New Year's Resolutions

Let's start by taking a look back at last year's resolutions and seeing how they panned out:

1) Clean my house.
This one actually happened. I was just talking to a friend about how I started from one end of the house and moved slowly but surely along and cleaned/organized my stuff.

2) Consolidate my belongings.
Another success. This was kind of in tandem with #1.

3) Find an apartment.
Wow, triple play. Resolutions #1 and #2 were in preparation for the third one, and I scored a great place. It wasn't where I thought it would be (or wanted it to be), but I love it.

So in the spirit of making resolutions that are actually attainable, let's see what I can come up with this time around. There are things I would love to do, like lose 15 pounds, go on a fabulous honeymoon (meaning I would also have to get engaged and then married, but whatever), and meet Barack Obama, but I don't really like these kinds of resolutions. It's better if they just fall into your lap, rather than having to do anything to make progress toward them -- that way you don't feel so loser-ish if they don't come to fruition. So I'd prefer to pick things that require some effort but are not too tough. Here we go:

1) Cook at home more, and try new recipes that are kind of healthy, or at least involve more vegetables (and less grated cheese).

2) Revive my musical side with lessons of some sort.

3) Blog more frequently.

Happy new year!

If they can't tell it's food...

...then maybe you shouldn't be making them eat it.

http://www.whoppervirgins.com/

This is one of the most disturbing things I've seen in a while, especially after reading In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan.

Who comes up with this stuff??

Narwhals!

A Few Recent Photos

Was feeling ill last night...


Meanwhile, the apartment had been taken over by some nut job...

So today I decided to leave the house and get some fresh air:
It was quite lovely!

♥

I Can't, I Can

Here are some things I can't do and don't really think I'll ever fully master:

1) Put on a sari.



I've tried using how-to videos, books, tips from friends and family...I still suck.

2) Understand the mechanics of manual vs. automatic transmission.

3) Run.

4) Sew.

5) Make rice without it sticking to the pot.

On the flipside, here are some things I think I can do pretty well:

1) Parallel park.



2) Read fast.

3) Make people laugh.

4) Multi-task.

5) Name things (usually inanimate objects, like cars, stuffed animals, etc.).

Thought it would be a good day for self-assessment.

Rhymes with "Hate"

Ugh, I think I just got gay-bashed, SF-bashed, and Arab-bashed all at once, and I fall into none of those categories.

Walking to the shoe repair shop with JSS, we decided to take a stroll by these random "Yes on 8" protesters creating a hullabaloo on the corner. We live in the heart of all that is feared by conservatives, so I've never actually seen any of these "family values" folks around before (thank goodness). As we got closer, I was heartened to see some brave "No on 8"-ers in their midst.

We crossed the street and were greeted with shouts like, "Yeah! A man and a woman! Yes on 8!"

I was like, "Hell to the no. We do not support your values. No on 8!"

They seemed dumbfounded. "You mean you two aren't together?"

JSS: "Yes, we're together, but we don't agree with you."

This got them really ignited. Suddenly it was, "Fuck you! Go back to San Francisco!"

And then, out of nowhere, "Go back to Arabia!" and a butt was pointed in our direction. Meanwhile, one of their kids was shouting for us to "shut up."

Awesome. THESE are your family values?? I have to admit, I burst into tears on the spot. People of color spewing hate at us? What about solidarity? What about agreeing to disagree?

I am not amused.

Blockhead, Part II

NKOTB!!

My lifelong dream of seeing NKOTB in concert has finally come true. It truly was a momentous occasion. Honestly, I had verrrrry low expectations (possibly even lower than when I went to see the "Sex and the City" movie). I figured these guys were no longer capable of their old dance moves and vocal stylings.

But actually...they were really good. It was quite miraculous. The ones who could sing well in the first place (Jordan, Joey, and occasionally Donnie) were still really good singers. And when Jordan hit that high note on "I'll Be Loving You Forever," I have to admit I shed a little tear. Sounds crazy, but it was like, at that moment, all was perfect in the world. It was my youth encapsulated into a single note, reverberating in a hall of 15,000 people, all of whom were probably thinking the same thing. Well, except for the guys who just got dragged there with their girlfriends and wives. But who knows? Maybe a few of them were doing the "Right Stuff" dance, too.

Why are moms so mean?

It's official: moms are mean. Proof? My very own mother told me it's possible my boyfriend has lost interest in me because I've put on weight.

Thanks for the self-esteem boost, mumsie-poo! Love you too.

