Schadenfreude

schadenfreude \SHOD-n-froy-duh\, noun: A malicious satisfaction obtained from the misfortunes of others.

When I was younger I suffered a lot from the sad effects of schadenfreude. I used to use this word a lot with my friend as we secretly celebrated when those who we didn't think deserved what they had came to experience the sadness and depravity that we, the more deserving of happiness, somehow seemed to happen upon on a consistent basis.

That all changed when I really did become happy.

Lately I've been feeling a certain vibe of ill will from someone in my life. I've never quite been able to pin point where that ill will came from, but I've recently come to the conclusion that this person may actually be jealous of me. Jealous of me, say whaaa?! Seriously peeps, how could anyone feel jealous of someone who walks around every day with her insecurities on her sleeve for all to take advantage of and tromp upon? But then again, maybe that's just it. Despite all of my insecurities and shortcomings, I've come to accept and even like who I am. Sure I still care about what other people think, but more because I care about them as people and not because I want them to shape who I am in order to be more likeable in their eyes. I choose not to buy into (excuse my French) petty bullshit like whether or not I said the right thing to the right person in order to look good or gain favor for my own benefit.

Some might say it's lame of me to blog about this, that I should just confront the person directly. The problem with this is that I've come to gain a reputation as someone with a paranoid personality who is overly sensitive, so it is easy for people to chalk up such thoughts to my own inner demons. The other thing is, if I really cared to repair my relationship with this person I might try to talk to them about it, but I prefer to analyze and reflect on the situation (i.e. I frankly don't care much for the most part since I am not willing to subject myself to the emotional abuse). And finally, if I feel someone will be open and accepting and honest when discussing such matters with me I might say something, but again, I think that some people are more concerned about making themselves look like the good guy and I am just not down to having a one-sided honest, put-your-feelings-out-there conversation with someone who I feel might be unreciprocal and manipulative. Besides, how do you confront someone about such an insane theory anyway?

"Dear so-and-so, I know you are jealous of me, so step off!"

Somehow that just doesn't quite cut it.

Come to think of it, maybe it isn't so much jealousy with this person as it is a feeling that I am undeserving of the things I have in life. Bet ya they'd feel schadenfreude towards me in a heartbeat!

And if you're wondering if I'm talking about you, don't worry, the person who I am referring to would never ever read my blog because they don't believe in blogs or something totally contrary to who I am.

Another rant from Crazy Conspiracy Theory Lady. There, I feel better now.

Dreams Do Come True

Hey there.

Thought I'd pop in to share with you the exciting news I just found out. The New Kids on the Block are reuniting!

Which reminds me of a story I have about my brush with my favorite New Kid, Joey Joe, but I'll save that one for another day.

In the meantime, I forgot that I need to follow up with my previous Celebrity Chronicle. The movie premiere that I attended was waaay back in 1992, "Boomerang" starring Eddie Murphy and Halle Berry.

This was way back before Halle was the mega superstar she is today. My friend Joy and I had driven up to L.A. on a random day and saw that a huge crowd had formed outside of Mann's Chinese Theater in anticipation of the Boomerang premiere. Being the outgoing guy magnet type she managed to finagle two tickets from an intern from Power 106 who was stationed in a van in front of the theater. Walking down a red carpet is pretty fun and exciting for a pop-culture obsessed 17-year old girl as I imagined that the photographers were taking pictures of me instead of Holly Robinson and Karen from "Fresh Prince of Bel Air". The celebrities we saw ranged from Grace Jones and Dikembe Mutumbo to Brian Robbins (remember "Head of the Class"?) and Shawn Wayans. We actually got to talk to Marlon Wayans, Heavy D, and Denzel Washington (nicest: Marlon Wayans, most annoyed with fans: Denzel Washington). Overall, a fun and memorable time for a little teenage nerd.

