Random Celebrity Thoughts

I just watched The Top 50 Grammy Performances on TV. Great show. When they showed Melissa Ethridge singing right after her chemo, with her bald head and primal scream, I cried, just like I did when I saw the performance the first time.

I don't care what anyone says, Michael Jackson is a fucking genius.

And I don't care what my friends say, Celine Dion has a beautiful voice.

And I really miss Whitney Houston.

I love when a singer is doing a solo and suddenly a choir appears and belts out the rest of the tune with the singer. I think I was a Baptist in a former life.

Prince and Beyonce's duet in 2004 made it to #7 on the list.

Know who made #1? Greenday's "American Idiot". Hmm, have to think about that one.

More randoms:

I hate Katie Holmes' new hairstyle, with the bangs. But it's sort of amazing how now she looks exactly like Suri.

I have been wondering for weeks now, what is Nicole Kidman's natural hair color? I cannot stand the color it is now.

Thoughts?

Back to the Travel Post

Written on the plane:

I am obsessively taking pictures of my window. I can't stop, because I haven't caught the scene I want.

I see a dinosaur and a galloping unicorn. In between them is a cloud with a heart in the middle of it. I got the dinosaur all right, but I can't get the heart, it keeps coming out blurry. I know I am driving my seatmate insane. I took pictures of my water cup. She thinks I am loony. But the way the sun is hitting the cup makes these rays on the tray and it looks pretty. I can't help my artistic mind. I see things.

Do you see what I see?

While U Wait

Money shot from my vacation. This little hummingbird was sitting on a branch near a bush. When have you ever seen a hummingbird sitting still?? Anyway, the background was distracting. I swear to god, that little creature realized it and moved to the single branch you see here, with the beautiful ocean in the background. She sat for at least five minutes, turning her head this way or that, showing her back feathers, basically workin' it, Girl. It was a great photo shoot.

Must...Sleep

Cryptic post. Home safe. Errands today. Laundry. Clean house. Vacuum. Allergy injections. Watch Biggest Loser. Many things and posts to catch up on. An hour behind schedule. Must be in bed by now. Workout tomorrow morning. What was I thinking??? Up at 6:00 am, will feel like 3:00 am.

Set cell phone to alarm. Pray for me.

More later.

Promise.

Photo to look at until next time.

Beet Blood Splatter

We interrupt the Travel Blog to write a post that has been in the work for weeks and is just now getting written. After the author has caught up, the Travel Blog will proceed (complete with pictures).

So a few weeks ago I was in the kitchen opening a can of beets. The top popped off violently, causing beet juice to splatter all over the place. My imagination took over, and I immediately became a murderer; the beet juice was blood. I knew I had to erase all evidence of my horrendous crime. I washed what blood I could down the sink, and wiped up the rest with paper towels. I was careful to wipe the whole counter, the cabinets, and the floor. I washed my hands with soap and water. No one would ever know.

Alas, I am a sloppy suspect. I didn't check my clothes, and the next day I saw minute splatters of blood in a corner of the countertop I hadn't even thought of to check. My imagination enabled me to now be on the other side, on the forensics team. We saw the evidence so fast, we were able to spend the rest of the day at Dunkin' Donuts. I, of course, lobbied for Starbucks, but was outvoted. I will never say no to a chocolate frosted donut. I drank milk.

Travel Blog: The Plane

I got on the plane in Boston, heading for LAX. There was a backup in the aisle, and you would not believe the reason. Seems some guy's seat was stuck in the upright position, even tilting forward a little bit.

I am not kidding when I say there were two repairmen with all manner of tools fixing the seat right in the middle of boarding time. Honestly, do they not check the plane before they are about to use it?

We're supposed to watch the TV monitor for important information. The monitor closest to me has a screen that is black with a pink line running through the middle of it. The monitor has lost its heartbeat.

And now, the information for our foreign travelers. We're going to LA. You'd think Spanish, right? Nope. Francais. Toilette: "twa-lett-a".

At least we're leaving on time. On CNN they went on and on about delays at LAX due to fog. The pilot didn't say anything about fog, just mentioned that the weather was "hazy." Seems like the flight is a little hazy already, if you know what I mean. I've got my US magazine and airport-bought novel at the ready.

