Have you tried the targ?

Yes, I'm still alive! Were you worried? We didn't run off with all our Vegas winnings, if that's what you thought (we'd have to turn back time to let the money fly back INTO our pants to have gotten anywhere with it). Despite having won NOTHING, we had a great time playing with the Eclektras and staying in the nicest room we've ever been in. Seriously. I'm talking sitting area, pivot-mounted flatscreen TV in the main room AND in the bathroom, wall-to-wall/floor-to-ceiling window with a view of the strip, touch-button controls for the drapes, fancy-schmancy mini-bar snacks and accessories, robe and slippers, some-high-thread-count sheets, Andy Warhol reproductions on the walls (none of those typical hotel crappy "oil" landscapes), and all manner of other impressive crap I could go on about.

Now, here's something I thought I'd never say: While in Vegas, I had dinner in a Star Trek bar. I know, but my travelmates were all gung-ho for it (and in fact, were practically regulars. I swear, if N wasn't so darn fun to be around...). I ate something with the word Targ in it. It was either pork ribs or some space animal. I don't know. I swear, there were portions of that dinner during which I was sure I'd lost my ability to understand English. That, or they weren't speaking it. I had to go to the little happy place inside my head several times. But don't worry guys, I had fun! The Targ was great! (Seriously, what the hell is up with that place?? Star Trek. Sheesh.)

Ehhh, I was just given some work to do. I guess I should do that. Perhaps more Vegas later. Oh, hey, everyone wish N a Happy Birthday tomorrow!

Small, weird scare

So, I just walked in the door after work to find the house completely dark. Where's N, I wonder? He didn't mention anything about not being home tonight. I see a flashing message on the phone, and knowing that I left a message for him on my way home 15 minutes earlier, I punch the Caller ID button that lets you see who's called. There's a 213 number there with a one-word name attached to it: Prison. Holy crap! Prison! N's in prison and he made his one call home! Then I had the fleeting thought that maybe he knows someone who works on Prison Break? (But in a 213 area code?) Before I could think too hard on any of this, I called N's cell, which he picked up with a cheery "Hello!"
"Uh, where are you?" I ask.
"On Highland, on my way home right now."
"So, you're not in prison?"
"Prison? Why would I be in prison??"

Turns out, I forgot he had a doctor's appointment this afternoon. Phew!!

Other funny scare:

I was driving home the other day, when I hear what I thought was a song with a really bad layer of yelling lyrics running just under the music track. I turn down the sound and realize it's not on the radio, it's a man yelling behind me. So I look out the back window and out the rear view mirrors to see what's going on, but I don't see anything. I think he's yelling, "I've got my eye on you!" and "What are YOU looking at?" The more I hear it, the more panicked I get, because he's moving with me as I'm driving, and it sounds like he's IN the car with me! Just when I reach the height of fear, I recognize the voice. It's the stupid talking Monster's Inc. Mike doll I've had in the trunk since the move. I guess it's time to unpack the car!

Awww!

Okay, so I added the socks, but she found the basket herself. Unfortunately, that laundry was clean. Eh, what's a little fur in your underwear, anyway?

Inspired by one line from the last entry

Dear Blog,

Today I went to the store. I bought two bottles of wine and an ice bucket for our ... new bar! Yesterday we went to the store too, and bought the bar of my dreams (well, dreams that I can afford), the picture of which has been hanging in the spot where that very bar now sits. Because N is the manly-ist (how would YOU spell that??) of all men, he spent a chunk of yesterday putting it together (did you know that you had to put together Crate & Barrel furniture? What a rip!). And I spent the same chunk of the day disposing of the various packing materials and boxes that sucker came in. I'm sure I amused any neighbor who may have been watching with my attempt to put a very large and flat box into the recycling bin. I thought, because it was thin, I could just somehow fold the thing in there and make it fit so the lid would close. No dice. I tried for a very long time, with much effort (even bringing out a hacksaw at one point), but I just couldn't do it. So now the bin is sitting there wide open with a huge piece of cardboard sticking out of it at least three feet.

Anyway, today's trip to the store marked the third time in two days I was at The Farmer's Market. Yesterday afternoon for the bar purchase, last night to use our gift certificate to Maggiano's (mmmm Chianti), and today, to get out of the house and buy a much coveted ice bucket (and more Chianti).

N's watching a commentary for a movie, and I can't for the life of me figure out what it is. I can only hear it, not see it. Right now there are kinda explosions, someone is saying something about the church at Hollywood and Highland, something about Paramount, and something about kids. Any guesses? I just asked, so now I know. Did you guess? It's the original War of the Worlds.

Okay, so you know how Samuel Jackson is going to star in "Snakes on a Plane" later this year? (Really, go look it up.) Well, I'd like to see some other combinations of that: "Cougars on a Jetski"! "Pandas on a Skateboard"! "Flamingos on a Cruise Ship"! "Wombats on a Tourbus"! Okay, I'll stop now.

Yes, the rumors are true. We're going to Vegas with the Eclektras (yeah, I'm too lazy to link that--or look up the correct spelling, for that matter. Change your name already!) next week. We're totally gonna be the Beverly Hillbillies at The Wynn. The web site says there's a TV in the bathroom of each room. "TVs in the Bathroom"!! Unfortunately, the timing of it all meant I had to give up my time as a volunteer at my employer's newly minted Martin Luther King Day of Service, which allows us to not get the day off, but spend some time away from the office packing up supplies for the local food bank. I'm sure Dr. King would understand. Seriously, TVs in the bathroom!!

I'll title this later. For now, let's call it: Pancakes.

Evidence we're like 9-year-olds: N and I just spent 1/2 hour playing with dry ice in the sink. (Part 2: N just stood over my shoulder while I was writing this and said: "Dear Blog, Today I went to the store.")

Other things:
So you know how I work in Pasadena? Hey, and you know how the Rose Bowl is in Pasadena? Yeah, so the entire population of Texas was in Pasadena this afternoon while I was trying to do my lunchtime errands (Joke: Why are they changing the state of Texas' name to Tex? Because the ass moved to Washington. Huh, that joke doesn't work so well in the written form.). There were Longhorns everywhere. Tons of SC fans, too. I was waiting for a fight to break out right there in Paseo Colorado (that's a mall), but it didn't. Add to that chaos the mess of dismantling the bleachers lining the street from the Rose Parade (speaking of, My lord! Did you watch any of that disaster?? I wonder how many of those drill team girls left California with pneumonia! That was pretty entertaining, I have to say.), and you have a day I should've gone to the office cafeteria (I was hoping for a better ending to that long and winding sentence, but it kinda petered out there at the end. Sorry. I never said I was good at this!).

Oh, so New Year's Eve was fun. It was a lot of yelling. Mostly at the TV trivia game. But also to be heard over everyone else's yelling. Why are we so yelly? It was almost literally the only time N and I left the house for the three-day weekend (minus the walk to Caffe Latte for "breakfast" the next afternoon, and a short walk to Blockbuster to return a video game (see sentence #1, above). The rain kept us huddled on the couch like pussies. That's right, I said it: pussies. We did see a rainbow from the Pink Room though, and managed to watch all manner of DVD, including most of season 1 of The Shield (don't tell us ANYthing! We're Netflixing the rest of 'em).

Anyway, N's sitting around waiting for me to watch yet more DVDs. He picked up The Simpsons season 7 today (finally) and we've still got those Shields to get through. Thought I'd pop in here to keep up with the other blogging Joneses (you know who you are).