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New Hampshire, New Hampshire

I’m glad I don’t live there. It’s been nuts. It’s bad enough that I have to live next to New Hampshire and get bombarded with ads constantly. Still, I don’t begrudge my neighbors to the north. I read a hilarious account of what it’s like to be a voter in NH right now. My neighbor’s brother wrote it.

So if there are under 2 MM voters in NH and less than 10% of those people vote in the Primary, it’s quite possible that every voter who’s planning on voting has pressed the flesh with one of those Democrat guys. I hope everyone is washing his/her hands because that’s how germs get passed around.

I don’t have a preference at this point. I’m waiting for the herd to thin out a bit – I guess that’ll start happening over the next couple of weeks. Okay - no Lieberman. I just feel bad for the guy. I saw the clip where he said that there was "Joementum" in New Hampshire and I just felt a lot of pity for the man. I was glad Wolf Blitzer didn't pop the guy.

Of course, just when the herd has been properly thinned out they’ll invade Boston for what is sure to be the worst week in the history of the city. Politics and sweaty summer weeks do not mix.

That might be a good time to plan a vacation.

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By: Alyssa | Tuesday, January 27, 2004 at Tuesday, January 27, 2004 | |  

I think it’s a trick

I rummaged through the fridge and pulled out a carton of milk. I opened it and took a whiff – just to confirm. I re-checked the date.

Deeps watched me and remarked, "That’s why you’d make a good parent."

"What?" I replied in confusion.

"You worry about germs," he said.

"I just had food poisoning last week, and there’s nothing worse than bad dairy food poisoning," I reply pouring a glass.

"Still you worry about germs and awful lot," he responds. "It’s cute."

I look at him warily as I stir sweet Hershey’s syrup into my glass. I think it’s a trick.

What’s the best thing to do on a cold day?

Drive cars of course! We decided to head over to the Toyota dealership to inspect some cars in person and did a test-drive. I was dreading the trip. I hate nothing more than really high-pressure sales tactics. In fact, I prefer to shop at places where no one talks to me. I had such a bad experience at a Best Buy once that I never wanted to shop again. I don’t mind being "helped" but I hate being annoyed, bothered, and condescended to. It’s all gross.

So the car guy was okay. He applied a slight amount of pressure but much less than I was expecting. Sadly, the Toyota Prius (the little slick hybrid) is sold out for 2004. Totally, completely sold out and gone. There are none to be had. If you want one you need to order a 2005 and I don’t think they’re even taking orders yet because that’s like… 11 months away.

Still.

I kinda wanted a Prius. Now we’re looking at other Toyota options. I’m leaning towards the Matrix because we live in the snowy land – although it’s currently icy-tundra-land. Anyway, you’re out of luck if you want a Prius. Now you don’t have to talk the sales guy.

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By: Alyssa | at Tuesday, January 27, 2004 | |  

And thus ends the Jesus Product Placement
I found last season's episodes of Celbrity Mole somewhat compelling. Okay - astounding. Compelling to watch the astounding stupidity. Anyway.... the last person I had any interest in watching was Stephen Baldwin on Celebrity Mole. It's sad really. There was a time in the early 90s when he was my favorite Baldwin. Anyway, he's religious now and wears a Jesus hat or shirt or both every single day.

Seriously.

It's the most prominent product placement I've seen since "Josie and the Pussycats". Okay, let's pretend I've seen it.

Poker anyone?
I try to play on a semi-regular basis. Anyway, if you want to have a game or join a game check out the Home Poker Games directory to see what's in your neighborhood. Poker is like the new black.


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By: Alyssa | Thursday, January 22, 2004 at Thursday, January 22, 2004 | |  

Good Times

There's nothing like a long weekend, a mysterious weekend (for your husband) and a bout of food poisoning to throw your whole week off.

Deeps disappeared for a couple of days to do the Mystery Hunt at MIT. Friends from college came in for the event - it's a big deal (to other people - not me). Anyway, I decided to eat leftovers and a few hours later I was paying the heavy (or heaving) price. Good God.

I'm still a little woozy but getting better. I've got to recover for the birthday event of the.... week! Yes, Mr. Osborne is turning another year older and we all rejoice. I will celebrate by enjoying fruity drinks. Still not sure what to give him. Someone suggested pornography - I guess that's the gift that keeps on giving.

That's what TiVo is for
If you didn't TiVo the president's address last night (and really... who did?) and missed it because you were washing your hair (and really, who didn't?) then you might enjoy this article from FactCheck.






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By: Alyssa | Wednesday, January 21, 2004 at Wednesday, January 21, 2004 | |  

Missed connections
Apparently I overslept and missed the chance to go back in time and tell myself not to move to Boston. 'Cause when I woke up at 7:30 (thanks to a "wrong number" phone call) it was only -9, not cold enough to travel backwards in time.

The car
A couple of days ago the car didn't start in the bitter cold. Nothing major, but after several overpriced repairs last year I was thinking we'd have to replace the car. Actually, we should have replaced the car before the last big repair. That little fix cost more than our entire 10 day vacation in Paris. But I digress.

