Not a whole lot is going on in my world lately. I just got over a nasty virus that caused me to lose my voice for 5 days straight. Good thing I have friends who are willing to monopolize a conversation and fill in the silence. Needless to say, I didn’t do a whole lot this weekend. I attempted to play soccer, but broke out into a coughing fit within the first 10 minutes.

Last Friday (the 12th), I got to go see the Black Eyed Peas in concert at the Sommet Center. Now, that was a freakin blast. My good friend Leslie arranged for a limo to take us (she and I, and a few girls from her office) downtown; it’s always fun to ride in style. Opening acts were LMFAO and Ludacris. That may sound like an odd combination, but it was a great way to kick off the night. I was surprised at how many songs I knew by both groups. Well, and then the BEPs came out and it was all over. Damn they know how to put on a good show. Fergie was amazing; I kept saying “Its really her, its really her”. Haha. will.i.am rocked it out and I heard he DJ’d later at one of the clubs downtown. We just limo-ed it to Whiskey Kitchen for a drink or two after the show. Overall, it was a spectacular night and a great extension of my birthday (as the ticket was a bday present from Leslie).

Speaking of my birthday, I have to say it has got to be one of my best birthdays ever (my Sweet 16 on a boat was pretty sweet). On my actual birthday, a small group of friends and I enjoyed a delicious, relaxing meal at Flyte and ended the night at Mafiaoza’s for an additional cocktail. I took it easy on Thursday in order to prepare for Friday, which was the main event! Another good friend, Kristin, used her inside connections to secure us two King Suites at the Hutton Hotel and arranged for 12 of my girlfriends to party on the town and then crash at the hotel. We started out with tipsy madlibs and then got all dolled up in the suite before calling up our favorite taxi driver, who just happened to be driving his limo that night (same one as above). So we all piled in to the limo to go three blocks to midtown where we partied it up at Broadway Brewhouse and Hollywood Disco. Afterwords, we headed to Broadway and danced our hearts out at Decades. Altogether I think we danced for about three hours.

And my feet were not happy with me the next day. The next week really. I guess wearing heels that are slightly too small and constrict your toes is not a great idea. From the ball of my foot to the tip of my toes, I had a tingling sensation, like when they get super cold, for 8 days. I had them checked out and found out it could last for weeks, but luckily I recovered quickly. I will, however, use that as a lesson and not subject my feet to such torture ever again. Here’s to good intentions.

This weekend I’m participating in a Habitat for Humanity home build with my co-workers. I’ve never done one before (and now realize how difficult it is to arrange/sponsor a build) so I’m pretty excited. I’m just hoping for somewhat nice weather, as the build will happen no matter what. I’ll try to get some pictures posted afterwords!

I know. I haven’t posted in forever! Some say it says something about what’s going on in my life….I just chalk it up to laziness. However, this weekend was jam-packed with activity so laziness does not apply.

Friday night I attended the “Taste of Nashville” with my friends Kristin and Emily, along with hundreds of other people. After a quick pre-party at Mafiaoza’s, we cabbed it down to the Cannery Ballroom, aka Mercy Lounge, to join the crowd. I managed to score a free ticket (thanks Kristin!), so I ate and drank to my heart’s content. We even got seats in the VIP section, which were large white fabric couches, not necessarily the smartest choice for a food/wine event. I did manage to snap a shot of the wine stain that appeared on the couch nearby.

Said eating and drinking made volunteering early Saturday morning quite a painful task at first. Kristin, Kerry, Terry and a few others teamed up with Hands on Nashville to paint the interior hallways of Thomas A Edison Elementary in Antioch. Terry’s son attends school there and she also works in the administration office, so it was very nice to be able to volunteer at a location where friends spend most of their waking hours! After a few hours of painting and cleaning (and we would’ve been mulching if it hadn’t poured down rain the whole time), we headed back to Limelight where HON hosted a buffet lunch from Whole Foods and live entertainment. I lasted about 30 minutes before begging to go home for a nap and Kerry graciously obliged.

