So, uh ... I'm Jeff. I'm guest bloggering because Rebecca is too busy worrying about business school to type. Or something like that. What's new? Well, I somehow got coerced into going clothes shopping with RB for the first time in our three-year-plus relationship. I guess I've had a pretty good run with it, but my luck ran out when she wouldn't buy my assertion that our trip to Nicaragua was my birthday present to her. Granted, I didn't pay for her trip to Nicaragua or anything, but I figured that maybe my presence alone on a trip to Nicaragua would be enough to be considered a good birthday present. I mean, who wants to go to Nicaragua? Sounds reasonable, right? Not a friggin' chance. But, she made it easy on me by telling me about a pair of jeans she really wanted, and all I had to do was accompany her to Nordstrom and pay for them. It sounded like a really easy way to get out of having to think of a "special" present to buy. I'm such a damn romantic.
I was kind of dreading the trip (I really don't like people, crowds, malls, elevators, waiting, salespersons, clothes, public transportation, or mindless consumerism -- pretty much everything I thought a trip to Nordstrom would involve), but it actually ended up not being so bad. It’s amazing how many cute girls there were wandering around there in the middle of the afternoon on a weekday.
Sunday, September 25, 2005
Saturday, September 24, 2005
Straight from the womb
I know that some of you have been reading The Bucky Blog regularly. There's a little more going on at that blog than on RBlog these days, mainly because Bucky's developments are much more exciting than recent events in my stress-filled life.
Whether you're interested in the business of pregnancy or not, you should check out these images Clare sent from her latest ultrasound. They kind of rocked my world. It was shocking to me to be able to see that she has an entire little person living inside her body. In concept, I knew this was happening, but seeing it is entirely different. Biology is so weird.
Whether you're interested in the business of pregnancy or not, you should check out these images Clare sent from her latest ultrasound. They kind of rocked my world. It was shocking to me to be able to see that she has an entire little person living inside her body. In concept, I knew this was happening, but seeing it is entirely different. Biology is so weird.
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
Stupid Emmys
I just started thinking about the Emmys again and the fact that Arrested Development and/or Jeremy Piven didn't win. It's got me all worked up. Arrested Development should have won something just on principle. Can anyone honestly say that Everybody Loves Raymond is better television than Arrested Development?! I've never even watched Arrested Development, but there is no question in my mind that it is at least three billion times better than Everybody Loves Raymond. And I think I'm falling madly in love with Jeremy Piven. I'll leave it at that.
I think I've had too much coffee.
I think I've had too much coffee.
Geminis hate routine
I finally discovered a San Francisco radio station that doesn't make me gag: the new Max 95.7. They say it's new, but I'm not up enough on these things to know whether or not that's just a marketing ploy.
The gimmick behind this station is that they just play "whatever they want." I'm not sure where the tendency for radio stations to play music from only one genre or era came from, but I've always thought that it pretty much sucks. It's terrible primarily because it results in frequent song repetition, so no matter how much you like the type of music the station plays you wind up getting sick of the songs pretty quickly. Plus, who really likes only one type of music?
This new station claims to play pretty much any kind of music depending on their whims. I haven't listened enough yet to be able to speak to the truth of that claim, but I can say that the variety is refreshing when compared to the usual radio station routine. For instance, on my way to work this morning they played Sweet Emotion (Aerosmith, 1975), followed by Legs (ZZ Top, 1983), followed by Rich Girl (Gwen Stephani with Eve, 2004). Now, I'm not saying any of those songs are on my personal top ten list, but I did enjoy them all and was thrilled with the crazy spontaneity that the mix lended to my morning commute.
The gimmick behind this station is that they just play "whatever they want." I'm not sure where the tendency for radio stations to play music from only one genre or era came from, but I've always thought that it pretty much sucks. It's terrible primarily because it results in frequent song repetition, so no matter how much you like the type of music the station plays you wind up getting sick of the songs pretty quickly. Plus, who really likes only one type of music?
