Anyway… let’s continue on…

Day 19 — A Talent of Yours

Oh hell, I don’t know. I’m 30… my talented days are behind me. I guess ballet *used* to be a talent of mine. I started dancing when I was 3 and trained until I was 14. I even considered becoming a professional ballerina despite the lack of job stability. I only stopped because my mom passed away and ballet was “our” thing. It wasn’t the same without her. Anyway, it’s been 3+ years since I took any classes so due to non-practice, I’m positive my skill and technique are definitely lacking.

Otherwise, I’ve got nothing. No other talents.

Day 20 — A Hobby of Yours

My biggest hobby is obviously my blog. I started it back in 2002 and attempted to design and code it myself. I look back at some of my old layouts and cringe. LOL. In my old age, I have become laaaazy and now rely on Wordpress themes so I can concentrate on just writing entries.

I guess you can also count watching TV, scrapbooking, reading, and collecting Starbucks mugs as other hobbies.

The move went pretty well — the movers arrived on time last Wednesday and man, they were FAST. We had about 30 moving boxes and 13 large pieces of furniture and they hauled everything out in a few hours. SO WORTH IT. All our stuff arrived intact on Super Bowl Sunday. Well, ok, one of my decorative Halloween plates broke in transit but whatever… at least they didn’t lose a box of my clothes or something. CAN YOU IMAGINE?!? I would have died. Anyway, we’ve been organizing and putting things away since Sunday but there’s still tons of boxes everywhere. All I can say is that we have WAY too much stuff.

I finished my third day of working from home and… I like it! I was a little worried that I’d be too tempted not to work and watch TV all day. Hee. Not the case, though. Who knew I could be such a disciplined person! Since Rob and I are both working from home now, we have our second bedroom set up as an office with our individual workstations. So even though we’re at home, we’ve tried to make a real distinction between the “office” and the “living” spaces. And it works!

I’m hoping we can get the apartment in some kind of working order by the weekend so we can go out and explore “The OC!” YES.

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*

Ok, fine. I TOTALLY AM.

So I’m watching the highlights now on CNN. My computer must suck because the videos keep stalling and the images don’t always correspond with the sound but that doesn’t stop the overwhelming feeling of emotion from welling up inside me. The hope and optimism of everyone involved and everyone in attendance jumps right through the screen. It’s a good day for America. *sniff*

In shallow news, I just love the Obama girls (Michelle, Malia, and Sasha)!

Photo courtesy of Daylife

And I especially love this cute video of Sasha after President Obama’s inaugural address. CUTE!

Moving Update: 8 DAYS! Holy moly. Gotta get moving on the packing…

I need to think about positive things…

First. It is now October, which means it’s my birthday month. Woot. 10 more days til 29.

Second. Rob, Diesel and I are heading to LA in 2 weeks for our friends’ Eric and Amy’s wedding. I’m taking the Friday off beforehand to have some extra time to spend with family.

Third. High School Musical 3 arrives in theatres on 10/24. AND I AM TOTALLY GOING TO SEE IT. I think I can convince Rob to watch it with me.
Fourth. My best friends and I have our annual Girls’ weekend scheduled for the end of the month. It’ll be an awesome weekend of spa treatments and girly time.

Hmmm. Now that I see it all listed here, I have lots of good things to look forward to this month. I’m excited!

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.

Watched a few movies this weekend…
Bourne Ultimatum
Love Matt Damon. Love the Bourne series. Good, solid fun. I love the way this movie takes off and doesn’t let up until the end… the quick editing and fast-paced shooting style definitely contributes to the thrill of the story. Recommended.

American Gangster
Another solid movie. But it was a tad too long. I got distracted a few times. At the same time, though, I thought that the collaboration between Frank and Richie came too soon. It just seemed like there was so much time spent establishing the players and the setting but when it was time for the resolution, the story became rushed. I’d still recommend the movie, particularly because Russell Crowe and Denzel Washington deliver strong performances.

Two Days in Paris
Ok, I rented this movie because it’s set in Paris and I’m obsessed with the city. So sue me. I wanted to love this movie but didn’t. :/ After a “romantic” trip to Italy, Marion (Julie Delpy) and Jack (Adam Goldberg) stop in Paris for 2 days to visit Marion’s parents before returning home to New York. While there, they deal with culture shock and Marion’s romantic past. The dialogue is snappy and witty but I just didn’t find it very funny. I guess I’d recommend it with reservations.

Haven’t done this in awhile… the Fannish Five…
What were your five favorite series finales? This could be a TV series finale, the end of a series of books or a comics run, or the finish of any other serial media.
1. Dawson’s Creek. Just a roller coaster of emotions from Jen’s death to Pacey and Joey’s reunion. And I love every minute of it.
2. Everwood. Ephram and Amy!
3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. A beautiful culmination to a very special series.
4. Sex and the City. I’m looking forward to the movie!
5. The OC. I love the sneak peeks we got to each character’s future.

