The Tutu and the Happy Face

This is Paul Hunt performing a comedy routine on the balance beam in 1988. It was USA vs USSR in Los Angeles. He is a gymnastics coach and as you can see is an excellent gymnast himself~!


1981 Madison Square Garden New York City on the Nadia Tour

I could not help myself. The first video here gave me the giggles and I wanted to share.

What Would Carrie Do?

Women Working in the Big City in the 1930s

What are the odds? I am sitting here at 5:30 in the morning and have been up since about 2:30. I have a sore throat and my ears hurt a little, but I don't feel sick. I have not been sick since 2005. I got a horrible cold and cough right after my daughter's wedding. But this sore throat caused me to miss lunch and a movie with friends. I had so been looking forward to seeing everyone but I did not want to give anyone my cooties. I think they saw "New in Town."

I was playing on the Internet at 2 in the morning and reading all my favorite blogs and websites when I stumbled across this video called "The Bailout Rap." Well, as it always goes, it led me to You Tube where I spent the next few hours playing and finding all kinds of videos.


Stockbroker Gregg Somerville

So I started to think about a post when I popped over to Karen's blog and, lo and behold, she has a new post on New York City~! Sheesh. I had been thinking about New York, the economy and Wall Street and, of course, Sex and the City. I have every season on DVD, so I am a fan of the show, but looking back you realize what a reflection it is of the boom years in Wall Street and New York City. They do have this insufferable attitude that they live in the center of universe and things are different there. They WERE the Masters of the Universe, Harvard and Ivy League graduates who were SO smart they deserved all the money they raked in. You know, people like John Thain and his entitlement mentality, and his commode that cost $35,115. Thain's Throne indeed. The empreror truly is naked.

Real estate never goes down there, salaries are huge, perks are the norm. Did you read the book "The Nanny Diaries"? There was no one truly likable in the book, even the main character was not. I have a feeling they are feeling it now. It would be nice to visit New York and have it actually be an affordable place, where a damn drink did not cost $18.00 and you could maybe afford to go to a show and enjoy the incredible sights that are there. I would think that New Yorkers themselves would want that, so they could afford to live there and actually have a life. Probably not because they do love their rent control.

I guess there is a new blog out about Wall Street wives and girlfriends who suddenly are not feeling the joy. Their significant others are getting creamed in the Wall Street fiasco. No more fancy spas, credit cards cut off, trips canceled, no Hampton trip.

I love to hear about people who have made it and are living a life they worked hard to get. I am not a knee jerk hater of CEOs. At least, I did not used to be. Bill Gates' story is awesome, Steve Jobs and Apple, Fred Smith and FedEx. They are all examples of people who earned their money.

How many hard working people do you know who are worried about their job and who have already lost their job?

The Sky is Falling~! Here Comes the Boom

Chicken Little

Okay, global warming is becoming just so much hot air. Al Gore, the great "Goracle" is such a boring, twaddle faced, dweeb.

So here is a link to an Los Angeles Times article--"Climate Change has a Firm Grip." What was funny to me was a quote in the article.

"Moreover, heat absorbed by the ocean is released slowly, and will continue to contribute to global warming even if the concentration of greenhouse gases should decline, the authors said.

Solomon said in a statement that absorption of carbon dioxide and release of heat -- one acting to cool the Earth and the other to warm it -- would "work against each other to keep temperatures almost constant for more than 1,000 years."

So, temperatures will remain CONSTANT for more than a 1,000 years?? So we should spend billions, possibly trillions, to stop, what? Constant temperatures.

I think South Park had it just about right.

South Park "Manbearpig"

I am SUPER serial.

Black Belt in Gotcha

Rowan and Martin Laugh In

Do you remember "Here Comes Da Judge" or the "Fickle Finger of Fate"? My gosh, I had forgotten all the people who were in the show. Goldie Hawn, Sammy Davis, Jr., Jack Benny, Kirk Douglas, Joanne Worley, Ruth Buzzi, Phyllis Diller....Very interesting, but stupid.

What I cannot believe is that this show was out 40 years ago!! Oh my gosh. Talk about feeling old. Where the hell does time go? You know, in my head, I am only 23 years old, not 51. It totally bites. I don't want to be like some of those pathetic characters on The Real Housewives of Orange County who will not accept the fact that they are not young anymore, but I really understand the motivation. Look how young Goldie Hawn looks in the clip.

