NKOTB Reuniting: I OFFICIALLY Feel Old!

So, the news is true...New Kids on the Block are reuniting.

New Kids on the Block to Appear on Today Show (People)

Yes, in my youth, I was a fan. I even saw them in concert 3 times and got a CD signed by all 5 members. Yeah, I was cool.

Alas, it's apparently been 20 years since Hangin' Tough was released. God, was it really that long ago? I remember it like it was yesterday. If that wasn't enough to make me feel old, the above article was kind enough to include all 5 members current ages: Joey, 35; Jordan, 37; Danny & Donnie, 38; and Jon, 39. They're pushing FORTY!!!!

God, I feel old.

This is Just How the Boston Tea Party Started

I have a question.

Earlier today I was on my way out of Target (Pasadena) when I decided to stop and get a drink at the Starbucks in the store. I ordered my usual--venti Iced Green Tea, unsweetened, easy ice--which according to the board is $2.10. I know whenever I go to the stand-alone Starbucks stores around the LA-area, I always pay $2.10 exactly, no state/local taxes. Before the cashier even tells me my total, I have the exact change in my hand.

But this afternoon, my tea cost $2.27--$2.10 for the iced tea & $0.17 in tax (CA state tax of 8.25%), according to my receipt.



My question: Why was I charged tax at a Starbucks at Target, but I've never paid tax at any of the other Starbucks in the area?

I would have asked the cashier, but she looked like she was still in high school and probably unfamiliar with the intricacies of the state tax code on beverages. Besides, if the employees & managers at Boston Market don't know how many ounces are in a pound, I'm not expecting much from a barista. For some reason, I'm doubting she would have understood my references to the Boston Tea Party. (Yes, I have that little faith in the Pasadena Unified School District.)

UPDATE: Ok, I figured it out and realized I got overcharged. Did a little Google research and was reminded that drinks consumed in the store are taxed, but drinks that are "to go" are not. Starbucks tends to not charge local taxes unless someone actually says "for here." (I've always noticed that Coffee Bean always asks so they can charge the right tax.) I'm not against paying the tax, but will admit that when asked, I do tend to say my order is "to go" even if I do stick around and consume it on the premises. But, in this case, I was not staying in the store to consume my beverage (ambiance was totally lacking), nor was I asked if it was "for here"/"to go." Thus, I was overcharged.

How outraged am I? Not so much. My laziness outweighs my need to recoup my 17-cents. Besides, maybe those 17-cents will be put towards education and make a difference in the skill level of the future high school kids working in the food & beverage industry.

Welcome to Pasadena: You Didn't Even Know You Were Here

The hometown gets some love from the NY Times:

NYT: 36 Hours in Pasadena, Calif.

Although, one bone to pick: South Pasadena is not Pasadena. South Pasadena is an entirely separate city with its own city hall, city council, police force, municipal services, and school district. Therefore, if this article is about 36 hours in Pasadena, then why list a wine bar in South Pas? It's not as if there aren't any good wine bars in Pasadena.

Admittedly, the article also lists the Huntington Library which technically is in San Marino, but it has always been associated with Pasadena and is pretty much on the border of the city limits. So, I'll let that one go.

My main gripe is with the South Pas inclusion. Actually, I guess my gripe should be with the city of Pasadena for not putting up proper signage to mark where the city begins and ends; and for ever allowing the city of South Pasadena to put up a big sign along the 110 freeway into Pasadena that says "City of South Pasadena" implying that all the following off-ramps will land you in South Pas. (Of course, the sign has been there as long as I can remember--I'll say over 20 years.) Yes, if you exit at the two subsequent off-ramps you do land in South Pas, but the freeway actually ends in Pasadena. But when you get off there, there is no sign saying "City of Pasadena." So, the unknowing visitor will assume they have landed in South Pasadena as they drive along Arroyo Parkway.