Speaking of Denzel, I just went on a whirlwind on-the-cheap trip to New York (flew into the tiny Islip airport and crashed on a futon at an apartment in East Brooklyn) where my travel companion, Suzanna, and I went to see taping of "Late Night with David Lettermen" where Denzel happened to be one of the guests. Here are a few highlights of the trip:

Me in Times Square (still had to show the West Coast pride by taking a picture with a ginormous Kobe Bryant)

Cool graffitti at 5 Points, a building where the owner legally allows people to express their artistic side al fresco. We got to visit a few amazing museums (PS1, the Noguchi Museum). The exhibit that I found to be most memorable was called "The Meeting" - it was just a room with a big square hole cut in the ceiling (is it still considered a hole even though it's square? well, whatever). There were seats in the room up against a wall with a slanted back so you could just sit there and stare out at the sky above you. It just gave me this calm, serene feeling and made me think about how so rarely do we have the chance to enjoy nature without any interruptions. As people entered the room, a noticeable hush permeated the space as we all sat in quiet contemplation at the awe-inspiring masterpiece that is Mother Nature. I didn't want to interrupt such a lovely feeling by snapping away on my camera so I didn't take any pictures, but I found this one on the PS1 website:

The picture, of course, doesn't do it justice, so I highly advise anybody who is planning a trip to NYC to go see it for themselves.

Phew, all this deep thinking and New York walking sure can work up a girl's appetite!

Luckily I found a small snack at the Hershey's Store in Time's Square to tide me over...

...that is until I found some yummy hot dogs at Gray's Papaya!

This was just one of the many stops I took on my informal "How I Met Your Mother" tour, which Suzanna kindly endured (Gray's Papaya was where they stopped on New Year's Eve for an almost midnight snack). I figured any hot dog that was worth risking missing out on a fun New Year's Eve party better be good and boy was it ever! This spot was also recommended by one of my fellow foodies and good friend Sarah, who was kind enough to send me info on all the places she used to frequent when she lived in New York (thanks Sarah!).

Stop #2 on Cheryl's "HIMYM" tour was McGee's, the bar that is the inspiration for the one in the show:

An added bonus was that we were able to catch Happy Hour while we were there - where else would you be able to get $5 martinis in the heart of Time's Square? As Barney would say, it was LEGEN...wait for it...DARY!

On a much more somber note, we were also able to stop by the 9/11 site and the firehouse located just across the street. As I looked at the pictures of all the firemen who lost their lives on that tragic day, all of the emotions I felt when I first saw the Twin Towers crashing down came rushing back to me. Just to see how level the ground is compared to the last time I visited New York and saw those enormous buildings towering before me really reminded me of how much that one day has altered where we are today. On our trip we met a lady who worked on Wall Street and at the time worked in the building right next to the Twin Towers. As she told the story of how she rushed out of the building, leaving behind her cell phone and wallet, walked across the Brooklyn Bridge in high heels, later discovering that the security guard who had helped everyone out of her building died when a piece of the Twin Towers destroyed the atrium in which he had stayed behind in, I could see the pain etched in her face and the words displayed on the wall outside of the firehouse came echoing back to me..."May We Never Forget".

Anticlimactic

Happy New Year everyone! Since we're starting anew in '08 I suppose now is the time to post the pics of my "new" hairdo. I realized that I got the most votes for the hair cut of a person who I named that doesn't even exist. It's Rachel McAdams, not Amy Adams! Where did I get Amy Adams from anyway? Isn't that the 90's Christian pop music singer? If so, I would have gotten a nice curly big-hair perm.

I went somewhere between chickening out and making a change. I had my hair dyed, and love the color. The cut is okay, but still not too dramatic of a change from what it was before. Here it is right after I had it done. Keep in mind, I had just received the full sha-bang styling job:

Why is it that my hair never looks the same after the day I get it cut? Here is a picture from a week later on New Years when I styled it myself:

You can't see it very well in this picture, but to me it pretty much looks like it did before. All that build up and this is what you get - a semi-new/back to the old 'do. I hope I don't get any hate comments from those of you who cared enough to cast your vote.

In other voting news, I'm excited that Barack Obama won the Iowa caucus. He's been my pick from the get-go. I think this nation just needs someone who is really going to look out for the interests of the people instead of spending so much time investing in making decisions based on what's going to keep them in their position the longest. Go Barack!

Seriously, how can you see this and not absolutely love the guy?

Okay, getting off my political pedastal now. Time to get on my movie critic pedastal! Best movie I saw in 2007?

Kyle had been dying to see Juno for weeks and we finally had a chance to see it last week. I normally don't like to get movie recommendations because inevitably someone will come back and say they had such high expectations and it didn't live up to them, but I have to say I really enjoyed this movie overall. Well-written, well-acted, great soundtrack - so if you enjoy witty dialogue performed by solid actors with some fun tunes playing to enhance your movie-going experience, then I highly recommend Juno.