Chihuly at the de Young

Some people say it's not really art, but I loved it.

Anyone can be president. Anyone.

Crazy Imposter

This article is amazing. I couldn't stop reading it, to the point of almost being late for work.

The greatest video ever

My uncle dancing like a maniac is the greatest thing I've ever seen on YouTube.

Olympics Fever

Photo Credit

I didn't really plan on watching any of the Olympics, but Men's Synchronized Diving may be the hottest thing I've ever seen. The skills. The physiques. The low rise Speedos.

Wow.

Is Singh the Kinng?

Literally from the first moment I landed in India, I started hearing about the movie Singh is Kinng (yes, that's actually how it's spelled). I had heard a little bit about it before I left the U.S., in fact, but the real media overload began when my cousin and his wife picked us up at the airport in Bombay and immediately started blasting the soundtrack.

"It's rocking," my bhabhi explained. She'd know -- she works for the film's distribution company.

The music, while slightly comical (hearing Snoop Dogg rap the phrase "Singh is the king" is pretty funny. Also hearing Akshay Kumar try to sound hard core -- or is is hard Kaur? -- is ridiculous), is quite rocking.

The question I (and apparently many others) have is "What the hell is Snoop Dogg saying in the middle of the song?"

Interpretations have ranged from, "Buttocks, buttocks, I'm trying to slap my buttocks," to "Whaddup, bhaddup," to "Difficult to make out what he is saying."

Snoop, if you read this, please clue me in.

I'm seeing the movie tonight (back in the Bay) -- perhaps some light will be shed at that time.

Celebration!

I am celebrating the fact that I am back home in California, a great state indeed because there is no humidity suffocating me.

On the 4th of July, however, I spent some quality time in the town of Celebration, Florida, which is a planned community created by Disney. Scary indeed.

I felt like I was on acid the whole time I was there. It was a weird, weird place that felt more like Disneyland than an actual town (to be fair, the fact that it was overrun by outside visitors and tourists like myself for the 4th of July celebration enhanced the Disneyland feel).

Their fireworks display was fabulous, enhanced by songs from "The Lion King," naturally.

I hear many of the houses in Celebration are rotting, due to the fact that they are made from materials like wood, which look "traditional American" but can't withstand the Florida humidity and heat. Celebrate!!

WWZD?

Photo credit

Still here in Florida, learning all that can be learned (I'm joking) about Zora Neale Hurston. Love her madly. Yesterday we visited her hometown of Eatonville, which she immortalized in her books. It's very different today than it was during her time, but it still retains a lot of its small-town Southern charm. As Alice Walker argues in her story "Everyday Use," culture is a living thing that can't be framed and hung on a wall.

Purchased the cute Momiji doll pictured above at the campus art museum, which has a great exhibit on post-1990s Japanese painting.

Meanwhile, this chaos is going on in Mongolia, where JSS is working this summer. Scary. I trust that he knows enough to stay inside and away from the riots. Otherwise I might have to go and retrieve him.

Winter Park is Wild!

I am spending a week at Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, to attend a seminar on the writer Zora Neale Hurston, who hailed from nearby Eatonville, and briefly lectured at Rollins.

So far, it has been extremely hot and humid, so I think this will be good preparation for India. Today, to escape the heat, we (my colleague Beth and I) saw the movie Kung Fu Panda, which I loved.

Yesterday, we were introduced to the wild side of Winter Park when, on our way to dinner, we caught a couple in a stairwell engaged in some un-appetizing activities. Actually, all we saw was a guy's exposed bum. We made the logical assumptions as to what we had come across. Gross! By the way, this was a few yards away from a Williams-Sonoma and Restoration Hardware. Shocking!

Who knows what else is in store for us...

McVhat??

Spotted on an AC Transit bus in San Leandro.
Translation (courtesy of my mom): "Taste the new sweetness of summer......McDonalds". Does not make a whole lot of sense but that is what it says.....Garmiyon ki nayi mithas chakhiye."

And the verdict is...

(Photo Credit: Craig Blankenhorn/The Kobal Coll)

I liked it! I am shocked to admit that the movie was, in my opinion, a step up from the horrendousness that was seasons 5 and 6 of the show. I laughed, I cried, it was better than 'Cats.'

I went to the theater in full Charlotte glory, and, somehow, Charlotte's character ended up being the most entertaining and great in the movie ("I curse the day you were born!").