Why can't the city of Pasadena put a few signs up? It's not as if Pasadena is some hole in the wall like Irwindale (which, by the way, has better signage!). If it warranted an article in the NY Times travel section, I would think it warrants a sign, at least at the end of the 110, that says "Welcome to Pasadena...You've officially escaped South Pasadena."

And to help pay for it, I'd like all my future parking ticket fines to go towards the sign fund.

Nobody Likes What I Like

Saw The Bank Job yesterday. I liked it. The 3 other people I was with didn't. Truly don't understand why they didn't like it. I'm not saying it was the greatest movie ever. I'm just saying it was a good film; better than most of the crap out there.

Oh well, I have taste. They don't. I'll just accept it and move on.

My Quest for the Cooked In-N-Out Fry

As anyone who has ever eaten at In-N-Out knows, it has the worst fries. Great burgers, horrid fries. Their flaw: the damn things are never actually cooked.

So, after years of picking at my fry order--covering it in salt & ketchup to make up for the raw potato taste, I decided to get a little demanding in my order and asked for them "well done." Now, they obliged with no questions asked. I know others have made the same request as well for years. So, nothing new or outlandish. But alas, In-N-Out took it to a new extreme...too crispy and well, overcooked.

So, tonight I decided to try again. Asked my friend who was making the In-N-Out run to ask for the fries to be "cooked." This was the best descriptor I could come up for the middle ground I've been searching for...cooked, but not raw nor overcooked. I guess I could have said "medium," after all they're familiar with burger cooking terminology, but at the time I didn't think it was the appropriate word choice.

So, off my friend went, and returned with, well...the same old uncooked, raw, pathetic potato worms. I think the In-N-Outers weren't thrilled with the implication in my request that the fries be "cooked."

I want to know...can In-N-Out make a good fry? Is there some secret codeword that I haven't been told that will get me what I want? It's not like I'm some newbie who doesn't know what "animal style" means. I've grown up with In-N-Out. Hell, In-N-Out was my one cheat while being a "vegetarian" for several years (I had my limits!). After 32 years of loyalty, I think I'm entitled to a good fry.

Ah, A New Love: My Big Redneck Wedding

Just to be clear: I'm not a redneck! I was raised in the suburbs of LA, went to college on the East Coast, have lived & traveled in Europe, have never had Budweiser or Coors out of a can (but will fess up to drinking them out of a keg--but what college kid hasn't!), have only shopped at WalMart once (to buy a costume for a "White Trash" Halloween Party), have all my teeth, have ever been to or watched a NASCAR race, and have never considered denim or camouflage formal wear.

BUT...I so love My Big Redneck Wedding on CMT!!! Stumbled upon on four hour marathon last night while channel surfing...and OMG...I've never been so amused, befuddled, horrified, and sucked in to anything in my life!!! Ok, there was Amish in the City, but that's been a few years now. It takes a lot for a reality show to suck me in. I'm not a fan of the genre, but occasionally a gem like this can win me over.

For me, never having visited the redneck zoo & seeing the inhabitants up close, this is as close as I've ever come and they are fascinating. I can't pick a favorite episode (and I'm pretty sure I've seen them all). Each one has something that makes it unique and as stunning as the last.

All I've got to say is where else can you get:

--reception mud wrestling & mattress surfing
--beer can arches
--florists being asked to put flowers in beer cans instead of vases
--camouflage bridal outfits
--camisole & denim mini-skirt bridesmaids outfits/jeans & t-shirt outfits
--tractors bringing the bride to the alter
--ex-felon minister's who got "ordained" while incarcerated in the CA state prison system
--a bride who is looking for her teeth before walking down the aisle
--grooms, and various bridal party members, missing teeth
--wedding gifts that have been won out of the "claw" machine at the bowling alley
--wedding party participants (including the bride & groom) constantly walking around with a beer can in their hand/in a paper bag
--riding up to the drive-thru liquor store on a horse to place your keg order of Bud and Coors light for the reception
--a marriage proposal made by the groom peeing "Will you marry me?" in the dirt while the couple was delivering newspapers on one of their paper routes.

