top 5 things to do before my 26th birthday

which is jan 10th.
i have about 4 months.

5. move out of my parents' house. this is really an asap kind of situation but if i'm not out by january, kick my ass. then help me find an apartment.

4. i really need to make it back to england. it's been way too long. and hopefully i can catch one of hasan's gigs.

3. the half-marathon, of course. training is coming along nicely, especially since julian just gave me a huge hip-hop anthology to be envied by many. i can totally run to that.

2. i want to make a huge, tiered (possibly with columns...) crazy cake. i just need a reason for such a large cake. give me a reason!

1. i want to do standup comedy. just once, at an open mic night or something. i like to compare it to skydiving: it'll be terrifying and horrible, but worth it for the experience and the lifetime bragging rights.

pic-tastic!

mostly because of a lack of content....

here is something that i made to fill wall space and to do something with my stack of polaroids that has been gathering dust on my desk:

it's no masterpiece, but hey, i threw it together during the commercial breaks of ace of cakes. the one cool thing about it is that the pics are attached with scrapbooking brads, so that i can switch them out later when i take more pictures. clever, eh?

do you watch ace of cakes? holy crap, it's fucking great. it's a bunch of hipsters running a bakery making over-the-top awesome cakes. the best thing is that they do things that are so original and unorthodox that they always have to improvise and get really creative with their tools and materials. i'm pretty interested in the creative process in any form so i get really excited over this show. nerd alert! also, i think i may have to bump someone off my freebies list to make room for geof, the executive sous chef. uh huh! here are some examples of the insane cakes they make:

that last one is a quidditch field, in case you're not into harry potter. a quidditch field!?! i'm so pissed that this cake is not mine. anyway, this show is the reason that i'm never satisfied with my cakes. if only i had about 3 ovens and a team of workers.....

i am making a cake this week to welcome lauren's bro to dallas. it's a pretty ambitious endeavour for me so i hope i can bring it to fruition. come to meridian next wednesday if you want some cake! you should come anyway though, meridian wednesdays are the best days. if julian will send me the pics from last night, i'll show you.

one last thing: pub quiz on sept. 30th. assemble the dream team and take no prisoners.

hipster olympics

i may be a little late on this, which would make me a pretty bad hipster if i was one (which i'm not). watch them search for the perfect ironic tee ("it's so un-ironic that it is ironic!"), have a music collection brag-a-thon, and heap scorn upon a square competitively. i cracked up watching this, because i totally see myself in it. i even have that gray american apparel shirt that one of the competitors is wearing. it's actually my favorite shirt. and i'm always saying something is the new something. and i scoff at squares. i'm not really a hipster though. hipster-ish at best. anyway, this is funny.



oh and special thanks to alexander for making me the best mix cd of all time. i just got it yesterday but i'm playing the heck out of it. maybe, if you're lucky, he'll make one for you.

i judge you when you watch entourage

So…Entourage is a really shitty show. Really, it’s very bad. Usually when I say that my opinion is dismissed because “it’s a guy show and you just don’t understand.” This is pretty insulting because you’re assuming that I’m either too immature or too unintelligent to evaluate something with the slightest bit of objectivity. How dare you? Also, have we met? I like lots of “guy" things. I can certainly admit when something is good or cool even when it’s completely not my style or something I would never partake in. Video games come to mind….I don't get it but I don't put it down. Also, my dislike of the show is not a knee-jerk feminist reaction to the distasteful treatment of female characters. It’s bad, to be sure, but also pretty typical.

No, no, I hate Entourage because it sucks. I guess I'll start with the characters and the acting. It’s the opposite of seamless, whatever that is. Seam-full? Anyway you can see them struggling, and it’s bad. Vince may be the worst, his character has no personality and that’s exactly how Grenier plays him. He gives you nothing. I don’t get it, he’s the main character, right? Turtle and Drama might be ok characters if their lines were actually funny, but they’re not. They seem to be making the same long-running jokes from the first season. Ari used to be kinda cool and funny (I like asshole characters), but now he just runs around throwing temper tantrums. That’s not interesting or funny. He’s apparently run out of zingers. The only good character at all is Eric (fuck you, hollywood, I’m not calling him E). He does and says real things and appears to have a brain and a personality. See, now was that so hard? Maybe they’ll surprise me and turn Eric into the main character…..

