1. I didn't go to work today. Yay! But I forgot to turn off my alarm clock to not go off and was awoken at 6:45. Boo! And then I monitored my email all day and did work anyways. Boo!
2. I went to see Indiana Jones: The New One. I don't remember what it was called. I saw it at the 2-dolla with Josh. Although they now charge $3.50. So I guess I can't call it the 2-dolla. But the three-dolla fitycent doesn't have the same ring to it. It was good and corny in keeping with the made in the 80s theme. But the departure from religion to not-so-religion seemed odd. I dunno. And for the record, I don't think magnets are in general that selective about when they decide to be magnetic or not.
3. I think it is safe, 9 years later, to finally tell this memory of the 2-dolla. I went to see There's Something About Mary there with Mike (who I had a huge crush on) and Charlie (who from what I heard had a crush on me). Mike secretly held my hand the entire time. Of course, being that they were best friends he never would go out with me.
4. Do not eat popcorn after doing your nails.
5. Netflix was down for less than a week. People who bitch that "how can a multi-million dollar organization be run like that" (because I am SURE everyone who says that actually runs a multi-million dollar organization and therefore knows exactly how they should be run) and "I demand a free month of service" piss me off. Shit happens. Deal. I may just be saying this because I work in the world of IT (kind of at least) and sometimes things break and sometimes you really just have no idea why. I for one was happy that I didn't have eight hours of 24 delivered to my doorstep. I read The Bell Jar all night instead.
1. On Friday I discovered that Animal Planet one-upped themselves from the Puppy Bowl by presenting the Puppy Olympics.
2. I was excited to have one weekend that I didn't have anything going on. But then I did stuff.
3. Friday night I went over to MattyK's and we watched GoldenEye with BobbyK and KariK. I forgot that whenever you have more than one yK in a room you get trapped in a vortex of insanity.
4. Stupid movies with Hilary Duff should not make me cry. Neither should every episode of Made.
5. I totally fucked up and did something really stupid. I don't know what aspect of it makes me madder at myself. val=fucked up.
6. Dear Radio stop playing "All Over You" when I need an anthem.
7. Dear McDonalds, please don't turn off your milkshake machines all night because sometimes I need a chocolate shake at 1am.
8. The British sure know how to make good zombie movies. Especially when they have titles like "Boy Eats Girl" and involve a zombie going down on a guy. That ended badly for the guy.
9. Saturday I went to Stir Crazy with Nadia, Jenny, and Adam. I had a yummy stir fry of steak, flat rice noodles, onion, scallions, mushrooms, pineapple, peppers, garlic, and teriyaki sauce. Pineapple and beef do go together. Val has spoken.
10. Dude at the Gap went into a huge explnation about all the different colors this shirt came in. At the checkout he said "How am I not surprised she went with the pink!" I looked down at the pink shoes, pink shirt, and pink purse I currently was wearing and declared "I think everything I own is pink."
11. Sleeping in until 11am on a Sunday is nice.
12. Waking up to a message from work on a Sunday morning telling you that your website is fucked is not nice.
13. All I've watched of the regular Olympics so far is half a game of mens volleyball. Those Chinese dudes are fucking tall. I never knew actual volleyball was played bump set spike. I just thought they taught you that in gym class. They should mix it up a bit and surprise attack the opponent. I should be a sports coach.
3. milkbones taste disgusting. Not that I put one in my mouth or anything...
4. i let a clerk at tjmax sucker me into donating a dollar. Part of me wants to believe that he really wants to help the children. A bigger part thinks there is probably a contest to see who can get the most donations.
5. I stole this pic from Julie. I just think it's kind of awesome.
6. I am watching Deep Red right now but it's annoying me. The movie is in Italian...most of it has been dubbed over but every few scenes it is in Italian with no dubbing and no subtitles.
7. Random im conversations:
me: so i heard from the grapevine that i am one of only five single girls invited to your wedding Rob: pretty much me: i don't know if i should feel sad at that fate or happy that i will have my pick of men Rob: you will have your pick of a number of nerds and geeks me: so sad then
Mike: becareful of the gods wathching me
(next morning) me: ummm...ok?
(that afternoon) Mike: hmmm, i have no idea what that IM was about
Jeff:: you may be slpitting a bed with rob me: i don't care who i sleep with, i'm not picky Jeff:: haha ok we will tell rob that except instead of picky, we will say easy me: eh, that's more appropriate of a description
I don't know if he meant to say there that I am a slut, or really was looking out for me...
the best and easiest way to change the game is to change the rules
1. I take my horoscopes way too seriously.
2. I won my first game of chess EVER today
(p.s. I don't know how to play chess)
3. I am happy the part-timers are back.
4. I'm surprised that I've never seen this before but...the other day, in the middle of the day, I finally saw someone take the roundabout in Brookfield backwards.
5. Damnit, I just noticed Showgirls is on tonight. That pretty much means I have to watch it.
6. Quote of the day from the Marketing boss at work: "GREAT NEWS!...We're in the Batman movie!"
one.
Monday I went to see Sex and the City...again...this time with Meredith, Maureen, Alina, and Jen. We started at Grand Lux cafe where we all got pink drinks and my plate of chicken, potatoes, and vegetables was huge. I didn't cry as much during the movie this time (that's not to say I didn't cry). Also, as promised, I paid special attention to the scenes with Jennifer Hudson and Sarah Jessica Parker. In doing so I noticed that Hudson spent almost the entire movie sitting down (to not look like a beheameth next to Sarah Jessica). And when they were standing up they never showed them in the same frame. And, for instance **spoiler** when Hudson gets engaged SJP doesn't even hug her or anything...because, you know, she's afraid of getting crushed.
p.s. here is a photo of them together at the MTV movie awards to see what I mean.
p.p.s. during the previews there was a trailer for Eagle Eye. Guy on cell phone behind Shia at the ATM...totally my friend Eric.
two.
