meta

My Halloween costume this year is a tribute to my avatar of many years (and the inspiration behind the name of this blog).

when you're busy making other plans

So, yeah, it's been a while. I'm finishing up the design program. And when I say finishing up, I'm done with coursework and just need to get my act together and schedule a final portfolio review. I'm starting up an internship with a small design firm next week. And I built and launched my design portfolio website. I'm also finally sticking with an exercise regimen that has me working out at least 3-4 times per week.

We got a kitten, Tate, in December and he has brought a lot of happiness and energy into our house. It is fun to see him grow up and amazing to watch him fetch little squishy balls.

So things are going well. I'm not sure if I'll be writing much here in the future, but maybe. For now, life is good.

I'm thankful

Just a partial list:

• Gretchen's condition continues to improve.  She seems to respond somewhat to us these days and she opens her eyes and will look right at you when you are talking to her.  Her improvement over the course of the last week has been really encouraging.  I'm hoping that she'll be "awake" when we get back from...
  
• Hawaii!  Mike and I head out for our practically free vacation tomorrow.  It has been a while since we've taken a real vacation together and I'm looking forward to 6 days without plans on a tropical island together.
• As always, I'm happy to have such a great guy in my life.  I would go on, but I fear that I may be schmoopy.
• Of course, I can't forget to mention my wonderful friends and family.  And the gift of good health.  And the New York Football Giants.  Alright, that last one has me a bit verklempt.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

prepared for the big one

Mike and I are having people over tomorrow.  We haven't had a party at our home, well, ever.  We anticipate somewhere between 10 and 25 people will be coming over.  So, of course, we way overdid it in terms of both alcohol and food.  $450 in booze/mixers and $450 in food later, we'll probably be entertaining ourselves on the leftovers for weeks to come.  Either that or it will be a barnburner tomorrow...

laissez les bons temps roulez

A quick list of fun weekend plans:

• skipping out this afternoon for late lunch with my best friend
• haircut/color tomorrow morning (with decadent head massage during shampoo)
• high tea with a girlfriend at a tea house in Pasadena tomorrow
• afternoon stroll at Huntington Gardens after tea
• Big East/Big Ten tournament finals, hopefully with one or more of IU, G'town and Wisconsin making the finals
• March Madness selection show Sunday afternoon
• time spent figuring out logistics and details of planned Peru trip this summer
• work on poster project for design class

Should be a good weekend! Hope you all enjoy yours too.

best birthday present EVER

What a post-season. What a Super Bowl. What a year.

I became a Giants fan in 1991. Before that, I had a few teams that I liked, but none of them were My Team. In 1991, I was in Rochester, NY, living through all that Bills hype (to be fair, there isn't a lot to cheer for in Western NY besides the Bills). Watching that Super Bowl, surrounded by Bills fans, and seeing the Giants pull the victory out just barely, that is when the Giants became My Team. It has been a long 17 years, waiting for them to get back to this place, but it has been worth it.

I've had a wonderful time wearing my Eli jersey for the last 6 weeks. I'm one of the 5 people in the country who always believed he could do it. ELI MVP.

da bears still suck

I've heard a lot about football this week. I've watched a lot of football this week. I've lived a lot of football this week. In Green Bay, Wisconsin, there isn't much else to do. Beer, brats, cheese curds and Packers fans are about all you can find in Green Bay.

It was a really fun trip up to the frozen tundra. We got to visit with Mike's family. We ate a lot of artery-clogging food. We listened to some Wisconsin polka music. Oh, and there were a few hours that we stood out in the elements watching a football game. More about that in a minute.

As we drove into town, we started listening to Green Bay sports talk radio. There wasn't much talk about strategy. Instead it was all about putting footballs in the freezer before practice. And not wearing sleeves. Not concern about how the teams matched up. Not talk about how Green Bay would keep their running game going against a pretty decent run defense. Frozen footballs and sleeveless linemen. Was Green Bay looking past the Giants? I'm not sure I would go that far, but the confidence level seemed so high - in everyone I talked or listened to - that it seemed no one thought the Giants could potentially win the game. Overconfidence? That seems fair. There was some talk of the horrendous game against Chicago in the cold and wind, but that was often followed by distinguishing that this game would be in Lambeau.

