penn

Seattle Drivers and Rain Don't Mix

You'd think rain would not throw Seattle drivers for a loop. We have wet pavement here for much of the year. Yet, somehow, rain still bothers them immensely. From the people who think they can go 70 in heavy rain to the ones who can't be bothered to look a little harder at the blind spot when it's misty out, they're all baffled.

Today, I experienced stop and go traffic at 11 am, of all ridiculous things. I was also nearly sideswiped 3 times in the 22 miles before home, and twice it was a semi threatening me. Thank goodness for swerving and the generally empty carpool lane to my left.

Carnivorous Fun

Did you know that octopuses eat sharks? I didn't until I saw this video. Utterly awesome.

Three to Tango

Not as dirty as the title implies, this 1999 Matthew Perry romantic comedy is the typical boy wants girl who is already taken story.  The big twist is that the boy -- Oscar Novak (Perry) -- falls in love with the mistress, Amy (Neve Campbell), of his potential boss Charles (Dylan McDermott).  Also, somehow Charles and Amy get the idea that Oscar is gay, so he has to play along in order for Charles to pick his start-up architectural firm for a large project resdesigning a Chicago cultural center.

There was one supremely strange part in this movie.  In one scene, Oscar and Amy have just had dinner at a sketchy restaurant after some taxi disaster.  They both had the tuna melt.  They both puke.  After standing up from the puke scene, they didn't even wipe off their mouths, and they both looked just fine.  The unnatural puking unnerved me more than anything else in this movie.

The good: I love a sweet little romantic comedy, and the gay part was a fun twist.  Matthew Perry is funny and cute (go Chandler!), and I like Neve Campbell.  There are quotable lines, but leave it to me to not remember any of them.  There are also some funny scenes involving football, which is always a plus.

The Bad:  I'm trying hard to think of something bad.  I honestly really liked this movie.  The only bad thing is that many guys probably wouldn't enjoy sitting through this -- it's not the best date chick-flick kind of movie, because it doesn't have too much to appeal to a "manly man."  But if you don't mind being sensitive for your girl (or if you like Matthew Perry), it's just fine.

Overall:  Great!  I'm glad my friend suggested the movie.  Honestly, the worst part of the movie was the vodka filled chocolate she made me try to remind me how much I hate vodka (but she was redemed by the raspberry chocolate and the Irish Creme chocolate).

Rating: 9/10

Trip #2 - Oregon

Not earth-shattering, since I go there so damn often. However, when you have a fine bunch of great folks just willing to host you in their places, how can you resist? I don't think I can even sleep at every place offered to me, since my trip isn't that long. Visiting your alma-mater will do that, I suppose. Anyway, I'll be back early next weekish, and I'll try to post if I get the chance.

Text Narrator?

I accidentally hit some random keys today (note to self: do not type in dark), and my dad's computer started talking to me! Apparently, he has a text narrator of some sort. Since my parents are asleep, I exed out fast, but I'll have to try and find it again tomorrow. Very intriguing. Who knew it came along with XP Media Center?

Desperately Seeking Susan

Before we go any further, I must say that I am a huge fan of Gilmore Girls.  I'd review it, but that would be signficantly biased by my extreme love.  Therefore, I've undertaken a thought to watch and review movies they mention or movies that star actors from Gilmore Girls (notably, Alexis Bledel and Lauren Graham, but there are others).

That said, on to Desperately Seeking Susan, which is right in all the wrong ways.  It's so 80's, which means the costuming is ridiculous (and never mind the interior design).  It involves a freaky fridayish amnesia mistaken identity plot, which I would say is overdone, but it probably wasn't back then.  It includes some prositutution, a magic act, and a side helping of adultery.  Plus, if all that weren't enough, they throw in an early Madonna.

The premise of the movie is that bored housewife Roberta reads the personals to put a little spice in her life.  Her rich but unfaithful husband is amused but not particularly worried.  We get the hint, in the beginning of the movie, that Roberta used to be something of a power woman, but now she spends her time watching Julia Child videos that show her how to cook dinner for her sleazy hot-tub salesman husband.  One day, Roberta sees an ad from James, who is "Desperately Seeking Susan."  She's familiar with these; supposedly this couple travels the US and gets in touch with each other via personals.  Robert decides to see this Susan for her own eyes, and hilarity ensues.

The Good: Madonna, a ganster, and the hot guy who runs the film projector.  Plus, Jackie from Roseanne is in this movie, and it's fun to recognize people in bit parts who later went on to do something worth being recognized for.