This postsecret pretty much describes me...except without the professional part...
three.
My neighbor at work sends around opera news everyday. The following is a list of movies that have been commissioned as operas (this is 100% serious):
1. The Fly
2. An Inconvenient Truth
3. Brokeback Mountain
Friday I met up with Em after work for a happy hour at Cactus. A jager shot and a rum and coke later we took off...we left a bit early...but we had food and drinks and movies to get to!
Friday night was not only Emily's birthday Eve but also the premiere of the most anticipated female-centered movie probably ever: Sex and the City! So that could only mean a girls night out!
Em and I met up with Zipporah and some of her friends at Zella's to share some cosmos and appetizers. The cosmos were tasty and got me rightfully buzzed and we shared in some crab cakes, red pepper hummus, and spinach dip.
The only tickets we could get were for a 10:45 showing because the first night had been selling out fast! We got to the theater early and still had to wait in a huge line to get in. We didn't go all out all out with our night, but there were some crazy girls there all dressed up in cocktail dresses and high heels. I was still a bit hungry so I got some popcorn...and then in a cosmo stupor hit the bag with my purse all of 30 seconds later and spilled it all on the ground...right in front of the theatre cleaners who didn't look too happy at me. Luckily Zipporah pointed out that they did offer free refills, so I was able to actually eat popcorn.
The movie was good. It wasn't spectacular and it was pretty predictable and a little over the top at times and I didn't agree with all of the choices, but it was still good. I don't want to ruin anything by giving away plot points though. Seriously.
And I cried through the entire thing.
I am such a girl.
Those were both sad tears and happy tears too.
I am such a girl.
When I go see it again next Monday (yes, I already have plans to see it again) I have to remember to pay attention to what Jennifer Hudson looks like next to SJP. I don't remember noticing anything odd but when I saw them presenting at the MTV Movie Awards Jennifer looked like a giant compared to Sarah Jessica. It kind of looked like when in that episode of Full House when they made Michelle be the same height as everyone else by just blowing her up so everything was way out of proportion. Someone has to know the episode. They probably did some odd angles and had Jennifer sitting down most of the time when filming the movie so Sarah didn't look like a midget. I'll report back.
1.5:
Approximate number of hours I spent this weekend driving around the city trying and failing to find parking.
4:
Number of crappy apartments I saw. I had a good feeling because the guy showing me around had a pink tie AND pants with pink pinstripes...seriously if you saw the apartments I've seen you would see why I have not moved.
21:
Name of the movie I went to see with Nad and Bryan on Saturday. I thought it was good, not spectacular, but good. I had a few problems with the plot though (I suppose some are minor "spoilers" but really nothing that will ruin the movie for you...) FIrst, the geeky lead character in these movies is always way too hot. Not that I am complaining that I have to sit for 2 hours and watch a really hot guy...Second was that at one point Spacey lays out the "rules" on of them is that they all must take on new personas and dress/act the part...yet the lead guy was never dressed/acting as anyone other than himself. Third was that another rule was that they were never to be seen together, yet after they were done gambling they'd go out to clubs and they'd share a hotel suite. Fourth was that at one point the chick was comped a suite by the hotel...but if I'm not mistaken, her job was to sit there and bet only the minimum...no way are they comping a suite to someone who is betting just the minimum.
23:
Approximate number of hours I have slept in the last 45 hours.
1.
So basically this is what happens. Everyone is all "Ooooo, 24, best show ever, I'm so excited." Then as soon as I start watching it with everyone they're all "24 sucks, It's so bad, I don't care anymore." As Hood puts it, at least I don't have to go back on my creed that I refuse to watch anything quality on television...
Of course, this leaves me with my goal of the year to watch all the seasons of 24. Which I'm still gonna do, but I'm doubting anyone wants to watch any of it with me. :( If anyone does, let me know! Did I mention that I only watch 24 naked??? ;-)
Anyways.
This brings me to another point. I finally decided to stop bumming off of my sister and sign up for Netflix for myself so I wouldn't have to order 6 seasons of the show through her. This option is less free but I get my movies much faster. Which brings me to another point, you can be my netflix friend!
Seriously, my queue is almost only 24 right now. I promise that once I am through with the show it will be more diverse. And by more diverse I mean filled with crappy horror films.
Oh, and someone totally has to watch the Indiana Jones movies with me this year.
1. When I was growing up I always thought I shared a birthday with Martin Luther King because we would often be off on my birthday. It was only much later in life when I found out what the term "observed" meant.
2. I now have three dresses to wear to the wedding next weekend and can't decide which one to wear. Or whether I want to wear any of them :-(
3. The last thing Val needs to learn: My boss wants me to take classes in and learn digital video production. Stay tuned for less photos and more video! hehehe.
4. I am right now watching a movie right now that is a spoof of one of my fav HG Lewis movies. A SPOOF of HG LEWIS. That's the most ironic thing ever. Yes, Napoleon?
Friday
After work MK picked me up from the train station and we headed back to his place to wait for Em and her friend George. We piled everyone's stuff into the AstroVan and were off to Indianhead Mountain.
After driving about halfway to our UP Michigan destination, the Garmin, our only source of direction, said that the battery was low. We had no reason to think it would go low as it was plugged in the entire time...except now upon checking, the cigarette lighter was not working. So it was off on a slight detour to go on a hunt for tools, including stopping at a couple of gas stations and finally a Wal-Mart. MattyK then took the van apart and fixed the cigarette lighter. Who can do that? We decided that he's Superman and that George is Jimmy Olson.
