I was at the airport today. When I went through the security checkpoint, I grabbed my grey bus tub as soon as it got past the "do not reach into here" point, threw my shoes onto the floor, and stepped into them at a rabbit's pace. And I thought to myself, "I am obsessed with not holding up traffic."
Some people, however, are always on a Sunday drive. These are the people who pay for groceries with checks. And fifty coupons. And the really dedicated ones don't even bother to fill in the name of the store, the date, or sign the check until after the cashier announces the total. "Who do I make the check out to?" they ask. Safeway. It says so right there on the handle of your grocery cart. It is largely because of these people that I am willing to abandon a full cart of potential purchases and simply walk out of the store without crossing off a single item on my shopping list.
Typically, the Sunday drivers also do not understand how to ride escalators. Or moving walkways at the airport. They camp out on the left side of the escalator with no intention of ever picking up their feet. These people don't seem to realize that, while to them, escalators are for relaxing and enjoying the atmosphere, some people are actually in a hurry. Some people have planes to catch and appointments to make. Some people just can't wait any longer to meet their friends for a drink at the bar.
Sunday drivers, take note: Escalators are like highways. The right lane is for putzers. The left line is for passers. Easy. Simple. You learned it in driver's ed.
* Note: I found this "post" in an old steno pad - I think from a trip somewhere. I'd guess it's from 2004. On some level, I must have known that some day there would be a morning cupcake!
Friday, January 11, 2008
Thursday, January 10, 2008
"Fad[ing] Into Bolivian"
This is a direct quote from Mike Tyson. He was talking smack about one of his challengers, in that little cartoon voice of his. I remember it well, both because it was so quintessential Tyson and because the editors in the sports newsroom had a field day with it, helping the audience out with a great visual aid - a map of Bolivia, of course.
I feel so behind on my posts. I've said it before, I know. I sound like a broken record. I still have daily observations. And many I consider to be blogworthy. But I can't seem to make the time to get them on paper.
But please don't worry. Don't give up on me. I'll get it together. There's no way I'm fading into Bolivian (even though I have heard it's quite lovely) . . .
I feel so behind on my posts. I've said it before, I know. I sound like a broken record. I still have daily observations. And many I consider to be blogworthy. But I can't seem to make the time to get them on paper.
But please don't worry. Don't give up on me. I'll get it together. There's no way I'm fading into Bolivian (even though I have heard it's quite lovely) . . .
Are You In or Are You Out
If you're saying the title in the key of Heidi Klum, you've been watching what I've been watching. I am a Project Runway fanatic. I've been a big fan from Season 1. But the point of this post is not to regale you with the many wonderful things of Project Runway...although it is wonderful and I heart Tim Gunn.
No - the point of my post is my wondering whether or not certain things, in the fashion world, are in or out. For instance, I was totally under the impression that Uggs were out. But it looks like the company has been busy expanding their product lines and much to my chagrin, the Ugg boots are another useless fashion 'in' for the season.
And just when I thought I could get a respite from last summer's phenomenon - CROCS - they introduced wool-lined CROCS for the winter because god forbid your feet freeze over while wearing the mule-style, holey sandals....so here's a great idea - why not line it with wool and make this ugly summer sandal into an ugly winter sandal - I've seen it, and it's not pretty.
But fads aside, I had really thought that mule heels were kind of on the outs....especially for the winter (I never considered it a winter shoe to begin with)...without socks....over jeans....what's up? When I saw a girl wearing her jeans over dark leopard print mule heels (we won't even go into her top half to save space), Heidi Klum's voice popped into my head with her famous line from Project Runways, "Are you in or are you out?" And I kept responding, in my head, 'I could've sworn you were out.'
And as I proceeded to my Dr's appt, in a medical building, I didn't see any crocs, wool-lined or otherwise, and I didn't see any Uggs. But I did manage to see those sherpa slipper-looking shoes - they seem to be like the bastard cousin to the Ugg boots.
No - the point of my post is my wondering whether or not certain things, in the fashion world, are in or out. For instance, I was totally under the impression that Uggs were out. But it looks like the company has been busy expanding their product lines and much to my chagrin, the Ugg boots are another useless fashion 'in' for the season.
And just when I thought I could get a respite from last summer's phenomenon - CROCS - they introduced wool-lined CROCS for the winter because god forbid your feet freeze over while wearing the mule-style, holey sandals....so here's a great idea - why not line it with wool and make this ugly summer sandal into an ugly winter sandal - I've seen it, and it's not pretty.
