tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62732182011-07-07T18:14:23.670-07:00Try not to look surprised.Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comBlogger2341100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-26676476443647451682011-03-23T18:35:00.000-07:002011-03-23T19:00:46.981-07:00

I recently got myself a fancy a new job. This new job is awesome in many ways, but near the top of the list is the fact that it's only a mile from my apartment. When you take into account the bike-friendliness of Santa Monica, the weather-friendliness of Southern California, and the hippie boyfriend who'd make me feel really bad about myself if I didn't, I decided to bike to work. Every day.This

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-64563970966712985602010-03-29T17:47:00.000-07:002010-03-29T21:26:36.418-07:00

I've kind of gotten into cooking. The way some people enjoy movies, or buying new clothes, or sunsets--the kind of experience that just transports you into a state of utter glee--is how I feel about food. Not that I don't enjoy all those other things, because I'd certainly miss them if I couldn't experience them, but there's just something really amazing about a good meal where all the

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-18206634878303520042010-03-26T16:38:00.000-07:002010-03-26T16:52:03.969-07:00

...or not. My friend Joy is bravely going where she and her friends have clearly never gone before, and it seems she's experiencing some trepidation about the whole enterprise:due to lack of cohesive planning, we are going to the forest in a prius. not only are we going to the forest in a prius, we are going to the incorrect forest. is there really a wrong forest? yes. we are going to kings

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-50257110025569778042009-03-20T00:06:00.001-07:002009-03-20T01:06:40.604-07:00

There are some movies out there that are just bad.There are some movies that make you feel violated just by making you the unwitting viewer of the trailer, be it in the theater before a movie you paid money for or just on the teevee.There are some movies that inflict such atrocities on you, an innocent victim, and make you so outraged at the film's very existence (never mind that of its trailer--

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-52593276003171174202008-07-21T13:08:00.000-07:002008-07-21T13:41:37.830-07:00

Looking through keyword lists to anecdotally assess overall quality or even just to find bad keywords that need to be filtered out (I can't believe some of this stuff actually goes live) is something I do on a regular basis. And on a regular basis, I come across keywords that educate, amuse, baffle, and disgust me (sadly, most of them are in that last group). But those of the amusement- and

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-77129108936533634392007-10-25T16:23:00.000-07:002008-11-12T23:39:22.702-08:00

I just bought one of these.

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-84477459500025339502007-10-20T13:08:00.000-07:002008-11-12T23:39:22.898-08:00

I still don't know what people who don't sleep in do with their mornings on the weekend, but I was forced to actually contemplate it this morning: I woke up at 9:30 am, of my own volition, and didn't go back to sleep. (And yesterday I woke up at 7:15, all on my own, a full 20 minutes before my alarm went off. What is the world coming to??)Fortunately my roommate is an early riser and was able to

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-14441342190595886712007-08-01T00:15:00.000-07:002007-08-01T00:40:35.725-07:00

Last night: dinner out at World Cafe on Main Street in Santa Monica, outside on the patio.Tonight: dinner out at Napa Valley Grille in Westwood, followed by George Gershwin Alone at the Geffen Playhouse.Both meals were absolutely delicious, and George Gershwin Alone was fantastic. The music was wonderful, and the venue so small and the acoustics so good that you could actually hear people wanting

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-86412490484065119742007-07-29T23:19:00.000-07:002007-07-30T00:39:47.753-07:00

Every so often I have one of those days in LA that make me really love living here. I spent a gorgeous Sunday afternoon last December visiting the Getty Villa for the first time, seeing a fantastic Magritte exhibit at LACMA, and going to my first Laker game (awesome seats courtesy of my job, for Christmas). There have been other great experiences this summer, too: a night at the Hollywood Bowl,

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-2035758017229742007-06-23T18:12:00.000-07:002008-11-12T23:39:23.202-08:00

I recently went to China for a few weeks with my family. Have been meaning to post about it but thought I should talk about everything we did, where we went, etc. Well it turns out I'm too lazy to do that, and since I've been back for a few weeks now, it doesn't look like that's going to change anytime soon. However, I have put up all my pictures (taken with my fantastic new digital camera),

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-75089401740365703742007-05-01T00:20:00.000-07:002007-05-01T01:14:49.385-07:00

We recently started a keyword push at work, which means we tap all our available sources of keywords to find what people could possibly be typing in to get to our site and the products we sell, and then go buy those keywords on the different search engines. Among these is what people have typed into Google before they clicked on one of our ads. Looks as though that broadmatch algorithm is a

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-78103039908401769982007-04-28T15:21:00.000-07:002007-04-28T15:33:34.572-07:00

This is quite possibly my new favorite site (well, after Twitter, and The Onion): WhereTheHellisMatt.com.I didn't even find out about him on YouTube. I found out about him after reading a story about how a bunch of other people found out about him on YouTube. His video of him going around and just dancing in a bunch of different places is great, mostly because so many of these places are so cool:

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1176800079741746812007-04-17T01:23:00.000-07:002007-04-17T01:54:39.763-07:00

Lately I've become a bit enamored of shoes. Heels, to be exact, with peep-toes. It all started innocently enough with this pair from White House Black Market (they're much sexier from other angles). But then I was out with some friends one night and my friend CJ was wearing these:Now I don't know about you, but I think that's a pretty fabulous-looking shoe. Add to that the fact that my friend

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1176425701580230222007-04-12T17:54:00.000-07:002007-04-12T17:56:07.723-07:00

I joined Twitter.Let the minutiae begin!