I won't lie, I was nervous for the Giants. More because they haven't really been tested in the cold this year. But I also knew that cold temperatures would likely keep the score close and that the Giants are comfortable right now playing with anybody. Even the Packers in Lambeau in January. At the stadium before the game, I was asked by Mike's brother-in-law: Really, who did I think would win the game. I told him that I thought either team could win it. That the cold was a great equalizer and that the Giants have been pretty good at wearing other teams out this post-season. I'm not coming in waving the white flag, folks.

On to the game. It was cold in the stadium. Mike and I layered up. His family gave us a lot of high tech winter gear and plenty of hand and foot warmers. Still the temperature drop was noticeable when the sun went down about a half hour before the game started up. I was never cold, but if I took my hands out of my mittens to send a text message, they needed to get back in (and grab a hand warmer) within a minute or so. It was frostbite cold. Temperature was around -2, wind chill around -20.

Our seats were in the north end zone, about 40 rows up. Serious hometown fan territory. That was the one bummer of the game for me (besides the total clown behind us who had no business calling himself a Packers fan - cheering for linemen to go down ("I hope they have to bring a stretcher on the field!") and yelling while the Packer offense was on the field - what a jackass). The fact that I never did locate another Giants fan anywhere near us who I could celebrate a bit with. I've been an away team fan at any number of games and that is the first time I've been my own little island like that. Needless to say, Mike wasn't giving me any high fives. There were a smattering of Giants fans elsewhere in the stadium, and the overwhelming majority of Packer fans were civil-to-nice to us outta-towners.

We had a pretty good view of the field. I've never been in end zone seats before, but being that high up, we could see the entire field. I didn't even have a hard time telling the amount of yardage on running plays, etc. I did have trouble seeing detail on instant replays when they came up on the big screen all the way across the field. We couldn't tell whether Amani Toomer really caught that pass on the sideline or if he was out of bounds. We couldn't tell if Plaxico had possession and fumbled or if the pass was incomplete.

What I did see quite clearly were both of Tyne's misses in the 4th quarter.* Kicked right at our seats. Oh, and he kicked the game winner our way as well. After that kick was made in overtime, Lambeau was as quiet as I've ever heard a sports venue. And all the way through the parking lot back to the car, practically the only sound to be heard, well other than the guy playing a trombone in sub-zero temps for spare change, was the swish swish swishing of ski pants as people walked and the crunching of packed snow under heavy boots.

Sports radio in Green Bay after that loss was something to behold. Plenty of anger to go around. The overwhelming sentiment: "We shoulda beat the crap out of the Giants!" (That is actually a direct quote. Prior to the game, I also heard "We're gonna beat the crap out of them!" Maybe this is only amusing when said in a Wisconsin accent though.) I think that Mike McCarthy might have a few questions to answer in Green Bay about the preparation for that game, as well as the play-calling, during the off season. The good news is that the Packers are a young team and they don't seem like they'll lose many players to free agency. Everyone assumes Brett will be back, and heck, he probably will. That last interception would be a tough last play before retirement for him, I think.

This picture probably sums up the trip. It was taken about halfway through the 4th quarter, tie score on the board (quite possibly the best thing about this photo is that I managed to capture the aforementioned jackass - yup, that's him in the black poofy hat and feathers):


I hung in pretty well for a Southern California girl.

We'll be in Vegas for the Super Bowl again this year. Should be a good game. I don't think the Giants are ready to roll over for a drubbing just yet.

*I had a totally sick feeling going into overtime that the Giants could lose the game after outplaying the Packers for most of the game. Wow, that would have been a demoralizing loss. There is nothing that makes a Giants fan more nervous that having a kicker miss kicks. Maybe I'm the only one who still remembers the feeling watching Feely lose this game for Big Blue (at least in part because I was at that game), but damn, I sometimes hate kickers.

baby, it's cold outside

Wow. What a wonderful football weekend this one turned out to be. Mike and I did not make plans to head to Green Bay for what turned out to be the snow bowl. I'm sure it would have been fun to be there. Instead we waited it out to see whether, miracle of miracles, both of our teams would be able to hold on and make it to the championship game. And guess what? Oh, fine, you already know, right?