I did not really care for the "okay, now that you've humiliated and battered me emotionally for years, we'll get mariied your way" ending, but I guess that leaves the future open for possibilities (but hopefully not sequels). And Jennifer Hudson was great, though I'd gone in expecting to be annoyed by her character's existence.

Why didn't Stanford have any lines (other than, "That's what I'm wearing at my wedding, only bigger.")?

The clothes were amazing. Cynthia Nixon was amazing.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Another Useful/less website

http://www.dopplr.com/traveller/tinkubell

Why do I continue to sign up for these things?? Information overload!

Can't get it out of my head

I can't get this song or video out of my head.



What's disturbing is that I no longer find it disturbing.

Throwback

Photo Credit

I love the 1950s. I know, I know -- it was an era of conformity, repression, segregation, McCarthyism, blah, blah, blah...all I think of is Back to the Future and how I longed to hop into a time machine and arrive at the Enchantment Under the Sea Dance (I realize I would have stuck out like a sore thumb -- a brown one).

I feel a twinge of guilt over my un-P.C. love for the '50s, as I do over my fascination with England and its relationship with India (mmm...colonialism). But, as with any fetish, I try not to let it define me.

Anyway, I can feed my 1950s need by looking at old ads on the Ad*Access site. Hours of entertainment, truly.

Travel Bug

As the summer approaches, I'm gearing up for my latest international adventure (hopefully complete with travel blog). Beyond that, I feel like, from the end of May onwards, its go-go-go.

A roundup of upcoming travel:

1) D.C.
2) Denver
3) Seattle
4) Florida
5) India (that's the big one)
6) Buffalo

Leave it to me to do all my traveling precisely when it's the most expensive time to fly. Better check that account balance before I buy the remaining tickets!

PC Load Letter?!?

I got a new printer at work today. I am so so so overjoyed, I can't explain it. The only way I can express how I feel about the evil apparatus I put up with for the past three years is by sharing this:



The old printer is still sitting in the room, eying its replacement with hostility. I could easily go all "Office Space" on it if it doesn't get picked up soon.

I was so excited by the new one that I just wanted to print stuff all day.

Blockhead

Photo Credit

Well, it's finally happened. The glorious day has arrived. NKOTB are reuniting. HALLELUJAH!!

I don't think I need to remind anyone of my love for the New Kids. I was one of those embarrassing obsessive fans who wore Joey-Joe buttons every day (and multiple ones on Fridays!). I've had to take the fandom underground, but it's always been bubbling beneath the surface.

If anyone knows anyone who can score me tickets to their reunion concert, contact me immediately! I'm only half joking.

Jump to Conclusions Mat

I tend to over-react. Ask JSS, he can tell you.

For example: I can't log in to my email, and I freak out, deciding that I'm being bugged by the CIA.

Or: I call a friend and he/she doesn't call me back within 15 minutes. I decide they hate me for some crime I don't realize I've committed, and I rack my brains for an hour, trying to figure out what I've done and how I can make amends.

Or: I email my brother and don't hear back from him for a few days. I decide he must have choked on some Pasta-roni and is in the hospital, or worse.

I wish I could just chalk this up to some quirk in my personality and laugh it off. The problem comes when my paranoia actually predicts something accurately. This makes all my freak-outs seem not insane, or mildly amusing, but omens to be believed. I never know when one of them will actually come true, but I think that I somehow believe that the worrying will make these events LESS likely to come to fruition.

For example: if I worry that I've accidentally tossed a check in the trash, and that I forgot to lock my car door, and that I've lost my favorite necklace, it's impossible that all of those things will come true. Therefore, I can surmise, my fretting has actually PREVENTED these events from happening. And, if one of them DOES occur, then clearly I didn't worry enough.

Sigh.

It's amazing I'm able to wake up each day without the sky falling on me.

Book Corner

This book arrived on my doorstep today and I can't put it down. Jhumpa Lahiri is amazing. I would give my left nut (figuratively) to be able to capture day-to-day details with the precision and reverence she does.

Can't wait to finish, but wish it could go on forever.

Fashion Dos and Don'ts

Photo Credit

I know I promised to be more on top of things about posting, and then...well, I have no excuse, really. I'll keep trying. Anyway, thanks to my YKB pal Ami, I am now addicted to The Sartorialist's Blog. I've been reading his column in GQ for years, and just started checking his blog daily.

Currently he's in India, and has taken some fabulous snaps (as they say), including the gorgeous one pictured above. Good grief.