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1176406222547302082007-04-12T10:55:00.000-07:002007-04-12T12:30:22.566-07:00

I was inspired to post because I just learned about both Twittervision and Kurt Vonnegut's death (very sad, his books are among the few I've read that have never faded in my memory). And then I thought back to how I came across these bits of information, and the mere chance involved with all of this convinces me it's a wonder I'm ever able to find anything out for myself at all. Here's how it

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1175664931689783372007-04-03T21:50:00.000-07:002007-04-03T23:18:16.230-07:00

So at present, I'm reading a book about the movie "All About Eve"--a book titled, cleverly enough, "All About 'All About Eve'"--and it's pretty interesting, given my limited knowledge of celebrity gossip from 50 years ago (I'm a consumer of much more current celebrity gossip). But it's a good movie, good enough to warrant a book and my subsequent reading of it, and that plus a couple of recent

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1175474265688284452007-04-01T17:05:00.000-07:002007-04-01T17:49:53.476-07:00

Hahaha, I'll bet you thought I really wasn't going to post for another six months now, didn'tcha? Didn'tcha?! That, my friends, is what we call a setup. And look, a post on April Fool's to show that you were wrong! BURN!!Actually, I didn't really have anything to post about: I spent my Saturday in Palm Springs and then drove back to LA today and spent the afternoon at Santa Anita with the social

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1175329447518135722007-03-31T01:12:00.000-07:002007-04-03T23:15:36.840-07:00

Ok, so I haven't posted in six months. My bad.Reading back over some of my old posts I kind of wish now I had that record, but the problem is I'm still not sure just how public I want that record to be. Do I need to post for posterity the fact that I made an ass out of myself at the company party? Everyone at my company already knows about that (ironically, they're the only ones I wish didn't

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1157760148176244832006-09-08T16:55:00.000-07:002006-09-08T17:02:28.190-07:00

AKA, The Last Kiss. In fact, The Last Kiss looks like it could even be confused with Garden State 1. But don't take my word for it. Check out the (really really funny) breakdown here, complete with illustrations (because them words is hard to unnerstand sometimes).

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1157654849900155212006-09-07T11:43:00.000-07:002006-09-07T11:47:29.916-07:00

My computer at work has a 136 GB hard drive. And today, I found out that I've reached capacity. I've been here 5 months.The data geekiness is becoming hard to ignore...

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1154135161694444952006-07-28T17:46:00.000-07:002006-07-28T18:06:01.716-07:00

Normally I'd stay away from the Dilbert blog as a matter of principle (and I still maintain that I was tricked into clicking on the link by its being referred to as Scott Adams' blog, and I'm ok with acknowledging that I didn't know who Scott Adams was until today), and government-bashing doesn't really appeal to me, but I thought this post was just too dead-on to ignore. Excerpt:My favorite

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1154029584001253222006-07-27T12:36:00.000-07:002006-07-27T12:46:24.020-07:00

There are things that make you chuckle, and there are things that make you laugh, and then there are things that make you laugh so hard it actually starts to sound more like crying. (Please note: this is much more likely to happen when one works in a quiet office and is trying to suppress normal laughter, lest one's coworkers get the impression that one is not actually working and is instead

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1153438665171701072006-07-20T16:33:00.000-07:002006-07-20T16:37:45.186-07:00

I think I'm a little behind on discovering the awesomeness of Ask a Ninja, but that's no reason not to share it with other poor souls who have been in the dark until now. In particular, Ask an Animated Ninja, and Ninja Pirates of the Caribbean Movie Review.And, while unrelated, this is hilarious too.

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1152907054228612362006-07-14T08:14:00.000-07:002006-07-14T12:57:34.343-07:00

I'm not sure this story about Goldman Sachs suing GoldmanSex.com is really a good example of common sense, both on the part of the plaintiff and on the part of the consumers supposedly confused by the names of these two entities. Chances are that anyone dumb enough to mistake one for the other is not bright enough to even know what Goldman Sachs does. I highly doubt they're losing a lot of

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1152305345477377962006-07-07T13:40:00.000-07:002006-07-07T13:49:05.496-07:00

Am off to Mexico for the weekend to overimbibe on tequila (cuz, you know, if you do it there you're 'experiencing the local culture') and just generally enjoy chilling with friends, the beach, reading a book about pirates instead of just seeing a movie about them, Friday southbound traffic on the 405, etc. Should be a hoot.