Giants are playing the Packers this Sunday for the right to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl! It seemed unlikely, to say the least, that this outcome could be possible in weeks 15 and 16 of the regular season, but here we are. And there we will be. Details have yet to be worked out, but we just cashed in some American miles on flights up to Chicago this weekend and you can bet that Mike and I will be freezing our butts off on bleachers at Lambeau in 6 days.

Current weather forecast for Green Bay on Sunday? High of 12 degrees, low of 5 degrees. What have I gotten myself into??? That is a far cry from the current 70 degrees and sunny I have going on in Los Angeles.

stink stank stunk

On Friday I attended my first (only?) Christmas concert this year. Aimee Mann and friends put on their 2nd annual Christmas show. There were several highlights, including a rap about the story of Hanukkah by The Jewish Fairy, a film with cameos by Will Farrell, Ben Stiller and several other funny guys who Aimee wanted as "special guests" at her show, and a killer rendition of the song that contains the lyrics in the title of this blog.

The last few years I haven't been big on holiday preparations and decorations. I remember times when I used to start shopping on or before Thanksgiving and would deck out my house or apartment with holiday cheer. I think that my holiday indifference started in part because my job necessitates that I'm usually busier than usual at year-end. Transactional attorneys are told when they start working that they shouldn't plan December vacations and that there is a good possibility that the time between December 25 and January 1 might be the busiest week of the year. Merry Christmas.

This year I'm happier than I've been in a while and I'd like to get back to my old self a bit, including putting more time and effort into spreading holiday cheer within myself. The first step will be today, when I send in my Amazon order for One More Drifter in the Snow. Because no one can belt out You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch better than Ms. Mann. Ho ho ho.

ms. brightside

Things have been going really well for me recently. Or I've managed to change my point of view and appreciate the good instead of dwelling on the bad. So here is a short recap of what I've been up to:

• I read Eat Pray Love at the suggestion of Alice. It made me want to go to India and Bali. Really I should get out of the Western Hemisphere sometime soon. Maybe 2008 will be the year for some bigger trips. I am working on making more time for thought and meditation in my life. Maybe I really will become a hippy-dippy left coaster after all!


• I've been doing private pilates training sessions a couple times per week. So far they've been worth getting up at 6:30 a.m. for. I love feeling limber and balanced.


• I tried to play Guitar Hero III and... really enjoyed it. Rock on. It has been quite a long time since I've enjoyed playing a video game. I am so not good, but I have started my career and I can rock the classic oldies. (But I have to steer clear of all the Poison-type songs, because I don't know any of them!)


• Yesterday I e-mailed with my high school boyfriend. It was really nice, actually. He's living in Boston, passionately pursuing a number of interests*, and he sounds really happy. I'm really happy to be back in contact with him now that all my teen angst has evaporated. Oh how dramatic everything seemed to me when I was 18.


• Tomorrow Jodie arrives in town. We'll have a pretty beach- and activity-filled weekend, I'm sure. Should be fun. The weather has been perfect, so I'm hoping that the clouds stay away for her visit.


• Next Friday Mike and I are going on vacation to Cabo with our best friends. It will be a spectacular time. I know for a fact that some golf, some spa treatments and some lounging by the pool, drinking umbrella drinks is in my future.


• My art class is going well. We did figure drawing with a model last night. I really enjoyed it. The class schedule for the Spring semester came out yesterday, so I get to peruse the offerings and decide what interests me. I originally wanted to get into painting, but maybe one more drawing class first wouldn't hurt?

I guess that is all for now. I'm going to have plenty of blessings to count next Thursday and I am feeling incredibly grateful right now. My planet rocks.

*He personifies the idea of giving 110% to everything that you do, and he always has. I'm awed by his drive and passion for life.

When the Moon Hits Your Eye

Tomorrow morning Mike and I will head out for a weekend trip to Chicago. Some Dallas friends are using the long weekend for a Sunday night wedding there. So far we haven't really come up with any sort of agenda for while we're there, other than mapping out all the deep dish/stuffed pizza places we plan to hit during the trip. My favorite is Gino's East, but I'll try to keep an open mind while I'm there. Pizza report to come...