But fads aside, I had really thought that mule heels were kind of on the outs....especially for the winter (I never considered it a winter shoe to begin with)...without socks....over jeans....what's up? When I saw a girl wearing her jeans over dark leopard print mule heels (we won't even go into her top half to save space), Heidi Klum's voice popped into my head with her famous line from Project Runways, "Are you in or are you out?" And I kept responding, in my head, 'I could've sworn you were out.'
And as I proceeded to my Dr's appt, in a medical building, I didn't see any crocs, wool-lined or otherwise, and I didn't see any Uggs. But I did manage to see those sherpa slipper-looking shoes - they seem to be like the bastard cousin to the Ugg boots.
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Talk about Full of (Hot) Air
My current health obsession is snacking on 100 Calorie snack packs that have been out on the market for a couple of years now. It started with 100 Calorie packs of Oreo crisps, Chips Ahoy crisps and Sun Chips. I grew tired of these three flavors pretty quickly - but just as quickly, there was more variety - I could get 100-calorie pack of Cheetos and Doritos. I was very excited. This was all about two years ago. I've since laid off the 100 calorie packs - not that I didn't like them - just trying to eat healthier (I think) but on a recent trip to Target, I jumped back on the 100-Calorie wagon and an area of my desk now looks like the taste testing center of 100-Calorie snack packs.
I re-introduced myself to some new snack packs, thanks to Target. I picked up the Oreo granola bar, York Peppermint Patty wafers, and Oreo candy bites. This was on New Year's Day. Since then (only eight days later), I have added Kisses Snackers, Entenmann's Little Bites and the Chips Ahoy granola bar. All packaged in 100-Calorie packs. (I wasn't kidding about the taste testing thing.)
It's kind of exciting to have this much variety for afternoon snacks - as long as you don't go eating like multiple snack packs in one sitting - I believe the idea is to satisfy any cravings for only 100 calories and not feel guilty about it. I'm down with that. What I'm not down with is the excess air that fills these packs that make snacks look larger/more plentiful than they actually are. For example, the granola bar looks to be 4.5 inches x 2 inches. In reality, the granola bar is closer to 3 inches x 1.25 inches. If that isn't a deception, then I don't know what is. I'm expecting 4.5 inches of 100-calorie goodness. Instead, my snack time gets cut seconds short with the missing 1.5 inches of granola bar. I mean, let's face it - it will take you less than one minute to finish any of these 100 calorie snack packs but every second counts!
The Entenmann's Little Bites, which are soft baked Brownie squares are the most deceptive of all. It comes in a large box - larger than a Hostess cupcake box - with eight pre-packaged packs. When I whipped out my first bag before lunch today, I knew I would be sadly disappointed. The bag itself is 5.5 inches x 3.25 inches. I'm thinking about 10 little brownie bites could fit in there and 10 sounds just about right. When I tear open the bag, what I get is five 0.5 inch squares and a whole lotta air. I'm sure they'll tell me the air is to keep things fresh and moist - but what is the reasoning for the Kisses snackers, that is packed with Cocoa Puffs, kiss-shaped lucky charms, two kissables and two naked kissables (no hard candy shell)? Nothing in there needs to stay moist or super-fresh. So why all the air?
Now that I've had a few days to taste test, my expectations have diminished in terms of volume and sizes. The taste is still good - I'm going to keep buying them, but I won't be so shocked anymore with how much they're giving me. I guess 100-calories is really 100-calories and I shouldn't expect a 100-calorie snack the size of a hot fudge sundae...with sprinkles...and a cherry on top.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
The Gladiators are BACK!!!
I am a child of the 80s. And with that comes a lot of favorite TV shows including the American Gladiators! I LOVED that show - the challenges, the eliminator, the beefed up Gladiators... My personal favorite was Laser - he was dreamy, although Nitro did have a certain quality about him and definitely got a lot of face time...but I digress. The point is, someone (smart) in the TV world brought it back and the new American Gladiators premiered this past weekend! The show has gotten a lot of hype and none of it is undeserving - it's awesome!
They brought back some old challenges with a new twist - for the joust and hang tough (aka - ring swing), instead of falling into gym mats if you get eliminated, you're falling into water...ooooooh. They also brought back the tennis ball machine gun in the assault, which was a 'must have' in order for my husband to watch it. When he saw a glimpse of it in the commercials leading up to the premiere, he was locked in. Overall, the challenges seem tougher, the gladiators seem bigger and the contestants seem smaller and wimpier, but that was just a quick perception on my part (about the contestants).