Travel Blog...Breakfast

Off to sunny California. Time for my semi-annual travel blog. Flying provides endless blog fodder.

Breakfast

Since I started working out with Superman Steve, I'm all about the protein. Steve says I should have some protein before my workout and after. I always have string cheese, yogurt, an egg, or almonds prepared. I thought about this as I cruised the airport, looking for my favorite before check-in eating spot.

I passed two Italian sandwich places. Pizza at 6:30 am? I don't think so. I glanced at, yes I did, McDonald's. I kept walking and saw a huge line at Bahston's favorite coffee spot, Dunkin' Donuts. Donuts at 6:30 am? Yes, Ma'am. However, Dunkin' Donuts is not my favorite coffee spot, so I kept moving.

And then I saw it, and I broke into a grin. Can you imagine? The CEO would love me. Ah yes, ain't nothin' like the sight of a Starbucks to warm one's heart and empty one's wallet.

My friend Amy and I were talking the other day about the loss of mom and pop stores and how corporations like Walmart and...well, Starbucks, have taken over and wasn't that terrible and nothing is personal anymore but there we were, sitting in a Starbucks.

The thing of it is, when you go to Starbucks, anywhere in the world, you know what to expect. I like that. It's comforting to me. I am a person who doesn't like to experiment. I can say, "Tall Awake tea with room", and I'll always get the same thing. There are a variety of sinfully fattening pastries, all of them delicious. I like the color scheme and the atmosphere. So far I've been to Starbucks in about five states and three countries. The currency may be different, but the muffins are the same.

Well, anyway, I got my tea and I had to decide on a fat. Protein? What's protein? After noticing that this Starbucks didn't have muffins with crumblies on top, I chose a raspberry danish. The danish was approximately the size and shape of a baseball mitt. The perimteter was a twisted coil of cinnamon covered dough, and plopped in the middle was a huge blob of garnet colored raspberry goo. I heard harps playing in the background and I saw cherubs flying overhead as I slowly ate a piece of heaven.

Baby, it's Cold Outside!

I bought a new pair of gloves yesterday. They were $30.

Ask me if I really need a new pair of gloves. I have 4 pairs already.

Ask me if I have spent more money in the 5 months since my father died than I've spent in the past 5 years.

Ask me if I care. One pair of gloves is really a pair of mittens, and I don't wear them, because they make me look like a giant baby.

Tiramisu, I Miss You

This is what I had for dessert last night. Words almost escape me. Alls I can say is, thank the good lord I learned how to use that jump rope.

Jive Turkey

I finally ran into the male turkey who's been in my neighborhood for the past few months. Here he is, waitin' for a donut. I told him that the store had just closed, and he was better off going to the Starbucks down the street. He didn't believe me.

Pushing the Limit

I got into it with Steve the other day. I was doing push ups, and when I was done, I asked him if that was five or six that I had done. He told me it was ten. I said, "C'mon, Steve, was it five or six?" He said, "Ten." I told him I wanted to put it in my blog, and he told me he didn't care what I wrote in my blog, I had just done ten push ups. I let it go, in a ticked off sort of way.

Today I was doing push ups, and I caught him in his miscount. When I was on number seven, he said, "Eight..." and when he said, "Ten", I knew it was really nine, so I did one more, and said, "That's ten!" I told him I caught him miscounting, and he said, "Really?" Then he told me he would rather that I do six push ups in good form than ten just to say that I had done ten. I told him I had gotten the point, but I still liked to know the number to show my progress.

For the record, I started off doing three, and now I can do ten. YESSSSSS!!!! I'm getting good at doing the sumo frog squat. One day, Steve says, I'll do one legged squats. Yowsah!

Oh, and by the way, I'm a real jock now. I have tendonitis, probably from that goddamn jump rope. I have to ice my knee. I am so buff.

Never Thought I'd Say It

I hate when people say, "There aren't enough hours in a day!" I think people are too busy in their lives and they don't take time to stop and do nothing. I am good at doing nothing. I take naps, I watch TV, I sit for many minutes with my cat on my lap and just watch her.