That being said, I'm really trying to downplay the whole movie here. All I can say is GO SEE IT! Then you can judge for yourself. But if you disagree with me then you're crazy. Hehe. The only thing I didn't like about it is that since it is a chick-flick, Kyle is trying to pass it off as being my movie choice so that he can pick the next one too. Nice try buddy!

Vote for a New Me

So have you ever made a hair appointment thinking that you were going to emerge afterwards a brand new you, with fabulous hair and glowing skin to boot? Every time I go to get my hair cut I conjure up images of ecstatic women emerging from behind mystery doors (or curtains if you will) as their friends and family all ooh and ahh over their life-changing transformation. Apparently I've been watching too many Makeover Editions of Oprah, Ellen, Rachael Ray, and pretty much every other talk show imaginable (except for Tyra, we all know that Tyra's show is all about Tyra and the only person who ever gets made over is herself - not that she needs it or anything, after all she is TYRA damn it!). But, I digress...

Tomorrow I have a haircut appointment and I'm thinking of doing something drastic for the New Year. The problem is, I already know that I don't look so great with short hair, and every time I try cutting it short I just long for the day when my hair will be long enough for me to slap up into a ponytail. The other problem is that I can never find a good hair cut picture to base whatever new look I'm going after on. Today I went to Target and bought a few magazines that I could frantically flip through looking for my dream haircut. Lo and behold, In Style has come up with the brills idea of creating an online makeover studio! As Barney would say, "Whhaaatt Uupppp!". My makeover dreams have come true! Now I can see how a haircut will actually look on me instead of an insanely gorgeous model that would look good in a purple and green colored mullet. And you, my dear friends, can vote on which look you like best since we all know that I cannot make a decision to save my life. Actually, my main problem right now is that I think the style that looks best is the one that pretty much looks like how my hair is right now, and I fear that my judgment is clouded from being afraid of change and such.

And now thanks to the wonders of technology I present to you, ladies and gentlemen, the contenders for my new hairstyle:

Option 1: The Mary Kate (or is it Ashley?)

Option 2: Amy Adams (If I do this one I might have to make Kyle re-enact that rain scene from The Notebook with me)

Option 3: J Lo (no, the baby bump will not come with this one)


Option 4: Reese Witherspoon (the dreaded bangs, I know!)
Option 5: Gwyneth Paltrow
(but really it's just pretty much how my hair looks now)

So what do y'all think?

Pick a New Me! Mary Kate (or is it Ashley?) Amy Adams J Lo Reese This Looks Familiar View Results Make your own poll

Finally

I guess it took a natural disaster to finally get me to post.

I never thought I would say this, but I'm sick of watching TV. 24 hour round the clock news coverage of fires when you can't really do much about it is exhausting. I'm thankful I'm not being effected much by what is going on, though my parents still can't get back to the house. Of course, they haven't minded it much the past few days since it gave them just another excuse to go to Pechanga. Kyle conjured up an image of my dad driving through the smoke and haze bellowing "Pechanga here I come!" Somehow I don't think it was too far from the truth. Despite the 15 being closed off and traffic being diverted west due to the fires to the east of the house, my dad somehow found a way to make it to a casino Northeast of him. Where there's a will, there's a way...

Now that school has been canceled for the week I have time to blog, so maybe I'll try to make up for lost time. And for J and Chermano, who guessed Carlton Banks/Alfonso Ribero....ding ding ding! You are correct. He was one of my first celebrity sightings. I went to one of those cheesey teeny bopper concerts held by the local pop radio station, KIIS-FM, back in 1989 called the "Rat Pack" concert. Just outside of Universal Amphitheater, I ran into a pack of girls following
Tommy Puett (some dude from the TV show "Life Goes On") who was with Alfonso Ribero, and I actually got to touch his jacket! Maybe if you're nice to me I'll let you shake the same hand I touched it with.

Here's another celebrity chronicle item for you...what movie premiere did I attend where I got to meet two Wayans brothers, a (literally) big rapper, and a cop turned bad? Hint: my celebrity chronicles are going in chronological order.