Come Aboard, We're Expecting You

I'm throwing a party with my friends in Dallas. When I lived there, we used to have random costume parties at least once a year and they were always a blast, so on my last trip back we sketched out the idea for a 1970's tv show themed party. We've set the date and Mike and I just bought our tickets to Dallas, so it seems to be a go. Now I need to start thinking about a costume. My front-runners so far:

• Vera or Flo from Alice
• Laverne
• Julie McCoy from The Love Boat (complete with little mirror and fake coke lines)

I'm disappointed to learn that The Jetsons was a 1960's tv show because I totally could have rocked either Jane or Judy Jetson. Anyone want to contribute other ideas? A lot of the shows would require group costumes, and my best bet for that is me and one of my gay friends in Dallas (we both lament the fact we've never won a Best Costume prize, so we might pair up). Not exactly helpful for Charlie's Angels or Three's Company. Help a girl out...

Maybe it's the Martini Talking, but...

My life is pretty good. For having a pretty rough beginning of 2007, I'm having a wonderful time. Perspective is an amazing thing.

I'm in Dallas tonight. Mike and I planned a trip here centered around a couple of client meetings that I set up in order to finagle a free trip to visit friends. In the interim, his appendix ruptured, which pretty much precluded his making the trip out this time. So I'm in Dallas alone. But I'm not alone at all.

Last night I sat down with Mike's ex-wife and talked. We talked about her life now, and the changes she made in order to get to where she is today and what she wants out of life. We talked about my life now, and my hopes and thoughts about the future. Then she met some of my friends and we regaled her with stories of our past stupidness and our plans for future stupidness. It was a fun night. Ok, there were some pretty awkward moments, but overall, it was one of the better things that has happened to me in the last 5 years.

And I did something similar with my sister in the last two weeks. We found some common ground and started moving forward with our relationship, despite the problems that have plagued us for years.

If you had asked me at any point in the last few years what weighs me down, I would have listed my guilt about my actions with respect to Jodie and my unhappiness with the state of my relationship with my sister. Suddenly, seemingly in a flash, both of those relationships are in the forefront once again, but this time not for negative reasons. Remarkable.

But I can do you one better. I have a friend in Dallas who was there for me during some tough times (see above, re: Mike's ex-wife) and we had a bit of a tumultuous relationship. Nothing earth-shattering or overly dramatic, but we had some misunderstandings and miscommunications. We've stayed in contact because her boyfriend is one of Mike's best friends, but for some time we were not that close as a result of the problems I listed above. Tonight I sat down with just her (something that most likely would not have happened if Mike could have made the trip) and we talked. Like old friends. And we reconnected while discussing how much commonality there was between her younger self and my younger self. Eerily similar stuff. And we had a great time and stayed up way too late (or the hotel just had last call way too early - I haven't decided which). And - note for 'stina - I had my first ever gin martini (Bombay Sapphire, and I didn't even ask for it dirty, although I'm generally a martini wuss). It was good.

The thing that is interesting to me at this moment is that, objectively speaking, I've had a hard year. My favorite person in the world through the course of my lifetime, my gramma, was very ill and finally died. I just sat through five hours of my best friend's surgery and helped him through a rather painful recovery. I'm not particularly fulfilled at work and I've felt some kind of awkward feelings with one (in particular) partner about the necessary time off I've had to take in order to deal with the not-so-great stuff that's been going on. Enough so that it sent me into tears while I was in Utah at Mike's hospital bedside. Oh, yeah, and I'm up for partner this year. And we aren't busy.

And yet... I am so happy right now. I feel unburdened and free. Oh, to savor this moment and remember it when life gets me down once again. Because this month has been serendipity.

Pardon me while I enjoy tonight's Texas-sized thunderstorm. We don't have those in Los Angeles, you know.

Happy Spring

New photo album link to the amazing tulip festival that mom and I went to in Utah last week. Check the right hand column already!

Magically Delicious

Yesterday six boxes of Boo Berry arrived at my doorstep. Who on earth would go to the trouble of ordering six boxes of sugared cereal off the internet when there are 150 varieties of sugared cereal at any grocery store you could possibly walk into? Well, you have your answer.