Lately, however, I have found myself thinking, horror of horrors, that there aren't enough hours in a day. I have a running list of things I'd like to or need to do. This is new for me. I think it has something to do with my father's death in the summer; I haven't felt the same since. No matter what age you are, not having parents puts you into a new bracket of life. It sucks.

I'm going to California for Thanksgiving. I'll be there for a week, visiting my cousins. One cousin asked if there was anything I'd like to do while I was there. I told her I'd like to do nothing.

I Ain't in Brooklyn No More

Yesterday I got my ass kicked by a jump rope. I had asked Steve to show me the proper form to jump, and what kind of rope to get. He gave me a rope and asked me to jump.

Memories of Brooklyn flooded back to me as I took the rope in my hands. The last time I had jumped rope for any amount of time was approximately 28 years ago. I was thinking of the rhymes we used to sing as I jumped: THUNK! THUNK! I sounded like an elephant, and I looked ridiculous.

Steve said, "See how hard you came down and how your knees were bent?" Turns out when you're jumping rope for fitness, you're supposed to jump lightly on the balls of your feet with your legs straight, just a light hop hop, as opposed to a THUNK THUNK. I was also double bouncing, which you need to do if you're chanting, "A my name is A-LEX, I live in ARI-ZON-A, my boyfriend's name is AL-BERT, and I sell APP-LES!" Alex in Brookline with no boyfriend needs to work out, not sell fruit.

Once I practiced a few times, I got better. He had me jump 10 times, then rest for 30 seconds. 10 more, then rest. Then 20 times, then 30. When I was done with 30, my face was all red and my legs felt like jelly. As I staggered off the mat like a drunken sailor, Steve asked me how I felt. I asked him if I was supposed to be walking like this (stagger stumble), and he said yes, because my muscles were saying, "What the hell???" Right.

I went straight to the sports store and got a leather jump rope with ball bearings on the handles so I could lightly flick the rope using my wrists instead of my whole arm. Eventually I'm supposed to look like a boxer in a training facility, skipping rope like I haven't a care in the world. I'll watch Rocky and Million Dollar Baby for inspiration.

The Training Continues

I am now into my third week with my personal trainer, Steve. I've gone five times, and guess what? I'm getting through the list of exercises in five minutes! Remember the frog pose (otherwise known as the sumo squat), the one where I could only get down halfway? Well, I can just about touch my fingers to the floor now.

Personal training has changed my life. I have more body awareness, more confidence, and I'm using muscles I didn't even know I had. I now do exercises with a five pound medicine ball (a weight ball), and a medicine ball with a handle that I forget the name of. I do reverse chin ups where I lay down on the floor and pull myself up, and I can do three push ups (the kind on your knees). I need to keep track of how many I do, because in a month or two I'll be doing more, for sure.

A word about push ups: Steve told me that most people do them with their hands spread way apart, and you can do more that way. The form he's taught me is where you put your hands right next to your chest, and you touch your nose to the floor and come up. It's really hard. Try it! My arms and shoulders are pretty sore. I work so hard, arrghh!!!!!

It feels great when Steve has me try something new and then modifies it because it's too easy for me. He told me that my form on my push ups was nearly perfect. Yay! I love going to the gym now, and I'm not intimidated by the people or the locker room anymore. In fact, I gotta go; got an hour with Steve in just a few minutes! I'm pumped!

Bento Box

I have a new perk at the house of two of my students. A couple of times now, when I'm finished with the lesson, not only do I get my usual cash money, but I also get a bento box for dinner. A bento box is a lunch in a box in Japan, made with rice, seafood, vegetables, etc. You get a little of everything. What this mom does for me is put whatever they are having for dinner into a Glad container. I get a hot delicious dinner when I get home!

And so nutritious! There's a little bit of everything: beef, rice, eggs, salad in one, and pasta with meat sauce, potato salad, salmon, and lettuce in the other one. I think we Americans should eat like this. It's healthy, and oh so yummy! Thanks again, Kako san!

Halloween 2007

The pair of leopard tights I'd been using as my costume for the past seven years or so finally got a run in them last year, so I had to think quick for a costume this year. Luckily, I saved my karate outfit from when I took lessons awhile back. HAI-YA! See how I chopped little Red Sox fan Kate down to the ground? Tough love, that's what I teach. Here are my favorite neighborhood Jack-O-Lanterns: