Monthly Archive for July, 2004

… I ended up staying up another hour last night, getting a grand total of 1 hour of “sleep” before hitting the road.

When the alarm went off at 4:45am, I actually still felt pretty wide-awake and since Yoshi was in no condition to drive, I ended up making the entire 5 hour drive up north.

We departed at 5:07am and it took us almost exactly 5 hours to arrive, but that was including one gas/potty break and also a brief stop at a gas station when I had to kill a spider in the car. For the record, I was driving (near the Grapevine) and I saw a small spider crawling down the front windshield. Seeing that the wipers didn’t rid of it, I realized it was INSIDE the car and I got an instant case of the heebie-jeebies. I could have sworn I felt the windshield spider (or one of its cohorts) crawling up my leg, up my arm, and into my shirt.

I began to freak out and woke up a very sleepy and groggy Yoshi, who did not see it and probably thought I was going to drive off the road out of sheer panic over an imaginary spider. When I safely got off the freeway and into a rest stop, I opened the door, jumped out and danced around making sure any spiders (real or imagined) would fall off. Then I tried (unsuccessfully) to find and kill the real spider, which by now had hidden itself in the crack between the dashboard and windshield. I threatened to stay in the rest stop to kill the spider before continuing the drive, but I could tell that Yoshi was ready to unleash an entire colony of spiders (ok, I know spiders don’t live in colonies, but you get my point) on my head if I didn’t just buck up and keep driving.

So I did. An the instant the car went into motion, the spider showed its creepy little self back on the windshield. I pulled over, but my fingers were too big to get to it. I grabbed a napkin and a pen in a valiant effort to kill it so I could keep driving… but it went back into hiding and I never saw it again.

Of course, I’m sure that didn’t stop it from sending me its evil little spider voodoo because I was itchy for the rest of the trip up. Damn arachnid.

For the record, I would have gotten us up faster than five hours (regardless of the spider delay) but there was traffic due to several oversized trucks carrying giant boats up the 2 laned interstate highway. And we could’ve saved even more time if the gas/potty break didn’t also include a stop at the mini-mart to buy a can of Sugar Free Red Bull (they don’t sell Diet Rockstar) and a bottle of Diet Dr. Pepper (wasn’t in the mood for Diet Coke).

My inner speed demon was good this morning. And I know there was no black ice to worry about.

I figured I should just blog it now before someone else heard the story and exaggerated it and somehow it became THE GOSSIP OF THE YEAR!!!

Earlier today, I decided I needed to boil some water so I put a small pot of water on the still fairly new and clean stove. And then the phone rang and I got caught up in a series of various phone calls back at my desk in the other room.

Around 45 minutes later, as I’m just starting a phone call with someone else, I smell a horrendous chemical-like burning smell. I THOUGHT it was coming into our house through my office window, but in actuality, it was coming from the other room… our kitchen.

EEEK!!! I ran back into to the kitchen to see smoke coming off the VERY VERY VERY HOT pot, turned the stove off, grabbed a potholder, and dunked the pot into some water in the sink. It was STINK-Y. I thought I was going to gag and pass out from the toxic smell of burning pot (that’s pot as in pots and pans, not marijuana pot, which incidentally, I am allergic to and would also probably make me pass out).

I opened all the windows and turned on all the fans, hoping the disgusting burning pot smell would go away. Actually, I left the house to run errands for an hour or so.

But the smell was still there (not as severe) when I got home. And I had guests coming over. Luckily, by that time, it was just a lingering odor that you could kind of get used to, but I could still smell it pretty strongly. I figured out hours later this was because the smell had been completely absorbed by my hair. Ick.

I told T the story of what had happened, and she was very sympathetic because she claimed that she once had a similar episode with a spatula on a frying pan. She even stood up for me when we were at a party later in the night and Yoshi was trying to figure out what my “kitchen mishap” was.

Yoshi kept saying: “You burned WATER?! How could you burn WATER?” and T stood up for me and said, “She didn’t burn water. Water evaporates. She burned the pot.” Yeah! Besides, except for the stink and the messed up pot, no one got hurt and nothing burned down.

Regardless, I never thought it was possible to screw up boiling water.

But I must be extremely talented.

You may have heard some buzz about the movie “Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle” starring John Cho (the guy from American Pie 1&2) and Kal Penn (Kalpen Modi, the guy from Van Wilder). It’s set in New Jersey, and it’s about two guys who get the munchies and their adventures as set off for White Castle.

