Arrrgghhh!!!


I started my month off of school (and work) by watching Cycle 2 of America's Next Top Model on youtube. It was the only cycle I hadn't seen. Now I am so frustrated!! Cycle after cycle, Tyra chooses the WRONG GIRL! In fact, I agree with only one winner of the show, Eva the Diva. She was incredible even though she didn't fit the usual supermodel mold. Why don't we go down the line, and I'll show you my picks for each cycle.



Cycle 1: Elyse (3rd)

Cycle 2: Mercedes (2nd), pictured

Cycle 3: Eva

Cycle 4: Kahlen (2nd)

Cycle 5: Nik (2nd) although this cycle sucked and no one really stood out for me

Cycle 6: Joanie (2nd), pictured

Cycle 7: Melrose (2nd)


Britain's Next Top Model, Cycle 1: Edwina (2nd)


If you haven't seen any or all of these cycles, I HIGHLY recommend you get yourself to youtube and enjoy. It's the best reality show by far, and every episode of each cycle is on youtube, including both cycles of Britain's Next Top Model (beware of annoying Brits who never shut the fuck up, still good, though) and one cycle of Israel's Next Top Model (Heey!).


In other TV news, Brian and I watched an A&E original movie, "Wedding Wars," with John Stamos playing gay! His brother is getting married, and he's the planner...until he finds out that his brother and the father of the bride (the governor) are working to pass a ban on gay marriage. Then he inspires all the gays across America to go on strike, and the world sees how it needs the gays in order to function properly. I think it was inspired by the recent Mexican strike (in hindsight I wish I had striked that day, too). The first half of the movie was really good, but it turned pretty bad after that. Nevertheless, John Stamos was great as a gay man, much better than his straight roles.


Charlize Theron is pretty, but the bitch can't say "j'adore Dior" even though she's being paid millions of dollars to do it. And she has an Oscar?? Did somebody say my NAME??


Enough about TV...let's talk about me! Mark and I looked at apartments on Saturday! I was really worried that we wouldn't find a place because there wasn't much being offered in the specific area that I wanted on craigslist. Fortunately, we ended up finding four really great two bedrooms. We made a list of the pros and cons of each place to narrow them down. It came down to either a 2bed/2bath for a lower price in a rundown complex or a more expensive 2bed/1bath with great curb appeal. We chose to apply first for the 2/1 because it's a great location with 2 parking spaces, in-unit laundry, and a deck. It is only one bathroom, but it's a gorgeous bathroom with blue tiling and a separate shower and bath. We submitted our applications last night so now we're waiting to hear back! In the meantime, I'm thinking about design and furniture!


I also think I've lined up a kitty. My hair stylist has one who he needs to give away because of allergy problems. He says the cat isn't fat, but it is really nice. I can't wait to meet it!



Well, I'm going home tomorrow. I can't wait to see my family, cats, and friends and also to go shopping at my favorite Salvation Army in San Pablo. Some of my clothes are really tired so I am definitely ready for a new style or at least new pieces. Maybe I'll pick up a GQ or Details at the airport to get some ideas. What do you think of his one??

Finals are over!! I just finished my last one (that's me studying, on the right). Now I get to check my class websites compulsively until my professors post the grades. Can I just say that I have some lazy professors! Three out of my four finals were completely multiple choice.
How fucking long does it take to grade those?? There are only 30 or so people in my class so it shouldn't take very long. Only one of these m.c. exams used Scantrons. Why don't they all use them?? Part of my current job is running Scantron quizzes and exams, and it literally takes 1 minute to grade fifty of them. My professor who uses Scantrons is taking her sweet time with them which doesn't make sense. One of the ones who doesn't use Scantrons says he doesn't know how to use the machine. A pre-schooler could do it! I told him it's really easy, and that I would show him, but he declined. Luckily, I know that my professors next semester know how to use the Scantron machine, but until then I'm going to have to wait and wait to get my grades.




The other day I posted about two pairs of really cute vegan loafers that I got. Well, I didn't buy them for myself. My wonderful sister and brother-in-law, Rosie and Max, got them for me. One pair was for my birthday, and the other pair is for Christmas! It was really kind of them, and I love them a lot. Here's a pic of the brown one. The other is black. I already got a compliment from a stranger on them. I think it's very important for vegans to wear cute shoes because most people don't think it's possible to find cute shoes that aren't made with animal products. But, most people don't know that a lot of major cities have a store that specializes in vegan goods, and there are lots of internet resources (including ebay) for them.


Whew! Now that finals are over, I am living the life of Reilly until the end of January! I'm going home to Hercules next Wednesday for a week. Then it's back to SD for New Year's and stuff. For MLK Day Weekend, Brian and I are going to Miami (bienvenidos a Miami)! He's going to play in a tennis tournament there. Right now, I'm trying to find lodgings there that won't force me to take out further loans. I've been reading about some hotels in Miami that have bed bugs so I'm planning to inspect the room thoroughly before unpacking my bags. The only good thing about having had bed bugs is that I know where to look for them (they look like flax seeds, btw, and hide in wood and in mattress crevices).