Ray Bradbury has some great stories but one I really liked was Dandelion Wine. One chapter was about a time machine the boys find but the time machine turns out to be a really, really old man telling stories. When you read the story, parts of it are kind of creepy. Some of the kids in the story refuse to believe that the old people were ever young and make cruel comments. But I do remember thinking that old people were always old and it always surprised me that they had some great stories about growing up and being young.



I guess this is where you need to count your blessings and be grateful for what you do have. I have 2 beautiful daughters, a cutie pie grandson, fabulous friends, and a great family. I have lived a pretty good life so far.

Will I be a cool old lady or the crazy lady who lives on the corner and yells at the kids for walking on the grass? I have a horrid feeling that I am becoming that old person who thinks kids are a pain in the butt. I so remember the old man we used to be afraid of as kids who yelled at us all the time. We lived in a cul de sac growing up, so we were always in the street playing. There were so many kids in just our little street so we probably did make a lot of noise. We used to take a baseball bat and beat the heck out of the streetlight because it would go off. We would play hide and seek with the streetlight off and it was a blast. But no, some cranky old person called the city and they came out and fixed the light and totally ruined it for us. Well, that is the way I remember it anyways.

I guess time is the ultimate gotcha, I just wish it did not have a black belt.

Of Purses and their Handles...

Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood

Have you ever had a conversation with a group of your friends and suddenly asked yourself, "How on earth did we get to THIS topic?!!" Anybody following the conversation would either be fascinated or, well, think we were all nuts.

Our Book Babes used to meet at Oscar's near the Duck Pond fairly regularly for years. We would sit outside on their patio and have a rip roaring good time. We would laugh because sometimes you could see people were leaning in to listen to us talk. The laughter could sometimes be seriously contagious. I believe that is where we had a conversation about "purses and their handles!" Now, if you want to know what that means, you are gonna have to leave a comment.

Blogging is such a weird thing though. In many ways, it is like a journal or diary recording the events that happen in our lives. Weddings, parties, celebrations, and sometimes just the ordinary events. I also think of it as the beginning of a great conversation. Reading my friends' blogs is like listening in at Oscar's.

I found a blog post about "The Unseen Benefit of Commenting" that totally said what I was thinking, but if you jump to that link, you will notice that there are 65 comments! And the comments themselves could be mini posts. I visit blogs where there can sometimes be over 400 comments. The commenters talk to each other and their opinions are illuminating in so many ways.

Do you hesitate to leave a comment on other blogs? I have to admit, I am like that. I link to some incredible family blogs that are funny, joyful, sad, and all around enjoyable to read, but I feel that I would be intruding if I left a comment. But I so want to comment sometimes!! Cougarnana off of Karen's blog had a Sunday Six talking about the movie "Australia" and about Hugh Jackman. Yummy. I am not a big Nicole Kidman fan, but I loved both of them in this movie and especially enjoyed drooling over Hugh. I wanted to leave a comment saying anyone who enjoys watching Hugh Jackman is okay in my book~! She could probably list some good Hugh movies that I missed. Nancy says I need a movie education--she can list a whole bunch of movies and I am lucky if I have seen 1 or 2 of them. Seriously, it is quite sad.

So, anybody see a good movie lately? Off to comment on the movie "Gran Torino~!"

It's A Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow~!

Carousel of Progress - Disneyland

Do you remember the Carousel of Progress at Disneyland? Teddy Bear does not remember the Carousel of Progress or Captain Eo. Wow. Or the Monsanto's Adventure thru Inner Space. We went to Disneyland last night. The kids wanted to go to Innoventions but it was closed. I remember the Carousel of Progress and America Sings being there. I really enjoyed the enthusiasm for progress and inventiveness and the future. They had the model there for Epcot that you could see at the end of the ride.

I loved the Carousel of Progress. I loved the way it made you feel so hopeful and optimistic. The voice of the father is the voice of Jean Shepherd~! The lyrics to the song are the best.

There's a great big beautiful tomorrow,
Shining at the end of every day.
There's a great big beautiful tomorrow,
And tomorrow is just a dream away.
Man has a dream and that's the start.
He follows his dream in mind and heart.
And when it becomes a reality,
It's a dream come true for you and me.
So, there's a great big beautiful tomorrow,
Shining at the end of every day,
There's a great big beautiful tomorrow,
Just a dream away.


