m cheap so free is best but I’m willing to pay for good apps.

3. Last Sunday, Rob and I went to our friend Shirley’s birthday cooking party. Such an awesome idea! There were about 20 of us (I think) and we were split up into teams working on separate parts of the meal. Rob and I worked on the dessert, which was a tangerine souffle. We were in charge of chopping up the tangerines, making juice out of the oranges, and boiling it all together. The rest of our team was separating the eggs and prepping the baking ramekins. The end result was fantastic (the souffle was so light and fluffy) but honestly, I kinda think it took way too much time and effort. :/ Or it could be the whole laziness thing again. 😛 A couple of pics of us courtesy of the birthday girl!


Rob making juice from the oranges!

Me cutting up the tangerines.

4. As organized as I like to think I was for the wedding, post-wedding wrap-up has been a completely different story. A lot of the “stuff” used at our wedding is still in boxes at my dad’s house (like extra programs, signage, baskets, etc), some duplicate presents we received still haven’t been returned/exchanged, we haven’t finalized the photo selections for our album. And we haven’t started our Thank You cards. EEEEEEKKKKK. Well, I finally designed the cards and had them printed and now Rob and I are starting to write them… WOW. It’s going to take us a little while. :/

5. We went to Home Depot yesterday to get some moving boxes. I know we’re not moving until the end of January but knowing us and the amount of “stuff” we own, we figured we should get a head start. Since it’s raining today, we got started with our books and DVDs. We already have about 6 boxes full and we’re not done packing them yet. !!! What can I say? We love our DVDs. Too bad our apartment looks like a hurricane plowed right through it. There are piles everywhere.

Hmmm. I thought I had more to write about but I guess that’s it. I can’t believe Christmas is next week. Just 7 more days of work. WOOT.

my october

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The Starbucks red cups are back! WOOT. This signals the start of my ABSOLUTE favorite time of the year. I got my first red cup of the year today. My signature nonfat peppermint mocha. YUM.

So it doesn’t seem like it but I’m around. Just lazy. As per usual.

My “vote by mail” ballot for today’s election arrived yesterday. WHICH MEANS IT IS TOO LATE FOR ME TO DO ANYTHING WITH IT. Considering I live in Northern CA and am unable to fly down and turn it in to an LA County polling place today. You’d think they’d send the ballots out early enough to give the voter enough time to you know, MAIL IT BACK.

I know, I know. I’m disappointed in myself for not registering for my ballot earlier. 🙁

I just finished watching McCain’s concession and Obama’s acceptance speeches. WOW. I teared up a few times. It’s an amazing day and even though I did not participate, I’m glad I am here to witness it.

So I’ve been meaning to share pictures of some recent events so here goes…

October 18
Rob and I attended our friends’ Eric and Amy’s wedding at the Trump National Golf Club in Southern CA. It was a wonderful event! I definitely appreciate all the little details now that I’ve planned a wedding myself. Some of the gorgeousness…



The pretty, pretty placecards. Amy embossed the cards with a lovely brocade motif. The colors of the wedding were various shades of purple. So lovely.



Trump’s outdoor ceremony site boasts an amazing view of the Pacific Ocean. WOW. And look at all the purple yumminess! The rose petals along the aisle, the hydrangea balls hanging on the shepherd’s hooks, and the pashminas laid out on the chairs.



The gorgeous bride coming down the aisle…



They had my favorite Sprinkles cupcakes instead of a traditional cake. Terrible photo but YUMMY cupcakes.



A picture of the husband and me during cocktail hour. (It is still SO WEIRD to say “husband”). And yes, I wore that blue dress to yet another event this year. 😀

October 26
Rob, Diesel and I were invited by our friends Shirley and Grantland to attend Farm Day with them at the Terra Firma Farm in Winters. It was a gorgeous day — perfect for the farm! Shirley prepared a picnic lunch for us (turkey sandwiches, hard-boiled eggs, chips) and the farm provided freshly squeezed juices to drink (the apple was particularly yummy).



Sitting on the picnic blanket waiting for treats.



Rob and Diesel enjoying the day in the sun.



Rob picking strawberries. They were SO GOOD.

As we were leaving, we walked past a large dog that kinda looked like a pitbull. He was tied to a tree with his owners nowhere around. When Rob and Diesel walked by him (I think it was a him), he jumped for Diesel and started biting his poor little face. Rob got in the middle and Grantland pulled the crazy dog away by his leash (luckily he was there because I didn’t know what to do and totally froze). After a few tense minutes, they got the dogs separated. Diesel was shaken and had a cut by his nose but he was his old self in no time. He’s a tough little guy.

October 31
Halloween!
But also Girls Weekend in LA with my best friends. We didn’t dress up but I wore purple cat ears. 😀 No picture, though, sorry. We spent the weekend eating, relaxing at Le Spa, shopping, watching Center Stage… it was great. AND I got to have Pinkberry! YAY.

Now I’m gearing up for a tough few weeks at work and looking forward to the holidays. I love this time of year.

dad’s bday + bachelorette

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I’m here… somewhere.

