over-commericialization

I just saw a Christmas commercial.
It's still Halloween.
I love Christmas, but this is just ridiculous.

Bachelorette Party Checklist

As requested, here is a copy:

Bachelorette Party Checklist!

· Have a guy give you a condom

· Have a guy Write his philosophy on marriage on a napkin

· Get a piggyback ride from a stranger

· Point down to your bum and tell a boy how much you love your bum

· Go up to a cute man and start an intellectual conversation about the war in Iraq

· Go up to a cute guy and pretend like you are an airhead and talk about shopping

· Get a shot and lead all your friends in prayer before drinking it

· Find the oldest guy in the place and ask him for a dance

· Lead a group of cute guys in the Pledge of Allegiance

NOTE: Whether or not the Bachelorette completed these tasks is unknown- even to me.

What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas?

Not when you have this much fun!

Two weekends ago, I flew out to Vegas for my sister's Bachelorette Party. There were 9 girls total: 7 blondes, 2 brunettes. All good-looking, fun, and ready to party. Here are some of the highlights of the weekend which was "the most fun I've had in years!"

Thursday

• Sister and a friend meet a guy at the airport who promises to "hook us up" at Tao
• Most of the girls arrive at our hotel, Planet Hollywood between 5-8pm
  
• The 7 of us who arrived that day go to Tao where we not only get escorted in, but also get our own table, free bottle service of Grey Goose, a waitress to mix our drinks, and a security guard to watch our table (anyone who got too close was told to move and any unwanted guys were told to leave- it was AWESOME)
• We danced until about 2am, then it was late night pizza, then bed

Friday

• I wake up at 7:30am-despite going to bed late, I think I was on NY time... or just too excited about being in Vegas to sleep
• When I hear my sister in the next room, I join her and one of the other girls. The 3 of us go to the breakfast buffet at Paris. Given that I'm ready to party in Vegas, I order a Bloody Mary. When the waitress tells me it is only 99 cents, my sister and her friend order one too. I finished mine, then helped finish both of theirs. They were really good Bloody Marys. I was a little bit drunk by 10:30am.
• After taking a short nap while all of the other girls went to lunch, all of us headed to the pool. This was one of the reasons we went to Vegas in October to celebrate the Bachelorette Party for a wedding that is in January- the pool. It was perfect. I stayed at the pool working on my tan, enjoying cocktails, and flirting until my sister told me to get my ass in the shower.
• Next was the Lingerie Shower. Let's just say the groom-to-be is one lucky guy.
• We had dinner reservations at a restaurant at the Venitian. My sister was easily identifiable as the bachelorette- she was wearing a white cowboy hat with a veil. At the end of our dinner, a guy offered to buy our table a round of shots. My sister chose that moment to lead us all in a prayer (one of the items on her "Bachelorette Checklist"). It maybe slightly sacreligious, but it was pretty damn funny.
• Since we were at the Venetian, we stopped by Tao. Again we got right in, but we left not longer after since it was kinda lame. Instead we headed to Tryst. We were told to "ask for Bobby." At Tryst, we found Bobby who led our group of 9 girls to the front of the line and through the doors. Not only did we not wait in the line, but we also didn't pay the $20 cover for ladies.
• Tryst was lots of fun. I met a group of cute Canadian guys. We watched my sister do things from her Checklist. Etc, etc.
• We left Tryst to go to Pure (where our name was on the VIP list). Unfortunately, the Bachelorette lost her ID in the cab. No longer able to go to Pure, a guy who worked at Caesars got permission from the casino owner (so he says) to let us into Poetry even though my sister didn't have an ID. He even gave us free drink passes.
  
• The only thing we liked about Poetry were the free drinks. We walked in, found it to be lame, got our free drinks, then walked right back out with our free drinks in hand. We ended up going out a back door. There just happened to be a red Hummer sitting there. So we asked for a ride back to the front of Caesars. The driver said he was waiting for Carmen Electra, but he could take us if we hurried. So we rode in Carmen Electra's Hummer.
• The night concluded with late night food back at our hotel.