15 Minutes of Fame

Brother (actually Kyle's brother, but he is "Brother" to me too) recently e-mailed me a flyer that was distributed nationally by the company he works for. The flyer prominently displays a picture of him doing his thang on a boat:

This got me to thinking about everyone's 15 minutes of fame. Evidence of Kyle's 15 minutes of fame can be found on the website for Best Buddies, the non-profit that he used to work for when we were living in L.A. If you click on their link his voice is the first one you hear (right before Bono's, hehe): http://www.bestbuddies.org/site/c.ljJ0J8MNIsE/b.1162355/k.BF9F/Intro.htm

Unfortunately, my 15 minutes happens to feature a very unattractive picture of me. Click on the below link, enter Soleil @ K, skip the intro, and you will see me making a serious ugly face:

http://www.soleilatk.com/

I was part of this photo shoot when I worked for the agency that handled their advertising. Glad to know the nastiest picture of me in existence is on display for all the world to see.

Anyway, thought I would share the misfortune of my 15 minutes of fame. If you want to send me yours, good or bad, I'll post it for all the world to see as well, if they haven't already.

I'm inspired to also tell tales of my brushes with actual fame, in a future blogging series I shall call "The Celebrity Chronicles". Starting with my earliest brush with fame featuring a late 80's/early 90's cheesey television series icon who is most famous for playing a character known to bust out hilarious dance moves while rocking such fashionable items as pink polo shirts with sweaters tied around his shoulders. Alas, I fear I have given too much information already, but if you are still dying to find out stay tuned...(but you might have to wait another month or two seeing how busy this semester is going to be for me).

Peace out y'all.

And They Lived Happily Ever After

I went to Vons yesterday and as I was walking out I noticed a table full of used books that was placed in the entry way to the store. Out of curiosity, I stopped to see what it was for. Apparantly Vons is accepting donations of used books and asking customers to buy them for $1 in order to raise money for the Muscular Distrophy Foundation. Being the good Samaritan that I am, I perused the book selection to see if there was anything remotely of interest that I might want to purchase. Let me tell you, after browsing through stacks of books, I realize now that there is a lot of c-r-a-p out there in terms of books that have been written. I mean, really? How many cheesey romance novels gracing the face of Fabio can the world handle? I think my 7 month old nephew can write better stuff than what there is out there! Not that I'm the most well-read person, but come on, even I have standards when it comes to books.

But I shouldn't judge. If "A Restless Knight" is your idea of a good read, then stop by your local Vons today!

I suppose if I really were a good Samaratin I would have bought some of those books just out of good will, but I think I'd prefer to donate the money and get nothing in return.

Friends...How Many Others Have Them?

It's been waaay, waay too long.

If not for Suzanna prodding me on to post my lazy ass might never have done so. I've just been enjoying my summer break too much after a full year of school madness. What have I been doing you ask? Well, I can tell you that a lot of nothing certainly seems to take up a good amount of time.

I was reading Jenna Fischer's (Pam from The Office) myspace blog and it inspired me to blog. She just got nominated for an Emmy and this is what she wrote:

"Man…I am so excited. I just can't tell you what this means to me. Not because it is an award or something like that. But because it feels like it is for our gal Pam. She's a shy girl who doesn't get recognized very often you know. It's like…that shot from the episode with the Art Show where Pam is standing in front of her display waiting for the first visitor to come by…that just sums it all up for me. So, I guess I feel it in that part of me that is Pam. The part that still gets excited to show my art and hopes people are responding to it. It's like…Hey, people showed up to my art show!" (Retrieved from http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=27753303&blogID=289507082 on August 1st, 2007)

If you haven't seen the episode I highly recommend you check it out. In fact, I highly recommend watching each and every episode of The Office because I heart it so much. Anyway, I really connected with what she said because I think in a lot of ways I relate to Pam. I kind of feel like that girl who would put on an art show and hope that people would show up, because I think I would do the same for them. But then maybe nobody would show up. I guess this blog is like my art show, and the people who I know truly are my friends come in and check it out because they really care about what matters to me. So thanks Kyle, Suzanna, Cherann, and anyone else who is out there that finds me interesting enough to check up on me every now and then.