My Dad’s birthday party last weekend was a hit. He was totally surprised — I thought he was going to start crying from the emotion of it all! That’s pretty amazing considering that he is NOT the type of person to outwardly show what he’s feeling. Awww.

And then this past weekend was my AWESOME bachelorette weekend. It was definitely what I needed after a terrible Friday at work. I really have the best girlfriends ever — they completely surprised me with the activities and events they had planned throughout the weekend. I am so lucky to have such thoughtful friends in my life. *sniff*

Rob’s going to be in Vegas this weekend for his bachelor party so I’ll be sure to take time out of working on wedding tasks to share some pics of these recent events with all of you. 😉

bridal shower

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OMG. I haven’t blogged in over a week. Life has been moving so quickly that I can barely keep up. It’s exhausting.

So in my last entry I mentioned that I had my bridal shower last weekend… it was awesome! I feel so blessed to have such amazing friends and family. Not to mention the most wonderful Maid of Honor (aka my cousin Riz) ever.

Look at what she put together for ME!


The FOOD! All prepared by my cousin and my aunt. I did help a little with the grocery shopping. 🙂

The FAVORS! These consisted of chocolate lollipops in the shape of daisies and a variety of truffles. YUM-O! My cousin also made these candies from scratch. She is crazy.

GIFTS! It was a loosely themed “recipe” shower where the ladies were supposed to bring a recipe to correspond with their gift. I received lots of fun kitchen gadgets… I am hoping to put them to good use. EEEK. I am definitely not very good in the kitchen. :/

My cousin and me at the end of the day.

And yes, I realize that was the third time I wore that blue dress in the month of June. HEE! 😀

Fast forward to this weekend. I had 4 whole days off from work. So awesome. You don’t even know. My best friend Carmen came to visit and rather than go out and do 4th of July activities, I held her hostage in my apartment and put her to work stamping wedding favor tags, adhering labels, and gluing the menus.

BWAHAHAHA. It was so productive!

Now I’m looking ahead to this coming weekend where I’ll be in LA AGAIN for my dad’s big 60th surprise birthday party. PHEW. So much stuff going on right now! And no, I will not be wearing that blue dress again. 😉

shirley’s wedding

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As the wedding gets closer and closer (44 days!), my workload is getting bigger and bigger. WHY.

Seriously, time to blog (or even THINK about blogging) has been scarce, to say the least. But I had to make time to post some fun pics from my weekend! My high school/college roomie Shirley got married at a beautiful ceremony in Sausalito.


The touching ceremony was full of very personal details.

Cupcakes!

Simpsons-themed table numbers. Rob and I sat at the Principal Skinner table. HEE.

The bride and me! Doesn’t she look gorgeous?

Rob and I took advantage of the photobooth at the reception. So fun! We’re getting one for our wedding too. 😉

The newlyweds are now on their way to Taiwan for a second reception — congrats guys! I feel so lucky to have been a part of your day. *hugs*

I have one more day of work this week and then it’s off to LA for a 3-day weekend and my bridal shower! Hope everyone has a good weekend. 🙂

the 2 w’s

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The 2 W’s have taken over my life… Work and the Wedding.

Work has been absolutely crazy lately. It’s the dreaded “planning” season, which means looooooong days. SUCKS to be me. But our team just got approval to hire an Assistant so that’ll definitely help whenever we find the time to actually recruit and interview candidates. :/ I really, really, really want my hours to be “normal.”

But the craziness doesn’t stop at work. Oh no. I get home and go into Wedding mode. Rob and I spent the past 2 weeks working on getting all our invitations out the door. We finally got them all mailed out over the weekend. YAY! Once I get confirmation that our out of state guests have received theirs, I’ll share pics!
Now I’ve moved on to other projects — like designing the programs and menus, figuring out if I can handle putting together a slideshow to play at the reception or not, selecting our ceremony music, etc etc etc. OMG.

Not going to think about ALL THAT STUFF right now.

Anyway, this past Saturday I went to my very first Bridal Shower for my good friend Shirley. Despite the heat, it was a really fun-filled day. Her bridesmaids did a great job coordinating everything. We all met at Shirley’s place for breakfast and introductions, then we went to Napa for massages (mmm, so nice), and finally ended up at V. Sattui winery for food, games, and gifts! Shirls, I can’t wait for your wedding — 1 more month! 😀

In TV news, I have not been keeping up with any current shows, except for Lost. It’s too hard. I did manage to get caught up with Gossip Girl (minus the season finale) while I was working on the invitations. But I have tons of One Tree Hill, Brothers and Sisters, Smallville, Ugly Betty and Grey’s Anatomy episodes saved on the Tivo. I don’t know guys. It looks like I might have to start deleting these. Smallville will probably be the first to go.

Too bad I’ll probably have even more TV piling up because I was reading the new show descriptions from the recent Upfronts and I’m totally eyeing the new 90210 series that the CW picked up (WHAT? I grew up with 90210!) and OF COURSE, the new JJ Abrams show, Fringe, that Joshua Jackson is starring in. The show doesn’t really look *that* appealing but whatever, PACEY!!!

😀

I’m delirious and it’s past my bedtime.