Two days later...

I actually yoinked this from Erin a few days ago and am just now getting around to posting it. Clearly, this whole "class" thing is really getting in the way of my fun.

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Technically, my mom got the name from a female character on one of her soap operas and thought it was cool. My middle name is my grandmother's fourth husband's last name, or, to make it more readily understandable, the last name of the man I always considered my grandfather.

2.WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Watching the Iron Giant with Anthony on Saturday night. I'm a sucker for a good Hallmark moment.

3.DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Sometimes. But it's nothing like my mom's, which is brilliant.

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT? Bologna. With all that fatty goodness. Tastes best fried.

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? Two: Grace and Pookie. Well, three, if you allow me to count Anthony.

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Sure, why not?

7.DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Is the sky blue?

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yuppers.

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Abso-freakin'-lutely.

10.WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? We mostly get Kashi cereals now or maybe Raisin Bran or Frosted MiniWheats, but I could slay me some Reese's Peanutbutter Puffs anytime.

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Despite the majority of my shoes not having laces, yes, I do.

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Probably a little more-so than average for a female in my age group. I could definitely whip some twelve-year-old boy's tush, though.

13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM? Ben and Jerry's. Mmmmmmm, so creamy delicious.

14.WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Their eyes and the rest of their face.

15. RED OR PINK? Red!

16.WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? I'm so damn uptight – about everything! When the day doesn't go as I planned – down to the smallest detail – my cogs and wheels sproing and I am unconscionably angry.

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My mom. Shortly thereafter are my girlfriends from Penn…

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? No.

19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Pants: chocolate brown with cream pinstripes. Shoes: Camel Aerosole knee-high boots.

20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? My daily morning dose of oatmeal with raisins.

21. WHAT ARE YOU listening to RIGHT NOW? My coworker talking to my boss.

22. IF YOU WHERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Orange.

23. FAVORITE SMELLS? Dryer vents, chlorinated pools, Anthony's cologne, Grace's "lavenderangel" scent (i.e. when she gets a bath), Pookie's nasty little kittybreath, that crisp scent before it snows, Spring rains, lavender,anything baking (brownies, apples, cookies, cakes, whatever – I don'tlike to eat them so much, but smell them, YES!)…

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Anthony.

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? I yoinked it from Erin so it wasn't actually sent to me, but yes, I like her.

26. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? American Gladiator, or maybe Ninja Warrior. (But to be fair, I hardly watch anything on t.v.– I'm more of a cinephile)

27. HAIR COLOR? Brown, brown, and more brown.

28. EYE COLOR? Brown.

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? No need when you have 20/20.

30 FAVORITE FOOD? Potatoes in any shape, size, or form. (Something about being Irish…)

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy endings. I don't watch scary movies (although Anthony didsomehow manage to wrangle me into seeing Rob Zombie's House of 1000Corpses – grrr!).

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Love Me or Leave Me with James Cagney and Doris Day – I highly recommend it.

33. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Tan, with chocolate stitching at the hem and cuffs.

34. SUMMER OR WINTER? Winter. I am not a fan of the summer months – something about the humidity.

35. HUGS OR KISSES? Big fat, cuddly hugs.

36. FAVORITE DESSERT? I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!

37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? No one.

38. Least likely to respond? Everyone.

39.WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? Other than a really bland collection of Public Administration andEthics textbooks, I am also wading through Madame Secretary byMadeline Albright, How the Scots Invented the Modern World by ArthurHerman, and Lonely Planet's guide to Peru.

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? I don't have a mouse pad – at work, I have a wireless mouse and athome I have a laptop with a touchpad.

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT? The news.

42. FAVORITE SOUND? Grace's snoring, waterfalls, the crackle of wood fires, silence,Anthony's laughter, my mom's voice reassuring me that I'm not entirelycrazy (the crazy, it runs in the family)…

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Beatles.

44. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Egypt. But I'm shooting for Nepal some day.

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? I don't know how special it is, but I'm particularly good at organizing things.

46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?Worcester Memorial Hospital in MA.

47. WHOSE ANSWERS ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO GETTING BACK? Meh.

Because it's sweet

Latest condo pics

Apparently I'm a Democrat

Eric will be so proud.

Although I have to say, this poll is behind the times: Dodd and Biden dropped out of the race already.

82% Hillary Clinton
82% Barack Obama
79% Bill Richardson
78% John Edwards
77% Chris Dodd
70% Joe Biden
64% Dennis Kucinich
63% Mike Gravel
60% Rudy Giuliani
56% John McCain
47% Mitt Romney
43% Mike Huckabee
34% Fred Thompson
30% Tom Tancredo
14% Ron Paul

2008 Presidential Candidate Matching Quiz

New Year’s resolutions are for…

…anyone but me.

However, I’m not so much of a humbug to not wish the world wide internet a big, fat, Happy New Year! Even if it is a few days late.