I'd already started pricing cars, looking at financing options and checking our budget. But the car started this morning. I'll admit I'm a tiny bit disappointed.

The O.C.
On the coldest night in MA in years (as many as 100) I bought plane tickets to go to visit LA. It's cold. We need a break. Jetblue has non-stop flights for $100 each way and they have TV! So I talked Deeps into going, it really wasn't hard.

We'll be visiting friends like EK, ET and MM and hanging out in weather that is warmer. EK warned me it might be that warm.

EK: I've been keeping the windows closed; it's just not that warm.
ME: What's the temperature?
EK: It's about 60.
ME: ... hmm, I think that will be fine

Seriously - I can't even remember what 60 was like and I think I experienced it briefly during a freaky time in December. Last night I waited for the bus for almost an hour (see no car above) and I really thought I might freeze to death.

EK: So what do you want to do?
ME: Just be warm.
EK: That's it?
ME: I'd like good Mexican food...
EK: I think we can do that. What else?
ME: I don't know....
EK: We could go to the Getty.
ME: Oh yeah. I forgot there was stuff to do.... I just want to be warm again.

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By: Alyssa | Friday, January 16, 2004 at Friday, January 16, 2004 | |  

Yeah, it's cold

A lot of people may have experienced extreme cold. (Or not.) But as a Midwesterner, that's all I've ever really known. (Sidebar: My mother calls me every time she hears about the snow anywhere in New England. She has not called me during the 2 weeks of the Artic freeze. See?)

Any "milder" winters I've experienced have been in New England where you get a lot of snow and are protected in part by the mountains and in part by the ocean. It gets cold, but it doesn't get so cold that you might just die thinking about it.

Until last week.

Some freaky thing happened with the jet stream and Canada (where I can assume no one is alive) and some kind of curse. Now I'm reliving the winters of my childhood in the wilds of Boston. As a kid in Indiana, I remember days (now I sound so old) when the windchill would be reported (by Bob Gregory, bless...) at -50, -60, and a few times even -80. I'd ask my dad how we're still alive if it feels like -80 outside. He'd shake his head and sigh.

During my freshman year of college, I went to class on the coldest day in recorded weather history in the state of Indiana. The actual temperature was -36 degrees. That's cold people. More miraculous, my car that had been parked outside all night started.

What does it feel like when the temperature is -2 (as it was this morning) or what will it feel like tomorrow when it's -13 when I board the bus for work? It's cold. It's really, really, really cold. Your skin burns, it gets hot, then you can start to feel the blood vessels contract to maintain the warmth. Exposed skin will start to experience the beginnings of frostbite after like 15 minutes.

It's serious people. Tomorrow it will be so cold, if I'm lucky I'll be able to move through frozen time to the point when I thought it would be okay to move to Boston. Then I'll tell myself it's a bad idea.

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By: Alyssa | Thursday, January 15, 2004 at Thursday, January 15, 2004 | |  

Resolutions

I made a couple of resolutions that I kept to myself. One was to curb the swearing. See, I try not to swear too much on the ol' Web site. But in life - I can curse a blue streak. I do it at home mostly. Not so much at the office, but I thought I could curb it totally.

I was wrong. I am not strong enough to stop dropping the casual F-bomb. I know that really makes me inarticulate. (Popular theory being that people who swear are unable to effectively communicate their feelings, ideas, etc.)

I made the mistake of telling Deeps, whose response was "This should be a fun couple of hours." I hate it when he's right.

I was doing so well, but then I lost like $30,000 at my Poker video game to that jerk Lou who beat me with a flush draw that had one higher card than mine. Anyway, I expressed my... unhappiness with the situation. Loudly, to the computer. Of course I hear from the living room a few seconds later.

"Nice language."

My other resolution
I've cooked dinner like 4 consecutive nights. I'm pretty much out of ideas. I guess I should have done some more planning.

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By: Alyssa | Thursday, January 08, 2004 at Thursday, January 08, 2004 | |  

Celebrity Poker
Below are some of the highlights from the commentary we provided for last night's Celebrity Poker (game 5).

"Wow, that guy's head looks like an aubergine."

"What happened to Carrie Fisher?"

"Tom Green looks like the kind of guy I would date."

"Is David Cross wearing a yarmulke? It must be his lucky one."

"You know what happens when you divorce Tom Cruise? You get really pretty."

"I hate that guy with the mullet."

"Oh my God! Next week is the last one? It's over?"

"Scott Stapp doesn't know how to play poker - I'm embarrassed for him."

"Look how everyone at the table hates him - even the expert!"

"Seriously, look at Carrie Fisher - is she breastfeeding?"

"I love Mimi, but I hate the shirt."

"Everyone at the table hates the guy. Notice how everyone avoids eye contact."

"I'm so ready for the next Poker night we have. I've totally changed my game."

"You've been spending too much time gambling with fake money on the computer."

"Wow, it was Mimi's game to lose and she lost it."

Celebrity Mole
I have several friends who are obsesses with Survivor and Big Brother. I like the crappier reality shows like Celebrity Mole. I know. It's wrong. I can't help it. I love watching celebrities making jerks of themselves. And what is more entertaining than watching Corbin Bernsen? He goes from zero to unhinged in like 15 minutes.