After fixing the car and finding a Burger King that was open past midnight (seriously, what's with all the damn fast food places being closed?) we were finally back on the road just in time to make it to the cabin after 3am and all cram into the one king sized bed that was left...
Saturday
Saturday we woke up early and got ready to hit the slopes (by hit I mean literally, at least for me). We got introduced to everyone who had been sleeping when we got in, gussied up into warm layers and took off. MK was too lazy to walk down the street to the ski place so he drove us there. I then rented a board and Em and I went out to the training hill. Em had me strap in just one foot and practice moving around like I was on a skateboard. MattyK told me I was doing way better than he did when he tried. Unfortunately, that's about where I peaked.
We went to the training hill area and practiced going down a bit, still with only one foot strapped down. I took a little break and then was going to go back out, but we ran into the boys and they were going in to get a drink/food. I wanted to go with them because since I am so bad and they are so good I never get to see my friends when we go skiing. Hilarity ensued as we tried to find the bar and kept having to go up and down the stairs. Perfectly fine
So we sat around a bit and got food then went back out again. This time Emily and I headed to the actual bunny hill (I hadn't even made it to the bunny hill yet!) and she strapped down both of my feat. Cue nervous breakdown. Seriously, I couldn't stand up because when I tried to stand up I would just start sliding down. And then I'd fall again. And then that would just repeat. And then this is all while massively hyperventilating and crying.
Have I ever mentioned my intense fear of heights? (and the fact that this bunnicula hill went down a bit then was blocked off by a measly looking fence that I could easily fall through and then roll out onto the big scary hill next to it?)
Or my intense fear of not being in control? (I think I know where that one stems from and I won't go into that...)
Or the fact that about four years ago I think I sprained my foot, never got it checked out, and haven't been able to walk without pain since... and that snowboarding puts an awful lot of pressure on your feet? (I know I know, I should probably go to a doctor about that one...)
So yeah, combined all of those things made me an absolute wreck so I hyperventilated to the point where I told Emily that I would just go inside the rest of the day and that she could go join the others to board so wouldn't waste her time. Em left, expecting me to turn in my board and just be done. I wanted to quit but I knew I couldn't do that. I went into the bathroom and locked myself in a stall to cry to the point where my nose ring fell out on the icky floor. :-( I went outside and collected myself, then strapped on the board (by one foot only) and went back to the training area to practice.
I just needed to do it by myself for a while. I did the same thing when I "learned to ski" last year. I'm kind of that way with many things I guess, that I just need to be by myself and kind of practice on my own until I can get it right and figure out what I need to figure out. So I practiced for a while until I felt like I could go back to the bunnicula hill. But then Emily had disappeared, so I waited around until they all finally came back. So I stole her back and we practiced more going down the big scary bunnicula hill...but still with just the one foot strapped down :-(
Soon after we wrapped up for the day. We headed to a gas station to grab alcohol and snacks. The lady who worked there wished me a happy almost birthday. Then she did the oddest thing ever. My total came out to be $8.03. I handed her a credit card, she took three pennies from the give a take a cup and charged my card $8. Weird.
The rest of the afternoon was kind of totally boring. Basically I watched a couple of Emily's friends play a video game. For hours. But everyone else was napping or listening to their iPods and I had absolutely nothing else to do. Then we made pasta. Two pounds of pasta. We had, for some reason, decided that this was a good idea. Two pounds is an aweful lot of pasta. Especially when everyone who would eat it was asleep. Just saying.
So we ate the pasta and then finally everyone was up so we started a game of asshole (which I still don't understand for the life of me) but really just ended up watching Out Cold. Then we watched some Duck Tales (woo-oo). Then we called it a night.
Sunday
Sunday we woke up early, packed up our bags, and headed off to the mountain for some quick skiing/boarding. First though we found out that the trunk to the Astrovan was broken and would not open, so everyone's gear had to be loaded in through the side door (which, btw, is also broken and does not open from the inside).
Basically we went back to the mountain for about an hour and a half, which means, after having to rent a board, that I spent about 40 cents a minute to fall on my ass. Em wanted to actually snowboard, so she went off with the boys, leaving me to my own devices. I practiced on the little training hump for a while, and wanted to go on bunnicula again, but there was seriously not a single other sole there, and I was afraid to go there if I was the only one there. Finally someone else went down, so I decided to go. Basically I practiced all day what Em had been teaching me the day before, which was turning your board perpendicular to stop. But by stop I kind of just knocked myself over a million times, resulting in my legs being immensely bruised today. Of course, I still couldn't bring myself to strap down both of my feet.
Towards the end of it I actually think I was getting better and just riding. I was sick off trying to stop because then I just fell and injured myself so I just rode down the hill more before trying to stop. Of course then the fall was worse because I had more speed...
After a very short time we decided to hit the road back to Chicago. For the most part the ride was fine. Then we were stuck in bumper to bumper for a long while and couldn't get onto 90 when we turned off. I have never seen a highway closed off for that long of a stretch! Turns out the heavy fog caused pretty massive pileups.
Finally we were back on track and on our way. We listened to some CDs then plugged in a laptop to listen to some Eddie Izzard. It made for a pretty funny setup with everything plugged in.
I was all set to caption that picture "fire hazard"...but then it blew a fuse. Did you even know that you could blow a fuse in a car??? The radio didn't work, none of the lights worked, the Garmin and laptops couldn't be plugged in. Silly car. That meant that we actually had to make conversation. What's with that?
We finally made it home with a semi-working car and a semi-working Val.
I guess I can't really cross of "learn to snowboard" from my list as I didn't really learn to do anything. Hopefully Em and I will go somewhere local soon and we can work more on it. I need to work on it a lot because everyone else is so good and it got very lonely out there all by myself when I knew everyone else was up on the non-bunnicula hills having fun. Don't get me wrong, I had tons of fun. It would just be a lot more fun if I could actually go somewhere and hang out with my friends.