Hope everyone has a good week!

In other news, I am ridiculously excited for Britney’s new CD. I cannot wait. Woot!

I am *so* dreading work tomorrow. I’ve been having a rough few weeks. My boss recently had surgery so she hasn’t been in the office very much. Because of this, there are buying responsibilities for a major client that have filtered down to my desk that honestly, I’m not comfortable with handling. I’m only a junior Media Buyer — I really shouldn’t be making some of these decisions. And when I turn to upper management for help, I don’t think they take my concerns seriously. It’s unbelievably frustrating. To make things worse, the planners at the agency that we work with are some of the most uptight, unfriendly people I’ve ever had the (dis)pleasure of working with. It doesn’t make for a fun work environment. I think I’m going to look for a new job after the wedding. I just have absolutely no idea what I want to do. I’m pretty sure I don’t want to stay in media. I hate the long hours and the stress. But I’ve been in this industry for 5 years… I don’t really know anything else. Maybe I can be an assistant again (this is how I got my start after college)… is that weird? You’re supposed to move up the corporate ladder, not back. I just don’t know. *sigh*

Anyway, new TV always cheers me up! (Comments on Dirty Sexy Money, Private Practice, Gossip Girl, Smallville, CSI).

Dirty Sexy Money
Greg Berlanti rocks! I’m such a huge fan of his shows (Dawson’s Creek, Brothers and Sister, Everwood, Jack and Bobby) so I *knew* DSM would be great. And it was. It really, really was. The cast is huge but I felt like the pilot did a fantastic job at introducing all of them. The ringtones for all the characters were hilarious. So far, I really like the Darling daughters — Karen and Juliet. Actually, I like them all — they’re all so ridiculously immature and over the top. And the murder mystery is a great layer to this show. Love it.

Gossip Girl
The second episode was even better than the first! The whole brunch was AWESOME. And Gossip Girl said “Fustercluck.” HEE! KBell has such great delivery.

Private Practice
Disappointing. I didn’t love the introductory episode on Grey’s Anatomy last season but I liked it enough (with the exception of that silly talking elevator) to follow Addison to this show. I’ve really grown to love the character (and Kate Walsh) so I wanted this show to be good. (Plus, it has Taye Diggs, Christopher Lowell, Tim Daly, etc). But it just wasn’t. It felt like it was trying a little *too* hard, what with the nude dancing, the “tension” created by Naomi not telling the other partners about hiring Addison, the annoying Chief at the hospital and Addison’s “big” speech at the end. I really hope it gets better.

Smallville
Boring. *yawn* Nothing really happened that was surprising. Sure, Supergirl showed up but she was in ALL the promos for the premiere so that wasn’t anything new. Chloe survived. With her newly revealed power, the writers haven’t really used her enough yet so I didn’t think she was going to end up dead. And OF COURSE, Lana planned her death. There is no way this show would kill her off. (Her wig looked ridiculous, by the way). Yet I still watch (let’s hope this is the last season).

CSI
What can I say… solid episode. But a little slow. Loved the ending with Grissom holding Sara’s hand in the helicopter. I wouldn’t call myself a shipper but that was a really sweet moment between them. Not enough Warrick, though.

I also started re-reading the Harry Potter series. Finally! I quickly finished Sorceror’s Stone so now I’m on Chamber of Secrets. I don’t think I’ll get through them all this week so after book 2, I might jump straight to Half-Blood Prince. Ack, I can’t believe Deathly Hallows is almost here. I don’t want the series to end. *tear*

So today I went to see Order of the Phoenix again with some friends. I liked the movie the first time around but I liked it A LOT better the second. Some spoilery thoughts (in list form like Sarah because it’s easiest)…

Things I Didn’t Care For
1. Sirius’s death. I just… it’s not how I pictured it. I thought the curse was instant.
2. Details that were different from the previous movies. For example, both the Dementors and Sirius communicating through the fire were executed differently in Movie 3. I like consistency. :/
3. Cho selling out the DA. I know it’s easier for the storyline not to introduce another character and it makes it clear that a romantic relationship between her and Harry didn’t work out. But I have a soft spot for Cho.
4. Not enough Occlumency!
5. I missed Quidditch and Ron and Hermione being prefects.

Things I Loved
1. Dumbledore’s Army. SQUEE. Exactly how I imagined.
2. The casting of Professor Umbridge, Luna Lovegood, and Bellatrix Lestrange was spot on. They were all pretty darn perfect.
3. Daniel Radcliffe. He really just keeps getting better and better. ILUFFHIMSO.
4. The kids in the Department of Mysteries holding out their wands ready for battle. It seriously gave me chills.
5. The Dumbledore/Voldemort fight was SO AWESOME.
If anyone else has written a blog about the movie, let me know in the comments! I love to read everyone’s thoughts. But for now, I’ve got to get back to my reading…