Monsanto's Adventure thru Inner Space

We rode Astro Blasters. I am definitely a very BAD Space Ranger. I would be no threat to
any Galactic Enemies. I cannot figure out how to aim the dang laser they give you. Johnny scored 75,000 or so though, so he had no problem. Teddy Bear did pretty good, too, I think she got about 43,000. I got 2,900. Can you say pathetic?

One Peeps Man

Do you like tattoos? I had dinner with my daughter, her boyfriend, and Casey at our favorite place, Claim Jumpers, tonight. Teddy Bear (my nickname for my daughter) was asking us where she thought she should get her next tattoo. I told her on Mars. She has a rose tattoo behind her ear. It is a pretty tattoo but I really like that you don't see it if you are looking at her. Her boyfriend does not want her to get a tattoo at all. Yeah, Killdozer!

We were teasing her about how one day she would be an old lady and have saggy baggy skin and her tattoos would not look so good then. It is one thing to have a tramp stamp when your butt is cute and tight or your boobs are still perky, but what happens when your butt has spread, and guess what, so does your tattoo! That cute dragonfly or butterfly might look a little scary, more like a vulture. And what happens if you get a tattoo on your chest someplace? You know, the older I get, the more I understand physics and the theory of gravity. What goes up must come down. I heard a lady say her breasts were now 36 long.

Killdozer said if she got a tattoo he would get a tattoo on his face. In the picture above, Kat Von D has the cute little stars on her face. He said for every tattoo Teddy Bear gets he would tattoo a Peeps on his face just like Kat Von D's. You know, the Peeps that you get at Easter. I wonder if he would do them in all the cute peeps colors--yellow, pink, purple? This from a guy who does not like tattoos, does not have any tattoos and does not want Teddy Bear to get any at all. He likes her just the way she is. Did I say how much I like him?

Oh, gross!

Okay, my old keyboard totally grossed out my sister-in-law. The A and S keys are totally gone. Yes, those are holes in the keyboard and the other picture shows keys where the letters are rubbed off. If you sit at my computer, you better know your keyboard by touch and not sight. And, you can't see it, but there are other keys that are slowly getting worn down and will soon look like the A and S keys.




I sit at my computer probably 8 to 10 hours a day five days a week, sometimes six. You would think I would be a great typist by now, but I suck. I am constantly having to backspace. (I'm surprised that key is not totally disintegrated.) I always tell everyone if they want to get ahold of me, the best way is through e-mail. My daughter can type like a bat out of hell. I am always jealous watching her type.

I have been doing medical transcription for almost 12 years now. I love what I do. It is a challenging job but sitting on my arse all the time is starting to drive me nuts. I work at home in a bedroom converted to an office. I get to work in my jammies all day long. Sounds good until you open the door at 2 o'clock in the afternoon and people look at you strangely. It takes me a minute to realize I am still in sweats and t-shirt and looking pretty mangy. They probably cannot figure out how the divorced lady can stay home all day long and obviously do nothing. I wish I knew what they thought I did for a living~!

I have head phones on my head probably a good 6 hours a day and my glasses have made an indent on the my temple area from being squished against my head day after day. I have a sign on my door that says to "Please Ring the Doorbell" because I never hear people knocking on the door.

I have managed to avoid carpal tunnel because I do these really goofy looking exercises during the day. It really is nice working alone sometimes. I have an exercise I do that you probably did as a kid making fun of the kid who wore glasses. You know making your fingers in the shape of glasses and putting them over your eyes. You can do all kinds of things you could never do in a workplace. I cannot imagine having a boss again. But never say never I guess.

I get to be on the internet all day long because it is a great research source. Just today I had to look up myxopapillary ependymoma, intraoperative monitoring, etc. The downfall, of course, to having such easy access to the internet is being distracted. Casey makes fun of me saying, "Look a bright shiny object!" It is so true though. What has made it really bad recently has been this blogging! I want to play all day long doing just this and looking at other people's blogs and researching stuff to write about.

I know JuJuBees will enjoy the pictures.

