Looking Forward

Well hello again blogosphere! Yeah, I know. It's been awhile. That's life for ya. Let's just say I've been inspired by the arrival of fall. I used my rainy day off today to hang out in one of my favorite neighborhood spots, Azi's Cafe. This was exactly what I needed. I love this place and Azi herself (so sweet!). And I always know I can get a perfect cup of coffee. The Miriam Makeba CD playing made me realize what's missing from my iPod. I caught up on the latest haps by flipping through the City Paper and tearing out pages that interest me; it's one of my favorite past times. I began to think about all the things I'm looking forward to:

• Sade's tour this summer. First tour in ten years? Wouldn't miss it. How cool that she kicks off so close in Baltimore at the Mariner Arena!
• Fall boots, bags, and vegetables. I love fall vegetables: sweet potatoes, turnips, squash...farmer's markets here I come, sporting my new fall boots!
• The opening of Rogue 24 in Shaw. A great restaurant less than a block away from my place is very exciting.
• Shopping for a new mattress. It's official: I'm old. I've been sleeping on a pitiful mattress for years now and the effect is taking its toll. This irritable, body-aching, like I haven't slept at all feeling when I wake up has got to stop. Mattress shopping will begin this weekend.
• A vacation - anywhere. Ok, not anywhere. Visiting my family is not a vacation and the last time I was in Jersey, a bear was on the loose. Oh no!
• And last but not least, Derek's blow-out birthday party this weekend. He refuses to tell my how old he is (yes, he is gay) but I'm thinking, 39? All I know is that I need to prepare for a serious hangover the next day!

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Discovery Channel: How Bad is Your Programming?

I am extremely relieved that the hostage situation at the Discovery Channel's headquarters resulted in no one being hurt other than the guy taking hostages. But I also have to admit that this fact makes me feel less guilty joking about the irony of it all. My teenage niece called it "old school" because these days you rarely hear about hostages being taken. These crazy gun-toting people usually just shoot a bunch of people and then shoot themselves. And who would ever think of protesting bad TV by taking hostages and demanding that a network change its programming? I have been meaning to post a rant about how tired and perplexed I am of TLC's obsession with big ass families. I mean really, the idea of 19 kids just seems gross and irresponsible. A commercial for one of these shows has a woman saying, "The cost of raising these five babies is huge!" No shit. Who told these people to have so many kids? Apparently the gunman believed that Discovery was promoting overpopulation. What seems more accurate to me is their promotion of reproductive planning for dummies. What genius came up with the I Didn't Know I Was Pregnant show? I haven't seen it but have heard stories about babies falling out of woman's uterus at the mall, on a roller coaster, anywhere - all for the camera to see. That's just sick.
I can only hope Discovery will reevaluate its programming after the hostage incident but I doubt it. At least now I can watch What Not to Wear over on the Planet Green channel.

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Summer Produce from Mom

This past weekend was spent uncharacteristically at home, cooking. No, I haven't suddenly become a suburban housewife. I was actually really enjoying my solitude and being thankful for having such a great mom. My mom has been growing vegetables this summer and had an overabundance of produce. Even though she's only about four hours away, she knows how lazy I can be when it comes to packing a bag and getting on a bus. So, what did she do? She overnighted me a care package filled with beautiful tomatoes, basil, and zucchini! I've actually never gotten food in the mail, much less fresh produce! There was no way I was letting this stuff go bad so I immediately put my brain to work and hopped on the Internet in search of recipes. With an existing variety of staple pantry items, I now have no need to eat out or order delivery for quite a while. Of course, I will eat out but it's nice to have a fridge full of options.

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Step Up 3D

Last night I went to a free screening of the movie Step Up 3D, which opens on Friday. I went with my DJ/dancer friend Baxter and if it were not for him, I would not have even known about this movie. I'm not a frequent movie-goer and was apprehensive about the possibility of being in a theater with a bunch of kids. But I figured it would be something to do. And I also hadn't seen a movie in 3D since I was a kid.
Luckily we had cocktails before the movie because this was one of the corniest movies I've ever seen. I'm talking Disney corny. Scenes that were supposed to be serious got laughs from the audience. My favorite moment was when one of the characters was informed that he was BFabb - Born From a Boom Box. Ok, what the hell is that? I think it was explained but I must have been laughing too hard to hear it. On the plus side, the movie has a lot of energy and there were some interesting dance moves. But what I would be excited about is a Daniel Craig or Bourne Identity movie, or even the NBA in 3D. Yes, please!

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Things Men Say

I can't believe July is already over and I've survived the severe heat and humidity of July in DC. One thing I did smarter this year was not even attempting to blow dry my hair in this weather. I may not have gotten smarter about men but I survived my crazy experiences with them. Here's just a sample of the crazy (or funny) things I've heard from the mouths of men this month:

• I haven't worn underwear since '97. -Local singer/songwriter
• I call tattoos on women 'tramp stamps'. -Recent transplant from Boston
• For $750 million I would be a straight woman. -Gay guy friend on the Tiger Woods divorce
• Not sure why, but I find you interesting. -Guy asking for my number at a bar
• I masturbate almost every day. What can I say, I think I'm sexy. -Video editor friend
• I have the best excuse ever for not calling: I had a stroke. -Guy I went out with last year and ran into on the street
• And while he said it many years ago, I just heard Jenny Sanford tell Oprah recently that her ex-husband Mark Sanford told her that he didn't want the word 'faithful' in their wedding vows. That worked out well.
  

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