This new station claims to play pretty much any kind of music depending on their whims. I haven't listened enough yet to be able to speak to the truth of that claim, but I can say that the variety is refreshing when compared to the usual radio station routine. For instance, on my way to work this morning they played Sweet Emotion (Aerosmith, 1975), followed by Legs (ZZ Top, 1983), followed by Rich Girl (Gwen Stephani with Eve, 2004). Now, I'm not saying any of those songs are on my personal top ten list, but I did enjoy them all and was thrilled with the crazy spontaneity that the mix lended to my morning commute.
Sunday, September 18, 2005
Why buy a Nano?
I haven't seen or heard much discussion of iPod's new Nano, yet. Personally, I have to wonder why anyone would need one of these things. It looks like it would break easily if you sat on it or dropped it, it only plays 1,000 songs, and doesn't everyone in the known world already own some kind of iPod?
Normally, I wouldn't take the time to comment on something I find so silly, but the Jo-tel hasn't done it yet and someone's gotta pick up the slack.
Normally, I wouldn't take the time to comment on something I find so silly, but the Jo-tel hasn't done it yet and someone's gotta pick up the slack.
Pity Emmy
Everybody Loves Raymond is NOT funny. The show is totally grating and annoying. I can't believe that they gave them best comedy series just because the series ended! That's really the only explanation, since ending Everybody Loves Raymond was obviously the best thing that could have happened to prime-time television.
Friday, September 16, 2005
Pray for Baby Spears-Federline
Many of you have written in to ask, and the answer is yes -- I did read that Britney had the baby.
From the Associated Press:
"Spears, who married Federline in September last year, had been previously reported as saying she planned to have the baby by Caesarean section to avoid the pain of a natural birth."
I think that comments on this issue from my smart and funny friends sum it all up for me.
The first email I received on the subject read, "What the *$&#%??! She had previously said that having a child is the next closest thing to knowing God, but she's wimping out of labor? Give me a break! You take drugs to get a c-section (sometimes you're even knocked out), and you would get drugs for labor. Would she rather have the scar than a stretched out cooter that will naturally tighten back up?!"
It was closely followed by a comment from another friend:
"A scheduled c-section to avoid the unpleasantries of childbirth?! That's a great way to start out parenthood: "Dear Baby, I know you have your 'schedule' and 'needs' or whatever, but I'd rather not be conscious. It hurts! Plus if I schedule it a little early I don't gain those last few pounds. Love, Mom."
Yep, that pretty much says it all.
From the Associated Press:
"Spears, who married Federline in September last year, had been previously reported as saying she planned to have the baby by Caesarean section to avoid the pain of a natural birth."
I think that comments on this issue from my smart and funny friends sum it all up for me.
The first email I received on the subject read, "What the *$&#%??! She had previously said that having a child is the next closest thing to knowing God, but she's wimping out of labor? Give me a break! You take drugs to get a c-section (sometimes you're even knocked out), and you would get drugs for labor. Would she rather have the scar than a stretched out cooter that will naturally tighten back up?!"
It was closely followed by a comment from another friend:
"A scheduled c-section to avoid the unpleasantries of childbirth?! That's a great way to start out parenthood: "Dear Baby, I know you have your 'schedule' and 'needs' or whatever, but I'd rather not be conscious. It hurts! Plus if I schedule it a little early I don't gain those last few pounds. Love, Mom."
Yep, that pretty much says it all.
Another thought...
Watching the Enron film made me realize that my inherent distrust of the news media has become extreme. Maybe too extreme. An unfortunate result of my distrust (and disgust?) is that whenever there's a massive, ongoing story -- like the Enron scandal, the Lewinsky scandal, the tsunami, or Katrina -- I tend to totally tune out, almost like I have blinders on. It's bad news for me (no pun intended) because I wind up being out of the loop on everything but the most basic details of events that have major impacts on our culture.
I just can't get around my low tolerance for the manner in which the coverage is presented. Each headline story is seemingly the biggest deal EVER. It's so transparently commercial. I really hate TV news. Local TV news is by far the worst.
I just can't get around my low tolerance for the manner in which the coverage is presented. Each headline story is seemingly the biggest deal EVER. It's so transparently commercial. I really hate TV news. Local TV news is by far the worst.