On Thursday I was driving to Oak Brook mall to celebrate my favorite holiday - The Victoria's Secret Semi-Annual Sale - when Jen called me to see if I wanted to head to Hollywood Boulevard to see "I Am Legend" for free in fifty minutes. I told her yes, and then hit the gas to try and make it to VS with enough time to get to the theatre. It was the first day and I wanted to get there while there was still some goodness, and since I would be gone all weekend I knew I would miss a lot.
I shopped the sale like a pro. I kind of just grabbed at anything girly and pink and in my size. I didn't really pay attention to what I was taking or what it cost and I ended up with an armload of stuff in seven minutes...but then I got into line and waited for half an hour. I had to call Jen twice from the line to tell her that I thought I might be late and then that I definitely would be very late. I was only behind three other people too...of course it was three people with $200 worth of sale merchandise along with a clerk who I could tell was seasonal.
So I finally got up there and got my hot, sexy, pink (not all pink) loot:
and then paid and got outa there...yeah, I only left the store at 8 for a movie that started at 8 :-(
I made it to the theatre at about 8:20. I don't think I've ever been so late to anything ever in my life. Luckily Jen was able to leave my ticket up at the front and left me a text to tell me where in the theatre her and MK were sitting. So I found them, ordered up a Pepsi and some sweet potato fries then tried to figure out what the hell was happening in the movie. I thought I must have missed a big plot point that explained what was going on, but apparently Matt was confused as well. It was aprett good movie, except I hate all this modern technology crap that makes movies look cartoony and fake. I would much rather see a puppet monster. It was better than the movie where Tom Hanks is all alone, and the dog is more entertaining than the volleyball (spoiler: although admittedly, I did cry when both died...yes I cried when a volleyball died...do you know me at all...shut up...). About halfway through the movie I looked down and realized that I was completely covered in powedered sugar. My damn fries dusted it all over me. ohwell. At least it made me sweet and tasty...um...yeah.
So in conclusion: I am sweet and tasty and have new cute underwear which could make for some fun ;-)
1. I can't believe that Alina kept the "Master" on my name that we added into her database as a joke.
My invite to her wedding was delivered to "Master Valerie Bromann"
2. I am also dissapointed that there are only two choices...
what if I want to accept with regret (because I want to marry Joe) or deline with pleasure (because I want to marry Joe)?
3. Earlier this week the receptionist at work called me and said "Jennifer Reeger is here to see you." My first thought was that she must have dialed wrong because I have never had any one there to see me and I had no appointments or anything. Then I thought about it for a while and it took me entirely too long to realize that "Jennifer Reeger" was "Jenny Johnson" who has been one of my BFFs since third grade. I am never going to get used to her new name. Her and Adam were in the area so they came to say "hi." :-) It was great seeing them too since its been forever and a day since we've gotten together!
4. Friday night I was sick so I spent the night watching "Alice Sweet Alice" which was an AMAZINGLY GOOD movie and New Years Evil which wasn't quite so amazing.
5. Last night I went out for Julie's birthday. I was getting ready and was all set to drive to the bar when Julie called and said that Dave could come pick me up. Score! That meant I could actually drink for once! And I didn't have to find parking! We headed out to The Central where we chatted, watch the game (I really don't know which one) and drank and stuff. I had a Tom Collins, a sunset martini, and a tequila sunrise. Then we headed out to Red Ivy for a bit where I had another Tom Collins. Then we called it a night and when I got home I threw up two Tom Collinses, a sunset martini, and a tequila sunrise. :-( At least I didn't puke in Dave's car. I then proceeded to pass out and fall asleep still wearing all my clothes and with the lights on. I am really not a good drunkard.
Joe: We may go see Rush Hour 3. Me: Will I be lost if I haven't seen Rush Hour 1 or 2?
***
Joe: We're now going to see 3:10 to Yuma. Me: Will I be lost if I haven't seen 1:10 or 2:10 to Yuma?
***
So, you know those fish bowls you put a business card into to win free crap but never do? Wll, JoeJoe won free movie tickets for eight at Hollywood Blvd...Bt they could only be good for two weeks on only Wednesday or Thursday. Since he is out of town next week and is out of town every night until Thursday anyways, we had to go tonight.
So we went to see 3:10 to Yuma. Which is not, in fact, about this.
What was kind of funny was that JoeJoe, who was the one who got the free tickets for us all...was pretty late because his plane was pretty late. But alas, he made it to see most of the movie.
I had already eaten dinner so I got myself a pice of "Willie Wonka's Chocolate Factory" which was a damn rich cake that I could hardly get through half of it (Alina gladly shared) and a yummy something chocolate kiss drink which was hot chocolate with a couple of alcohols I can't remember.
For a cowboy movie it turned out to be not so bad. Except it took me a long time to figure out what was going on (I think part of that had to do with the fact that I was ordering food during some key plot points).
What also got me was Ben Foster as the bad guy...mostly because a couple of days ago I watched one of my favorite stupid movies Get Over It on VH1...twice. Also because he kind of looked like Screech in the movie...just saying.
Bad Idea of the Day:
Reusing a cotton ball that I thought just had eye makeup remover on it and finding out that it really had been soaked in rubbing alcohol. Did I mention I found that out the very hard way?
***
Friday was my last Friday off for summer scheduling :(
At least I get to go back to normal hours :)
***
I picked up a magazine the other day and the headline on the cover said in big letters "Loose Weight at Any Age."
***
Save the Last Dance 2 is a much better movie than the original. Mostly because the dancing is better.