For most of my childhood, I was a have-not. My mom was on Weight Watchers pretty much from its inception in the 1970's until I was a teenager. But occasionally, for special occasions, I would be allowed to pick out one box of "the good stuff" and my selection would invariably be Boo Berry (and I would then go on a sugar rampage, consuming the entire box, with or without milk, in the course of a day and a half). That is, until it stopped being widely available.

For some reason, General Mills decided to take Boo Berry and Frankenberry underground, while continuing to promote Count Chocula. So nowadays most people think that it has been discontinued, but, as wikipedia rightly points out, GM still makes it and it is available on the internet. And Boo Berry has a loyal following. Run a google search and you'll find sites like this for the hardcore Boo Berry-ite. In fact, there was even a feature on The Daily Show with an interview of the guy who runs a fan website. I love the internet.

And I love my Boo Berry. Mike is concerned that I might sit down and consume all six boxes in one day. I can understand his concern, but I reserve such gluttony only for the week after girl scout cookies are delivered these days. Really. (I'm still trying to get the girl scout cookie 5 that I just gained off.) He has discussed hiding and/or rationing, but I swear I do not plan any sort of binging. Well, at least not while he's in town. He does have a conveniently scheduled business trip next week though...

So watch for a new photo on the Boo Berry site one day soon: Leila and her Boo Berry.

32 in 48. Go!

I love March Madness. I love watching as many games as possible and I am a shameless sneak-off'er to watch games on Thursday and Friday. Today I cut out at lunchtime to "work from home". Georgetown was playing and Mike's mom and sister arrived in town, so someone needed to get home to let them in the house. Mike and I had previously agreed that we would buy the DirecTv package to get all the games and it worked out gloriously. Even better, both my teams (Georgetown and Indiana) won decisively.

Today was a good day.

But Seriously

I feel like my posts (is that the right term? no - it's "blogs" isn't it?) of late have been a bit serious and depressing. I didn't really start this up to post a bunch of serious and depressing stuff, so in an attempt to include a bit of levity, here is the recipe for LeilaColadas, the Vegas birthday drink that Alice, LJ and I concocted this past weekend:

LeilaColadas

2 parts Hypnotique
2 parts Malibu Rum
splash of pineapple juice

(mix in a martini shaker for a straight up LeilaColada or pour over ice)

Ideally, your LeilaColadas should be a light seafoam green. If they are a darker, yellowy green, you've added too much pineapple juice. Or your asshole, not-very-nice Vegas bartender has.

Enjoy!

It's Beginning To Look Nothing At All Like Christmas

On December 23rd Mike and I played golf to celebrate our long weekend. I'll never tire of Los Angeles "winter" weather. I spent the first 28 years of my life battling the elements every winter. And you know what? I do not miss the change of seasons. Not at all.

So every Christmas in Los Angeles I intend to celebrate the holiday by doing something outdoors. Not skiing. Not skating. Not sledding. I'd rather go for a holiday hike in the hills. Or a walk on the beach. Or a round of golf.

So deck the lanai and prepare for a kiss under the palm trees. It's the most wonderful time of the year.

Happy Birthday, Mr. President

Mike is now 40. The party and the weekend generally were huge hits. I'm really happy to have the stressful parts over, but I'm also a bit sad that I won't be able to gather that many of my close friends and family in one place again probably ever. We did our best to spend some quality time with everyone who flew into town. I hope they are all glad that they came. I think I'll just summarize the highs and lows here for now...

The Good:

• 5 full days of hanging out with J and Ken, including 3 separate "Thursdays" (our excuse for overdoing both Tuesday and Wednesday nights).
• Seeing Mike's reaction on Friday night after his family and his college rommates showed up at the bar to surprise him. Mike is nothing if not understated, but he was really surprised. My favorite line was when he turned to me after CHad and Marc (roommates) appeared and said "you've been busy." Yes, yes I have.
• The event on Saturday night. The vibe of the party location coupled with the experience of catching up with so many great people in one place. Amazing.
• Mike's family. Their visit could have been somewhat difficult to manage, because the group included all 4 of his siblings, plus mom, plus a couple of spouses, plus a niece. They were wonderful about taking care of themselves and understanding the limitations on our time. I really appreciated that. And I know if meant a lot to Mike that they all showed up to see him.
• Spending time with Casey and Tosha. Casey is a music friend of Mike's who we were just starting to do things with when we left Dallas. Now we see him whenever we go back, but I didn't really know him and his fiancee very well. They stayed with us over the weekend and I really got in some good bonding time with them. They are really good people. And showing Tosha Venice Beach yesterday was indescribably fun. It was her first time in LA.