Ebert and Roeper give it “two thumbs up.” I had a few chances to see it in various advance screenings, and also when it was at the L.A. Film Festival, but I kept missing them. I was lucky enough to finally see it last night at a pre-screening event at the WB lot. I didn’t think that I’d find a slapstick/gross-out/stoner comedy funny, but I actually found it to be pretty clever and well-written.

Of course, I will admit I am biased because I am within two degrees each of John Cho (yes, this John Cho) & Kal Penn, but regardless, if you are looking to watch a comedy this weekend, take a shot at Harold & Kumar (check their xanga sites).

And of course, if you’re in L.A., you can check out the temporary White Castle on Sunset Boulevard which is giving out 1 free burger per person, per day until August 11 to promote the movie.

P.S. – I have some Harold and Kumar freebies, if anyone is interested…
P.P.S. – You can win your own private screening by entering the Harold & Kumar Look-alike Contest, check the Harold & Kumar xanga sites for more details!

I guess my camera loved the streets in Old Montreal so much that it flung itself against the cobblestone ones by the water.

Really, that’s exactly what happened.

Ok, maybe I might have accidentally dropped my camera HARD on the cobblestone streets. And maybe the dent in the side of the camera could have been because of the HARD fall. And just because my camera cover doesn’t close right now DOESN’T mean that I broke it when I might have accidentally dropped it.

*sniffle*

Er. In other words, I don’t discriminate against people who don’t use toothpaste.

Mike Doss points out:

“Some people don’t use toothpaste, they use baking soda…so people who don’t say “today” might not be dirty-mouths…

There’s also some people who believe that toothpaste is just a corporate scam, and as long as you brush your teeth at all (with just the toothbrush), and floss, you’re doing just fine.”

Ok, point taken. But is there anyone in my circle of friends who uses baking soda to clean their teeth? Anyone? Bueller?

And I understand being all “anti-corporate” about things like marketing products for women at twice the price for the same exact product for men but with different packaging… but I think someone who is against toothpaste but FOR toothbrushes and/or floss might be a tad hypocritical. Really, if there is a bigger scam than toothpaste (if it’s even a scam at all), it is floss. Floss is basically just minty (or even un-minty!) string/thread rolled up in a snazzy plastic dispenser marked up 2045%! Gimme a break!

Anyway, if you haven’t used toothpaste within a day, you can still be my friend. I just still don’t want you to speak to me TO MY FACE. Call me on the phone, yell at me from across the room, write me emails/IMs, or send smoke signals… just don’t share your halitosis with me, thankyouverymuch.

*smiles sweetly, showing off my freshly brushed/flossed teeth. need i say that I DID use toothpaste?*

I didn’t quite make it to Ottawa, but in honor of ProfessorEric (& his former roommate Anj), I bring to you:

(To be sung at the top of your lungs to the chorus of “Pump Up the Jam“)
OTTAWA: the place to stay:
“get your booty on the floor tonight”
make my day
OTTAWA: the place to stay:
“get your booty on the floor tonight”
make my day

I think the Ottawa Tourism and Convention Authority should pay us a commission for all the advertising we’ve been doing. And for the kickass advertising campaign and theme song…

(Your submissions for additional verses are welcome…)

With only 5 minutes left on my internet card, we’ve been wandering the Underground City until we found another place for me to get my internet fix.

Thank goodness for the Van Houtte Cafe where we could get on for only $2.50 (CAN) for 30 minutes (as opposed to the stupid little internet booths which was $2.00 (CAN) for 10 minutes, and 20 cents per minute thereafter. And those keyboards sucked ass. But I was able to do what I really needed to and now we are resting from our trek in the underground maze.

Funny how “resting” means logging on for me. But my feet feel better now.

Thanks to all the guest bloggers who have been filling in while I’m melting in the heat and humidity of the fine city of Montreal.

Til next time…

P.S. – To ProfessorEric. I got your text message… I was within mere kilometers of OTTAWA yesterday!!!

Heaven must be missin’ an angel
Missin’ one angel, child, ’cause you’re here with me right now
Your love is heavenly, baby
Heavenly to me, baby
Continue reading ‘Guess the song’

You will now be spending the next hour or so playing this. The instructions are in German, but basically you use the arrow keys to move the ball around (like Marble Madness) and the C key to “brake”.

That ought to hold you until the great Joz returns.

(Brought to you from her boyfriend2, Mikey2)

Dis-gus-ting!

A few weeks ago, Yoshi’s mom brought down a suitcase for us to borrow.

Yoshi just opened up a pocket and found two pairs of somebody’s dirty chones inside, and we are pretty sure they do not belong to either Yoshi’s Mom or Dad.

I don’t know who else Yoshi’s mom lent this luggage to, but I don’t think I want to know.

Who will stand in for me and be “not quiet?”