After a quick snooze on the couch, I readied myself for (another) night of fun and festivities, this time at an 80’s Anniversary Party for my friends Stacey and Rickey. I met them about a year ago and have celebrated the 4th of July as well as other holidays with them and their kids. Their 18th wedding anniversary party was no disappointment either, blazing the 80’s rock, fun outfits and plenty of food. The after-party landed us at the USA Sports Grill for karaoke. I managed to stick it out long enough to sing my signature song and then headed home to crash.

Sunday morning marked the beginning of the fall soccer season and the AC Rhinos pulled off a win of 3-2 against the Flying Saucer team. I was surprised I remembered how to play after a season resting my knee, but I think I did alright. Immediately afterwords, I joined up with Emily and friends for a birthday brunch at Bosco’s where we thoroughly confused our waiter with some coupons, but still had a delightful lunch…which was simply a pre-cursor to the night’s festivities ahead. As it was Em’s birthday, we celebrated not just with a girl’s brunch, but also with pizza and drinks at her place, then more food and drink at Mafs. Good times were had by all.

So, see? I’m not that lazy.

This weekend I went to see the new X-men movie (officially “X-men Origins: Wolverine”) with my good friend Lyndi, who I haven’t seen in way too long. We saw an early matinee which turned out to be a great idea, since the theater was mostly empty and not full of whispering fans or bright cellphone screens.

I’d heard mixed reviews of the movie, but IMHO the negative ones really only came from hardcore X-men comic book readers who didn’t like the 2nd or 3rd X-men movies either. Really, those people are just asking to be disappointed, or really want a reason to critique and complain about how “unrealistic” it is. Gimme a break.

Anyway, I would say I left the theater feeling satisfied that the movie met my expectations and gave me a little more. There was a solid amount of sci-fi technology stuff, plenty of action and explosions, and Hugh Jackman naked. Really, the latter is pretty much enough in normal circumstances, but here it was definitely an added bonus.

As far as the story-line goes, and me not being much of a “pre-X-men Wolverine expert”, I thought they made a convincing story out of the bits and pieces Logan’s hinted at in the “later” movies. The whole Xavier-showing-up-in-the-field-at-the-end-of-the-escape-route was a little far-fetched (haha, I just did the “unrealistic” thing), but I guess if he was telepathically communicating with one of the kids, it is possible.

So yeah, I liked it. As much as I liked the 2nd and 3rd X-men movies. And I’m excited to see which character they profile next!

Tonight rounds up a nice 10 days at home in California with my mom and brother. We had a great Christmas and enjoyed the company of Brett’s boss, renowned New York Choreographer Shen Wei. I learned a few things while he was here. Among them are:

1. I learned how to play real Chinese Mahjong. Not the kind you play online where you match pairs of symbols. Its actually a lot like Gin Rummy, at least the version we played. My mom has an old authentic set of real ivory and bamboo pieces that made the game very entertaining.

2. I am not a Monkey. All the placemats in Chinese restaurants told me I was a Monkey growing up, because I was born in 1980. However, they don’t bother to get into the details of the Chinese New Year and the fact that it is actually in February. So, in fact, I am a sheep. We read stories behind all the signs and I think the Sheep actually fits me a little better. At first I was a little irritated because I thought the sheep would be the herd animal or the “follower”, but I guess that’s a very European interpretation.

3. Our humble Christmas morning ritual is really a special tradition. Shen Wei had never spent a Christmas morning with an American family before and was really very gracious and grateful to be included. It was a bit inspiring to have someone with us who’d never experienced a Christmas morning like that before and gave me a renewed sense of appreciation for my family and our intimate gathering.

This holiday I also got to see 4 movies and I guess I could do a little review of each. Spoilers are guaranteed.
1. “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” – I had my doubts about this one, just due to the obscure plot about a baby born as an old man who ages backwards and gets younger as everyone around him gets old. However, it does star Brad Pitt and that’s usually enough to get me and my mom into a theater. As my mom observed as we exited the theater, the movie had a distinct “Titanic” feeling, since the entire movie is told from the perspective of a old, dying woman. The story unfolds from a diary of Benjamin Button as his life is recounted for us. It plays out exactly as you might suspect, so I guess you could call it predictable. Benjamin is born old, grows younger and younger until he dies of young age as an infant in his lover’s arms. The acting, I will say, was quite good. Cate Blanchett ages well and carries off all stages of her character’s life. Of course, Brad Pitt reverse-ages VERY well. It was a bit difficult to buy into the fact he was a child caught in an old person’s body when he was young, though. The curiousness and youthfulness of a teenager was not visible in his eyes or expressions, but it may have been completely abstracted by the hours worth of makeup he had to don. All in all, it was a slightly above average holiday flick, but nothing I’d demand you go and see before it comes out on DVD.