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1151458583979160952006-06-27T18:29:00.000-07:002006-06-27T18:36:23.993-07:00

I think the idea behind this website is effing brilliant: catalog your book collection and then get recommendations on other books you might like based on overlap with other people's collections (that's collaborative filtering, people... like what Amazon does, but not colored by the textbooks or gifts you bought that you'd never choose to read for yourself). There's a little bit of social

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1151437496415243122006-06-27T12:39:00.000-07:002006-06-27T12:44:56.433-07:00

The Spiderman 3 trailer has been leaked, so now you don't have to wait and see it before Superman Returns... at least, if you want to see the, like, characters and stuff, you do, but if you want to listen to the music and bootleg background noise and try in vain to read some of the teasers, you're set. Much funnier bashing of the quality + the trailer itself here.

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1151431739155207352006-06-27T10:33:00.000-07:002006-06-27T11:10:56.593-07:00

As someone who hates the idea of paying through the nose to get fast internet service (at least, I did until I no longer had a laptop to take advantage of it), I was really excited by stories about wi-max and citywide wi-fi networks growing in popularity, even with the high likelihood that they would have spotty coverage. As far as I was concerned, it was a step in the right direction. Of course,

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1147205808925636562006-05-09T13:12:00.000-07:002006-05-09T13:43:54.510-07:00

Seriously.Discuss.------------------UPDATE: Clicking on it led me to this site. You won't be disappointed.

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1147205511470466592006-05-08T13:01:00.000-07:002006-05-09T13:12:09.623-07:00

Saw Mission: Impossible 3 on Saturday. It was like watching the pilot episode of Alias all over again. Which is good, in that that episode was really good, but bad in that, well, if I can draw that comparison, I've already seen it. (C'mon J.J., I'm sure you've got a couple more tricks up your sleeve. If you aren't going to blow them on a big-budget summer movie, then when? I don't see your style

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1146623176911231002006-05-02T19:16:00.000-07:002006-05-02T19:28:13.793-07:00

A quick summary of what the hell I've been doing with myself when not blogging:1. Watching movies from my Netflix queue. 8 more down, 140 to go.2. Reading. Seriously. Have finished like 5 books in the past month.3. Strep throat. Again.4. Turning 24 and celebrating like I'm still 23. Big mistake. Am now exhausted.5. Complaining about the weather.6. Going out and getting sunburned the second we had

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1146619346797498182006-05-02T18:05:00.000-07:002006-05-02T19:15:31.670-07:00

I always knew this day would come... I just didn't think it would be this soon.About a month ago, my laptop bit the dust. I don't know if I got one too many blue screens of death--I've gotten a lot of those, actually--or if it simply got bored with doing nothing but surfing the internet (I do actual work only when I'm at work, usually, and the few things I did bring home were even duller than

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1144110364425705812006-04-03T17:20:00.000-07:002006-04-03T17:52:56.013-07:00

A few things I've learned in my first week at my new job:1. Wearing flip flops a slightly less attractive idea when one has to walk half a mile to work from the parking lot. Uphill. Both ways.2. Bribery with M&Ms not effective in securing a closer parking spot. Same for offer to be their best friend.3. In Los Angeles, distance is a poor indicator of travel time. I now drive half the distance

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1142920207932611212006-03-20T21:40:00.000-08:002006-03-20T21:51:58.833-08:00

(Admit it. We've all been there.)A limerick from the Blogger Blog (there are pictures, too!):There once was a router so crappyThat it made all the Bloggers unhappyIt caused pagers to beepAnd kept us from sleepSo we smashed it on the ground with golf clubs and threw paving stones at it and kicked it and someone filmed part of it but that’s not up yet and then we dropped it off a dumpster and

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1142919097264550822006-03-20T20:19:00.000-08:002006-03-20T21:37:00.720-08:00

I finally made it to the fundraising list.I suppose I should be flattered that USC thinks I've made enough money by now to consider giving any of it back to them. (They should really concentrate more of their efforts on graduates from their professional schools.) Or maybe ticked that they have the nerve to ask me for money when I was still paying them thousands of dollars per year as of 3 years

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1142569440303742402006-03-16T20:04:00.000-08:002006-03-16T20:24:00.306-08:00

In the midst of all the St. Patrick's Day articles on Slate, I found this one about the World Baseball Classic, which is employing single-elimination playoffs to determine the champion. This is a significant departure from what we're used to watching come October every year, and I remember reading an article once that asked why the Superbowl and football in general drew so many more viewers than

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1142323698956975732006-03-15T23:10:00.000-08:002007-07-15T12:39:44.816-07:00

"I guess some things are just meant to be."To be honest, I don't really feel comfortable making a definite decision on the whole existence of fate debacle. Partly because things seem to be going pretty well, and I don't want jinx myself, and partly because I'd like to believe that I myself have had something to do with the things going pretty well. But I won't say that I don't have my doubts. (

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1141629359026935772006-03-05T23:07:00.000-08:002006-03-05T23:16:44.376-08:00

...that says, 'I just picked 16 out of 24 of the Oscar categories correctly... that's 67%, biatch."...and "I didn't even see any of the movies and didn't know there was a contest so I made all my picks in like five minutes."...and "And I totally won! Like, an actual prize and everything!"...and "These boots that I chose to wear to the Brokeback Mountain-themed Oscar party friggin' hurt."

