Wasabi!

I’m nearing the final stretch of this insane month that just might swallow me whole, but I made it a point to squash my work woes for a night and go out for pre-Halloween. Even though we don’t see each other as often as we should, Jess, Desiree and I always put effort into reuniting for this holiday. It’s become our dear tradition to (tastefully and creatively) hooch it up like we’re 22 again.

This year, I think, wins it all.

Sake (me), Tamago (Des), Ebi (Jess, who despite what this picture shows, does not have a glass eye)

At first, I didn’t want to be sushi (it was Des’ idea) mostly because I have some weird, deep-rooted issues with Asian-ish costumes, but eventually, I realized, OMG, this is gonna rule.

My sole responsibility was to make the wasabi headbands and, if I may ask, SQUEEEEEEE, aren’t they awesome?!?!

Jess made the fish, seaweed belts and ginger earrings. She is amazing.

We went to a Halloween party at a club and everyone loved us (once they figured out what we were) and boys wanted to “eat” us (ew) and we had a blast. We couldn’t enter the costume contest, which majorly sucked, but we still went home giggly and proud.

The best part of the night, as I somehow expected, was getting ready together in my bedroom.

There were plenty of puns:

“Hurry up, we’ve gotta roll!”

“Don’t worry, we’re just doing this tempura-rily.”

“Something seems very fishy.”

“Miso pretty!”

“Soy-a later!”

“We’ve reached the point of nori turn.”

Okay, so some of these I thought of later. I’m not that quick and witty.

Anyway, the night was just what I needed to get through the rest of this week. Happy pre-Halloween!

I lay in bed with my phone resting against my ear. I am bitter and speechless.

“I know what it’s like,” my boyfriend voices softly on the line. His words offer little comfort.

I groan again.

“I know what it’s like to have no Internet.”

It was Day Three of a spotty wireless connection at my house. We’re getting another new box soon, but still, it’s agonizing. No, this isn’t a post about my a-a-addiction. It’s too late for intervention. No 10-Step program can pull me out at this stage.

This is a post to ask you, my readers, the Big Question:

Blackberry or iPhone?

I’ve written about my slow adaptation to modern technology, but now is the time for me to enter 2008. I don’t know how I’ve gone without an Internet backup for this long. I can’t let this go on.

But I really can’t decide.

I want to check email.

I want a personal calendar.

I want to browse the Internet.

I want something pretty.

Also, I don’t want to constantly trim the fingernail on my right pointer finger, if that makes any difference.

I understand this shouldn’t be that difficult of a decision. The phones are so different. I guess I’m like those elusive undecided voters, who people hate but still pay gobs of attention to. Treat me like one. Yell, scream, tell me I’m an idiot for not knowing much about these devices even after they’ve been out there for so long. But also help me choose.

Please.

Thanks.

BFF: I think I should just marry [ex-boyfriend from eight years ago].

Me: I think so too. He was nice, cute, funny and successful.

BFF: But do you think he’s moved on? I guess I could ask.

Me: Yeah, ask.

BFF: OK, just e-mailed him.

When it comes to music, I’m a total lesbian. I like boys, sure, they’re nice and fun to play with, but deep down, my heart belongs to chicks. Specifically, sweet, folksy ones who sing about stumbling through life and enjoying the view and all that pretty nonsense. Here are some artists you should check out if you need an instant mood lift. Don’t we all?

Priscilla Ahn: Her angelic voice takes me back to my childhood. Also, I met her in real life and she’s pretty much the cutest thing on the planet.

Lenka: My dad of all people recently turned me on to her. Now I can’t stop listening to this song. It makes me want to skip. (Find her real music video on YouTube or on her site. You’re not allowed to embed it.)

Meiko: Have been obsessed with her ever since I accidentally caught the last bit of her show at the Hotel Cafe in LA. I would want this to be my future wedding slide show song, except that it has the word “shitty” in it.

What songs/artists make you happy?