2. “Slumdog Millionaire” – Unlike the previous movie, this one I demand you go and see. Now. As soon as possible. “Slumdog Millionaire” is also told as a visual flashback but with much more substance and creativity. Jamal Malik is a young Indian man who is about to win 20 million rupees on the Hindi version of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire”, but who gets arrested after the end of the first episode (which ends right before his last question), being accused of cheating since he comes from the slums of India. He recounts his brutal childhood and teenage years which led him to know the answers to each question as they are presented to him. It is a story of ultimate poverty, liberation , and, ultimately, victory. It is a story everyone should see.

More to come….

Last weekend I went home to California for my 10 year High School Reunion! It was actually a LOT of fun and it was great to see people I hadn’t seen in 10 years. My weekend started out on Thursday night, when my flight was delayed 2 1/2 hours in Nashville. So I didn’t make it home until 11pm instead of 8pm, but at least it was the same day. My mom met me at the airport and then we stayed up until about 1am just catching up.

Friday we went and saw a matinee, Vicky Christina Barcelona, the new Woody Allen film. I thought it was quite perfect and Javier Bardem sold himself as a romantic Spaniard following his role as a serial killer. Scarily, both were very believable. Scarlett Johansson was superb as always, and Penelope Cruz was a raving lunatic, which she does quite well. Anyway, the story had a few flaws, or maybe there just wasn’t enough time to show the full character development, but I found the lead’s role a little hard to believe.

Friday night we had dinner with my best friend Meredith and then she and I headed to 2nd Street for a few drinks without mom. We ended up at a bar where they were playing the Titans vs. Raiders game, so I had a good time watching the Titans win in the last few seconds. As always, it was wonderful to see Meredith, I just wish I could’ve stayed longer!

Saturday mom and I saw another movie, this time one with a little more hilarity. Tropic Thunder. Ben Stiller. Robert Downey Jr. What else do you need? It was pretty ridiculous, but we laughed the whole time. I love that I can watch stuff like that with my mom.

Saturday night was the actual reunion at the Queen Mary and it was a pretty nice event. There were probably about 175 people there (out of a class of 650), and I recognized all but maybe 5 people. Although not too many of my theater friends were there, I did get to see a few of them and then a whole bunch of people I “kinda” knew.

After the main event, we went down to Seal Beach and hung out at O’Malley’s, a local Irish Pub, until they closed. It must be a pretty popular hangout because it was packed with people our age. I made some new friends and chilled with some old friends and overall had a great night.

Next….my 5-year college reunion! That’s already coming up in October, I can hardly believe it! I’ll know even less people from my college class, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be just as much fun! Plus, my friend Angelo is coming down from Chicago since he graduated the same year, so I’ll get to see him again! Stay tuned!

Golly gee I haven’t blogged in a while. I have a few posts started, but was too lazy to finish them. At the current time, I am waiting for my delayed flight home to California. According to the last overhead announcement, the plane that was to depart from NYC at 5pm is not leaving until 7:30pm, and thus my 5:55 flight won’t be leaving until 8:30. Which is not too far away now. I spent some of my delay at the Tootsie’s bar nearby, listening to live music and chatting with others at the bar. As long as I get home tonight, I’ll be okay. Of course I wish I would’ve known there’d be a delay so I could’ve changed out of my work clothes, but now I’m still outfitted in my dressy grays. Oh well.

In case you’re wondering why I am going home (like one needs a reason to go to California!), this weekend is my High School reunion. I’ll let you guess how many years. I’m pretty excited. I haven’t really seen anyone from HS since…well, HS. Should be quite a trip. I hope a lot of people go to the event. We’re having it at the Queen Mary, which should be an elegant location. It may be a little weird at first, showing up alone, but I’m sure I’ll get over that quick enough. I’ll be sure to post an update when I return!

We all have this sweater. Or scarf. Or hat.

I have a feeling Aunt B will someday have a bunch of grandchillens who boast of their gramma’z knitting.

Where to start!?

I think a good place to start is that I got a promotion! Whoo hoo. On July 21st I am starting my new position of Manager of IT Operations for a new off-site facility. It is a great opportunity for me to use the skills I’ve acquired over the past 5 years and to learn a whole lot more about everything IT. Its very exciting and I’m doing my share of celebrating.

Tonight I went to the French Quarter Cafe with my co-worker/friend Melissa to see her husband perform. He was really excellent and its a surprisingly cool venue. The stage itself was pretty impressive. I ran into my blogger buddy, Annie Parsons, who was slated to perform after a few more rounds. I thought we would stay long enough to see her, but we ended up heading out before she got ready to play. I really hope I can see her perform soon, since she is totally Nashville-music-scene worthy.

Speaking of Nashville music scene, a friend and I went to a friendly Irish bar in Green Hills as phase II of our night out last night and enjoyed the musical stylings of….some guy who did covers. Sorry, didn’t catch his name. We all sang loudly and threw darts and had a great time. Until one of us slipped in the rain in the parking lot. Yeah…that’s gonna hurt.

OMG, is the mom in “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody” new??? She has the same hairdo, same body structure, but she doesn’t walk the same or have the expressionisms. Yes, expressionisms. And yes, I watch the Disney channel. Hannah Montana is on next.

Speaking of Hannah Montana…oh, I cant. But I’m working on something exciting that may eventually involve her. Hopefully. We’ll see. Night loves.

you hear about who do stupid things on the lake, especially on holiday weekends? Well, I think I might be one of them. I went out with a friend yesterday and, while inner tubing, hit my eye with my knee. Yes, it is possible…and I’ll show you how if you don’t believe me.

But anyway, I didn’t know it at the time, but I actually got a 1.5cm laceration deep enough to warrant stitches. Unless I could settle with a nice big scar above my right eye. Which I cannot. Here is said laceration:

So, yesterday I spent almost 4 hours in the Vanderbilt ED and was told I did indeed need stitches. Hurray! They did a really good job and it looks even better today:

Nice eye shadow, huh? I think I may put some on the other eye just so they match. Can’t wait to see how colorful it gets.

Last night I went with my downstairs neighbors and a few of their friends to the Nashville Art Walk (I don’t know if that’s the official title, but that’s what they were calling it) downtown. Apparently, once a month, a number of art galleries open up late and people walk from gallery to gallery (partaking in wine at each location) or take the little bus around. There were some incredible pieces, one insane installation and a lot of eclectic art.

Anyway, we were at the third stop and I saw someone I recognized. My immediate thought was “that guy is famous”. I racked my brain and realized who I thought it was, Colin Firth from Bridget Jones’ Diary/Love Actually. However, I couldn’t think of “Firth” and the only Colin name I could come up with was Colin Quinn….obviously two very different people. But having had a glass or two of wine already, I ran to my new friends and said “Colin Quinn is here!” and I pointed in this guy’s direction. I was immediately brought down from my enthusiastic state, even though I tried to explain who I thought he was, the guy from Bridget Jones’ Diary, but everyone just thought I was hilariously drunk.

Then it hit me. I knew this guy from work. He’s a doctor in my building. But wait, before you laugh too loudly at me, look at these pictures. Don’t they look a lot alike?

First picture: Colin Firth, Second picture: NOT Colin Firth

I wish I could find a better picture of this guy…his half-smiling picture doesn’t convey the level to which they look alike.

Once I realized my mistake, I went up to him and told him my funny story. He was friendly and sympathetic. I guess he gets it all the time. Or at least that’s what he said to make me feel better. It was quite an event, definitely one to leave a first impression of sorts on my new friends. We all had a good laugh about it though and I’m sure it won’t be the last time we do.