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1141519634237453912006-03-04T15:41:00.000-08:002006-03-04T16:47:19.243-08:00

Last night had all the makings of a great night out. I met up with friends at the W Hotel in Westwood, and upon giving the clipboard-bearing velvet rope guy my name, I was immediately let in, because I was on the list. I found my friend and she led me to the table next to the dancefloor where they'd all just been seated, to the dismay of a couple girls who'd been sitting there who were asked to

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1137990483568209882006-01-22T20:07:00.000-08:002006-01-22T20:28:03.606-08:00

I know my 3 readers (or is it 4 now? I can't keep track of these things) are totally into podcasting--have 8+ subscriptions, load them all up on their iPods once, sometimes twice a day and try to listen to them all but keep wondering who has the time? (Answer: people who are too geeky to function. Just listen to the radio like a normal person. Or at least like one who hasn't had it stolen out of

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1136445993437830432006-01-04T23:22:00.000-08:002006-01-04T23:26:33.446-08:00

Oh yeah, this is what losing feels like. Been awhile. I've gotta hand it to the Longhorns, though, they played a great game, and deserved the win. It hurts, but I've kind of been expecting it ever since the Notre Dame game--that one was just too close for comfort.And on the bright side, I might have a date for Saturday.

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1136261219395683692006-01-02T17:53:00.000-08:002006-01-02T20:12:59.446-08:00

Day 1: December 28, 2005 12:30 a.m. Finished packing and went to bed. 4:45 a.m. Alarm goes off. 5:00 a.m. Supposed to get up. Failed. 5:30 a.m. Actually get up. 7:15 a.m. Picked up by Andrew Long, the best man. Start the six-hour drive to Phoenix, passing the time listening to David Sedaris readings (my contribution) and MXPX and Johnny Cash cds (Andrew's contribution... have since downloaded

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1135068187458620472005-12-19T23:52:00.000-08:002005-12-20T00:43:08.013-08:00

...for company Christmas parties!To do:1. Sip your wine like a lady.2. Make sure you're dressed appropriately. Show off that new red top you just bought... it's not lowcut, it's flattering.3. Greet your coworkers with a smile and a salutation. Something cheesy like "Happy Holidays!", cliche though it is, is acceptable.4. Mingle, and spend a little time talking to everyone, especially those you

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1134549536148119022005-12-13T23:16:00.000-08:002005-12-14T00:43:10.860-08:00

A job with an established manufacturing or retail company is an excellent way to start your climb to the top! In such an organization, there will be set infrastructures and processes to provide you support and education as you take those first uncertain steps along your career path. Sure, the learning curve is steep, but as soon as you learn how it's always been done, and that breaking from

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1132974075753694652005-11-25T16:22:00.000-08:002005-11-25T19:01:15.823-08:00

I have to admit, while growing up, Thanksgiving always paled in comparison with Christmas. Thanksgiving signified hand outlines that were forced into looking like turkeys, or dressing up like pilgrims and trying to navigate the historical difference between the Mayflower and Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria (FYI: of course I know now that Columbus discovered the New World on the Mayflower.

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1130224643680052712005-10-25T00:00:00.000-07:002005-10-25T02:00:24.436-07:00

(because if you can't do it on your own blog, where can you?)1. The company owner and president was not supposed to announce my promotion Friday. I guess he was just too excited for me and couldn't hold back.2. New official title will be Account Executive. This rocks. Here's why: in the post where I talk about my initial interview (and bet myself I can get promoted in 4 months), the CFO said

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1130042518244941322005-10-22T18:48:00.000-07:002005-10-22T22:51:08.936-07:00

WOODLAND HILLS, CA--Adrienne Graves, a former account coordinator at a local direct marketing agency, was not present Friday when the company owner and president announced her promotion to basically everyone else."We have a staff meeting every month for birthdays and bonuses, and since a. neither applied to me and b. it's just a good idea for me to stay away from cake, I didn't really see a

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1129493407125433202005-10-16T12:47:00.000-07:002005-10-16T13:10:07.186-07:00

Yesterday's game has to be the most intense I've ever been to. EVER. I'm going to have post-traumatic stress flashbacks every time time I see clips of USC playing Notre Dame until forever. Let's have a quick look at what these will entail:Standing (no one sits) in the Notre Dame student section, wearing bright red USC gear that made us an easy target for all the Irish surrounding us. That and

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1128854764488097142005-10-09T10:58:00.000-07:002005-10-09T03:54:13.470-07:00

I find it somewhat ironic that, now that I'm back living in LA and could theoretically go to every USC home game, the first game I'll be going to this season will be... back in the Midwest. Despite the best of intentions, a stressful job and lack of cable have conspired to keep me relatively in the dark when it comes to, well, current events of any sort (Supreme Court, what? Is that like a new

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1128060648725400772005-09-29T22:15:00.000-07:002005-09-29T23:10:48.760-07:00

News headlines like that make me wish that broadcast journalism would fuse with reality TV so that reporters aren't just watching the damn fire, but competing with other networks in structured little games like "Who can assemble a firehose and put out a campfire fastest" and "Who can keep a straight face the longest". Viewers could text message their votes for most white trash interviewee, which

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1125642925171464122005-09-01T23:14:00.000-07:002005-09-01T23:36:24.646-07:00

While a mention here pales in comparison to Brendan's coverage, I've been reading all these stories about the anarchy that's taken hold of New Orleans (and, I'm sure, other hard-hit areas where there are enough people left alive to make each other's lives hell) and the questions that are beginning to surface about the future of the city. Will they rebuild? Starting when? Can the city ever become

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1125608351036906012005-09-01T13:51:00.000-07:002005-09-01T13:59:11.043-07:00

Not only have they come to see the error in their ways and are making access to the archives free again, but they have a slick new look and one of those new-fangled "blog" thingies. And this week's lead story is tailor-made for my inner-SEM geek: "Google Announces Plan to Destroy All Information It Can't Index."