About a million years ago, I was tagged by CC of Fork in the Road to write a list of weird/quirky things about me, and then later, I was tagged by DomestiGals to do the same, and I was all, um, can’t I just give you the URL of my website? But since I like these bloggers very much, I’ve come up with some additional oddities. Man, I’m so weird!

• When I feel really stressed, I whisper, “Shhhh. Shhhh. Shhhh.” It’s like the mama in me is trying to comfort the crying, snotty baby in me.

• I eat as if I survived the Potato Famine of 1845. If something tastes good, I, for the life of me, can’t eat it slow. Fellow diners stare strangely at my empty plate as they take their third bite.

• During the rare times when I’m flying down the freeway and the cars in the opposing lanes are sitting bumper to bumper, I feel a quick thrill of superiority. Then I get mad at myself for being such a mean person.

• When I’m getting ready for a night out, I “test” potential outfits by doing the “Booyah Dance” in front of a mirror. It’s this freakish quasi hip-hop move I made up. If I feel good in the outfit while doing the Booyah Dance, it’s the one.

• I’ve been saying, “What the H?” a lot lately. No, not “What the hell?” because that would actually sound normal. Like “What the The Letter H?” It’s really annoying, but I can’t stop. What the H?

CC also gave me this lovely I Heart Your Blog award, as did HBee of One Step At A Time, Jamie of Oh! How Lovely and Kyla Bea. I’m not a very touchy person, but since we’re in a virtual world, I’d like to give them each a big bear hug and a slobbery kiss on the cheek. It’s funny how a one-inch jpeg could fill me with so much glee. Thank you, ladies. I love it. It’s just my size.

The rule is that I must pass this on and I’m more than happy to do so. Drumroll, please. And the award, granted by a random website of absolutely no authority the esteemed MichelleWoo.com, goes to …

Keep Up With Me

Our Little Apartment

Love The Wang

Magpie

Charlie and Nina

And … I tag all of them to do the Weird Things Meme. Muahahaha.

My schnoz, it ain’t sophisticated. With fragrances, which I hardly wear, my dummy olfactory system would never be able to distinguish the woody aroma of cedar from rich gourmand base notes from camphorous oils. Huh? Instead, my reviews are typically condensed to “ew!” or “old lady” or “hmm, not bad.” I realized I’m just a simple kind of girl who likes simple kinds of scents. Like fruity stuff!

Fruit-scented things make me happy and require no work on the part of my nose. Which is good because me and my nose are lazy bitches. Here are three of my favorite fruity products:

Teen Spirt Antiperspirant/Deodorant in Sweet Strawberry. Yes, I do (sort of) understand that I am a grown woman and should therefore use a grownup deodorant. But this one smells so good! Like strawberry candy! The first time I applied it, I shoved Matt’s head under my shirt and said, “Oh my God, smell this.” His response: “Uhh, couldn’t I have just smelled it in the tube?”

Dude. Dude. Dude. DUDE. I didn’t even know this until I went to look for an image. Burt’s Bees Lip Gloss is being discontinued but you can buy what’s left in stock on their website. $1 each! Oh-Em-Gee. I love the raspberry flavor very much. The texture is light, not waxy like Lip Smackers.

The Body Shop’s Pink Grapefruit Body Butter. Rich and super intense, but still fruity! Love.

So back to my really hard life.

I feel like I’m in high school again, completely incapable of saying no to any opportunity presented to me, whether big or small. Those days, I remember well. Choir? Sure, I’ll join. Spanish club? Free tacos, why not? Volunteering at church? I have to. It’s for Jesus. An extra, extra credit assignment? Well, I do like credit. Back then, I hung out with the overachievers and while I scheduled like they did (bring on the resume-boosters!), I wasn’t, um, what’s that word … smart like they were. I remember feeling helplessly overwhelmed in the mess I would make for myself. My world was run by bottles of Coke, whining sessions with friends and scribbled to-do lists on my left hand. Today, things aren’t much different, except that I drink Diet.