I know this sounds like a depressing blog, but really I've been doing fine lately. I've just been contemplating the fact that I have an unhealthy way of romanticizing friendships. I've always wanted to have friends a' la "Friends", "St. Elmo's Fire", "Saved by the Bell", and "How I Met Your Mother" style, where you just see them all the time and can go and drop by their place without having to make big plans whenever you feel like it. I think other people actually do have those friendships, but I think I tend to get lost in the crowd so I'm the kind of person people just want to hang out with one on one style. I don't know what it is. I know I should stop wishing for things that can't be changed, but I think I just crave that socialization aspect so much for whatever reason. It's like a weird sickness. But maybe when I have kids and don't have time for just hanging out I won't think about it so much.

The best part of that Office episode was in the end when Michael showed up and told Pam how proud he was of her. I cried like a baby when that happened. As much as Michael can be such an idiot, you can tell how much his character really cares.

All right, sorry for the introspective, semi-depressing blog. I'll try to be more upbeat and interesting next time around.

Sims Socialization

Sad news, our poor son was the first guy to get kicked off of So You Think You Can Dance. Tragic. He is dealing with the news well, all things considered. Hehe.

Kyle and I were out having dinner with some friends the other day when I totally put my foot in my mouth and committed one of my usual social faux pas. Our friends were really nice about it, but it got me to thinking about the video game, The Sims. Random segueway, but stick with me here, it'll all come back around eventually. Unlike my beloved husband, I am not much of a gamer, but at one point a few years ago I became obsessed with The Sims. For those of you not familiar with it, it is basically a video game about life with you as the main character. The only real "objective" is to get to the highest rank in your career if you so desire, but the real fun of the game is just tooling around and doing day to day activities like cooking, eating, taking out the trash, and socializing. It doesn't sound that fun when I describe it, but trust me, it gets very addicting. I don't know why, I can barely bring myself to cook and take out the trash in real life but when it comes to doing it in the virtual world I could spend hours on end doing it. The part of the game that always fascinated me was the socializing aspect. You get points for every person you socialize with and the game tells you on a scale of 1 to 100 how much that person likes/doesn't like you. The best part is that whenever you interact with that person, these positive or negative signs pop up above their head to tell you whether your relationship with that person is improving or deteriorating. For months when I would play that game I would find myself in real life social situations, imagining the positive or negative signs above a person's head.

"Hey Jane, I like your dress!" POSITIVE.

"Hey Joe, wanna go grab a drink for happy hour?"
"Actually Cheryl, don't you remember I gave up drinking after I got that DUI?" NEGATIVE.

The problem with real life is that more times than not I think people tend to hide how they are really feeling about you, so no matter how hard I try to see the positive or negative signs above someone's head sometimes they just refuse to let you in. So I think the lesson for myself here is to stop trying to figure out what they are thinking or feeling. In contrast, I think of myself as someone who wears my heart on my sleeve, and often it takes a lot for someone to illicit a negative out of me and not very much for the positives.

"Hi Cheryl." POSITIVE
"How's it going?" POSITIVE POSITIVE
"Want to grab a cup of coffee with me and go shopping?" POSITIVE x 1 million

Anyone who takes the coffee and shopping route is on the fast track to 100 points in my book!

Sweet Child O' Mine

You know those morphing machines they have at Dave N' Busters where you take a picture with your significant other and out spits an image of what your child is supposed to look like? Most of the ones I've seen produce children of mutant-like qualities, so hopefully they aren't very accurate. I've always been curious to see what it would look like if Kyle and I tried it out, but I've never been willing to pony up the small fortune needed in order to get a picture that I'll likely throw away 5 seconds later. Instead I prefer to spend my money on playing games like skee ball and Tetris that will earn me tickets to buy junk in the form of stuffed animals and rubber balls that I will throw away 5 seconds later.

Imagine my utter horror when I found out what our child could possibly looked like as Kyle and I were watching So You Think You Can Dance and he turned to me and said, "That guy is what our kid could look like." "That guy" being this guy:

Okay, so he doesn't look so bad in this picture but on the show he just seems really weird, and coming from me, the queen of weird, that says a lot. I am worried for our future child because my mom is convinced that since Kyle and I will be having a bi-racial child, he/she will be the most amazing looking child ever to walk the planet. I once knew a girl in college who was herself a product of a bi-racial coupling and she said that in her opinion, bi-racial children are either really good looking or really strange looking. I realize that the idea of bi-racial children being beautiful is one big stereotype, but I can't argue too much since my bi-racial godchildren, the offspring of Cherann, are gorgeous themselves. I have this fear that since there is already high expectations for our child's looks, if he/she is anything less than perfect than they will be shunned. Totally irrational, I know.

What do you think? Does

= ?

I would prefer having children that look like this:

or this:

No pressure indeed.

Side note: I have to say that good advertising really does work, as I am obsessed with finding out what the ending of Hostel II is since the commercial says it is an ending that will be talked about by everyone or something to that effect, but I am too much of a wuss to even google it because I hate scary/gory movies and I am afraid of actually seeing an image of what is underneath that bag. But if anyone out there goes to see it or finds out, please satisfy my curiosity for me and let me know what the heck happens in the end!

Bloggers Block

So I figure I ought to post before I lose the two readers I have right now. Even though I'm officially on summer vacation and should theoretically have much more time to blog than I did before, I'm discovering that a) I'm going through major bloggers block and b) I really don't have as much time as I thought I would. I envisioned spending my summer getting caught up on my life and those of my friends, possibly reading a good book or two, and relaxing at the beach. Instead it has been a whirlwind of dirty diapers (babysitting Marcus), constant e-mailing to catch up with the odd jobs I've been doing, and various family gatherings (birthdays, graduations, etc.). Not that I should be complaining or anything, as it's a welcome change from the continual stresses of grad school.

I guess I've been feeling pretty un-original lately, hence I have not had much of interest that I felt warranted the space that I would take up in the bloggerverse. I have, however, been perusing others' blogs in my spare time. For example, two of my friends were in a debate about whether or not Kelly Kapowski actually sang the song "Blue Moon" in a talent show, so in an attempt to settle their disagreement I tried googling it since everyone knows that anything that shows up in writing on the internet is a tried and true fact. All of a sudden, a bazillion blog entries about Saved by the Bell popped up and I was in blogger heaven. I mean, who knew that so many other people shared a sick fascination for bad 90's television that I thought made me so unique? Anyway, there are some really good bloggers out there. In fact, I don't think I've met a blog that I haven't liked so far. I guess that's what makes it so easy to waste away hours on mindless google searches.

I do have to say that I saw the movie "Knocked Up" and it was hilarious. Kyle and I were talking about what a good job it does of portraying both the male and the female point of view in relationships. The most classic scene was where this husband (played by Paul Rudd of "Clueless", "Friends", and a more obscure role in "Romeo + Juliet" with Claire Daines & Leonardo DiCaprio) and his wife (played by an actress whose name I don't know but I think she played Adam Sandler's ex-girlfriend in "Big Daddy") were arguing about something he had done, and he frustratedly tells her, "Just tell me what you want me to do!". To which she so eloquently replied, "I don't want to tell you what to do, I want you to do it because you want to do it because you love me, not because I tell you to do it!" Yes, I have used that line on more than a few occassions, and I'd be willing to bet the farm that more than a few women residing in the world of marital bliss have too.

My Friend Izzy

Surprisingly, I am not into Grey's Anatomy like the rest of the women in the free world. You would think it would be right up my alley what with my lifelong television addiction, but such is not the case for whatever reason. I think it has been hyped up so much in my mind that I just don't even think anything will live up to my expectations at this point.


Imagine my surprise when I ran into Katherine Heigl when I was out wine tasting in Temecula.

Okay, I lie. That's actually my friend C, one of the sweetest gals I've ever met. We actually were wine tasting in Temecula to celebrate her graduation from law school - brains and beauty, how jealous am I? Ever since I met her I've harped on how much she is the spitting image of Izzy.

Anyway, just thought I'd share. It's fun to know celebrity look-a-likes. One of my classmates says that she had a friend who looked just like Anna Nicole Smith, and now she's bummed because she can't get away with pretending to be her anymore. The only person I've ever been mistaken for is a Victoria's Secret model when I'm at the beach doing the "about to drop my drawers" pose. LOL!

I Did It!

After starving myself for the past four hours and working out like a mad woman, I finally achieved my perfect bikini body:

This is so not healthy...

Perfect Bikini Body

I get these e-mails from Victoria's Secret online informing me of their once a year sales (that actually happen every other day). Given the fact that summer is coming up, I decided to peruse their swimwear section. What started out as looking for a cute swimsuit turned into me shopping for the perfect bikini body.