Homer Simpson: Dear lord, as I think of you dressed in white with your splendid beard, I am reminded of Colonel Sanders, who is now seated at your right hand, shoveling popcorn chicken into thy mouth. Lord, could you come up with a delicious news taste treat like he did? I command you.
Homer Simpson: Mmmm. Move over, eggs. Bacon just got a new best friend -- fudge.
2. Halloween
I went to see Halloween tonight with Joe and Alina (his primary girlfriend). We went to Hollywood Boulevard...which is a movie theater/restaurant where you get a meal and drinks or whatever during the movie. I was a little weary of the place. Not that I was against it, because I've wanted to go forever, but I just thought of it as a place to go see a movie you don't really care about because it would be distracting (and since the original Halloween is in my top five movies of all time, you know this was an important movie for me). I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't too distracting, plus they don't let kids under 18 in, so it was nice in that aspect (because there is nothing I hate more than people who bring their five year olds to horror movies...despite the fact that I will definitely be one of those moms because I have been watching them since I was born).
So it actually was nice because I got to munch on sweet potato fries and sip on a strawberry colada while watching the movie...mmmm.
The movie was a good movie if it wasn't Halloween. It was well done (very "rob Zombie" esque) so on its own it would have been a very good horror film. But it wasn't Halloween...there was too much different. It was interesting that they went into the backstory and concentrated more on Mike's childhood. But I didn't really buy it all because it deviated too much from the original...
Plus Donald Pleasence was not CGI'd into it (there is only ONE Sam Loomis).
And Michael Myers walked way too fast.
And i am guessing that the mask was not a william shatner mask inside out :(
And Danielle Harris who was Jamie in parts 4 and 5 played Annie.
And there was a particular choice made near the end that I definitely did not agree with. (I don't want to ruin it) :(
"what's in the basket? Easter Eggs?"
"What's in the basket?"
"clothes."
"what's in the basket? Easter Eggs?"
"What's in the basket?"
"clothes."
"what's in the basket? Easter Eggs?"
"What's in the basket?"
"clothes."
This is stuck in my head. Seriously, that snippet of conversation is completely stuck in my head and just repeats and I will never get rid of it. Why? Because I watched "Basket Case" last night and I threw the DVD in while I was still working on something else. So, the opening screen, which played those snippets of dialogue over and over, was on for a good ten minutes in the background...
p.s. if you have never seen Basket Case (you may have, it was a horror night movie once upon a time) watch it. It is awesome.
More news:
- Jane Magazine has ceased publication. They are trying to shove Glamour down my throat. It stopped being good when Jane left anyways I guess. :(
- I cried at a car commercial yesterday. I mean actual sad weepy tears.
- The people who run the metra are morons sometimes.
- I bit off all my nails.
- I saw a woman at McDonalds complaining that all the iced coffee is just regular coffee poured into a glass of ice. (mind you, she wasn't even paying for this coffee, she had a free coupon). Seriously lady, it's McDonalds. What did you expect, a magic iced coffee cow???
- I just took four hours to make a batch of homemade twinkies...and probably spent about eight times what a box would have cost. But I have homemade twinkies :)
- I bought a DePaul sweatshirt today because it was pink...later I looked at the tag and it says it is red :(
Jenny: Adam tried to kill me. Adam: That's right, I stabbed her.
Last night Nadia and I finally made it over to Jen and Adam's new house. It's a pretty sweet townhome overlooking a golf course (or so we're told, as it was night and we couldn't see much outside). It's a really nice place aside from the outdated light fixtures and the mirrors behind the bed (left over from the 60 year old couple who used to live there...ummm...gross.
We went to Bakers Square for some pie shop special and then played pool where we did Reegers versus non-reegers and then married women versus non-married women (Adam qualifies because he is not a married woman).
There was a sign in the pool hall for a new cherry beer by Sam Adams, and the bottle on the sign clearly said "Made with real cherries and cherry." Anyone know the difference??? (actually, I looked it up and it's supposed to say cherry flavoring, but that is not what it said.)
Anyways, Congratualations Jenny and Adam on your fabulous new house, and on a wonderful year of marriage! Happy Anniversary!
--------
1. Instead of showing file names, my computer keeps showing Chinese characters
2. I promised him that this would make the blog...I totally randomly ran into Brian C. on the street the other after not seeing him in forever and a year. Sometimes Chicago is the smallest city in the world.
3. I hate when you sit down to watch a movie you've never seen before and then realize that you've seen it before.
4. I made a massive apfelstrudel (seriosuly, I was afraid that my kitchen was going to explode).
5. You know you are insane when the one-hour photo place says they will call you when your order is done...and hey don't call for twenty-four hours...not because they forgot you, but because it seriously took them that long to complete your order.
Seriously, every time I have to go somewhere, Batman happens to get in my way. I go to drive JoeJoe home, road we want to take is closed. Why? Batman. Want to go to a restaurant, have to walk a hella the way outa the way. Why? Batman. FUCK YOU BATMAN!
(here is Batman's helimicopter. I don't know if they were filming the helimicopter or the helimicopter was filming shots. All I knows is it was coming down might close. The pics SUCK because I could not use a flash. But you can kind of make it out...i think.)
Went out to Italian Village with all my favorite married and soon to be married couples.
Adam says I have to introduce myself to dates as "My name is Val. I licked the public watermelon."
I told him he has to introduce himself to people who are not dates as "My name is Adam. I wrecked the Berwyn Car Spike." (p.s. I totally blame Adam for the near future demolition of one of the countries proudest monuments in order to construct a Walgreens. I KNOW it was somehow his doing!!!)
I had the tastiest veal-stuffed ravioli with mushroom shallot cream sauce. I kind of inhaled it.
Bryan told Nadia she has cankles but later retracted the statement citing that he would never have married her if she had cankles.
Does it count as "going to a carnival" if you are all by yourself and don't ride any rides?
