Sometimes when I haven't blogged for a while, it's because the thing that's uppermost in my mind, isn't something I really want to write about.

My oldest friend lost her mom to cancer last week. It wasn't sudden, but it is heartbreaking just the same. If you're able to, consider donating to Hospice Austin.

To Laser My Eye Open Or To Not

Today I went for a Lasik consultation, and I'm most likely a candidate for the surgery (I have to stay out of my toric contacts for at least three weeks before going in for a final exam to make sure I can have the surgery). And now I have to decide if I actually want to go through with it.

Sure there's the end result of not needing to wear glasses or contacts anymore. But living in my glasses instead of contacts for weeks is extremely bothersome. And after the surgery, I wouldn't be allowed to wear eye makeup for at least two weeks (the horror!). Then there are also the possible risks: developing a post-op infection that would leave me blind, having my vision over-corrected so that I go from being near-sighted to far-sighted, possibly needing more than one procedure to correct my vision, or having my night vision or dry eye condition worsened- for life. There are probably other possible issues that I haven't even worried about yet. Oh, and it's gonna cost about $2700.

In other news... how much do I need this??

None of my favorite things involve ice skates.

"Oh my God y'all!" That is the extent of my Britney impression.

"One Tree Hill" was really good last night, and next week they're going to go all Columbine on our asses. Someone is going to die. Can it be Rachel? Please? I'm going to be really upset if this show doesn't survive the move to The C.W. (And no, I'm actually not a 13-year-old.)

I caught up on some of my taped "Oprah" episodes last night. The Valentine's episode with Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood was the best. How adorable are they? And the way Garth cries at the drop of a hat? Love him.

The next issue of Maxim features Kristen Bell, the awesome star of "Veronica Mars" in her underwear. Well that's one way to get people watching the show.

And finally, wanna know why I hate the Olympics? Because it means "The Office" isn't on! This week's Entertainment Weekly features Steve Carell on the cover and the cast of "The Office" inside. So hurry out and buy one! Oh, and when you're done, can I borrow it?

Email received from The Smoking Gun in response to a local news story I sent them:

thanks very much.

regards,
bill baston
eeditor
tsg

They probably won't post my story, but hey, they're quick to respond.

Not Suffering From Da Vinci Fever

I finally finished The Da Vinci Code over the weekend, and I guess I'm still wondering what all the fuss is about.

It's not the worst book I've ever read, but I found the entire first half extremely slow and tedious. And even though as they said on "Family Guy", the chapters are like two pages so you feel really smart, I really had to force myself to get through it. And I only did that simply to figure out where the hell Dan Brown was going with all of it. There was a complete lack of characterization for the two main characters. Aside from their jobs, and that one of them wears a Mickey Mouse watch, I felt like I knew nothing about them. The author was constantly placing them into intense and dangerous situations where it seemed like we were supposed to care about their welfare, but how can I when I don't know anything about them?

The book covers a lot of information about art and the history of the masons and Christianity and Da Vinci and Mary Magdalene, and on and on, and did I mention on? about the sacred feminine. Some of the theories advanced in the novel have previously been published in other works and others are crazy outlandish. I was fascinated by the theory that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married, seeing as how Jesus was a 30-year-old-man living in Israel 2000 years ago, it made sense to me that he wouldn't have been a bachelor. However you can find just about every theory in the novel debunked has been by someone or another.

I thought the novel came to a satisfying conclusion, considering its shortcomings. However, I've really read better trashy romance novels. As entertaining as a modern thriller can be, it's amazing how worked up people have gotten. It really is as if the whole world suddenly remembered "Oh yeah! Pages with words on them! And instead of watching TV, you actually just read the words." Good thing the upcoming movie will take care of that whole pesky reading part.

Modern air travel is such a surreal experience. Yesterday morning I was walking through snow in central New York and this morning I'm back in Austin with our absurdly mild 50 degree weather.