Let's Make a Deal! $100 Trillion for 20 Loaves of Bread

$100 trillion note (100,000,000,000,000) for Zimbabwe which by current estimates could buy you 20 loaves of bread. Inflation is running at 89.7 sextillion percent.

The picture shows a $50 billion dollar note which were just introduced last week and are already out of date.

This is what happens when a government prints money willy-nilly.

So Help Me God

Fox News

I don't think too many people know how sentimental I am about things patriotic. I love going to air shows and watching the military jets fly overhead. I cry when I hear "I'm Proud to be an American." Going to Arlington Cemetery was a deeply touching moment in my life. And, even though I did not vote for him, the ceremony to swear in our new President will move me greatly. From what I have read, he is a man who is also very aware of his place in history and the significance of his office.

But once again, the atheists of America are going at it again. I practice no religion nowadays. I have no axe to grind regarding any attack they make against any particular religion. (Although they do seem to have a special animosity against anything Christian.) I grew up Catholic, went to Catholic school from fifth grade until my high school graduation. I have been baptized, had my first Holy Communion, and Confirmation.

These are the same people who are making our schools into the most bland, noxious, politically correct, and intolerant places around. Are you offended by something? Well, by god, you better complain and get that banned from the school. God forbid we offend somebody. Let us not celebrate anything like we used to. We CAN celebrate gay pride day, Earth Day, make a religion about global warming, and lord help you if you disagree with them. You are not just wrong, you don't just disagree or have a different opinion, you are EVIL. You are BAD.

I am glad we have a President who believes in something bigger than himself and that it does seem to inform his life. I am glad he is reaching out to people like Rick Warren. Maybe his attack dog democrats will be leashed for four years. I doubt it, but we can hope. He needs a lot people praying for him right now because from what I have read of his plans for our economy, he seems doomed to play captain of the Titanic.

So help me God, I may have to slap the next atheist I see.

The Good Ship Lollipop Sinks

"Titanic"

Well, folks, it looks like the Good Ship Lollipop known as California is going down. The State of California is going to suspend tax refunds and welfare checks, grants to students, etc. You have to read the article from the Los Angeles Times.

"The payments to be frozen include nearly $2 billion in tax refunds; $300 million cash grants for needy families and the aged, blind, and disabled; and $13 million in grants for college students." (Evan Halper.)

Wow. I have been reading the economic websites and have seen this shipwreck happening in slow motion. It is scary to see it finally hit the iceberg. Trillions of dollars will be wasted trying to save the ship.

I cannot imagine what the next six months will look like.

Curiousity Killed the Kat~!

Did You Know? Karl Fisch, Scott McLeod, Jeff Brenman. Music by Fatboy Slim "Right Here, Right Now."

Casey sent me this video today and I loved it. We truly live in the information age. It makes you ask the question, can you afford not to keep learning? Can you afford not to be curious? I was totally sent into distraction land by this video. When you watch the video, they say that the amount of technical information is doubling every 2 years, which means by the third year of college for students going for technical degrees that information is outdated. Does that mean you can just jump in now and start learning and you are not really that far behind? Or is there so much information that is assumed that you know that you will never catch up because how will you know what you don't know.

I love the Internet and the ability to click on almost anything and get information about that item or piece of information, or at least you can hunt until you find out. Have you ever tried to retrace your steps when you find something new? Yikes, I never realized how many websites I will click through to find something out.

This video talks about information, computers, demographics, education, jobs, new technology, dating, social networks, language, fiber optics, and how we live in exponential times. Think about what that very sentence assumes you know~! I could totally geek out on this stuff.

Of course, information is not knowledge and being knowledgeable does not make you wise. Sometimes the wisest people I know are the ones with the least amount of "information" or education. Think of a beloved grandparent or a favorite aunt or uncle. So, the video asks the question, what does it all mean?

You know, after watching the video, I actually feel more optimistic for our kids. They have a chance to work in a career that perhaps they create or will work in the future at jobs that do not even exist yet. Nanotechnology anyone? Genetics? We pushed out children into college so they could get ahead and it may be that that will not be the way anymore. If these fields change exponentially, then as a company you may not be able to afford to have students in school for 4 years only to have them graduate with fairly outdated information. Self-directed learning or didactic learning will be the wave of the future if you want to learn something outside of a career field. Think about it, how many times have you picked up a book that you HAD to read in college and hated, but now you are willing to learn about it and see what all the fuss was about? What skills do you bring to that now that you did not have then?

The explosion of people attending college by the way was pushed upwards when employers could no longer give aptitude tests or test your skills before being hired. But they could objectively say that you need a college diploma to get a job. That makes a college degree nothing more than box you check off on an employment application. It is starting to have the same meaning as a high school diploma. "Well, we know you got through school, so you are not a total doofus."

So this curious Kat is now excited about the idea of learning something new~! Who knows where it will lead? I can do it on my own terms for the most part. Maybe curiosity will be a job requirement in the future.

Do You Have a Rubik's Cube Brain?

MeMyselfAndPi

If you even got through more than one minute of this tutorial, you did better than me. When I look at the Rubik's cube all scrambled, it is unfathomable to me that anyone can solve it. I know there are formulas and algorithms to solve this puzzle but it makes my head hurt to even think about it. Did you ever take an IQ test where they test your spatial ability? They will have a picture of gears and pulleys and they show you the first gear and from there you have to figure which direction the last gear will turn? It is kind of like those elaborate Rube Goldberg set ups. When I would take tests like that in school, I would just fill out a pretty pattern in the Scantron answer sheet. "Let me see, I have not filled in a 'B' bubble in a while."

I had a discussion with Casey and her hubby about how men and women for the most part are different when it comes to stuff like this. He said he could do these kinds of puzzles, they were no problem for him. So do you think that men and women have different abilities when it comes to stuff like this? I believe that the exception proves the rule. My older daughter could have been a math teacher she was so good at it and her senior math teacher wanted her to go on with studying the subject, but she really had no interest in that at the time. Would she have gone on to be an engineer? An architect? Those are all so 3 dimensional but very mathematical, too. Or maybe it's physics that is more important for these fields. It is not a field populated with many women for the most part and you have to wonder why.

I like reading, I like words. I would rather listen to music. My brother is a total geek. I am not sure of the last book he read that did not have the word Linux in the title. My poor SIL accidentally told him that she would rather he build a computer. I started to laugh and asked her if she realized the can of worms she had just opened?!!! She is so quick though. She said that for every dollar he would spend on a computer, she could spend five dollars on clothes! HAHAHA. I loved it.

Now, I know the president of Harvard was drummed out of Harvard because he made the comment that studies show that men and women might just have different types of brains. He did not say it, he was quoting a study, but they drove him out anyways. I loved the feminists' response to this though. When they interviewed a women who was there, she said she was so outraged she ran out of the room CRYING. Okay, is that not such a female response? Does she even know how stupid she sounded when she is crying because someone said something kind of mean about how female brains might be different? Come on, when men get upset, not too many of them cry about it for pete's sake. Especially not at a conference with your peers.

Anyway, if anyone out there knows how to solve the Rubik's cube, I am open to lessons. Well, after a few drinks anyways.

Hey, My Mom is a Minority~!

George Lopez, "Why You Crying?"

My daughter said she had an epiphany the other day--she realized her mother is not white. I looked at her like she had sprouted another head and asked her what she meant. Now, you have to realize I call my beautiful daughter "my little white girl." She is half white, half Mexican, but you would not realize it when you looked at her. She has a very pale face with incredible gray hazel eyes and beautiful thick hair. When her hair was dyed red, she looked so Irish it was scary. But she has grown up with my large Mexican family and all their customs and quirks, but I do not speak Spanish and my ex is white, mostly Irish.

I asked my dad once why they did not teach us kids how to speak Spanish when we were younger. His answer was so sad to me. He grew up in Miami, Arizona, a small mining town. (Yes, I am only second generation.) Growing up, they were not allowed to play golf on the local golf course because they were not white, but my Uncle Beto was a fabulous golfer, so he was allowed to caddy and play after hours. In school, they had text books that said that Mexicans were good for certain kinds of work because they were good with their hands. We have an annual family reunion in my uncle's name and it is always centered around golf. My brother is an incredible golfer. (I think they learn it in medical school.) My uncle died in World War II, I believe in the Normandy invasion. I have a copy of a letter he wrote home to my grandmother that is so beautiful, it will bring tears to your eyes. It is so well written, it is hard to believe he was first generation with parents that barely spoke English.