Does it count as "going to a concert" if you bail before the band even gets on stage?
So, sometimes you just want to hear the song that you wish to almighty was about you and cried a little when you found out it wasn't (despite the fact that your name is not, in fact, Delilah) sung live. Then sometimes a crappy band who thinks their the shit even though you've never heard of them breaks something near the end of their set, insists on fixing it to play their last song while insisting that everyone sing along (while insisting, of course, that people have even heard of them). Then they, of course, run late...Then you wait for AN HOUR AND A HALF for them to set up for the band people actually came to see (30 minutes in someone finally came to the mic to say they were having "technical difficulties," and hour in they finally decided to turn off the power on the stage to fix the problem, and an hour and a half in we finally bailed so we could make it to a movie (I have no idea when they actually made it to the stage)...And that is how Val did not see the Plain White Ts in concert :(
So the concert that I didn't see despite being there for longer than it should have lasted was at the DuPage County Fair, so beforehand while waiting for Nad and Bryan, I got me a corn dog and a lemon shake up...and maybe a funnell cake. That counts as going to a carnival, even though I didn't Tilt a Whirl. Eh, I'd probaby have thrown up a corn dog and a lemon shake up and maybe a funnell cake anyways.
We bailed on the concert before it even began because we had to catch us a 12:01 showing of The Simpsons. It was kind of awesome. And by kind of I mean really. And by really I mean stupendously. More so than the plot or anything I think it was some little tiny things that just freaking made it for me. But alas, I will not give anything away, because I don't do those sorts of things.
Val:: what horror films have taught me is that the way to find a man to fall in love with is to go to a party with a bunch of friends, and then have all of them die but me and that guy and then we fall in love over the process of trying to survive together Val:: you're never going to invite me to a party again, are you? :-( JoeJoe:: well ... the deal seems to be that everyone would die but me JoeJoe:: depending on who i invite, this could go ok Val:: so then alina dies, the two of us are fine and we fall in love? JoeJoe:: fat chance i'd invite her Val:: :-(
* * *
Val:: i am applying to be a bunette Sid:: better get good letters of recommendation Val:: you can attest for me Val:: basically a bunettes are the girls who hold up the signs saying how much was eaten at eating contests :-) Sid:: ooooh, bunette Sid:: i read brunette Sid:: and thought you were talking about dyeing your hair Val:: haha, nono Val:: i do not need to apply for that Val:: and i am sticking with blonde Sid:: fair enough Val:: i can't believe i am actually applying for this Val:: i have to send in my photo Sid:: better ho it up for the photo Val:: haha, i tried Val:: but then i cut out my chest from the photo Sid:: why? Sid:: that's like taking a vow of silence before a job interview Val:: hahaha Val:: i figure a pic of my chest could only hrt me Sid:: now they'll know you're up to something though
1. Look up obscure 1969 made for TV movies by Jim Henson (yes, the real Jim Henson) that are similar to the movie Cube (if you've never seen Cube, watch it) and that you've wanted to see for years.
2. This:
3. Watch the Simpsons in Spanish...and not because you mean to...but because you accidentally hit the SAP button and don't realize that its on SAP because its the Simpsons, and you don't put it past them to be speaking SPanish for some reason.
I haven't been able to bring myself to read my horoscope for the last few days. I normally read both Capricorn and Aquarius for Georgia Nichols and Holiday Mathis (as printed in the Sun Times) every morning. In fact, I'd hate going through the day without reading them. And now, for some reason I am terrified of seeing them.
***
Sanjaya is gone. :( I really wanted him to win.
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I probably shouldn't post this. You probably shouldn't watch this at work. But it's funny.
:)
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Still trying to be blonde...but I went well over a month without dying it! That's gotta be some kinda record!
I was scared that it would turn out too light, but then it turned out pretty dark. We'll see how it fades.
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I rented and watched "Can't Buy Me Love" That makes 3 80s movies and another cross off my list!!! Of course, there are still so many to see. The last time I hung out with MattyK, which was like 2 months ago, he had mentioned something about Indiana Jones and I said I'd never seen it. They thought that was blasphemous or something. He should make me watch that. :)
So, I wanted to start knocking some things off my list. I am hoping that in the next two weeks to knock off five more. So might as well start easy by watching some movies...
I bought Hellraiser 2 earlier in the week (since I knew that none of the rental stores had that) and watched that. And tonight I wanted to watch Hellraiser 3...So I went to Blockbuster and nope, and Hollywood and nope, so I ended up going to Best Buy and just bought it.
While at Blockbuster I picked up Girls Just Want to Have Fun, 80s flick starring Sarah Jessica Parker and Helen Hunt which culminated in the quintesential dance off. Because my goal is to watch at least 3 80s movies I've never seen and this one had the same title as I named my year. So it was an obvious choice.
So I watched that and now am watching Hellraiser 3, and my boring old year continues. Who's betting that this one doesn't end in a dance off? My money's on Pinhead!
Speaking of movies...The Tripper sounds awesome! How can you go wrong with a serial killer who is obsessive over Ronald Reagan and goes around killing hippies!!! Anyone want to go?!?!?! Pleasepleaseplease?!?!?!?!
Speaking of the 80s...I can't wait for RadioStar on Friday night!!!!
Things I did this weekend to accomplish my 100 in 2007 goals:
1. Tried out my million dollar Pillsbury Bake-Off entry:
Pineapple Chicken Pockets. You don't want to know where the "pineapple" comes from :)
2. Watched Hellraiser
Apparently Blockbuster no longer carries movies. Seriously they had only parts 3 and 5. Hollywood wasn't much better but they did have part one (and a worker who insisted that it was the best movie ever made). Who am I kidding though, I should just go buy the entire series :) It was however, a very very good movie. Some of the special effects were so terribly 80s, but much more convincing than that CGI crap.