I think the reason why I overscheduled myself this month is because I was so bored last month. The stagnant state of not doing anything to enrich my life makes me antsy and slightly depressed. I guess that’s why I’m trying to make up for it this month. And now I want to jump out the window.

But I’ll get through it, I always do, bless the angels above and the caffeine below. And then in November (birthday month!), I’ll rest and be sloth-like once again. And then in December, well … who doesn’t overschedule in December?

Go to iVillage.com. You have to do this today (Monday).

Now scroll down. Keep scrolling. A little more. Almost there. Oops, you went to far. Scroll up a bit.

Good.

Now, look to the very right under “The buzz in the blogs.” See me? If you don’t, turn off your ad blocker.

If you still can’t see it, here.

My very own face! With a link to this post. I’m famous! [Happy dance]

My friends are flakes.

Maybe not all of them, but probably a good majority of them and definitely the ones I care about most. It’s something I’ve come to accept and expect, similar to how I’ve come to accept and expect all Southwest flights to be delayed at least 45 minutes, but it doesn’t mean my blood doesn’t rise to a simmer every time I get a text a few hours before a planned meet-up that reads: “Can’t make it! [Insert emphatic excuse here, ie. The Good Student Approach —> '10,000 pages to read before tomorrow's big test,' The Family Obligation Approach —> 'My mom needs me to do something very important,' and The I Can't Even Put Effort Into An Excuse Approach —> 'I've been really, really tired.'] Sorry!!!!!!! We must hang out soon!!!!” You can’t forget the multiple exclamation points, which, of course, make everything better.

I’m not saying I myself deserve any Friend of the Year awards. I know stuff comes up. I’ve needed to use those Get Out of Plans cards, too. But sometimes I wonder: Have we become too comfortable in our friendships, assuming that we can flake time and time again without consequence? Or at this point in our lives, is friendship just not a priority anymore? And in the end, do the relationships outweigh the disappointments?

This is an embarrassingly late announcement, but I wrote about the slow demise of friendship over at the fab quarterlife hub Umm… Now what? Despite what it seems, I don’t think about this crap all the time. I’m not sitting on the porch with a banjo singing, “Lonelyyyyy, I’m so lonelyyyyy.” But it is both irritating and sad to know that many of my friendships are held together only by plans that are ultimately tentative.

My boyfriend Matt is the most reliable person I’ve ever met. His be-there, no-excuses personality seems almost out of place in our whatever-works-best-for-me generation. It’s something I admire greatly about him, yet it’s also something that can get annoying. Whenever a close friend sends us an Evite for some sort of gathering, he’s the first to reply ‘yes,’ along with some witty remark. And when he says he’ll be there, you know he’ll be there.

“Don’t you want to wait to see who else is going?” I’ll ask.

“No,” he’ll say. “Why does that matter?”

Then on the day of the event, he makes it a point to arrive exactly on time.

“Hurry up, we’re going to be late,” he’ll say, as I sit in front of the mirror, leisurely applying mascara.

“Who cares?” I’ll say. “No one ever shows up until at least an hour after something is supposed to start, anyway. I’m not ready.”

He’ll then proceed to tell me we have to go every 20 seconds.

“Gah!” I’ll yell.

It’s strange, really. To put as much effort in your social life as you would in your professional life. But when you think about it, why not? You may not get a pink slip, but you can definitely get fired as a friend. (OMG, did I just write that trash?) Reliability isn’t as sexy a characteristic as say, spunk or sense of humor, but in any relationship, it may be even more important. Oftentimes, it’s the foundation.

So quit flaking, bitches.

Life has been crazy chaotic, let me tell you. One thing that makes it a little better: funny hats.

*The following photos have been selected to (poorly) protect the identities of funny hat wearers.

Thursday
Wear A Fancy Hat To Work Day

Friday
Oktoberfest. Beer, bratwursts and funny hats. Why not?

Saturday (Today)
Burrito box hat.