On a side note, what the hell is up with the whole posing like you're about to pull your bottoms down deal? Seemed to be a common theme in the Vicky's online catalog.

Every year I promise myself I will be good and work out before summer hits. I can only think of one year that I actually did it, and that was the year that I also ate massive amounts of food at a time so I was just a semi-toned big girl. I fear that getting the perfect bikini body is only a pipe dream for me. Ahh, such is life.

I'm off to see my therapist. We have to attend 10 counseling sessions as part of my program. Lately I've enjoyed throwing the occasional "so, I was talking to my therapist..." into conversations. Makes me feel like Demi Moore in St. Elmo's fire, without the wicked stepmonster and the perfect bikini body.

Ta ta!

Anyone? Bueller?

Is anyone out there? Bueller? Bueller?

I know at least you are reading P.

I need a hobby. I've determined that watching TV and being up-to-date on pop culture do not qualify as hobbies. I've racked my brain trying to think of hobbies I can take up but have come up with zilch. Suggestions are welcome. Here are some things I enjoy and that I think I am good at:

Playing Scrabble
Drinking wine
Eating food
Petting cats

Cooking - I want to be good at this, but I don't think I'm very good at it. I'm okay, but Kyle is way better than I am. And for some reason every time I cook chicken I feel ill the next day so I think I'm giving myself salmonilla.

Who am I kidding? I don't even have time to do the laundry, clean my desk, take out the recycling. I need to figure out a way to be a fully functioning adult before taking up a hobby!

Does anybody have the phone number for a maid service?

Me & Sanjaya are One

I was watching American Idol and realized that my internal voice is way too Simon Cowell and not enough Paula Abdul. There are some days when I walk around feeling like I'm Sanjaya and can't do anything right.

Simon: "Cheryl, that was horrendous! Like watching a bad, drunken karaoke bar performance."
Me: "Really? You think I could be good enough to sing at a karaoke bar? Wow, thanks!"

Hardy har. Where oh where is Paula when you need her? At least she would tell me my outfit looks nice.

A Year in the Life

Happy one year Bloggerversary to me!

Reflections on the past year:

1. Going back to school is not as easy as it sounds.
2. I'm still reminded of my New Years spill by the stubborn bruise on my knee that will not go away.
3. One year is way too long to go without a nice vacation away from it all.
4. Being an aunt is the best.
5. Never say never. Like I said I would never go back to the Brenda Walsh bangs.

I started out with wispy, sideswept bangs. Then I decided I need a change. Slowly but surely, I have digressed back to the days of 90210. Even those damn jumpers with t-shirts underneath are making a comeback. I haven't quite made that leap yet. I think I'll file that under the category of leggings for now. That stereotypical Asian model with bangs thing a la Bai Ling always bugged me, which was partly why I revolted against straight bangs for so long. I guess I'm a conformist at heart!

Randomly, I'm in Santa Barbara this weekend to represent my program at a diversity forum being held at UCSB. Believe it or not, it was actually more the fact that this event focuses on diversity rather than that it was in Santa Barbara that motivated me to want to come when I was invited at the last minute. Of course, I ain't complaining about the locale - just a minor side perk. But instead of having a grand time on State Street I'll be working on my paper/presentation for my child development class. Fun times.

I don't think this can count as my long overdue vacation.

What to Do, What to Do

TO DO:

1. Get a pedicure. Gnarly toenails are unacceptable, even in cold weather.
2. School work (what's new?)
3. Finish traffic school online. Funny when you read about how you shouldn't drive when you are emotional, which is pretty much what I was doing when that cursed photo light caught me.
4. Go on that bikini body diet I've been talking about for months (now that there are only about 2 months left until summer begins).
5. Get a massage & plan a vacation. Relaxation time is key.
6. Start writing in a journal again. Blogging is fun and all, but there are just some things not meant for public consumption.
7. Blog more.
8. Go to the gym (can't wait until I actually check this one off my list!).
9. Buy Elliot Yamin CD. I was a Taylor Hicks fan but his CD kind of disappointed. I hear Elliot's is the bomb yo! (Sorry, temporarily possessed by the spirit of Randy Jackson)
10. Buy more closed toe shoes (in case #1 is not realized).

Meme?