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1125553360461615022005-08-31T21:43:00.000-07:002005-10-09T03:49:15.610-07:00

I realize it's been a little while since I've posted anything here--the truth is, it's been awhile since I've spent a significant amount of time online at all. My flakiness with respect to returning emails is bordering on egregious, I've fallen completely out of touch with pop culture and current events, and the only reason I'm even aware of what month it is is because of the scheduling I'm

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1122331548366302182005-07-25T15:31:00.000-07:002005-07-25T15:45:48.373-07:00

A friend once commented that the fact that Swiss Army knives included tweezers was an argument for men plucking their eyebrows (Swiss Army knives as reflecting the cultural shift to metrosexuality... though I doubt tweezers are a recent addition). Well, if Swiss Army knives do in fact augment their offerings to support all possible manly pursuits, then sitting at a computer and typing (or

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1121156665683898052005-07-12T00:26:00.000-07:002005-07-12T01:24:25.743-07:00

I know I haven't posted anything about it because current events have never really been my forte, but I did hear about the London bombings the morning they happened, and was completely shocked and saddened to hear about them, the more so in contrast with the happy announcements about the 2012 Olympics the day before. I know that was probably what the timing was supposed to accomplish, and it

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1121151702100992912005-07-11T22:40:00.000-07:002005-07-12T00:01:42.163-07:00

I finally got back to my good ol' web surfing habits (I should really click on the links in my sidebar more often, there's a reason I put them there in the first place) and found this article on job searchers with blogs, this one written from the employer's perspective. I've written on this before because I found the idea of one's online activity affecting one's offline activity to be an

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1120866025705253242005-07-08T16:37:00.000-07:002005-07-08T16:40:25.713-07:00

I know there's other stuff going on in the world, but as a marketing geek, I just had to share this, which is the funniest thing I've seen all day.

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1119577501647471812005-06-23T18:43:00.000-07:002005-06-23T18:45:01.653-07:00

I know I've posted on this topic before, but I still think visualization technology is hella cool, and if it happens to be useful, so much the better. So I was really excited when I actually read one of the Search Engine Watch newsletters that I get and ignore everyday (one of our clients advertises in it occasionally) and it mentioned visualization for Yahoo! search results. It's from a

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1119576321932061962005-06-23T18:09:00.000-07:002005-06-23T18:25:21.936-07:00

I realize my last post (if one were to actually get all the way through it) doesn't show me to be in the happiest of states, and that's accurate--I'm not. (Where's Tahiti when you need it? Oh yeah, an 8-hour flight away.) I've just started my first job, just begun my working life, and I know that it's going to last for the next four decades or so. It's the notion that this is what the rest of

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1119337900141787962005-06-20T23:36:00.000-07:002005-06-21T00:12:36.753-07:00

This may be the product of an addled mind (it is, after all, way past my bedtime), but I was just lying here thinking and it occurred to me that maybe a bit of catharsis was in order. I’ve been a bit philosophical of late… a major life change can do that to you. You ask yourself why, and try to understand it with respect to all the other steps and missteps you’ve taken thus far. Which

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1118957503641565692005-06-16T14:23:00.000-07:002005-06-16T14:31:43.646-07:00

I grew up in freaking California and yet suffer from a significant lack of earthquake experience. Not only did I sleep through the 6.6 in '94, but just now we were hit by a 5-pointer and I was...no, not asleep, unfortunately...in my car. I totally missed it, and would never have known anything had happened at all if I weren't immediately asked if I'd felt it upon walking through the door back

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1118693580533914862005-06-13T13:03:00.000-07:002005-06-13T13:13:00.536-07:00

On my way to work this morning, I stopped off at Hollywood Video to drop off some movies I'd rented (In Good Company--good movie, almost like someone who loves warm fuzzies picked up on the Office Space idea of portraying corporate America--and Be Cool, which totally blew; I didn't watch more than 20 minutes of it). As I got out of my car, I noticed a shirtless homeless guy nearby leaning over

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1118461924873030592005-06-10T20:27:00.000-07:002005-06-10T20:52:04.880-07:00

To the point of comments on my last post, Kristy was dead right when she said that my contentment with my job situation had nowhere to go but up (it has), Ben was right when he said I had to learn to be a shark (grrr, I'm a big scary shark now... really. I swear. Look! I growled and stuff!), and my soul has made a complete departure (it was nice of it to leave me the note there) and appears to

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1117765203077913072005-06-02T18:38:00.000-07:002005-06-02T19:20:03.083-07:00