3. Watched 12 episodes of Fraggle Rock
Seriously, I shouldn't be allowed to watch such things. All I did was analyze their relationships and try to figure out which Fraggles are secretly lusting after one another. I swear there was one point where if Boober and Red had been in a teen sitcom they would have totally had sex. Yeah, I shouldn't be allowed around children's shows. There was one episode too where Uncle Matt wrote back about how humans smoke. My how television has changed.
4. Scanned recipes.
Yeah, that's kind of very boring.
5. Dyed my hair blonde.
Yes, again. There is much much less red in it now, but in the pic it looks rather red still.
6. Went shopping.
Well, it's not really one of my goals, but at least I have cute stuff to wear to everything. :) I got shoes for Nadia's wedding and ordered what I think will be my bridesmaids dress for Jen's (plus a dress for her rehearsal dinner or something). I also got free underwear at Victoria's Secret, although it's less underwear and more elastic:
And a really cute skirt that was marked down to $20 from $180:
And I bought wedding presents...Now, you'd think the person at the store who's only job is to wrap wedding presents would actually be able to do it without bumps in the tape, bubbles, uneven edges, and scratched up paper... Eh, I was going to rewrap them anyways, I just needed the boxes.
I also discovered my new guilty pleasure store, Ruehl, which is Abercrombie but for people my age and with much much less sluttiness. I always refused to go in because they seriously hire people to stand outside and ignore people...But I finally went in today and am in love with the clothing. I bought a couple of shirts (one of which I am wearing in my hair pic, not that you can really see it). I need to stop spending money.
3. My other two worlds collide: Spike TV to telecast 4 competitive eating programs this year. (what I find funniest is that everyone's first reaction to me showing them that link is 'there's a website for competitive eating news?'" - yes there is, and I read it regularly)
4. Is it a bad sign that I only realized Lent was upon us by the amount of fish sandwich commercials I've been seeing?
5. My thoughts on Britney. Now, I never particularly liked Miss Spears, but at least at one point she looked like she could have a long future of fame and stardom based, if nothing else, on her looks and sex appeal. At one point though, something happened and she reverted to some white trash backtracking and seemed to be spiraling downwards from there. For those living in a cave, the weekend Britney shaved off all of her hair. I like celebrity gossip the way I like my TV, horribly bad...Personally I don't even get how someone shaving their head has made news for days in a row. I for one completely understand that desire, as I often feel like taking a razor to my scalp when my hair seems like it will never be as nice as I know it could be (but then I come to my senses and realize that I don't want to be bald). There is one thing, though, that really irks me about this story. After shaving her head, Brit went and got herself some tattoos. While I have not seen pictures of them, the description sounds like horrible cheesy straight-off-the-wall flash. Despite the fact that that is bothersome in itself, it is not the point that I am troubled over. In each article I've seen, the tattoo-shop employees are quoted as saying that she looked agitated, distraught, disengaged. That she seemed out of it. My beef with this is that no reputable studio would tattoo someone in that condition. Tattoos are permanent (I guess though that she has enough money to have them removed...). A reputable shop should turn away business to someone who doesn't seem like they are in a coherent state of mind. Heck, even the hair stylist wouldn't touch her locks, and hair grows back (trust me). And that is my celebrity rant of the day.
6. 5 hours of American Idol this week. Heaven or hell?
I woke up at 11 after only 10 hours of sleep (8 in my bed, 2 during a movie at JoeJoe's last night). I woke up about 5 minutes after my sister Nat got here, and she was convinced that we wouldn't then be able to leave for the movie at 11:45. I showered, did my hair, got dressed, ate breakfast, did my makeup, checked my email, checked livejournal and checked my web stats and was ready to go by 11:35. :)
So we went to go see "For Your Consideration." It was a good movie and funny, but no where near as good as "Waiting for Guffman" or "Best in Show" or some of their others. There were definitely some funny quotes and such, a lot of funniness over people not knowing anything about the "internet." "That's the thing with email right?" Anyways, it was enjoyable.
So, that is one Bromann Family holiday tradition: my sisters, mom, and I always go to a movie. Well, this year my sister Jen went to her boyfriend's house. So she didn't go to the movie today. She also insisted that we don't have Thanksgiving dinner without her. Did I ever mention that my sister is a VEGETARIAN? And that she doesn't even eat turkey???
So, since we weren't allowed to have regular Thanksgiving tonight, instead we went to this restaurant "The Clubhouse" that was having a really nice buffet. A reaaally nice buffet. The number one reason we went was because they had Turducken!! TURDUCKEN!!!!!!!! If you don't know, Turducken is a duck cooked inside of a chicken cooked inside of a turkey. YUM.
So, ladies and gentlemen here is a wonderful pictorial of everything I ate (yes, I ate ALL of this):
Turducken, Prime Rib, Whipped Sweet Potatoes, Red Skin Mashed Potatoes, Sage Stuffing, Green Beans Provencal
Roasted Turkey, Wild Mushroom and Fontina Penne, Selections from the Cheese Display, More mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and stuffing
Pumpkin Creme Brulee, Carrot Cake, Chocolate Covered Strawberry, Marshmallow with chocolate from the chocolate fountain, Mimosa
Pumpkin Square, Strawberry and Rice Krispie Treat dipped in chocolate from the chocolate fountain
:)
(although, I am not quite sure if it counts as eating it all if I came home and threw up a little) :(
Fellas, after my experiences today, you're gonna have to do a lot of work to live up to my expectations of what a man should be...
1. JoeJoe, Glen and John
I went to lunch with JoeJoe, Glen, and John because they were all in town at the same time. With those cuties, can it get any better? Damn straight it can!