Thursday, September 15, 2005
Movie Review: The Smartest Guys in the Room
Haas was giving a free screening of The Smartest Guys in the Room tonight, so I went to go check it out. I'm shocked at how much I enjoyed this film, and also how educational it was for a really entertaining movie. I'd totally recommend it to anyone -- especially if you have ties to Portland or California (the everyday lives of people living in both places were impacted heavily by what went down at Enron). Put it on your Netflix list.
For those of you who haven't heard about The Smartest Guys in the Room before, it's a documentary that investigates how the Enron scandal came to be. It goes through the circumstances and events that led up to Enron's filing for bankruptcy, as well as those that followed, but more importantly the film is a character study of the major players involved. The movie asks and answers the question, "How can a business scandal this extreme occur today?"
One thing I appreciated about this movie is that it's not overtly political (though it does cover politics and political consequences of the scandal). You also don't come away with the feeling that the film makers are condemning all big business. They treat Enron as a unique occurrence that should be learned from. I think a lot of us have become accustomed to Michael Moore-style documentaries, where the viewer comes out feeling like she's just drowned Moore's biases and personal agenda. Moore seems so gimmicky and over the top a lot of the time. Though I often respect his stance, I feel he's prone to total overkill.
For those of you who haven't heard about The Smartest Guys in the Room before, it's a documentary that investigates how the Enron scandal came to be. It goes through the circumstances and events that led up to Enron's filing for bankruptcy, as well as those that followed, but more importantly the film is a character study of the major players involved. The movie asks and answers the question, "How can a business scandal this extreme occur today?"
One thing I appreciated about this movie is that it's not overtly political (though it does cover politics and political consequences of the scandal). You also don't come away with the feeling that the film makers are condemning all big business. They treat Enron as a unique occurrence that should be learned from. I think a lot of us have become accustomed to Michael Moore-style documentaries, where the viewer comes out feeling like she's just drowned Moore's biases and personal agenda. Moore seems so gimmicky and over the top a lot of the time. Though I often respect his stance, I feel he's prone to total overkill.
Test Results
I recently had my first test of grad school handed back. I got an A- and it was a microeconomics midterm. I could have done a better job studying and I also made a few dumb mistakes that I shouldn't have, but I'm perfectly happy with an A-. If I can get low As with spotty preparation and mistakes, this back-to-school thing could be manageable. They might have gone easy on us the first time, though.
I never thought I'd say this, but thank god I took calculus over the summer. We're already using derivatives (and they don't do much math review of any kind) all over the place in econ, as well as several of the functions my calculus instructor insisted that we learn. I know you're wondering if "e" has reappeared, and I'm sad to say the answer is no. There is no "e" in econ, yet.
I never should have questioned the relevance of calculus.
I never thought I'd say this, but thank god I took calculus over the summer. We're already using derivatives (and they don't do much math review of any kind) all over the place in econ, as well as several of the functions my calculus instructor insisted that we learn. I know you're wondering if "e" has reappeared, and I'm sad to say the answer is no. There is no "e" in econ, yet.
I never should have questioned the relevance of calculus.
Monday, September 12, 2005
Sunday, September 11, 2005
Sick, sick, sick
I have a bad, bad cold. It's the kind of cold where you can't breathe and you have to blow your nose so much that the skin around it starts peeling. I'm also sweating while I have goosebumps. There are a kazillion crumpled tissues distributed in a little trail that tracks my progress through the day. The path goes from bed, to the couch, back to bed, with a slight detour through the bathroom.
There are many crappy things about being sick, but for me these are the most crappy:
1) When you get in bed to go to sleep all the congestion in your nose plugs up one nostril or the other, but not both, so your breathing is completely unbalanced. It makes me feel horrible. I used to think that was just a weird quirk of mine, until I took a yoga class that involved measured breathing through one nostril or another to achieve inner peace. Or something like that. Okay, honestly, I can't remember what we were trying to achieve because I was just focused on not laughing, but I still think that having only one nostril totally blocked up is enough to seriously mess a person up. Or at least enough to make it impossible to fall asleep.