Discrimination was a fact of life for my parents, but in my life, it has been only a small consideration. They felt that us kids speaking Spanish would not help us to assimilate, so we grew up only speaking English to my parents. Now, THEY would speak Spanish to each other. Growing up I thought it was like code, they could talk about us right in FRONT of us and we had no idea what they were saying. I learned enough to know when we were in trouble though.

I have the George Lopez clip but I cringe a lot when I watch it. Some of the stories he tells are so familiar to me, I feel like we grew up together. My mom calls me mija, we have beans with almost every meal, menudo on New Year's, and strange family members. I was so relieved growing up to find out that EVERYONE has strange family, foods unique to them, and customs that others might find, well, interesting.

But I am really bugged by his portrayal of the "white" people. It is so....condescending. I feel like he emphasizes the difference but refuses to see the similarities in all families. I guess what I found fascinating about my daughter's statement was how little it has mattered in her life, that it is normal. Look at our new president, another mixed race mutt. I always think of Martin Luther King when I think about this (which truthfully I rarely do) and how growing up we would look forward to judging people by the content of their character and not the color of their skin.

We are not there yet, and human nature being what it is, we will probably never be there, but I feel we have come FAR if my daughter can spend 19 years on this planet and only just now realize that her mom is second-generation with grandparents on both sides born in Mexico. And it makes my head hurt thinking about my grandson's heritage, his dad is Hawaiian, white, and myriad other races and cultures.

So, enjoy George Lopez and I do remember being asked, "Why you crying?"

How to Rate a Book on a Scale of One to Ten

So, it is January and time for all the obnoxious New Year's Resolutions. (I have a whole blog percolating in my brain on the 10 Things I Hate about Resolution.) Anyways, one I really, really, really, really want to do this year is read more. I know, I read a lot already but I mean to read a book and be able to talk about it and discuss it, you know, like in a book club. Well, I happen to be part of a fabulous book club, the Book Babes. But, to be honest, we spend more time chatting, catching up, laughing, and telling stories. It so so damn fun and I look forward to it each month.

I thought to help us focus so the brief five minutes we spend talking about the book is fruitful, I have a plan. I was going to have a list of 5 questions to ask yourself as you read the book. These are open to suggestion and refining, and yes, I can hear the derision already building up, but here I go:
1. A list of 3 quotes you liked in the book. My 12th grade English teacher had us read Jonathan Livingston Seagull and pick out quotes that really resonated with us, he then went around the room and told us a little bit about ourselves just from the quotes we picked. It is always fascinating to me the different parts of a book people enjoyed and why, so I thought this would be an easy one.

2. Your favorite character. I know, hackneyed and trite, but we read a Christmas book one year by Fannie Flagg and I remember the characters in the book who were not truly the main characters but still were unforgettable. She writes some of the most memorable characters, so it would be fun to see who we would pick.

3. Would you read another book by this author? We read a book by Jodi Picoult that when I finished it (and I did finish it) threw it across the room in absolute howling frustration and just generally being ticked off. I thought killing off one of the main characters in the fashion she did was just too dumb for me to fathom. I was the only one to think that, so, of course, now I will probably have to read it again knowing how it ends and read for HOW she tells the story because for all my being ticked, I did not put the book down and stop reading it. But I think I would have to be hogtied and told to read another book by her.

4. Do you see it as a movie? Or if it is a movie, which did you like more. I loved both the movie and the book "Notebook."

5. Rate the book. So here are my standards for rating a book on a scale of 0 to 10. Just an idea mind you, not set in stone and all that jolly good stuff.
0-1: Filbert the parakeet is currently shredding it in the bottom of his birdcage and crapping all over it.
2-3: It is on the clearance table in the used book store and might be given to charity (which will not seem too charitable).
4-5: Okay, if you were stuck on an airplane on the runway waiting to take off for 5 hours and you had already read all the flight magazines near the barf bag, you would read this book.
6-7: You would recommend this book to a good friend and it sparks all kinds of good discussion.
8-9: Could not put it down and will look into other books by this author. They made you see the world in a different way or just generally changed you in some fashion.
10: Karen is currently reading a book like this, where you cannot put it down at all. You read while walking, it goes with you to the bathroom (you are sitting down you know), it is in the car so you can read it in all the spare moments we have in the car. You stay up until 2 o'clock in the morning reading, and when you finally turn the last page, you cannot wait to read it again or hope beyond hope that there is a sequel to the book. The characters and the world the author creates are so real to you it is like waking up from a dream.