So I've always kind of assumed that when people wish you luck on the first day of work, that means they're rooting for you to not call your boss by the wrong name, or give away the fact that you don't know how to operate a door. Basic don't-start-off-on-the-wrong-foot stuff. It never occurred to me that "good luck" might also mean "I hope this job doesn't make you hate your life."I might be

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1117147985047858002005-05-26T14:43:00.000-07:002005-05-26T15:54:51.000-07:00

I'm currently enjoying a short layover in Portland, Oregon, before I make my major foray southward. Here's a quick review of how things have gone thus far:Day oneFrom: Chicago, IL (departed 11:30 am)To: Minneapolis, MN (arrived 9 pm)Distance: 400 milesStops:1- Went to the bathroom and picked up some Red Bull (just over the Illinois-Wisconsin border)2- Visited with my former penpal in Madison, WI

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1116402390365838472005-05-17T23:21:00.000-07:002005-05-18T00:46:31.073-07:00

So, I'm about to take another week and a half hiatus from blogging, as I leave tomorrow for Chicago and my last chance at travel for awhile. It's gonna be awesome. I'm flying to Chicago via Southwest, after which flight I will definitely need a friggin' drink (long Southwest flights make me want to claw my eyes out... I was totally spoiled by all those recent international flights). Thankfully

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1115372172002965092005-05-06T02:24:00.000-07:002005-05-06T02:36:12.090-07:00

I'm not sure I've ever paid any attention to this particular reason to drink, as school generally prevented it, but it didn't this year, by God, and so I had big plans involving lots of margaritas and nachos.And then there's what I actually did: saw Better Than Ezra perform (that's number four) at the Roxy on Sunset, and as expected, they totally rocked. You know it's been a good concert when

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1115013472920315852005-05-01T22:53:00.000-07:002005-05-01T22:57:52.920-07:00

Family Guy:I had to bottle up the laughter so I could hear what came next. I think there were tears.American Dad:Also damn funny, but would be better if it wasn't, like, right after Family Guy. Drawing comparisons is inevitable and it was distracting.

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1114820041602425512005-04-29T16:43:00.000-07:002005-04-30T02:46:58.553-07:00

So now that I have an actual small salary to complain about coming my way, I can turn my attention to making the most of my final days in food service. Having decided that giving notice is for pussies, I've begun brainstorming ways to piss off some of my favorite categories of customers: To the groups of kids that order 8 different kinds of frappucinos so that we have to actually make them all

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1114749545910057192005-04-28T21:13:00.000-07:002005-06-02T19:22:30.033-07:00

I realize I've been pretty quiet of late: a friend I'd met in Hong Kong was staying with me a few days and we kept ourselves pretty busy getting out and seeing the sights. I love having guests, it gives you permission to do all your favorite things in a city. In my case, that meant going to In N Out, CPK and BJ's, going out on the Sunset Strip (that was my first time, too), generally just going

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1113954413187143142005-04-19T15:42:00.000-07:002005-06-02T19:23:55.120-07:00

Truth be told, I'm pretty happy at Starbucks. No, I'm not planning on staying there forever, but my job search efforts have been, admittedly, somewhat half-assed. I do it when it's convenient, or when something falls into my lap, and somehow these methods appear to have a much higher return on investment. This perception does make sense, when I think about it: you're more likely to get a response

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1113630295689555852005-04-15T22:25:00.000-07:002005-04-15T22:46:01.963-07:00

I knew a girl once who complained about the lack of sensitivity to cleanliness that prior roommates had had, except when they were under the influence. Then, they would come back to the apartment and clean it from top to bottom, and it was the days after such behavior that kept her sane. I can identify with the surge of productivity that comes from overimbibing: here it is. I had wanted to link

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1113620907153330642005-04-15T19:57:00.000-07:002005-04-15T20:08:27.156-07:00

So, I was a just a little depressed about what seems a more and more miserable failure of an interview everytime I relive it. I wanted to go watch TV, eat a lot of chocolate, and verbally abuse anything and everything that caught my attention. However, I determined that that probably wasn't the most constructive solution, and opted to go swimming instead to get my mind off the interview. (For

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1113610930792009822005-04-15T16:50:00.000-07:002005-04-15T17:22:10.793-07:00

Ok, I've found another job that I want so badly I can taste it. We're talking dream job, here. Things that I've been interested in for years. The position I interviewed for today was that of an analyst at Siegel & Gale. I would would work in research, project management, contribute to brand strategic planning and ultimately help put together the client presentation. Basically, what I did in

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1113523777767164442005-04-14T14:39:00.000-07:002005-04-14T17:09:37.770-07:00

I know I said I was done with the exclamations, but I totally lied: I got another interview! It's with a company called Siegel & Gale, whose primary work is in branding: brand identity, alignment, research, communications. The kind of business you'd expect someone with a degree in integrated marketing communications to go into (because where else do you get to use all your knowledge but in

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1113439419287736462005-04-13T15:32:00.000-07:002005-04-13T17:43:39.286-07:00

I just learned that Weezer's "Beverly Hills" is the #2 downloaded song on iTunes right now. I heard it for the first time on Sunday as I was in my car driving past the Beverly Hills Hotel and up Benedict Canyon, which is lined with palm trees. It was sunny. I was surrounded by mansions. My knee-jerk reaction when I heard the song was to think "Yeah whatever, this place isn't that great."And

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1113177519932756922005-04-10T13:51:00.000-07:002005-04-10T16:58:39.936-07:00

Work today was mostly same-old, same-old: work the register, get coffee and pastries, listen to my manager's rendition of that song that starts off "on top of spagheeeeetti..." The usual. (Well, last week's music selection was Gloria Estefan. She really knows how to mix things up.) With a few minor changes:1. Ran into another middle school alumna as I arrived at work. On a Sunday morning!

