The Top Things Making Me Grumpy Today

1.  Oliver on Project Runway.  I really can't tolerate the fake accent any longer.  I've put up with it for like 6 episodes already.  Get it off my tv!

2.  The fact that we haven't gone to the post office in like 2 weeks, and there was a nasty note in the mailbox when I went today saying I had to call a main office number to get my mail.  I'm afraid to call it because I don't want them to yell at me for not emptying my mailbox regularly.  I might make J, but I'm grumpy with him tonight, too.

3.   My inbox in general and Groupon in particular.  Listen Groupon, you were cool 18 months or so ago when I first found you, and you didn't spam me thirteen times a day.  Can't you, you know, ask me some survey questions to find out that I'm really not going to be interested in a chemical peal in Redondo Beach for 60% off?  I'd take the survey to get targeted emails from you.  I really would.  But I'm pretty much on the verge of marking you spam for now, cuz of all this crap you send me.  And now google's getting in on it.  If I have to listen to one more ad for Google Deals on my Pandora station, I'm going to knock somebody's head off.

4.  Fresh and Easy.  I love you F&E, I really do.  When I heard that Tesco's in the UK was going to do a US store, I got really excited.  And now that you sell McVities chocolate biscuits and Hobnobs, I'm even more of a fan.  But this thing you do of not completely sealing the chicken in the plastic wrap, so that even though the date says Sept 7, it goes bad early because it's been getting air all weekend...that has just got to go.  Could you try to be less ghetto in your meat packaging, please?

5.  Barack Obama.  Google "Obama + Cave".  Or, if you're a liberal like me, don't.  It will just get your blood pressure going.  I'm donating money to Stephen Colbert's ColbertPAC this year because I can't tolerate giving Obama any more money for him to just use to, you know, destroy EPA regulations and refuse to raise taxes on the wealthy.  Hillary Clinton's 3AM Phone Call ad is sadly starting to ring true.  

Three Day Weekends are fun, but I'm just feeling grumpy now.  

More on my ongoing entertainment crisis

Back in 2001 when I lived in London and was super trendy, I had a mac. One of those turquoise clamshell ones with the little handle so it was kind of like a cute briefcase. Like the kind Aiden bought Carrie on Sex and the City when her computer crashed. Anyway, I had itunes on that, but since then I've not been an itunes person. I subscribe to Rhapsody, and love it, and I have a creative zen 80gb player along with random assorted smaller ones that are better for travel, but I'm still a (reluctant) pc person, so I don't do much with itunes. But for fun I downloaded it the other day and was totally blown away by all the radio stations. I'm not sure why I find it so amazing - they just put streams of various international radio stations all in one place - but I'm just thrilled with it. J and I have been listening to hindi pop from Mumbai, and trip-hop from Frankfurt. It's pretty cool.

I still haven't been able to find books I want to read, but as it's Sunday, I'm planning to do a big closet-and-bookshelf clearout today (took down the Christmas decorations yesterday and need to reorganize the bookshelves) and I'm hoping that something in my huge library of unread books will show up. I have a new Haruki Murakami book that might be interesting.
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Yesterday I made really delicious sticky bbq ribs, and they were so easy. I'm not a big beef-eater (as opposed to beefeater, the British soldiers that wear the funny red outfits) so I don't buy a lot of it, but it was on sale for like $1 for a huge package so I bought it and figured I'd do something with it. I browned the meat, and then threw out the oily grease, put the meat back in the pan, covered it with bbq sauce and a little sugar and paprika, and then filled the pan mostly up with water. Let it come to a boil, then turned it down and let it simmer for 2 and a half hours, turning them over once. We have this tradition of getting bbq on the day of the Super Bowl (because we used to live by the famous BBQ King on Cesar Chavez) but after eating the stuff I made yesterday, J has declared that we don't ever need to buy bbq again. I really enjoy making new foods and trying new recipes. I guess that's the eggs talking or something. Nesting instinct.
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Speaking of nesting and eggs and babies, we were out at Carrows (our new favorite place to eat because two people can eat, and get desert and drinks and it's still less than $25 including tip) and there was the most adorable baby ever at the next booth over. J was just going crazy. 2010 is the year we have planned to have a baby, but at this rate, we're going to have to get pregnant tomorrow just to keep him from having his Baby Fits.
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I have a busy week ahead. I fly up to San Mateo for the day on Tuesday, arriving back home at 9ish, and then get to wake up early and head down to San Diego for a 10am meeting on Wednesday, which means I'll need to leave at about 7 or so.

When I have those kinds of busy times I realize that I spend a lot more time worrying about them in advance, than just being in the moment with them when they're going on. Inevitably they're never as bad as I think they're going to be, and I'm never as tired as I think I'm going to be, and I spend so much time and energy worrying about them for weeks ahead of time, that I lose a lot of life that way. I need to come up with a new resolution - not to worry about the stuff that hasn't happened yet. Because I'll either be really tired on Wednesday morning, or I won't. Either way, worrying about it isn't going to help me get more sleep.
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Oh, and the Big News, I got my official invitation to the inauguration. Too late, though. I can't get a flight this late without spending a fortune. On one hand, I'm like, "yeah, well, it's history, and I want to tell my grandkids that I was there!" and on the other hand, I think that it's not really worth $1000 to be able to say I was somewhere when I'll get a better view at home in front of the tv.

So I really have become a practicle person. I guess I really am out of my 20's now. Sigh.

gOBAMA

I'm still bursting into tears at random moments when I think about Obama and how proud I am of America.

Will.i.am is a genius.