Saturday

• My sister calls every cab company to find her ID. Turns out the Lost and Found isn't open on the weekends. Make a note: do not lose anything on a weekend.
• One of the girls works for Southwest Airlines. She arranges for my mom to drop off my sister's passport with her supervisor who then flies it to Houston and passes it off to another supervisor who then flies it to Vegas where my sister is able to get it at the airport. Make a note: invite a friend who is a flight attendant to travel with you.
• In the meantime, we all went to lunch at In N Out Burgers. Then we did some sight-seeing along the strip. Finally I got to spend some time in the casino. I played Roulette for the first time. I lost about $80. My friend won about $80. I didn't like her much.
• That night we went to see the Chippendales show. It was quite a show...
• After Chippendales, we went to Voodoo at the top of Rio. One girl talked the door guy into letting us in. I mean, at this point we weren't really used to standing in line like the "common" people. Once in Voodoo we joined some guy's private party. It was really fun being part of this group of 9 hot girls. Lots of perks!
• We took a limo from Voodoo to Jet. Once at Jet, we partied the night away. I'm not sure what time I got back to the hotel or went to bed. I just know it was late. At least I went back to the hotel. Two of the girls ran into the room the next morning, afraid they were going to miss their flights.

Sunday

• This was travel home day. I was at the airport at 8am. I waiting in the security line for almost an hour. I'm glad I hadn't been rushing at the last minute.
• I was exhausted from the weekend, but I had no regrets. We partied like rock stars!

Overall, it was a really fun weekend. Apart from the lost ID, there was no drama. Given we had 9 girls sharing 2 hotel rooms, this is a pretty amazing feat. My sister has great friends who are beautiful both inside and out. I hope if I ever get married my own Bachelorette Party will be this much fun. Maybe I should just invite this group of girls again...

I can't escape my past

I recently joined Facebook. I was reluctant to join. Like most people in my generation, I'm already spending too much of my day online. I have email, this blog, MySpace, and the entire world wide web for browsing. Did I really need another online addiction? It seems the answer is yes. I'm addicted. I need the internet.
One of the things I've noticed is that online networks such as MySpace and Facebook end up being just another medium of communication with my current social network. Sure, it may be an additional way for me to keep in touch with my friends back in Texas. But is a comment as meaningful as a phone call or even an email? Probably not. For my friends who are in New York, why do I need to be friends with them in this online format? Is it a substitute for actually making plans with them? Am I replacing a phone call with the convenience of posting a short "we should get together" comment on their profile? Then there is the whole inherent popularity contest that seems to be happening. What does it really mean to have 250 friends on MySpace or Facebook? If I don't have hundreds of friends, what does this say about me?
Despite these concerns and issues with MySpace and Facebook, I have to say I've had some really positive experiences. It wasn't long after joining MySpace that I was reconnected with a friend from high school who I had regretted losing touch with. Since then, we've become good friends again. By this I mean, we call each other to share news. We hang out when I'm home. She's that friend I know I'll always have. (I have a feeling I might have blogged about this story before.)
Now after joining Facebook, I have had the same opportunity to find friends from my past. Again, some of them are people that I've really regretted losing touch with. However, one of the things I'm finding on Facebook (and to a lesser degree on MySpace) is the random connections between people. While looking through the friends of one person, I see people I've seen on other people's friends list. It's the whole 6 degrees connection thing. This was how I came face-to-face with my past. The part of my past I was trying to escape. The part that I can't escape. The part that was the catalyst for where I am now.
And he was only 2 random degrees away. And I mean very random.

more than just a phone

Between the hours 1:30pm and 3:00pm on Friday afternoon, my cell phone disappeared. At first I thought maybe one of my very adorable co-workers saw it sitting out and thought it would be fun to hide it. I admit, I might do something like that. It would be a funny prank, but only if you admit pretty quickly that you simply hid the phone. No one confessed. No one pulled the phone from their desk drawer and said "here it is..."
I searched all over, around and under my desk. I was literally on my hands and knees searching. I never found it. I have no idea how it could have disappeared. I'm very reluctant to suggest that someone took it. Sure, I accused my co-workers of taking it. But that was only when I thought they were playing a prank on me.
I was pretty upset about losing my phone. I think most people thought it was because of the inconvenience it caused. I was unable to make plans with friends that night. I couldn't call anyone and no one could reach me. I suddenly felt helpless by the loss. What if my family tried to reach me? What if there was an emergency and I needed to call for help? These were among some of the thoughts going through my head as I was freaking out.
However, that phone was more than a tool for communication. It served as a memory book. As an avid text messager, that phone contained many messages that reflected important moments in my life over the past few years. Every once in a while (usually when I am on the subway and bored) I would scroll back through and read those messages. Nostalgia at its best. Most would make me laugh, some made me ponder, and others just made me shake my head and wonder "what was I thinking?"
Now the one (and only) good thing about losing my phone is that I've lost some phone numbers I really didn't need anymore.
I did get a new phone. It's pink. I don't know what I was thinking. I am not pink. Sure, it's fancy, but all day Saturday I kept sending messages like "pmk." I couldn't figure out the new messaging. The guy I was writing kept thinking I was using "text" language. I was like "idk I can't figure out this phone." LOL. Not really. I don't do that type of texting.
Anyways, I've replaced the phone. I just wish I could replace the memories stored in the old phone.

dating drama

The following story is not my own. Lately my dating life has been drama-free. Sadly this is because it has been non-existent. It's been a while since I've had a date. Unless you count the fireman a few weeks ago- which I don't. Yes, that fireman. The one who stood me up several times. Trust me, I've learned to ignore his calls and text messages. But this story isn't about me...