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1113076388075216352005-04-09T09:33:00.000-07:002005-04-09T12:53:08.076-07:00

I know I've said a lot about what it's like to be back in LA, both good and bad, but I've failed to mention the part of life that's just plain weird. For example, after five years of schooling and all the other life changes that go along with that, I'm living in my old room in my parents house, getting nagged about cleaning my room, and working part-time in the food industry. It's like the last

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1112675605642995572005-04-04T19:10:00.000-07:002005-04-04T21:33:25.643-07:00

Ok, I think I've met my quota for headlines with exclamation points. Like forever. (With the possible exception of life-changing announcements, etc.) But it was brought to my attention by a certain Mac-owning friend of mine that my blog wasn't all that cooperative with Safari. I'm nothing if not accommodating, at least when the perfect excuse to do something I'd been thinking about doing

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1112659336395519832005-04-04T14:05:00.000-07:002005-04-04T17:02:16.396-07:00

Everyone, I would like to announce that... (drum roll please)... I have another interview! For those who were counting, like me, this will bring the total number up to 2. But that's depressing, I don't want to think about that. What I do want to think about is how much meeting random people in bars rocks... um, that sounds wrong... but whatever, that's what happened. I was hanging out at a

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1112471025942398752005-04-02T08:39:00.000-08:002005-04-02T11:43:45.946-08:00

Despite my constant complaints about being broke (which certainly feel true, for the record), I am not what one could call, by any stretch of the definition, poor. Maybe I could squeak by with middle class, but my judges would (and have) amend that with an 'upper'. And yet growing up in Los Angeles, going to school in Beverly Hills, I came to the conclusion that our family wasn't too well off.

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1112335991554199102005-03-31T20:07:00.000-08:002005-03-31T22:20:58.773-08:00

1. No one looks cute in a big green apron and baseball cap.2. Not even me.3. Particularly not at 7 in the morning.4. In fact, I can't think of anyone that looks cute at 7 in the morning. And I've seen a few.5. Who the hell are all these people coming to Starbucks at 7 in the morning?!6. And why are they all wearing cell phone headsets?!7. People in Beverly Hills totally match the

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1111728641092076862005-03-24T19:03:00.000-08:002005-03-24T21:30:41.093-08:00

Finally, someone on the O.C. that I actually think is hot. That's male, I mean (Rachel Bilson had been in the lead, but the being female thing is kind of holding her back now). They got someone new to play Ryan's brother Trey, and I must say, well done. His name is Logan Marshall-Green, and I hope he sticks around awhile.

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1111658397678357272005-03-23T23:18:00.000-08:002005-03-24T01:59:57.683-08:00

BEVERLY HILLS, CA--While yesterday marked a turning-point in the post-graduate life of local resident Adrienne Graves as she filled out tax forms for her new job as a Starbucks barista, it seems her luck did not extend to a game of Scrabble against her dad."Like, I breathed a sigh of relief when I filled out all the paperwork necessary for Starbucks to actually consider paying me, but I guess it

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1111222717615597232005-03-18T16:49:00.000-08:002005-03-21T02:24:52.700-08:00

I absolutely loathe cover letters. It’s the part of your job search that actually requires some thought, preferably the creative kind. It’s easy to send your resume--once the damned thing has reached an acceptable level of completeness (because as we’ve heard recruiters say time and again, there’s always room for improvement. Blast improvement. Recruiters too.) it’s done--you just upload it

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1111054383368047862005-03-17T00:02:00.000-08:002005-03-17T02:13:03.370-08:00

...and now it seems as if we have to save everything. It's only a matter of time until we move beyond our own planet and start having protesters in favor of protecting the theoretical microbes on Mars. But if you like bunnies, or really, really hate them, then you should look into what it takes to Save Toby.A friend sent me this link this morning. It's comforting to know that, if I get really

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1111052653291375762005-03-16T22:47:00.000-08:002005-03-17T01:44:13.296-08:00

I do miss Chicago (really! I swear!), but can't help having a grudging appreciation for LA, a la my last post. The entertainment industry is what bugs me most about it (even though I have friends who work in it for whom I continue to have a good deal of respect... particularly when they complain about the idiocy of their coworkers), followed by traffic and the fact that you can't avoid it.