What's interesting about Miami is there are a lot of hotels with condos, and people buy the condos and rent them out for lower rates than the hotel they are in. The trade-off is that you don't get daily maid service or room service, but I don't care about that. It seems that the biggest problem with this practice is that the condos are poorly decorated with cheap furniture and uncomfortable beds. Also, it can be hard to get help if something goes wrong in the condo. I'll take my chances if it means low rates and a nice pool!

How does this look?? Jealous??

Finals, Schminals!! I have finals tonight, tomorrow and Thursday. Sucks!! The one tonight is most important to me, though, since I didn't do so hot on the mid-term. Wish me luck!!

SDG&E just came by and checked the heater. I made them fix the gas leak in my oven, too. It's been leaking gas since I moved here almost a year and a half ago!

And I'm moving out in a few weeks! If you didn't know, I'm moving to North Park to be closer to the boo. For the record, I'm getting a little annoyed with everyone giving me crap about how we only live a mile away from each other now. First of all, it's 1.3 miles, and there are significant hills and about twenty-five slow stoplights in those 1.3 miles. It can be really annoying if one of us forgets something at home. The worst is when I get hungry at his house because all he has is diet coke and pop tarts. Ok, second, it can be very hard to park in Brian's neighborhood. It'll be so much easier to just walk over. Third, we can't move in together because Brian bought a house with his friend, and it's not big enough for the three of us, so that won't happen for a while. So me moving very close is the next best thing.

While I am excited to live closer to Brian, I'm even more excited to get a kitty! My current roommate is allergic so we couldn't have one. My new roommate (who I lived with in Chicago, too) is not, so I'm getting one. I want a fat cat! I saw the fattest cat on some home makeover show last week. It was so fat and cute!! When it rolled over, the bottom half rolled and then the top half! KITTY!!

We went to karaoke on Sunday at Flicks with Ben and JP! It was really fun. Brian sang a Tina Turner song, and I sang my new standard "I Write the Songs" by Barry Manilow. I also took my Dreamgirls turn as Effie singing "I Am Changing." I promise never to sing that again! I'm so obsessed with Dreamgirls right now.

Today is a good day! First I found a video on youtube that showed me the proper technique for juggling three balls in one hand. After a few tries, I can do it! It also showed how to juggle four, five, and six balls, but, alas, I only have three balls...that's three juggling balls.



Then I got a phone call from one of the firms I interviewed with last week to tell me that I scored a paid internship for tax season! If I play my cards right, I could end the internship with a full-time offer. It's exactly the type of firm I want to work for, and it's downtown which means I can meet up with Brian for lunch. The best part is that I really liked the people I met there. I found out about the position from a classmate who already works there, so I'm going to bring her a vegan chocolate bar tonight!



Speaking of vegan, I got a vegan bumper sticker for my car on Saturday. I didn't like any of the slogan ones they had, so it just says "vegan." I brought Brian there because he needed new sneakers. He wanted to go to DSW, but I said that he should just browse the vegan store across rom Bourbon Street first. They had a pair of grey/blue sneakers that fit him perfectly so he bought them! I'm so excited about it. I'm even more excited that they had both black and brown loafers on sale and in my size. I'm getting them both.



Later that day, we went to Fry's in search of bluetooth headphones for my mp3 playing phone. They had two different kinds, but they wouldn't let me open them to see how they fit. They said I'd have to buy them and then return them if I didn't like how they fit. Then they suggested that one of them was better than the other and that I could try them on in the parking lot. I did just that, and they fit great so I kept them. So far my only complaint is that the music cuts out when there's wind (i.e. on a bike).



That night, we went to December Nights at Balboa Park. It was a big holiday fair, and all the museums were open. Brian and I visited four museums! The best one was the MOPA (Photographic Art) which had a fascinating exhibit on immigration. I learned that there are many things that are more fun than riding a freight train from Honduras to San Diego. At the museum, we took pictures at a photo booth!

Speaking of photos, the season finale of Top Model is Wednesday night! Don't miss it! I really have no idea who will win. It's down to Eugena, Caridee, and Melrose. I love Melrose, and I might cry if she doesn't win, but the cards are stacked against her. The editors been trying to show Melrose as a very mean and manipulative person, and I don't think Cover Girl would want someone like that representing them (although Eva won and she wasn't known for her kindness...I Love Eva!). Caridee, on the other hand, seems nice but mentally unstable and inappropriate so she seems equally unlikely. Eugena has a pretty good personality and is good in commercials, but her photos aren't nearly as strong as the others. Only two days until the winner will be revealed!!

Yesterday was the NU Club of San Diego Holiday Party. It was at an alum's mansion in Rancho Santa Fe (Bill Gates has a compound there, too). This house was P H A T. It was a serious crib, Spanish -style with a tiled pool and hot tub and gorgeously manicured grounds. After a week of hellish cold (yes, it does get hellishly cold in San Diego), we were very grateful to be given a beautiful, warm day for the party, that is, until around 4 when the sun moved away and the cold winds started to blow.

That's all for today!