Last Thursday, I was feeling particularly stressed at work. I explained to my co-worker that this was the reason I enjoy Grey's Anatomy so much. The drama on Grey's Anatomy offers me an escape. So he asked me if I wanted to hear about his brother's recent dating drama. My response, of course, was "Yes, please." This is the full-story of the drama diversion.

My co-worker's brother ("the brother") went out on a date last Wednesday. The girl is a co-worker of the brother's roommate's girlfriend ("the girlfriend"). The girlfriend is practically a roommate, too. Now my definition of a roommate is someone who shares apartment responsibilities such as rent and bills. The girlfriend simply lives there rent-free. In my opinion, this is already a recipe for disaster.
So the brother goes out on a date with the girlfriend's co-worker. Early on in the evening, this girl reveals that she nearly canceled the date. She goes on to explain that she had been getting messages on Facebook warning her about getting involved with him. She says that it was his roommate who was telling her to be careful. There were stories about his relationship with his ex-girlfriend, none of which were true. The messages also seemed to question his character. It didn't take the brother long to realize who was behind all of this. Not the roommate. It was the girlfriend. She had been logging on to her boyfriend's Facebook, pretending to be him, and sending these messages filled with lies. Um, let's start with the basic problem with all of this. SHE IS LOGGING ON TO HER BOYFRIEND'S PROFILE, and he doesn't know it. Who does that? How can you have a relationship when you invade that person's privacy and violate their trust?
So now what is the brother supposed to do when he goes home? The girlfriend is going to be there. It may not be official, but they are roommates. Instead the brother decided to avoid the apartment by meeting my co-worker at a bar. When they both went back to his place, it was obviously awkward and tense. He knows that the girlfriend tried to sabotage his date. According to my co-worker it is "obvious she has a crush on him." So what is he supposed to do?
The brother told his roommate who didn't seem to react. He hasn't decided if he is going to confront the girlfriend about what she did. Currently his plan is to avoid the apartment as much as possible. This drama directly affects my co-worker. Until he and his brother finalize the paperwork on the apartment they are buying, he is homeless. He was often sleeping on his brother's couch, but now he is also trying to avoid the apartment. They both are. I know I should feel guilty about enjoying this story so much, but it really did make me feel better last Thursday.

Dating in this city is already difficult and often full of drama without people trying to complicate things on purpose. The girlfriend is crazy. Seriously.

I hate chores

I'm not a big fan of doing chores. Sure, I always like my apartment significantly more when it is clean. But sometimes I really resent the effort required of me to get this satisfaction.
There is one chore I've recently realized I hate more than others- washing the dishes. I feel like there are always dishes to be washed. How can this be? It's just me. How can I use so many dishes? If I washed things immediately after I used them, would this make the chore any better? I don't think so.
I miss dishwashers. All you people who have this luxury. Be grateful.
Of course, even when I had a dishwasher I hated loading it and unloading it.
Clearly, I just don't like chores.
I need a maid.
Or a roommate...

a very long day

After a somewhat restless night, I woke up anxious about the day. I arrived at work at 8:45 this morning. I continued working on the project that took up my days last week. I began to find mistakes and make some changes. While I did manage to leave the office for a short lunch break, it didn't really feel like I ever stopped. I finally left work at 8:20 this evening. This was nearly a 12 hour work day.
I find myself asking how I ended up so deeply entrenched on a project that was never mine to begin with. Have I somehow developed some sort of 'martyr' attitude? No one likes a martyr. I don't think that is it. I simply took on this project because I felt I understood it, and I unexpectedly found myself taking the lead. Then I began to strive for perfection. I was working with numbers. I like numbers. They should balance. If I was getting my information from one report, shouldn't my numbers have matched that report.
I'm still not convinced this report is as good as it should be. But what was I going to do? The truth is that an analysis of the magnitude that I was trying to do takes at least a few weeks. I had a few days.
Today was too long. I'm tired. I don't want to go to work tomorrow...