2) Single people totally get the shaft when it comes to being sick. I think some people might get married or shack up only because they want someone to take care of them when they're sick. It's even in the vows -- "in sickness and in health..." If you're single, and don't live with your mother, you pretty much have to take yourself to Walgreen's to buy tissue and Nyquil, you have to make your own tea, get your own blanket, there's no one to listen sympathetically when you complain for hours on end, and there's no one to offer to make you soup.*
I think there should be a service where you could pay someone to do these things. It would even out the playing field a little and make things more equitable for the sick singles out there.
*That's a little bit of a lie, Matty K. did offer to come make me soup. But I really wouldn't want him to see me in this state. I couldn't be more disgusting and irritable. Plus, when a roommate or friend offers to do these things for you, you feel like you should be smiley and nice, even if you think you're about to die. It's really not the same as a mom or partner who is stuck with you regardless of your whiny disgustingness.
There are many crappy things about being sick, but for me these are the most crappy:
1) When you get in bed to go to sleep all the congestion in your nose plugs up one nostril or the other, but not both, so your breathing is completely unbalanced. It makes me feel horrible. I used to think that was just a weird quirk of mine, until I took a yoga class that involved measured breathing through one nostril or another to achieve inner peace. Or something like that. Okay, honestly, I can't remember what we were trying to achieve because I was just focused on not laughing, but I still think that having only one nostril totally blocked up is enough to seriously mess a person up. Or at least enough to make it impossible to fall asleep.
2) Single people totally get the shaft when it comes to being sick. I think some people might get married or shack up only because they want someone to take care of them when they're sick. It's even in the vows -- "in sickness and in health..." If you're single, and don't live with your mother, you pretty much have to take yourself to Walgreen's to buy tissue and Nyquil, you have to make your own tea, get your own blanket, there's no one to listen sympathetically when you complain for hours on end, and there's no one to offer to make you soup.*
I think there should be a service where you could pay someone to do these things. It would even out the playing field a little and make things more equitable for the sick singles out there.
*That's a little bit of a lie, Matty K. did offer to come make me soup. But I really wouldn't want him to see me in this state. I couldn't be more disgusting and irritable. Plus, when a roommate or friend offers to do these things for you, you feel like you should be smiley and nice, even if you think you're about to die. It's really not the same as a mom or partner who is stuck with you regardless of your whiny disgustingness.
72 hours
Everywhere I turn there is media urging me to prepare for disaster. They say we're supposed to be able to survive on our own for 72 hours after a major catastrophe. After watching all the coverage of Katrina, and knowing that San Francisco is due for "the big one" any minute now, I think I'm going to start putting together a backpack like they say you should.
I notice that nowhere in the literature does it say you should have a shotgun in order to defend your person and property from gangs of looters. As a single woman, my biggest fear about a disaster hitting is being able to defend myself (if need be) in the chaos that would follow. The unique geography of San Francisco means we could be stuck here for quite awhile. There's no easy way out if the bridges go down.
I've been watching too much news.
I notice that nowhere in the literature does it say you should have a shotgun in order to defend your person and property from gangs of looters. As a single woman, my biggest fear about a disaster hitting is being able to defend myself (if need be) in the chaos that would follow. The unique geography of San Francisco means we could be stuck here for quite awhile. There's no easy way out if the bridges go down.
I've been watching too much news.
I miss my Entourage
Today is one of my first Sundays in awhile without a heavy dose of Entourage. I think I'm experiencing withdrawal. One of my coworkers pointed out that the majority of the characters on the show are self-centered jerks, but I love them anyway. My favorite shows are the ones with plotlines centered on Ari and the agency. I like to fantasize about becoming a big Hollywood agent someday... Wheeling and dealing, worrying about my clients' coverage in US Weekly, throwing my daughter a star-studded bat mitzvah. Ah, that would be the life!
I guess I'll just have to suffer until HBO comes up with some new episodes. Unfortunately, they have very strange seasons scheduled, and I can't figure out exactly when that will be. Maybe other Entourage fans know?
I guess I'll just have to suffer until HBO comes up with some new episodes. Unfortunately, they have very strange seasons scheduled, and I can't figure out exactly when that will be. Maybe other Entourage fans know?
Thursday, September 08, 2005
In other football news...
I've almost convinced Jeff to rename his fantasy football team "The Candy Unicorn Fairies." Good name, huh?
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