The Bad: the costumes!  Also, the amnesia thing is contrived and weird, even in this movie.  For a central part of the plot, you'd think they could find something a little better.  Still, when she gets hit in the head and her purse rolls slowly off the dock, I bet you'll hold your breath too.

Overall: I'd netflix it again, but I'm not sure if I'd buy it.  It would have some great kitsch value at an 80's nostalgia party or when you've watched it enough times to dub in your own dialogue.

Rating: 8.1/10 (good enough to eek out the borderline B-)

Figure Skating

Sasha Cohen was beautiful. Emily Hughes was so energetic. The two Japanese skaters had marvelous form and composure, and the Russian skater was amped up and off the chart.

I don't know a thing about the sport, I can't skate worth a darn, and I don't like being really cold. Still, I love watching figure skating. I am simply amazed by the dedication and ability these women showcase.

Working out: Yay!

I've got a second meeting with my trainer tomorrow, and it will hopefully begin to focus my workouts. I see the last month or so as getting into the habit rather than actually pushing for results. So far, I've been doing cardio 5-6 times a week (when I'm in town -- last week, I only got to the gym twice), and I've been weightlifting anywhere from 3-5 days per week (started often, and have been toning it down).

I ran a mile the other night on their indoor track, and it felt wonderful. I'm definitely talking to my trainer about doing more of that type of activity. Somehow, on the elliptical, I get very numbers oriented. The somehow shouldn't even be there, because I know why: I compete against myself, and I feel like I haven't gotten a good workout if I haven't achieve XYZ goals. Even though I know the calorie counter is probably off, I often push myself to get 400 calories burned in a 30 minute workout, and I can get 260 or so in a 20 minute workout.

Lifting weights has been productive and actually fun. I like having a machine that keeps track of my weights so that I know how much I've done and how much I've improved. I wonder what I'll do when I go to grad school -- I don't want to carry around a little notebook for tracking progress, but it migh be necessary to keep me in line.

Anyway, to summarize, I like working out. It makes me feel like I'm achieving something (unlike much of the rest of my life right now, but that's another story). I'm starting to think of positive achievement goals I can set for myself, and I'm going to talk to my trainer about amping up the running so I can start training to do some races or longer runs. Baby steps, yes, and each little step is quite exciting.

Tax Time Woes

are almost all sorted out.

I feel like a huge geek, but I'm upset that I haven't done my taxes yet. I like to get them squared away and done so that I know if I owe money or will get some back -- it's so useful in the budgeting.

My big issue is that I have so many W-2 forms from last year. I've got:

- forms from 2 separate banks (normal checking/savings and my car loan savings account at another bank)
- Observ (vending job)
- WA DSHS (from working with the autistic child)
- Pacific University (work study!)
- Beaverton School District (from running that after school club)
- Oregon Fish and Wildlife
- the motel I worked at in Oregon

That makes the grand total 6 W-2 forms plus the bank forms. I still haven't received Fish and Wildlife nor the Beaverton W-2, but I called around today, and it seems like that should be sorted out. Hopefully, I will receive them next week, finish my taxes, and be able to call it all good. I'd like to be done by mid-March with all this nonsense.

Very not so fun, but so very necessary.

And I'm back

I loved Pittsburgh. I thought the city was beautiful, and the people seemed nice. They have ART MUSEUMS in the multiple sense, and you can get in free with a Pitt ID. It was cold, but the days were nice except for the really windy one; however, I imagine I'll get used to it if I go there.

On to the visit -- the people in the department were awesome. I met with 7 different professors and plenty of graduate students. I loved the members of my prospective lab. I was treated amazingly well (so well, in fact, that I've gained 3 pounds since last week! It's time to get back to the gym). I received some wonderful compliments about my writing and about my excellent letters of recommendation (woot!).

I still don't know what my chances are (okay, yes I do -- they're 1 in 3, more or less). There were 3 people there to visit my potential lab, and the other two people were pretty awesome. In specific, there was this one girl visiting who is really into parasitology, and she was totally on the ball (and said the same thing about me!). I'm hoping that they decide to put two new members in the lab, because I would love to work with Ms. Parasitologist. However, if they only need one, I think it will come down to her or me (altho I didn't get to know girl #3 too well, so who knows). So, it's still a big tossup, and I'm hoping it comes down to me.

I also had a good time visiting my friend Joe in Pittsburgh. I've know him since 7th grade, and we were on math team together. Mostly, we went out for Chinese, played a lot of video games (we beat Donkey Kong Country in one night!), and had bagels for breakfast. He also gallantly let me sleep in his bed while he took the floor. What a pal :-)

So, my fingers are crossed. We'll see what happens. And I'm going to visit Michigan in a few weeks, so we'll have to see how that visit goes too.