Tell me...where can you get all that?!?!?!?

Now you see why this show has found a special place in my heart.

All I can say is that I hope this gets picked up for more episodes because I think I may be lost without this show!

Music: The Beautiful & The Tragic

I'm in love with Burial's album Untrue.

I've owned it for a while now, and I'm just now really listening and paying attention to it.

This is the album I didn't know I'd been searching for all these months. Love, Love, Love. Haunting and beautiful.

Have to admit, a downside of music downloads and iPods, I don't buy CDs anymore (well, unless it's one of my all time favorite artists who have been tested and proven). I used to buy CDs, maybe one or two or three at a time and spend the next week or two listening to them over and over again, at least 5 or 6 times all the way through before I would skip through to my favorite tracks. But now, I buy in bulk (yes, I appreciate the cheaper prices), and often don't get around to listening to the albums I download for weeks or months, or listen to them passively while working or driving as the tracks play through on the iPod. And I never listen to them in chronological order--my iTunes & iPod are permanently set to do the shuffle. So, it's rare that I can give you a full and complete track listening, in order at that, like I used to with CDs. And when I finally do listen attentively, I'm often shocked to find hidden gems like Burial that have been just waiting for me to come around. Such a pity really.

TJs Goes Gangsta

Have to share. This is just too good not to!

Was in Trader Joes this afternoon. As I'm walking down the frozen food aisle to get a jar of pears (I have an addiction. I'm getting help.), I thought my ears were deceiving me, or that I was at least having a 90s flashback, but there it was. It wasn't an auditory hallucination. That was Coolio's Gangsta's Paradise playing overhead.

What made this truly hilarious, I was in one of the whitest TJs around. La Canada-Flintridge (California), in case you're wondering.

And since the song has been stuck in my head ever since, a trip down memory lane seemed in order...Coolio's "Gangsta's Paradise"

Ummm...That's It?

Coachella lineup announced yesterday.

Disappointed.

Not sure who would have got me jumping up and down, but Jack Johnson and Roger Waters aren't it.

In all, am really only interested in: Portishead, The National, Tegan & Sara, Sia, Battles, The Swell Season, Death Cab, Rilo Kiley, Autolux, Justice, and Shout Out Louds. Not sure if that makes a 3-day pass worth it.

Want Coachella to be an annual tradition...but...might opt for the LA Times Book Festival this year.

Although, am intrigued by the All Points West Festival...but torn, because I want to support a local festival, like Coachella, not trek to NY...but do have a free place to stay in NY, so could be worth it.

Must ponder....

First Submission

Well, in holding to my New Year's resolution to finally get moving on freelance writing, I have submitted my first piece.

Yeah. Pat on the back.

At this point, I'm just glad I wrote something and submitted it, even if it never gets published.

Baby steps, baby steps.

The Art of Procrastination

Why does it take me more than six weeks, numerous extensions, and promises to have it done "by next week", to finally get around to writing an article that took all of three hours?

My procrastination skills continue to amaze me!

I'm a little...

...burned out.
...giddy.
...spent.
...amused.
...over it.
...ecstatic.
...tired.
...inebriated.
...annoyed.
...in love.
...frustrated.
...hungry.
...pissed.
...happy.
...bored.

I'm Feeling Old...

So, apparently there is a generation of kids out there today that don't know that Will Smith was a rapper before he did TV or movies, and that the moniker "Fresh Prince" didn't originate with the TV show The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.

Here's a classic:

Can You Valet A House?

When I lived in DC a few years back (in my past life), some friends bought a one bedroom condo for over $300K. And for another $15K they got ONE parking place in the garage. Parking in DC is horrid, but I always found it ridiculous that they had to pay extra for parking. So, I was a little amused when I saw this:


This house has been parked in a public parking lot in Pasadena (Union & El Molino, if you want to check it out yourself) for a few weeks now. I finally got a picture of it today.