The opera itself was beautiful and those artists are so talented. I cried at the end (UMMM, SPOILERS AHEAD IF YOU LIVE UNDER A ROCK AND DO NOT KNOW THE PLOT OF ROMEO AND JULIET YET STILL SOMEHOW HAVE INTERNET) because as they were dying they kind of reached their hands towards each other to hold but didn't have the strength to make it. You know, that whole, For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch thing? It was sad. I guess I just have a thing for holding hands. it is one of my favorite things to do if i have the right person to do it with.
3. Bond, James Bond
So, nothing seemed to be going on so I bummed my way into seeing Casino Royale with Andy, ScottyMcHotty, DerekMcHotty (they are brothers so they obviously have the same last name), KennyK (same), Rob, and some other peeps. This is despite the fact that I have only ever seen one Bond movie before all the way through. The movie was really good and entertaining, but it kind of seemed to end like 20 times before it actually ended.
I also am probably the only person who had this problem with the movie because I guarantee a grand majority of the people who read this blog will have no clue what I am talking about. But anyways... this new Bond guy looks so much like Clinton Kelly from "What Not to Wear." I swear. See:
See? Yeah, I am sure you don't and you now think I am even girlier for watching shows like "What Not to Wear."
Anyways, Bond is still pretty damn hawt. And he's got a great body. And he looks like a good kisser. And he is really strong. Mmmmhmmm.
1. My dad bought me a laser level. It's my favorite thing ever and I haven't even used it yet. Yes, I am that excited over this.
2. I need to move out soon because my dad bought a new entertainment center and had to rearrange the furniture in the living room and its all screwed up because my couch that I won't let anyone use is totally in the way. Yes, I own a couch already.
3. My sisters came over today and we were all going to see a movie. I somehow convinced them that instead of something quality we should go see Accepted. It rocked. It made me sad though that I didn't have a great college experience of saying fuck it all and following all the things I really wanted to do and pretty much wasted four years on a crappy degree. Yes, I got all this from a dumb college movie.
4. Nat and Jen apparently decided that if Jen gets cancer and is going to die they are going to harvest Jen's eggs so I can carry her child so her spirit lives on. Then I can write a book about it and get on Oprah. They decided that Tori Spelling will play me in the made for TV movie. This is because most real stars won't appear on TV movies. It was either her, Tracey Gold, or Kelly Martin. I chose the lesser evil. Yes, these are the things we discuss.
Me: so, were you in your underwear all day? JoeJoe: ha - no JoeJoe: shorts until i realized the basement is cold Me: hehe Me: i want a job where i can wear underwear JoeJoe: and you're telling me you can't find that in 5 seconds on google? Me: hehe Me: so you, as my consultant, are suggesting i get into internet porn? JoeJoe: officially, yes Me: ok, joejoe is the devil consultant on my shoulder JoeJoe: yay! JoeJoe: and now you've answered the elusive question, what does a consultant do? Me: hehe, a consultant is a pimp
So tonight I finally went to go see that educational movie on the effects of reptiles on the travel industry. That's right, two weeks after it was the thing to do, I finally found someone to see Snakes on a Plane with (granted said someone was out of town for weeks) and he got two more people to see it yay!
First I accompanied JoeJoe to Kohls where he bought luggage (no, he didn't think we were really going on a snake filled plane, he needs it for work. If he thought we were battling snakes he would have bought a machete, duh). He refused to buy the hot pink or the purple or the old lady tapestry print one and settled on boring ole black (side note, you probably should never take me shopping with you as I will spend the whole time pointing out the stupidest things I see). I saw a set of pans I totally want though. It was a Rachael Ray set with cushy orange handles, so cute! Alas, I have no extra income and already have a set of Naked Chef pans.
Anyways, after our shopping trip we headed off to the movie. We got there a bit early and while sitting around I noticed the poster that explained what movie ratings meant:
It kind of made me sad when I saw that the bunny got to watch movies up to PG-13, while the giraffe could only see a G-rated film. It made me lose it when I noticed the strange child molester who showed up in the NC-17 category but apparently was not allowed in any of the other types of movies.
Anyways...so, Joe and I are waiting and we can't get in touch with MK, and Sarah calls and says she'll be late and Isla calls and says she'll be late and Jen calls and says she can't come. Yup. Luckily Isla and Sarah made it just in time to see the entire film. Although, as Joe put it on the phone with both of them, "I don't think you'll miss anything important. The title explains the whole plot."
Yeah. It pretty much did. Let me tell you, this movie defiantly exceeded my expectations for greatness. It was so brilliantly bad it was great. I highly recommend it. Poor Ebert has been undergoing surgery and unfortunately has not reviewed this fine film. I bet he would like it too because he is actually pretty good at liking movies for what they are instead of expecting them all to be Oscar-quality (although I must say, this is so Oscar quality :) )
MILD SPOILER AHEAD: So, near the end of this film and, like every movie involving an incident on a plane, the pilot is dead and they need someone to fly the plane. They choose this one guy to do it saying that he has over 2,000 hours of experience flying. At this point I whisper to JoeJoe that I was disspaointed because I thought they were going to say his experience was flying in a video game. At this JoeJoe laughs at me for thinking this. Yup. I was so right. I am so good at guessing the conventions of these films :)
Yay! Well me and JoeJoe loved it, not so sure about Sarah and Isla though. And the people in the same row as us at least didn't seem to find it nearly as entertaining and seemed as if they'd never actually heard of it and saw an ad and just decided to go see a random movie. Hehe.
After the movie Joe and I went to Portillos for dinner where I had to wait a ridiculously long time for my hot dog (I got it plain too, how hard is that?) then went back to his place where MK joined us to watch some TV and torment the doggy.