I am completely devastated that UPN has invited a bunch of bloggers to a "Veronica Mars" Press Day (all expenses paid), and I wasn't invited. How is it possible that I don't blog enough about "Veronica Mars"? Are my entries not verbose enough? I don't link to their site enough? Not enough squeeing? I think I'm going to cry.

Ain't No Winter Carnival Like a Neptune Winter Carnival

Veronica Mars loves Weevil! Okay, maybe that’s just my opinion. Great episode! It didn’t advance the season’s arc that much, but it did seem to advance several relationships.

But seriously, what is Logan doing wasting that ridiculous amount of charm on some giggly sophomore with no personality and bad hair? Considering that said sophomore is the daughter of the witness who falsely accused Logan of murder (you know, the plastic surgeon in the Fitzpatrick’s back pocket), I’m really just hoping it’s all a setup. It’s not like he’s hard up. Where is Charisma anyway?

"Why is the Beav snuggly with that girl from Ghost World?" Mac and Beaver! Yay! Perfect pairing. I love them like Weevil loves Logan.

And Jackie is human? Who knew that? I had no idea.

Oh, and the final scene with Keith and Terrence Cook. There’s nothing more heartbreaking than a grown man crying about baseball.

I've recently taken up beading (as in making beaded jewelry), although so far my wire loops look like they were made by a 10-year-old and I don't have nearly the amount of supplies that I need to craft an inventory that allows me to one day quit my job and open my own home based business. Beading is great because I can do it while I watch TV! And if it can't be done while watching TV, it's really not worth doing. (And believe it or not, yes, I read.)

Shows I'm completely obsessed with (picture 1989, New Kids on the Block, and a 12-year-old-girl- that's what I'm talking about):
"Veronica Mars" (The best show on TV. The end. I even got Rob watching it!)
"Gilmore Girls" (although they're rapidly losing my devotion)
"One Tree Hill" (which makes me their oldest viewer I'm sure)
"The Office" (Jim and Pam forever!)

Shows that I'm dying to have back from hiatus:
"Deadwood" (The other best show on TV. When it's actually on.)
"Nip/Tuck"
"Real Time" with Bill Maher
"The Dead Zone"

Shows that I'm DVRing, but they're not life-changing:
"Scrubs" (don't get me wrong, this show is super funny- but it's no "Veronica Mars")
"Medium"
"Bones"
"My Name is Earl"

Shows that I watch but leave me feeling very "meh":
"Everybody Hates Chris"
"The West Wing"

This t-shirt is currently for sale at Urban Outfitters.

Help! The irony... it's actually killing me...

go vikings!

In honor of my ten year high school reunion this spring, I gave in to web crap and filled out this survey about high school memories:

1) where did you graduate from and what year?
Sidney Lanier High School (Austin, TX) Class of 1996

2) did you have school pride?
Sure! I was always proud to go to Lanier. That place makes you tough.

3) was your prom a night to remember?
Well I was sober, so I do remember it. But it really didn't live up to my expectations of what prom would be like.

4) do you own all 4 yearbooks?
Nope. I went to three different schools my freshman year so it's highly possible that I appeared in no yearbooks that year. But I bought my sophomore and senior yearbooks since I worked on the staff (and I admit it, since I knew that there were multiple pictures of me in them).

5) what was the worst trouble you ever got into?
I don't really remember getting into any trouble. How weird is that? If you're reading this, and you went to high school with me, please let me know if I have suppressed some memory of being in trouble. Otherwise, I'm a big loser.

6) what kind of people did you hang out with?
Drama freaks!

7) what was your number 1 choice of college in HS?
Besides NYU and Vanderbilt? Those were ruled out early on due to the fact that they exist out of state. So I guess Southwest Texas State (now Texas State University at San Marcos) was my first choice, and the only campus I visited. I got accepted to East Texas State (now Texas A&M at Commerce) but it was just a backup.

8) what radio station did you jam out to in high school?
Probably a combination of Mix 94 and 101X.

