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New Adventures in Marriage #87
We’ve been skunked.

Our old apartment, back in Chicago, was the skunkiest place I have ever lived. During the spring and summer I’d say there was a skunk blast/incident in the parking lot behind our building at least 3 or 4 times a month. Skunks have moved easily into the world of urban dwelling – they’re nocturnal and most of the time you don’t see them. The smell…

Here’s a rough re-creation of what happened last night.
Me: Oh my God!
Deeps (from the office): What?
Me: Can you smell that?
Deeps (wanders down the hall): I smell something here.
Me: It’s in here too
Deeps saunters into the bedroom
Me: See – it’s bad.
Deeps: Skunk.
Me: Yep.
Deeps: Where do you think it’s coming from?
Me: By the window, where the bed is.
Deeps: Yeah, outside… that’s where the garbage cans are.
Me: God, we’re going to stink tomorrow.
Deeps: You stink every morning, but I still love you.
Me: Thanks

I did make the mistake of opening the front door to confirm that the stink was coming from outside of the house and not from the basement which would be much worse. I opened the door and noticed that our neighbors’ fancy baby stroller was parked outside – and was now very skunky.

That poor kid is going to be unhappy tomorrow.

Happy Birthday to Blog
I would remiss if I didn’t mention the two-year anniversary of the Big Red Blog. Those were heady days – I started the blog when I was home sick with a cold and had just started to recover. I was bored. And now, 2 years later I don’t have a cold. Huzzah!

In general, I’ve found the blogging experience satisfying. The readership has exploded for a handful of people each month to upwards of 500. Thanks! The blog has finally surpassed the Seinfeld finale article and the Big E for traffic.

So what’s in store for the next year – it’s hard to say. I’m blogging less than I’d like to - but as of Jan. 1 I’m going to the gym more than I’m blogging, so in the long run I think that’s okay.

Happy Birthday!






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By: Alyssa | Friday, February 27, 2004 at Friday, February 27, 2004 | |  

What I’ve learned from TV during February Sweeps
I love TV. I have for years. I logged a lot of hours as a kid, then kinda dropped off during collage. In recent years I haven’t really come to love a lot of specific shows.

That’s not to say I haven’t tried.

Sure, there was Buffy and Xfiles and the first season of West Wing, the first two seasons of The Sopranos, a few years of Friends, some things that were killed off before their time like Cupid, Undeclared, and Freaks and Geeks. And the one show I did watch regularly just got axed….


So, now I just watch stuff on TV. Not many people tell stories anymore. But since it’s sweeps there are even fewer stories told and mostly you get weird information spewed at you.

I learned Angie Everhart is pretty sly and Dennis Rodman is not a stupid as I thought.

God talks to a lot of people, including Mel Gibson, Joan and a guy on House of Dreams.

People need to throw stuff away. But that stuff might be worth something.

No one knows how to spell anymore, especially celebrities. Fox is apparently so ashamed by this show that they don’t even have a site for it.

The worst thing to happen to TV in Feb. was Nipplegate. Or maybe the Kid Rock Poncho thing.

CBS is really, really, really sorry.

I also learned a few good things – like I have On Demand and it works pretty well. I learned that when struck by nasty fits of insomnia I like to watch the Queen of Clean at 3 am. Then I vacuum my bed. I’m quirky that way….

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By: Alyssa | Sunday, February 22, 2004 at Sunday, February 22, 2004 | |  

Baby it's cold outside

I had great plans for 2004. I was going to be on top of everything – update more often, come up with funny essays, rework a draft of a screenplay, edit a movie – I had big ideas.

Mostly, I’ve been cold. Really, really freakin’ cold and that seems to sapped much of my interest in anything except being warm(er).

We went to LA to escape the big cold and had a fantastic time. Now we’re back and after a week I find myself letting the faucet drip all night, I pulled out the level 3 hat (with ear flaps) and wore the long underwear once more. It’s cold again and I’m not sure I’ll ever feel the warm sun on my face again.

I’ve got the winter blues baby, and there isn’t much to do about it. I thought a bout of intense Spring Cleaning would help kick-start me. I vacuumed my bed, flipped the mattress and changed the sheets. I attacked the bathroom and even bought a new Dirtbuster. But now…. It’s cold. I have nothing left to clean and it’s still -4 outside.

For now I must content myself with the photos I took in LA. It was so much warmer then.

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By: Alyssa | Monday, February 16, 2004 at Monday, February 16, 2004 | |  

Valentine, Valentine

I took an unofficial, non-scientific poll of like… 8 couples. Their coupledom ranged from being married for a long, long time to living together for 2 years. I didn’t poll any couples not living together or dating for less than 2 years.

None of them gives a flying *@!% about Valentine’s Day. Apparently we’re the couple that most openly acknowledges the event when we use the day as an excuse to buy really good chocolates. Seriously, hand-made Belgian truffles – dee-lightful.

But I digress.

No one makes a big deal about it. Sometimes they go out, sometimes they don’t. Sometimes there’s a card. Sometimes there isn’t. People just keep it low-key. So there you have it. Single people – don’t freak out. Celebrate to your heart’s content but there’s no need to throw a fit over the V-day.

If your baby didn’t get you a thingey-majob or your love muffin didn’t remember to get you a doo-dad, it’s okay. Your love or whatever will survive. Do not worship at the false altar of Hallmark. They don’t take care of you when you’re sick or pick up the pizza on the way home or remember to feed the cat when you’re gone.

Stop freaking out. You’re okay.

That said, I can’t say enough nice things about hand-made Belgian truffles. That’s love.

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By: Alyssa | Saturday, February 14, 2004 at Saturday, February 14, 2004 | |  

I Love L.A.!
I mean, I don't know if I could live there forever - but man, it was gorgeous over the weekend. Deeps and I flew in on Friday morning (to Long Beach - Jet Blue has some good deals) and our friend picked us up. I felt the tension and stress melt away in a few short hours. I was actually sweating a little by the afternoon when we ate lunch along the water and caught up with old friends.

We got very lucky. The snow/ice/sleety thing started just as our plane was pulling away from the airport and starting to taxi down the runway. When we landed the skies were blue and clear and the temperature was right around 70 degrees. That's how it was the whole weekend.

We ate great food, drank great wine, saw dolphins, caught up, saw great art at the Getty, relaxed, got some sun, walked along the beach - it was the perfect antidote for the winter blues.

God help me, I didn't want to sound like a hillbilly when I got off the plane. But, I love those damn palm trees.

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By: Alyssa | Monday, February 09, 2004 at Monday, February 09, 2004 | |