Let's talk about the Gladiators. Back in the original Gladiators, you had dudes named Gemini, Blade, Thunder, Nitro and Laser. The women were Diamond, Ice, Lace and Storm...not very scary or intimidating but whatever. The new Gladiators are made up of Hammer, Justice, Mayhem, Militia, Titan, Toa and Wolf on the men's side and for the women, you have Blast, Crush, Fury, Siren, Stealth, Venom and the biggest lady of them all...Hellga! Hellga is BIG and although she may look intimidating at 6'0, 210 lbs, she is quite slow and is pretty underutilized in terms of challenges. And of the new American Gladiators, there is that one, on the men's side, that makes you go 'hmmm....'. We'll just call him the 'Vanity Smurf' of the Gladiator Group. In case you're wondering, the 'Vanity Smurf' of the original Gladiators? That would have to go to Malibu.
The show is pretty fast paced and the hour goes by quickly. I have to say that Hulk Hogan and Laila Ali do a great job hosting...and although you never see the commentators, the voices remind me of the claymation commentators from MTV's Celebrity Death Match. But everything I listed above isn't the real reason to watch....the REAL reason you need to watch the new American Gladiators....although they don't have gladiators like Blade, Lazer, Tazer or any other kind of '-azers', they do have the referee from the movie DODGEBALL (as seen on ESPN, the Ocho!).
I think that's one of the greatest parts of the show! Within the first 15 minutes of the premiere, I turned to my husband and said, 'You know, that sounds like the ref from Dodgeball' and that made me go do some research to verify that yes, that is indeed the ref from the Dodgeball movie - awesome! Now I'm hoping, in one of the episodes he just yells, 'Sudden Death' like in the movie - but I doubt that will happen.
So I'm on board, with the new American Gladiators - I'm happy with it so far and I hope it stays for a little while so I don't have to get my American Gladiators fix from ESPN Classic.
They brought back some old challenges with a new twist - for the joust and hang tough (aka - ring swing), instead of falling into gym mats if you get eliminated, you're falling into water...ooooooh. They also brought back the tennis ball machine gun in the assault, which was a 'must have' in order for my husband to watch it. When he saw a glimpse of it in the commercials leading up to the premiere, he was locked in. Overall, the challenges seem tougher, the gladiators seem bigger and the contestants seem smaller and wimpier, but that was just a quick perception on my part (about the contestants).
Let's talk about the Gladiators. Back in the original Gladiators, you had dudes named Gemini, Blade, Thunder, Nitro and Laser. The women were Diamond, Ice, Lace and Storm...not very scary or intimidating but whatever. The new Gladiators are made up of Hammer, Justice, Mayhem, Militia, Titan, Toa and Wolf on the men's side and for the women, you have Blast, Crush, Fury, Siren, Stealth, Venom and the biggest lady of them all...Hellga! Hellga is BIG and although she may look intimidating at 6'0, 210 lbs, she is quite slow and is pretty underutilized in terms of challenges. And of the new American Gladiators, there is that one, on the men's side, that makes you go 'hmmm....'. We'll just call him the 'Vanity Smurf' of the Gladiator Group. In case you're wondering, the 'Vanity Smurf' of the original Gladiators? That would have to go to Malibu.
The show is pretty fast paced and the hour goes by quickly. I have to say that Hulk Hogan and Laila Ali do a great job hosting...and although you never see the commentators, the voices remind me of the claymation commentators from MTV's Celebrity Death Match. But everything I listed above isn't the real reason to watch....the REAL reason you need to watch the new American Gladiators....although they don't have gladiators like Blade, Lazer, Tazer or any other kind of '-azers', they do have the referee from the movie DODGEBALL (as seen on ESPN, the Ocho!).
I think that's one of the greatest parts of the show! Within the first 15 minutes of the premiere, I turned to my husband and said, 'You know, that sounds like the ref from Dodgeball' and that made me go do some research to verify that yes, that is indeed the ref from the Dodgeball movie - awesome! Now I'm hoping, in one of the episodes he just yells, 'Sudden Death' like in the movie - but I doubt that will happen.
So I'm on board, with the new American Gladiators - I'm happy with it so far and I hope it stays for a little while so I don't have to get my American Gladiators fix from ESPN Classic.
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