So anyways, that is one of my New Year's Resolutions. Since I have broken every other one I made, I am hoping my Book Babes will help me out with this one.

"I Will Help You to be Popular"

"Wicked" Megan Hilty singing "Popular"

Last night my mom and I went to the Pantages Theater to see the play "Wicked." All I can say is I am so sorry I did not see this earlier and that my daughter did not get to see it with us. I had no idea how funny it was and how incredible the music is. Galinda was so damn funny. There was a little girl several rows behind us laughing so infectiously I think she had our whole section laughing just with her. Megan Hilty played Glinda and Eden Espinosa played Elphaba and Carol Kane played Mrs. Morrible. Our Book Babes read "Wicked" by Gregory Maguire and now I am going to have read it again. The theater itself is so cool inside, very art deco with wonderful chandeliers and reliefs on the wall. I took pictures of the dumbest things but it was fun.

It was so fun to be in Hollywood right near Hollywood and Vine. It was closing night for the play in Los Angeles; they are headed to San Francisco. My mom and I went to dinner at the CityWalk at Universal Studios which is just a few offramps up from Hollywood Blvd. We saw people in one of those wind tunnel thingies where the air blows you up like you are skydiving. We had a lot of fun watching the people try to stay in one position without the force of the wind causing them to fly all over the tube. The instructor did some showing off.

"Ahhhh, pink goes good with green."

Thank you to Karen's niece, Chloe, for the wonderful gift I was able to give to my mom. It was nice just to spend time with my mom. What an opportunity to see Wicked on its closing night in Los Angeles.

I keep thinking it is better to have experiences rather than things. I would rather spend time with friends down at Starbucks than shopping. Of course, I would rather do almost anything than go shopping, so perhaps that is not fair. I only wish some experiences were not so expensive~! I would gladly go to more plays and concerts or travel but tickets don't grow on trees.

So the Phantom will be at the Pantages next, then Rent and Grease. Anybody game for one of those?

Happy New Year 2009~!

Monty Python's Holy Grail

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a great New Year's Eve. I spent it with friends. We have spent the last few New Year's with them. We had a good time playing cards, laughing, and talking. We played the card game "31" and I won~! I left the pot of fifteen cents there though. Don't want to start the New Year by being greedy you know. I only wish ALL our friends could have been there. Sigh. Only a few more weeks in isolation and she gets sprung. We cannot wait....hurry home, Nancy, we miss you.

To my crazy sister-in-law and her friend, thanks for the phone call at 1:30. It was a great way to start the New Year. I had just walked in the door and managed to stumble upstairs to my room when they called to tell me that they had a Breathalyzer (?) and they blew 0.15. Good thing they were not driving~! They were having way too much fun and they wanted me to drive down to San Diego to join them. We spent the next 15 minutes laughing so hard I am sure I had to have awoken my daughter. I really wanted to call bright and early the next morning to find out how bad the hangovers were but I slept in until 12 o'clock! That is so weird. I seem to wake up automatically at about 4:45. My hangover was only moderate but I never made it out my jammies. I have had my own personal Star Wars marathon going, saw episodes 4, 5, and 6.

I called my mom and dad in the Valley to wish them a Happy New Year. It was maddening though. My mom had made enchiladas and potato salad and menudo and all kinds of good food. A few of my cousins had just dropped by, so she could not talk long. It sounds like they were headed for a great New Year's Day.

I love this scene in the Holy Grail with the Black Knight. My favorite line: "It's only a flesh wound." As we say good bye to 2008, I want to say the year only suffered a flesh wound but the irony is there. I mean, he does get all his limbs hacked off in the scene, but somehow manages to keep babbling on. Is the year 2009 going to be the Black Knight or King Arthur on his bizarre quest? I mean, he does not even have a proper horse, his little sidekick uses coconut shells to simulate the sound of a horse galloping along. But the Black Knight is left pretty helpless but thinks he is doing just fine, thank you very much.


Monty Python "Always Look at the Bright Side of Life" from the movie Life of Brian.

So, for 2009 we should always look on the bright side of life. I wish good health and happiness to all my family and friends.

Happy New Year~!