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By: Alyssa | Wednesday, January 07, 2004 at Wednesday, January 07, 2004 | |  

How to make friends on the train

I'd forgotten my little travel trick and was reminded of it today.

I ordered a bunch of books from Amazon to help get me through the rest of the winter (although at the rate I'm reading, I expect they'll only hold me until February). Actually, all the books are Amazon "recommendations" that I finally caved and ordered. The last time I did that I got these really terrible books that everyone said were fabulous. They were the opposite of fabulous. I tried to give them away and had no takers...

I digress. One of the books suggested was "Practical Demonkeeping" by Chris Moore. It's a weird satire/dark comedy about new agey folks and a small town in California.

So my travel tip (in the pre-9/11 world) was to carry "Satanic Verses" with me when boarding a bus, plane or train. It's a good read and the title would put people off, so I didn't get pestered with questions or chatter from my seatmates. People kept their kids away, clutched their purses and avoided eye contact. I didn't always trot the book out, but when I got stuck with a rude person jabbering away it usually quieted things down quickly.

Anyway, I was reading the book on the train this morning. I actually managed to get a seat. I didn't think anything about the title. I rummaged through the old bag and found it and started reading. After a few moments (and 2 stops) I realized that no one would sit in the seats around me. Two seats down a man was pretending to read the paper but was really staring pretty hard at my book.

I looked up and smiled at him. He looked at his paper. I couldn't figure out what the deal was, then I flipped the cover over and noticed the big type of the title....

I guess in a state where they burned "witches" people might get a little curious or twitchy. Either way, I enjoyed my ride into work for the first time in months.

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By: Alyssa | Tuesday, January 06, 2004 at Tuesday, January 06, 2004 | |  

That's so 2003

I'm behind. As a list-maker, I really should have something pulled together by now. But with all the holiday travel, the chaos at the office and the general end-of-year hijinks I didn't pull it together in time.

Maybe by February, or before the next Poker night... whichever comes first.

However, other people have - including my friend Andrew. He's outlined a lot of Top 10s: movies, books, tv, and even some music. And his movie is coming out on DVD in February, so buy it.

Not only is Andrew on the ball, but so is Scott Von D. I've only had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Von D just once, but he made quite an impression. I hear tell that he's writing a book chronicling the hillbilly exploitation genre (see Deliverance). I'll be first in line to buy it.

I'll admit it, I'm also very fascinated by his hair.

Finally
I'm over the whole no commenting and now experimenting with adding comments, so comment away. Just nothing too dirty. My mom might read this. (see the "Shout Out" below...).

Many thanks to the Klink family, no relation to Colonel I've heard.

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By: Alyssa | Monday, January 05, 2004 at Monday, January 05, 2004 | |  

New Year, New Face
I've launched a semi-large redesign of the site.

Most of the content is the same. However, I've updated the Baby Name list to reflect the names that have been used by people.

I've revised the Gallery - more work is coming on that in the future. I'll post an update when more pictures are added. I did a quick survey of my computer and have clocked in around 3,000 unique images over the past 2 years. It's a lot to process and organize into something cohesive and viewable for anyone interested in how I look at the world.

And last but not least, the Blog is a little sexier thanks to the magic of Adobe Illustrator.

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By: Alyssa | Sunday, January 04, 2004 at Sunday, January 04, 2004 | |  

Happy Almost-Elvis' Birthday!
Yep, it's coming up on Jan. 8. And I'm sad I won't be able to lay about the house and watch a big ol' Elvis movie marathon. I think his work in "Change of Habit" is my favorite. This is a really twisted little film. Please, throw it in the Netflix queue if you're interested in seeing Mary Tyler Moore choose between being a bride of Christ and The King. It's remarkable.

Resolutions... uhm, okay
I didn't formally make any. Well, not anything that's going to be tough. I resolve to get more pedicures in 2004. I resolve to get more massages. And I resolve to continue doing the stuff that I was doing in 2003 that's working out well for me (like blogging, writing, and going to the gym).

Why does it have to be terrible like giving up coffee or something hard? It doesn't have to be. If you've resolved to do something that can be daunting - like get back into shape or quit smoking, you should also throw in a little something nice for yourself. After all, we're not Puritans anymore.

My "tough" resolution is to stay on top of the Netflix movies. I'm not watching them in a very diligent manner, and I'll admit to sending movies back unwatched. But really - how damn hard is that?

I'm living the dream.

In other news
Shout out to Chi-town and Indy where many of my readers live. Hello! I had a happy New Year visiting friends in NH. We drank wine and good champage and feasted on Andean cuisine.

It was a busy, rough holiday season with a lot of travel (3 states and 5 cities in about 6 days). Plus there was the inevitable post-holiday electronics purchase (yaay new home theater system). And finally we started 2004 with an afternoon of pampering which included Shiatsu massage (maybe that's not the best massage for me) and facials.

Really - my body is very sore now and I know why they call it Shiatsu. It's the sound you make when you try to stand up afterwards.

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By: Alyssa | Saturday, January 03, 2004 at Saturday, January 03, 2004 | |