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1111048954310126422005-03-16T21:58:00.000-08:002005-03-17T00:42:34.313-08:00

As much as I complain about the entertainment industry owning this town, it seems that has a few upsides. And I'm not talking about that time I saw Seth Green next to the Beverly Center (dude's short). The music scene here is awesome. We have an indie rock-dedicated radio station, tons of venues, great performers that pack them, and no shortage of bands trying to make it big. I've found

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1110618258379132502005-03-11T22:04:00.000-08:002005-04-02T15:17:12.306-08:00

Oh shit. I knew nothing good could come from reading the LA Times. Being informed is overrated. (Except with respect to The O.C., of course. A girl's gotta have her priorities.) What should I find when looking up yesterday's front page surf article but a little title over on the 'most emailed' list that says"Long-Term Jobless Find a Degree Just Isn't Working".I'm calling Northwestern and asking

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1110598181641798512005-03-11T17:01:00.000-08:002005-03-11T23:39:52.866-08:00

I tried to surf yesterday. This was an extraordinarily ill-advised idea... y'know, just the way I like 'em. There was a surf advisory in effect... some parts of the coast saw 15 to 20-foot waves. There was even a news story on it, showing footage of people who were actually surfing. I went to a south-facing beach where the waves would be less, though we still got the odd 10-foot wave (I watched

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1110418077656207322005-03-09T15:07:00.000-08:002005-03-09T17:27:57.690-08:00

After a rather long and involved game of phone tag, where at one point I had to stand there for like five minutes totally frozen because no one would--oh wait, I think I may have been a bit confused there. Anyway, after a week of trading messages, I finally got in touch with a friend of mine from grad school. We hadn't spoken since December, so we caught up on what we'd been up to since then.

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1110190806577195192005-03-07T00:07:00.000-08:002005-03-07T02:20:06.580-08:00

I'm way behind on finding out about random cool stuff on the internet (muchas gracias to Gabe for being my main source for these things), but this little discovery is an exceptionally cool and useful one, and reminds me of why I need to start keeping up with this sort of thing again.Not that they needed more money, but Google is going after another revenue source: mobile information. You text

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1110187610234092492005-03-06T21:07:00.000-08:002005-03-07T01:30:24.596-08:00

Ok, if it wasn't obvious from my last post, I've started running out of things to do. Scratch that: sitting around doing nothing has finally started to grow old. My sleep schedule has begun tending towards nocturnal because there's no reason to wake up, well, ever. I did kind of see this coming and have started compiling a list of things to do (which, happily, can also serve as a list of things

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1110106029985729692005-03-06T00:42:00.000-08:002005-03-06T02:47:09.986-08:00

It takes a special kind of person to tape every episode of the O.C. for you while you're away. Like, the kind that totally rocks.It takes another kind of person to actually watch all seven episodes (taking a short break to mix it up by watching a bit of Goldmember) the same night she gets her hands on them.

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1109923146948626042005-03-03T21:53:00.000-08:002005-03-04T00:01:40.020-08:00

Girl 1: So, is Xanax a muscle relaxant?Girl 2: No, it's antianxiety.Girl 1: I love it. If you take it when you drink, then you get all giddy.Girl 3: Valium's my favorite.Girl 2: Valium?Girl 3: I had to take it every Sunday night.Girl 1: Why Sunday?Girl 3: My boss is nuts. But I've gotten better... now I don't need to take anything to go to sleep.Is this a great town or what?

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1109814885676944202005-03-02T15:15:00.000-08:002005-03-02T17:58:52.656-08:00

Well, I had a bit of success today in my quest to not still be in LA (and the job search process) in July... I had an interview! On Monday I found a listing for the perfect job for me at American Express--yes, I'm still hung up on working for that company--and submitted my resume. And, miracle of miracles, I got a call about it this morning! At 9:30 a.m. Needless to say, I was still in bed, and

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1109667044585816672005-02-28T22:03:00.000-08:002005-03-01T00:50:44.590-08:00

... well, something. I admit it's nice to be home, but it's hard to get used to. I have stuff again. Lots of it. I can accessorize. I have lots of space in which to make a mess and no real reason to feel guilty about doing so. I don't have to search for the right converter plug for the wall outlet. I don't have to search for wall outlets, come to that. My hair dryer will probably work

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1109555050590919692005-02-27T14:58:00.000-08:002005-02-27T23:51:03.053-08:00

Now that I'm back in the U.S., enjoying an English keyboard and not enjoying too much else, like cold weather (55 degrees! aaaaahhh!), now's the perfect time to feed my denial by reliving just how friggin' awesome Moorea was.Moorea's just a half-hour ferry ride from Papeete, and I left on Monday afternoon. It was still raining. So when I landed on Moorea and actually caught a brief glimpse of

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1109222048527879912005-02-23T17:11:00.000-08:002005-02-23T21:14:08.526-08:00

Oh my God.I'm not leaving and you can't make me.

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273218.post-1108953946212411882005-02-20T14:27:00.000-08:002005-02-20T18:45:46.216-08:00

This place is a trip. I suppose I'd forgotten that Tahiti was a domain of the French, and what that would entail. Throughout my travels, I've noticed that, when I took the trouble to think about my firt impression, it was invariably some mix of prior travel experiences: fitting the unknown into the context of the familiar, which is to be expected. Most places I go I generally don't have any

Adrahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00070489364301830851noreply@blogger.com