I’d like to pretend that I was far too busy with more important things to be more timely, but that’s simply not true. I have done really exciting things like go to work, write essays for my Boren Fellowship application, watch four episodes from season six of Gilmore Girls while Anthony whines and rocks back and forth in the corner, harass the neighbors (one of my specialties) and force my dog on their laps, and (gasp!) join Facebook.

Could I take a moment to say something about Facebook? (As if you have a choice…) Who the hell invented this thing??? I have to say that, after working for the past three years in the IT industry, this is the most inefficient and cluttered user interface I’ve ever seen. I’m not saying the idea is bad, just the execution. I spent far too many hours of my time on previous social networks like Friendster (and I am sure Facebook will eventually travel the same route to obscurity) so there should be no question about my affinity for these services. But I am not the hugest fan of complicated webpages. Other than the fact that my generation and those that succeeded us have grown up with computers and can logick (like that word invention? Cuz I do) their way through bad programming, Facebook is a difficult medium. You have to navigate away from your profile to leave messages on a friend’s “wall” and it honestly took me over an hour to find my own profile. It’s not particularly intuitive. I would never recommend this website to anyone in my mother’s generation or older. Unless they’re like my grandfather and were magically ahead of the curve (something about working on computers for the Navy, way back before Al Gore invented the internet).

So that’s my rant on Facebook. I doubt I will spend a lot of time there, if only because I really can find better things to do with my time. I have these really great time-wasters (thanks for the new word, Eric) like graduate school and balancing my checkbook that tend to take a higher priority. However, I did love touching base with an old friend from high school. Although we attended different high schools, Katy and I used to work at CVS together and she was my Pookah since I turned 16 and was legally able to work. We ended up going to college together and were inseparable for a while. But time passed and our lives took different paths. She is now married to her college sweetheart, living in FL, and working as a nurse. I honestly couldn’t be happier for her and am so proud of who she is today. Way to go, hoochie!

So, back to New Year’s. Anthony and I spent New Year’s Eve on the couch because, as far as we knew, all our friends were out of town. We rang in 2008 with Monty Python and the Holy Grail, the Kathie Griffin marathon on Bravo, a bottle of Moet, and the only redeemable minute of Dick Clark’s New Year’s Eve (you know, the part where Dick Clark actually hosted – the last 30 seconds of 2007). As far as New Year’s Eves go, this one was pretty awesome.

Kind of related to that whole New Year’s theme is a new idea I thought we would put into action. Since I’m such a raving lunatic during the semester, and Anthony has every right to call me lovely four-lettered terms, I thought we should try to consistently take time out to be with each other. Since last fall, I really only see Anthony’s back as he cooks dinner, or washes dishes, or plays video games (on mute, no less – can’t disturb Ryan’s cone of silence!). And he has only seen my forehead, which peaks out above my laptop monitor. So I thought we’d start “date night.”

I know Andrew will be the first in line to tell me how corny that is, but we had our first “date” last Saturday at this great little French restaurant in our neighborhood called Napolean. The place comes highly recommended because, as far as DC restaurants go, this place is moderately priced and the food is excellent. We shared lamb lollipops and then I got the rack of lamb and he got the rabbit fricassee – everything was just perfectly cooked. Yum.

Anyway, it was nice, and it was relaxing. And I could see Anthony’s face – and he could see mine. It was refreshing.

We had also gone to Zoolights at the National Zoo prior to our dinner. Although the actual exhibit was lame, I got to hold Anthony’s hand as we walked around and pushed toddlers out of our path. It was pretty groovy. (Right up until my mom called and told Anthony he was a big, squawking chicken for not asking me to marry him yet – which she then went on to explain is why she bought him a YELLOW dutch oven in particular so he would know that she knows that he is “yell’r!”)

This week we are sharing our “date night” this week with our friend Marilyn and her friend, Liz. First we will spend some time at the National Portrait Gallery (sans the other ladies) and then meet up with Marilyn and Liz at Zatinya, a Spanish tapas restaurant that Marilyn tells me is her absolute favorite DC restaurant. I love tapas and I saw that the restaurant has Turkish coffee, along with a decent wine and drink menu, so I figured, “Happy hour!”

Once we’re done getting filled up on caffeine and booze, we’re heading out to the theatre to see Sweeney Todd, the only horror musical I’ve ever heard of. I hear it will be delightful. (And I’ll try to let you know how it goes.)