I covet his job. For a while I had a semi-recurring column in Sapna Magazine in which I would chronicle fashion dos and don'ts by taking pictures of unsuspecting folks and then writing up some snarky comments, but I just couldn't deal with the sneaking up aspect any more. I love being catty about what people are wearing, but it would be so much more fun to find people in amazing outfits and revel in their amazingness.

On that note, I also feel the need to turn it out more, fashion-wise. I know I'll never be one of those people like my friend Tinku, whose eye for style is totally innate, but I definitely need to refresh the closet soon. I love clothes, and I love putting together unique looks, but I feel like I've lost a little of my energy when it comes to being one step ahead of the curve. I'm hoping to find time this weekend to sneak over to Jeremy's and do some buying.

This Makes Me Laugh

Dogs of Note

Here are some of my favorite dog breeds (in no particular order):

Bulldog

Photo Credit

Why I Like Them: Smooshy face, lazy, and I think they grunt and snore.

French Bulldog

Photo Credit

Why I Like Them: Wiggly and cute, but in an ugly way. They may also grunt.

Beagle

Photo Credit

Why I Like Them: Snoopy.

Boston Terrier
Photo Credit

Why I Like Them: Cute but not cloyingly so, as with chihuahuas.

Pug
Photo Credit

Why I Like Them: I definitely like the black ones better, as racist as that sounds. Again, I think it's the grunting and snorting sounds.

I also really like: Bassett Hounds, Puggles, Dachshunds, West Highland White Terriers, and most dogs that are fat and lazy.

My favorite celebrity

I love Paula Deen!!! If you've never seen her Food Network show "Paula Deen's Home Cooking," you are missing out. She's the queen of butter, the empress of cheese, the maven of deep-frying...

I knew it was love when she actually grunted with glee while tasting some of her deep fried goodness.

I would absolutely love to taste her homemade goodness...just once, Paula. Just once.

At this very moment I am watching her wrap squares of macaroni and cheese with bacon, battering them up, and deep frying them.

Though I'm a vegetarian, I must stand up and applaud.

Sunshine

Thank goodness the sun has finally come out and the air is warm. It has been FREEZING (for California anyway) the past month, but the last few days have been gorgeous.

I generally love the rain. I was born during a rainstorm, and I love waking up in the middle of the night hearing rain beating down on the roof. But something about a warm sunny day after a cold spell is magical.

It must be my years in Santa Barbara. The hippie in me comes out when it's warm and sunny, and I just want to lounge around in the sun. Another important thing I learned in Santa Barbara, though, is that I can't stand weather that's constantly the same -- I need a little variety.

I think this quote by Anne Bradstreet says it best: "If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome."

That's true with regard to many aspects of life. It's during the times when things are tough that you realize how good you had it before (and hopefully will have again).

YouTube Superstar

I'm a superstar on YouTube. Check me out:



Sometimes kids crack me up.

Hiatus and Apologies

Many apologies for the long hiatus. Life gets confusing and complicated at times when you expect it to be simple and fun.

The Muffin Room will be back with a real post very soon. I promise.

Super Skinny Me

While getting a new year's pedicure this afternoon (and avoiding cleaning my room), I read a magazine article about this BBC program called "Super Skinny Me" in which two British journalists decided to try crash diets (like "the soup diet" or "the protein only diet") with the aim of getting down to a size zero.

I fired up the telly this evening (after cleaning up a little bit in my room AND cooking up a pot of Rachael Ray's "Black Bean Stoup") and found the program On Demand through BBC America. It was fascinating. Even more interesting, in a way, were the online responses and blog comments I found that referenced the show. One of my favorites, if only for its insanity, was from a man named "Wil" who wrote, "I'd rather have sex with a woman I cut myself on than one who smothered me...or made me vomit with disgust." Someone calling themselves "urajudgementalpr*ck" responded to Wil with, "Somehow Wil I doubt that either is lining up at your door" (see the original blog post here).

It's really interesting how enraged this subject makes people, and how the two women in the show both saw themselves going insane in terms of trying to control their own bodies and minds via food intake.

Check out Kate Spicer's (one of the two women who went through the experiment) article about her experiences here.

The program is part of a series called "BBC Reveals." Now I'm hooked. I have to watch all of them.

New Year's Resolutions

Actually, these are just for this month, but I think that's how these things go, anyway.

1) Clean my house.

2) Consolidate my belongings.

3) Find an apartment.

Happy new year!