9) were you involved in any organizations or clubs?
I was the president of the Golden Myth Players drama club! I was also an anchor for WLHS, the video announcements. I also dabbled in yearbook, UIL Prose, and student advisory council. (I needed the extra curriculars to balance out a very mediocre GPA.)

10) what were your favorite classes in high school?
Broadcast journalism and senior English

11) who were your biggest crushes in high school?
Sorry, ten years isn't long enough to risk the embarrassment.

12) would you say you've changed a lot since high school?
Physically, yes. In emotional maturity? Like totally.

13) what do you miss most about high school?
Getting to work on plays, and generally how easy life was.

14) your worst memory of HS?
Well, four years of high school, so there's no way there's just one. Freshman year one of my best friends moved out of state suddenly. That was really hard. Sophomore year one of my classmates was murdered. We weren't close, but it was awful and sad. Isn't high school supposed to be a series of bad memories?

15) did you have a car?
1979 orange Mazda station wagon. It was groovy.

16) what were your school colors?
Gold and black I think. Or gold, black and white? Sorry, that is just too trivial.

17) who was your fav. teacher?
Oooh, that's hard. I'd probably have to say Cummins.

18) did you own a cell phone in high school?
What? I wasn't a drug dealer.

19) did you leave campus for lunch?
Yep, we had an open campus for lunch. It was awesome!

20) if so, where was your fav. place to go eat?
Double Dave's

21) were you late to class?
Constantly. By senior year I had my own stack of hall passes and I would just forge a teacher's name to get where I needed to go.

22) did you ever have to stay for Saturday school?
Yep, had to make up for excessive absences. Oops.

23) did you ever ditch?
See previous answer.

24) when it comes time for the reunion will you be there?
Well, first we have to wait and see if my class even gets it together enough to have a reunion. Then I guess I'll decide. Although it would help if I could finish college, get an awesome career and lose like half of my body weight before then. It would make the decision a lot easier.

25) do you wish you were still in high school?
Yeah, sometimes. But then I remember that I now have credit cards, a car that has working air conditioning AND a stereo, and a job that keeps me in cute shoes and hair highlights. Oh, and I never have to ask for a bathroom pass.

Survey snagged from Bif

CNN correspondent and my first love, Anderson Cooper, is now blogging! Who else could get Christiane Amanpour to blog for them when they're just too busy?

well I used to know a girl and I could have sworn that her name was Veronica

It’s that time again! Boy Veronica sure does get over losing her boyfriends fast. She spent a lot more time moping over her fake breakup than her real one. But I suppose it’s a good thing she wasn’t too mopey to help her BFF Wallace out of a big ass jam.

I can’t believe it! A bus crashed? When did that happen? You’d think if something that big happened that people might have been talking about it for months, or that Veronica and Keith might have, I don’t know… investigated?

Weevil got jumped out! By some biker named Thumper for God’s sake. What will Weevil do now? My prediction is that he’s going to go live with Logan at the Nepture Grand and they’re going to be the new Odd Couple!

"I have the perfect pantomime horse costume. Do either of you have any experience being a horse's ass?"

Huh, this doesn't look like pizza.

This week we're trying out a new service we heard about on the local news. Food comes to our door! Um, more specifically, organic produce delivery. Greenling is a local company that offers home delivery of locally grown organic produce. And for items that aren't in season locally, they obtain them from other organic growers. You can set up weekly or bi-weekly delivery, and you can choose the package size that best suits your needs.

For our first delivery, we ordered 3 grapefruit, 5 bananas, 2 apples, 2 pears, one bell pepper, one onion, celery, 5 tomatoes, 1 lb of new potatoes, mixed greens, a bag of baby carrots, basil and 1 lb of broccoli. This is enough for one big batch of chicken soup, a basil pasta entree, as well as several side dishes for meals and snacks. We set up bi-weekly service for around $30 per delivery. So far everything has been pretty yummy and I'm mainly just worried that we won't be able to eat all of the vegetables before they go bad. (It's a little bit possible that we eat out too much.) Next time we might order more fruit than veggies. At least if bananas go bad you can freeze them and make muffins later.