Apparantly I've been tagged to fill out a meme. Before today I didn't even know what a meme is so if this post actually even goes through it will be a miracle. I guess I didn't realize before getting into blogging how technically literate I would have to be.

Three things that scare me

1. PUBLIC SPEAKING
2. Being judged (goes into #1)
3. The idea of anyone other than my beloved husband who loves me unconditionally seeing me first thing in the morning when I wake up.
   

Three people who make me laugh

1. I Love Cheese
2. Dave Chapelle
3. Me (hence the blog name)

Three things I love

1. I have to go with Cherann on this one - my family

2. The Office

"Wikipedia is the best thing ever. Anyone in the world can write anything they want about any subject, so you know you are getting the best possible information." - Michael Scott

3. Food

Three things I hate


1. When people think they are better than others
2. Inconsiderateness
3. Being hungry
   

Three things I don’t understand

1. How anyone could not love food

2. How on earth leggings ever made a comeback

3. Intolerance

Three things on my desk


1. A stack of papers taller than me
2. A video game case for World of Warcraft (Kyle's doing, not mine. Not that WoW isn't cool or anything, I'm just sayin'.)
3. More paper

If Kyle hadn't just cleaned it I'm sure there would be a million water bottles on my desk too (my doing, not Kyle's).

Three things I want to do before I die


1. Be serenaded by John Legend (only a song Kyle, nothing more of course!)
2. Meet Barack Obama (Obama in '08!)

3. Be a mommy.

Three things I can do


1. Cook a 30-minute meal
2. Trick my husband into getting into bad reality TV shows (The Search for the Next Pussycat Doll, The Hills, etc.)
3. Laugh a lot
   
   
Three things I can’t do

1. Pretend I know something that I don't

2. Motivate myself to work out
3. Swim

Three things I think you should listen to

1. The good things people say about you
2. John Legend's "Get Lifted"
3. Yourself

Three things you should never listen to

I try to be pretty open minded so I can't think of anything you shouldn't listen to. Of course, that doesn't mean you have to do everything that anyone says. I'll have to come back to you on that one.

Three things I’d like to learn (but won’t)


1. How to be completely non-judgmental
2. How to stop thinking about what everyone else is thinking
3. How Anna Nicole Smith could be so blind as to what a sleazoid Howard K. Stern is
   
   
   Three shows I watched as a kid

1. The Guys Next Door

2. The Monkees (yes, I was boy band crazed even at a young age)

3. Saved by the Bell

Now for the very special part….Tag, you’re it! You're turn to tell me three things. Have fun!

I Love Cheese

Thanks for the tag Cherann!

The Man, the Myth, the LEGEND

OMG OMG OMG OMG!!!

Can I just tell you how much I absolutely heart John Legend? Kyle and I went to his concert last night with a few friends and he 100% blew my mind with how awesome he was. You know somebody is good when they sound even better LIVE than they do on their CD.

It doesn't hurt that he's pretty easy on the eyes too. I don't think Kyle would mind my mini-celebrity crush since he has developed one of his own for Mr. Legend's opening act, Carin Bailey Rae.

I knew I was in trouble when Kyle first saw her perform and realized that she can play the guitar, but then she had to go and reveal the fact that she has the coolest British accent ever last night. If I could come back as somebody else in another lifetime I would want to come back as a Brit because I'm convinced that no matter what your personality is like, if you have a British accent you are golden. So:

Good looks + good personality + plays the guitar + great singer + BRITISH ACCENT

= Kyle fantasizing about being picked out of a crowd for a marriage proposal from Carin Bailey Rae

I forget how great going to concerts can be. It was held at the Embarcadero downtown, which I think I have been to at some point but can't remember why. Anyway, it was a beautiful night, with the water on one side and a great view of the city on the other. We also discovered that you can pretty much have a picnic right outside the venue and still be able to see and hear the music for free, so I'm thinking I'll have to try it when the next great act comes into town. Although I'm not sure if anything will ever live up to John Legend. Sigh.

In other music related news, did you happen to catch American Idol last night with Michael Buble? Now, Michael Buble is another artist who I've designated as one of my favorites on my myspace page, but I'm feeling like he kind of ruined his image in my eyes with his creepy comment about Antonella Barba. I wonder if he's still dating that British girl from "The Devil Wears Prada"? If he lets go a girl with a British accent then he definitely is a certified fool.