I just wonder, how expensive is it to park a house? And is it cheaper to do it yourself than to valet?

Day 30: I Won, Now For the Real Work

With a half hour to spare, I came in at 50,268.

So, another win for NaNo--3 for 3.

Even if I had stuck with the original problem premise, I'd still be nowhere near done story-wise. I'm somewhere in the muddly middle.

Not too sure what will become of all those words I wrote before I had my run in with the wall. Some may be salvageable; possibly even whole scenes with a little tweaking. But for the most part, I'm just accepting that I'm starting from scratch. Already have the first couple scenes sketched out for draft #2. For now going to take take a day off and recover. Will get back to the beast on Sunday at the last write-out.

And before I say goodnight, I'd just like to congratulate myself on actually sticking with blogging this little adventure all month. God, I can't believe it's been a month. Even if I didn't keep up with my daily word count as promised, I at least kept this up. Definitely a sign of screwed up priorities, but whatever, I'm done and it's over.

I promise to check back in occasionally and with hopefully more entertaining ramblings.

Night.

Day 29: 25-Hours To Go

Still have 6,912 words to go. And just under 25-hours to do them in.

Should be fine. I've had 7,000+ word days this month. I'm surprisingly calm...probably not a good sign...probably just a sign of denial.

Luckily, I have most of tomorrow free. So, the plan is to hole up in a coffee shop somewhere till I finish. Not staying home to write. I know I'll get nothing done here!

On a (professionally) productive note: went to a panel discussion on freelancing. I know I need to get going on freelancing. Definitely was a good kick in the butt. I have an idea for a piece that I want to try and submit before Christmas. Will start working on it after this weekend. Will definitely need to relax after tomorrow.

And on a happy note: rumors of a Radiohead tour next year. Really want to see them live.

Off to write...or probably bed so I can get up early to write tomorrow.

Day 28

I think I've got it. I think I've got the opening I've been trying to write. It just feels right. It feels different than all the others I've struggled with. I think I know where I'm going and how I need to structure this. Fingers crossed.

11:49 PM: 1,361 for the day. Only 6,912 to go by Friday.

Day 27

It's just been a long day. I've played therapist to a few too many people today. Ended up needing to take an hour drive just to clear my head and get away from everyone. Could have gone longer, but had to come home sometime.

One positive, I think the drive helped me get some clarity on how I need to restart with Chapter 1. I have some new opening lines and I think I like the direction they would take me. I think I've made it all more complicated than it needs to be. I need to go back to the original story I had before I started taking other people's opinions and ideas into consideration. Some suggestions were helpful; but I think the ones that got into the core of the plot and who the characters are got me into trouble.

I'm just emotionally drained. Add to it that I got up earlier that usual to deal with the smog check and car registration, and I'm kind of sort of dead.

So, alas, no words today. So, I have three days to hit 50K. Have a little more than 8,000 to go. I know I can do it, and I will. Just haven't been into it since the write-in.

Not stressing; just trying to let everything go today.

Day 26

Nothing today. Have to take my car in for a smog check tomorrow, so figure while I'm waiting, I can take my laptop with me and get some writing in. At least that's the plan.

Day 25

3048 words today. Went to another write-in this morning. Productive again. Am slightly ahead for the day.

Decided to just pick up where I left off while incorporating the changes. Not sure if anything that comes between now and the end of NaNo will be of any use; but I don't want to lose. Once I hit 50K I'll go back and start rewriting what I got out of NaNo and move forward again from there. Probably going to have to push back my end of year deadline for my first draft; but at least I have some momentum now and a better idea of where I want this to go.

Didn't hit 45K as planned today. Could still get there tonight if I focused, but really not feeling it right this minute. Maybe later. But thinking of reading instead.