The Bad (less good?):

• Leaving the camera at the hotel. Pretty bad move on my part (I have not recovered it yet; it is most likely gone). The slightly good news is that I had already downloaded the Friday night photos and I didn't have many Saturday night photos on it because the battery died after an hour or so, so I walked around for most of the evening with a friend's camera (and I managed to get that one back to him). Still it sucks a bit to have to rely on others to get back pictures of the big party.
• One of Mike's college roommates had a bad health incident at the Friday night event. He was standing in line for the bathroom and he fainted. He went down hard and broke his cheek bone on one side of his face. Luckily another of the college roommates happens to be a doctor, so when Chris came to, he asked for Marc. Marc checked on him, rounded up Chris's wife and got him out of there quickly. Chris was taken straight to Cedars Sinai and we hear he is having heart arrhythmia and he'll be in the hospital a bit longer. Scary stuff.
• Dealing with a local friend or two who didn't hold their liquor well. I know this sort of thing should come as no surprise to me at events where alcohol is being served, but the Saturday night event wasn't really billed as a boozefest and it was a bit embarrassing/annoying to me that people who flew here for the party were having to deal with getting other guests home safely, etc. It was partially my bad. I should have taken more control and gotten the over-imbibers out of there and into a taxi home so that they didn't bother others. Lesson learned.

All in all, I'm really glad that it worked out so well. Now I just would like a bit of sleep...

The Co-Conspirators

The first of the out-of-town guests have trickled into town. So now I have accomplices in the planning. Ken and J arrived yesterday from Dallas. Mike was told that they are in town for business (plausible, since Ken makes it into town every couple of months on business), so now it is up to the 3 of us not to blow their cover. I'm trying to figure out whether we are now more or less likely to spill than I was when I was in this on my own. Clearly the attempts to keep the story straight could be hampered by several evenings of boozing it up. I think we made the story a bit too complex, but no fixing that at this point.

I'm really happy to have them in town though, I must say. Ken is one of Mike's best friends. He runs a post house in Dallas, so he comes into town for commercial finishing with one of his editors fairly often. J (aka Jeff, aka Hot Jeff) is a close friend of mine. He also happens to work for Ken. Actually J and I are responsible for Mike and Ken meeting up, so we get to take credit for their friendship now, or whatever.

This is J's first trip to LA to see us (he was here before at some point, but that was a long time ago) and I got to take him out to boy's town last night. The Abbey was the destination and it did not disappoint. Of course it helped that it was unseasonably warm yesterday, so even at night the temperature was in the upper 60's. J is a person who constantly makes me laugh. We have a great time being silly together. I don't have that connection with very many people, so I treasure it with people like J. We made it through a good portion of our highlight reel - the stories we have to tell every time we get together - last night, including:

• the time we pretended that we were a pairs professional figure skating duo (career cut short due to injury) and even made up a routine to perform in a bar in Oak Lawn - we had some stupid drunk person convinced until we started our "performance"
• the time we went on vacation together to Mexico and had a day or two out of the week that are too fuzzy to recall (though the photos turned out great)
• the time we were in New York and I was totally nauseous from some combination of hangover and pain pills and I ended up throwing up on Broadway into a trashcan in Chinatown/Little Italy while Mike stood by and watched, while chowing on a slice of pizza
• too many nights up late playing X Box games in J's apartment when we lived in the same building and Mike's contention that we all had too much practice for him to be able to compete

Good friends are so precious and hard to come by. I am lucky to have J in my life and I'm so happy he's in California this week. I'm sure I'll tell him all of this at some point later tonight after one- or two-too-many cocktails. We have a highlight reel to add to here...