12 days of Christmas movies, 3 days of Marilyn, and 2 days of Jeff & Liz

In a nutshell, that was my holiday season. I tortured Anthony and the kids with all the fluffity-happy Christmas movies they could stomach before escaping to North Carolina, and then I spent the last 3 days of the Christmas season “Jew-ing it up,” as it were. The Sunday before Christmas, Marilyn treated a few of us to a home-cooked meal with a side of bronchitis (or whatever other awful-sounding affliction she has). The theme of the evening was “stuffed” – stuffed mushrooms, stuffed peppers, and, most importantly, stuffed chocolate chip cookies. If you know Marilyn (or even if you don’t), you should tell her how you really need to have a couple dozen chocolate chip cookies stuffed with Reese’s peanutbutter cups (unless, of course, you’re Eric; then that would be baaaad). They are the most divine baked good to be introduced to my palate this holiday season! (Although I have to admit that the cheesecake my coworker Charles concocts for the annual work holiday party and some other coworker’s cherry pie are close seconds – tying for second place because the two should be eaten together.)

Christmas Eve was spent in Annandale at Il Mee, a great little Korean BBQ joint that caters to a mostly Asian clientele – except on Christmas Eve, when it also catered to seven Jewish friends and little ol’ me. I recommend the spiced beef and I also suggest that you not let your food burn on the tableside grill (something about all 8 of us leaving smelling like Korean BBQ).

We then drove out to Tyson’s Corner to see Charlie Wilson’s War. My honest opinion can be summed up in a single word, even a single syllable: meh. The most brilliant thing about the movie is Phillip Seymour Hoffman, as usual. Tom Hanks was a poor choice for a womanizing, partying senator from the south, and every time Julia Roberts was onscreen, I just wanted to reach across and rip off that godawful blond wig. There were a few amusing dialogue exchanges in there (for example, Tom Hanks saying, “For Christ’s sake, will you help us?” to his Israeli associate who is supposed to help him get a coalition of Arab nations to work together to provide the Afghanis with the appropriate weaponry to fight the Russian army), but I am a little surprised at all the Golden Globe nominations this movie is racking up. I wasn’t bored by any means, but I also wasn’t riveted. Like I said, meh. (On the Netflix rating scale, the movie would rate 3 stars.)

Christmas Day itself was spent painting my bedroom (shhh! Don’t tell Anthony; it’s a surprise!) and then joining Marilyn and another crew of her Jewish friends at the E Street Theatre to watch Juno. This is another 3-star movie pick. It could have been a really, super fantastic movie because the story line was good, but it felt a little amateur so I didn’t fall in love with it. The movie starts out with a handful of characters: Juno, her stepmom, her father, her little sister, her best female friend, and her best male friend. The majority of the characters are written so they all feel like the same person – a rookie writer mistake, no doubt. Then the best male friend (Michael Cera from Superbad) is totally underdeveloped. I would be surprised if he was given more than five lines through the whole movie. Yes, he gets to run around in his hot shorts (read: track shorts) and wear a headband throughout the movie, but he barely says anything. The other characters in the movie portray him as not-too-swift, the kind of guy who doesn’t have an original idea in his head, but he is also simultaneously smart in school. Anyway, he melts into the wall and we’re somehow supposed to believe that this guy is Juno’s love interest.

The good news is that the movie improves dramatically after the adoptive parents are introduced (Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman). All of a sudden, the whole cast of characters get individual personalities. And somehow, near the end, Juno tranforms from this sarcastic, Napolean Dynamite type character into a deeper, more emotional member of the human race. (Although, to be nitpicky, the transformation was not well-done; when she cries, you sort of empathize with her situation but the movie doesn’t pull you in and make you feel like crying with her.)

Anyway, I recommend Juno far more highly than Charlie Wilson’s War. Like I said, the storyline of Juno had so much potential, and the actors really carry this movie through to the end. You will feel invested in the lives and stories of the characters.

Oh, as an aside: 3 Doors Down needs to fire its agent. That flippin’ National Guard music video that is running as part of movie previews these days is a joke. Instead of coming across as supportive of the troops, it comes across as a shallow advertisement that really doesn’t do justice to the brave men and women who have fought and continue to fight for our freedoms. It’s a ridiculous ploy to sell albums and it reeks of bad judgment. (Okay, so the rights to the video are actually owned by the National Guard, but that doesn’t make it any better in my opinion. The video is still cheesy and I feel it makes a mockery of the sacrifices of generations of soldiers.)

So yes, where was I? Ah, sangria! We found ourselves at La Tosca after the movie, surrounded by pitchers of sangria. Then we wandered over to Eat First in Chinatown. The service was awful (I basically had to punch the waitstaff to get their attention) and the food was middling to average, but good times were had by all. Especially by Marilyn, who extolled the virtues of a lazy susan for a full day leading up to the event.

And that, my friends, has been my Christmas thus far. The rest of Christmas is expected to occur sometime on Saturday, when my Anthony returns from his southern travels. I’ll tell you all about the gifting sometime after then.

In the meantime, I’m putting in my request to Mother Nature for some freakin’ snow already. This sixty degree weather and rain is starting to grate on my last nerve (just like the constant mewing of the cat – gosh!).

Christmas is a time of joy

Or torture. Whichever is more entertaining.