The story isn’t very good either. I use the singular “story” because there’s really only been one story line the entire length of the series. Sure the details change, but basically it’s the same thing happening all the time. I hadn’t watched it since the first season and I was able to jump back in without skipping a beat. In fact, I had to double check to make sure they weren’t just replaying the first season. Indeed they weren’t. It’s so formulaic that it’s like watching a Scooby Doo episode. If it weren't for that meddling director.....

And all the celebrity cameos? They are always terribly cheesy. When Kanye West made that joke about flying the jet it kinda felt like I was watching Full House. It's ok guys, he's only joking! Super lame. Unbelievable. This is an Mtv-quality show on an HBO-sized budget. What a waste.

The real reason it irks me that Entourage is so popular is that I really don’t get why people are watching. Do people think it’s funny? Are they actually interested in what will happen to these lifeless characters? Do they want to live vicariously through Vince? Are they impressed by the hollywood glamour? Some say it’s like the male Sex and the City (don’t get me started on that show) and I get that comparison. Unfortunately, it similarly reduces men to these absurd gender stereotypes the way that SATC did to women. "Me like girl. Car go fast. Money good."

In conclusion, Entourage is a bad show because it is stocked with static characters played poorly by mediocre actors, with regurgitated, badly-written storylines. Their attempt at humor yields meager results. It is ostentatious, cheesy, and sleazy (the rhyming there is an unfortunate coincidence). It pretends to be a good show, while it is not.

I say this out of concern. Watching Entourage is a step down a slippery slope. Next thing you know you’re wearing striped, button-down shirts and drinking domestic beer at your reserved table in Addison. You’re a douchebag. Who will help you now? Not me, I warned you.

Relax, this is all in good fun. I don't really care about Entourage. I watch some terrible shows too, Degrassi probably being the worst. But at least I don’t go around talking about how cool it is. Or watch it in a group with all my buddies. Sigh.

weekend recap

"i could have had six! i only have one!"
-lauren's reaction to her $7 beer

friday

-we skipped ryan's b.y.o.bling birthday party in favor of martinis and beer in uptown.
-it turns out martinis are delicious.
-far too many dudes approached us, so annoying. they all liked my cardigan.....i dunno.
-it's a pretty nice cardigan. sarah gave it to me.
-lauren got drunk and told everyone her name was "buddy"

saturday

-central market! amazing sandwich, real sugar dr. pepper, and creme brulee. ah yes.
-jon jon was on tv at the UT game, which led to a lot of texting.
-worked on some art projects that had long been abandoned. (pics soon)
-fallout again. kinda busy but not friday busy. no dancing because lauren hates hip hop.

sunday

-did you know that liquor stores are closed on sunday? me either.
-people came over. the most random group of all time. friends of mine that span decades.
-i think the star of the day was chris berry. hadn't seen him since vail.
-jonesy could not have been wearing more green. no way.
-i made snake bites! you know, cause its sunday.
-i did NOT make a cake. there can't be cake every weekend, dudes.

now i have some bad news. i'm grounding myself. i'm not going out anymore for awhile. just meridian wednesdays cause those are too hard to give up. please don't give me shit about it. i'll be back.

top 5 reasons i can't wait for fall

5. windy, chilly, rainy weather. it's exhilirating. and there's no sweating. perfect weather for lounging around with a blanket and a book.


4. all the best holidays are right in a row: halloween, thanksgiving, x-mas, my bday. good times.


3. boys in jackets and scarves. yes.


2. pumpkin-flavored things appear everywhere. beer, lattes, gelato. i love it all.


1. oh the fall wardrobe! sweaters, jackets, boots, scarves, etc. i have lots of new stuff in my closet just screaming to be worn. it may be awhile....


i've already started knitting in anticipation. i should be pumping out scarves by mid-september, anyone want one? let me know what you want: color, skinny, long, fluffy, etc. i'll also be attempting a hat for alexander, but i'm gonna see how i manage it before i offer to make more....

yay fall.

my best friend is better than your best friend

see? i told you. my package arrived from england today jam packed with goodies! the cds, tons of candy and a postcard. how psyched am i? notice how the jelly babies are already torn open. i couldn't wait. they are quite possibly my favorite candy and their deliciousness is exceeded only by their elusiveness. i probably won't share them. try me.