Sunday, February 29, 2004

- don't hate them because they are beautiful -

Halle Berry, Russell Crowe, Gwyneth Paltrow, Denzel Washington, Julia Roberts, Nicole Kidman and now Charlize Theron. The list of best actor/actress winners of the past few years looks more like the most beautiful people list, doesn't it? Pretty people shouldn't be able to act. That's just not fair.

Friday, February 27, 2004

- all pain, no gain -

Day 9 of the Janet Jackson Ab Workout™ (which is to say I haven't been able to breathe without excruciating pain in 9 days), I still don't see any noticeable changes. I'm switching over to the Usher Ab Workout™ next week to see if that makes a difference.

And while we're on the subject of fitness... I was talking to some guy at a party about yoga, and he highly recommended something called "naked yoga." Yes, it's exactly what it sounds like, except it's done (gasp) in pairs. Just what kind of sick, perverted shit is that? Is it just me, or are people far too comfortable with public nudity these days? Dude, I don't even take my shirt off when I go to the beach. You'll find me doing a downward-facing dog in a room full of naked people when Donald Trump gets a new hairdo.

Sunday, February 22, 2004

- i dream of jeannie cusamano -

I had this really fucked-up dream, in which Howard Dean got arrested for driving through a house in some ill-conceived publicity stunt. (What, you expected it to make sense?) Do you think I need psychiatric help?

Friday, February 20, 2004

- finally woken -

Everyone says, "You don't do the show anymore. What do you do?" I'll tell you what I do. Nothing. Doing nothing, however, is not as easy as it looks. You have to be careful. The idea of doing anything can easily lead to something that would stop me from doing nothing, and that would force me to drop everything.

- Jerry Seinfeld

• Kevin had encephalitis and was in a coma for a week. He's ok now though.
• David and Joey got (unofficially) engaged! David asked me to be the best man, which I'm not too thrilled about, but I do get to wear my suit, which I'm super excited about.
• This hasn't left my CD player all week. It won't be released for another month, but I might let you borrow my copy (autographed by Jem herself) if you ask nicely.
• Made a brief appearance at work on Thurs for Kim's farewell party, and found out that Brad, currently the 3rd oldest employee at Amazon, will be leaving Amazon after 7.5+ years. With an increasing number of old-timers disappearing, Stins coined a couple of new phrases: pulling a Hansol = going on a leave; pulling a Kim = quitting.
• Obligatory comment on the A-Rod trade: Shut up, all you Yankee haters. The bottom line is that Brian Cashman/George Steinbrenner were just more resourceful and determined to get the deal done than Theo Epstein/John Henry. I don't think A-Rod is that big of an upgrade over Soriano though, and I really think it's Jeter who should move to 3rd.
• Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen opens today. Why do I care? Well, I don't, really, except that Leonard *might* be in it.
  
  Leonard writes: "One of the scenes I was in was in the auditorium watching the play/musical. I was actually in second row very close to some of the cast members -- I might actually be seen there. I was also in the scene with a band arriving in limos, but I will never be seen in that one."
  
  IMDb Pro calls it "just godawful" (ouch) and predicts less-than-stellar opening weekend ticket sales, so I probably won't have to wait long for the DVD release. A possible Bad Movie Night candidate?

Friday, February 13, 2004

- off the record, on the qt, and very hush hush -

So, I ended up going with Plan B. No immediate plans as of yet (other than the obvious), but here are some of the things I'd like to do during the 12 weeks of freedom.

• Learn at least one new song on the piano. First on my list: Colors/Dance.
• Put on some weight. 130 would be ideal, but realistically, I'll settle for anything above 120.
• Crack open those Perl books again.
• Go see Sir Elton in Vegas! I *must* see him in concert before I die (or before he dies -- whichever comes first).
• Go blonde one last time. Or get a Mohawk. Or both. Or grow the fuck up.

Thursday, February 12, 2004

- obligatory post on gay marriage -

I usually don't care for The Onion, but this is funny.

Wednesday, February 11, 2004

- whoa, nelly! -

Hansol: It's Nelly Furtado, not Nelly "Shimmy Shimmy Cocoa Puff."
Juice: Huh? Who the hell is Nelly Furtado? I want Shimmy Shimmy!

Monday, February 9, 2004

- make it suntory time -

Some random notes after seeing Lost in Translation for the 3rd time.

• Maybe it's just one of those movies that get better with repeated viewing, but I can't help but wonder what it would've been like if I hadn't been "forced" to see it at the Meridian 16 the first time around. Maybe I should start going to the movies alone again. As Snowcat points out, there are many benefits in going solo. (Let me know if you need it translated -- I promise to give you more than just "with intensity.")
• The whiskey ad shoot in the movie made me think of the Q&A session for Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance at the SIFF 2002 and that awful, awful interpreter who managed to convey maybe 10% of what Chan-wook Park was trying to say. Not only that, he also made up a bunch of stuff that the director never even said (I shit you not). I was *this* close from yelling out "hey, that's not what he just said!" on several occasions.
• It's funny how we still get our Ls and Rs mixed up after all these years. Last weekend, Hannah went shopping for something called "blonzer" and it took me a while before I realized that she actually meant "bronzer." My Achilles' heel: loyalty and royalty. My brain still requires that extra millisecond to process which one I'm supposed to use. Heh.

Monday, February 9, 2004

- another one bites the dust -

Kim, the last remaining member of the original STAG (Seller Tools Automation Group) team, turned in her resignation today. She was nice enough to forward me her resignation letter, which will likely come in handy very soon. Best of luck with your post-Amazon life, Kim.

Saturday, February 7, 2004

- warm strangers -

Vienna Teng's real name is Cynthia Shih? Not since finding out that Snowcat is a girl have I felt so duped.

Thursday, February 5, 2004

- the calm before the storm -

Nothing major to report yet. I promise more by the end of next week.

• For better or worse, I'm still employed. Work's been quite tolerable as of late since I'm now spending most of my time coding, and I need to rework on my "early-semi-retirement plans" thanks to the plummeting stock price.
• I was thinking about shaving my head, but decided I really don't need to look more like a cancer patient. Besides, heroin chic is so 5 years ago.
• Wes' farewell party is at 7pm tomorrow at the Rosebud. See y'all there!