Oh No!

Taco Bell is going to remove trans fats from all their products! What am I going to do!? I think trans fats might be the best thing about Taco Bell. I am sure that they are where the delicious tastes come from. And by delicious, my friends, I mean DELICIOUS. I am a hold-out. I still love Taco Bell. I used to be able to eat Taco Bell three or four times a week; now, I can probably only eat it once a week, but I only actually eat it once a month. But man oh man, what I wouldn't give for an old-school Mexian pizza right now. You know what I'm talking about - when Mexican pizzas first came out, not only were they sliced into quarters (cheap bastards won't even do that anymore), but they were topped with a sprinkle of green onions and four little black olives - one per each quarter! Those were the good ol' days.

Taco Bell, don't take away all the trans fats. Leave 'em in the bean burrito, or the cinnamon twists. Give me something to hold onto.

bye bye trans fats - C+ (how can something be simultaneously so good for my body and so bad for my taste buds?)

A Year Ago Today

These happy people were wed one year ago today. When I called the groom this morning and asked "What are you guys going to do today?" he said:

We're going to get up, make some coffee, and eat our frozen wedding cake... and then I'm going to go buy an anniversary present.

Now that's love!

Happy Anniversary, kids! - A+

Everything Must Go!

While out on yet another shopping trip this weekend, I discovered that our friendly neighborhood Pier 1 was going out of business. Sad as it is (where will all the children buy their papasans?), I jumped at the chance to do some bargain shopping... but Pier 1 let me down. I suppose they shouldn't be blamed - after all, everyone wants to do a little bargain shopping - but pickin's were slim. I had hoped to get a few things to stock my gift supply kiosk - what, you didn't know that I aspire to be the lady who keeps a supply of gifts on hand just in case one is ever needed? Please! Anyone who loves gift wrap as much as I do knows that you should always have a stock of candles, coffee mugs and wine on hand so you can give a gift at a moment's notice. But alas, those decorative items were the first to go. There were some crazy pillows, and a few janky candles, and not much else. I managed to find a couple things for my FMIL, and if she doesn't like 'em, no big deal, because they were CHEAP! I also found a charming little picture frame that matches the decor of my living room. Good times.

SALE! SALE! - B

Shortbus

I saw some penises last night. I saw a whole bunch of other things, too. Shortbus is about sex, plain and simple. It's also about the complexities of relationships and being comfortable with yourself, but ultimately, it's about sex.

And I liked it! It seemed... real. I didn't feel like I was watching fake characters, but rather, real people having real problems (but not in a creepy voyeuristic way). It's starting to feel like every story has already been told, and everything now is just a new spin on the same old stuff, but Shortbus was refreshing and new and... real.

But don't watch it with your kids, and definitely don't watch it with your parents. There's a lot of thrusting that mixed generations shouldn't watch together. I got a little uncomfortable in one or two sections - and not in a tingly way - with all the sex that I was seeing, but the uncomfortableness would vanish right away with the next super-funny or poignant scene. Shortbus is one of those movies that you could probably go forever without seeing, but you'd be missing out.

Shortbus - B+

Bagel Bender

I have been on a bagel bender for the past two days. I had a delicious bagel for lunch yesterday, made my favorite special way, and TWO bagels on Sunday. I think I've had so many bagels in recent days because that first bagel, eaten Sunday afternoon, was kind of gross. A summary:
Bruegger's Bagels: whole wheat, with garden veggie cream cheese - not delicious. I asked the lady to tosat it, and she didn't, and the cream cheese was clumpy. Not spoiled, that's just the consistency of their cream cheese - more grainy than smooth. But it was vey disappointing (I'd give it a C-) and it did not satisfy my bagel craving.

So, Sunday night AND yesterday for lunch, I had my special bagel sandwich from Amer's Mediterranean Deli: honey wheat bagel, toasted, with low fat veggie cream cheese, add tomato, cucumber and avocado. YUMMERS (A, for sure). I might be able to eat it for lunch every day - and it's cheap, too! Less than three dollars (less than two dollars if you go in at 10:50 PM when they close at 11)! I'm done with bagels for now, but I'll probably be back next week.

bagel bender - B+

A Great and Terrible Beauty

Since I love young adult literature so much, it's usually one of the first things I check out when I go to the bookstore - and since the Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants series so much, I usually start my YA trip in the authors-who-start-with-B secion. I've been looking at the cover of A Great and Terrible Beauty (by Libba BRAY) for a couple years, and I never bought it because it was a hardback - and unless it's Harry Potter or SOTTP, I won't by YA lit in hardback. But good news! AGATB is out in paperback now! I bought it about two weeks ago and devoured it - not because it's the best book I've ever read (more on that) but because I haven't read anything new in a while, and just wanted to get into a new story.

But this book wasn't awesome. It was entertaining, and I always enjoy a story centered around strong female characters, but the ending was ultra lame. I wanted there to be a big battle instead of a fading away - but fading away is what I got. Plus, how many books about English girls in India do there really need to be? Or English girls whose parents die? (Trust me, I'm not spoiling it for you). It was fun, and I suppose if I were 13 or 14, it would have knocked my socks off, but I'm 29, and it was just alright.

A Great and Terrible Beauty - B-

Braids

I have been wearing my hair in braids a lot recently. This is not an attempt to hold on to my lost youth (although I do think they make me look younger), but rather a chance at having a hair "style" that doesn't make me look crazy. See, I have a couple of hair problems. One is called fizz. It's different than frizz. Fizz is little baby hairs right around the hairline at my forehead, particularly on the right side. When I wear my hair in a ponytail or bun, the fizz escapes, no matter if I use gel, mousse, hairspray or a combination of the three. In fact, if I use too much product, the fizz bands together into a fizz clump, which is even worse than the fizzy fizz. My other hair problem is called can't-be-bothered. It's been established that I don't shower every day, and I need a hair style that lets me carry on my lazy ways - but as I said, fizz prevents me from sporting a cute bun. So, braids it has been for the past few weeks, and I think they look good. Sometimes I do a center part, and sometimes a side part. I do have to keep a close eye on my ponytail-holder supply, but I'm in good shape right now.

And that's my story about braids.

Braids - A-

The Namesake

The Namesake was lovely. I don't really identify with issues of cultural identity (I'm pretty much white), but it was a compelling story that even the whitest audience member could get into. I really cared about the characters and their issues and dilemmas, and even though I looked at my watch twice, I was never bored. And the rumors are true: it is a beautiful film. Excellent cinematography. Oscar worthy? Probably not, but it's a film for the whole family.

My friend Erin has a theory that everyone has an ethnic twin - you know, a person of an ethnicity other than their own who would look just like that person if they weren't black/Korean/Indian/etc. I didn't agree with her until I saw this movie. Kal Penn is the ethnic twin of a guy I "dated" one summer. Remember China Boy (he wasn't Chinese, just going to China for a year)? Wow, do they look alike or what?

The Namesake - B+

Blue Karaoke

AFTER we watched Peaceful Warrior, and AFTER we ate at Chipotle Burrito (and after we went shopping, too - we were busy little bees), we went to Blue Karaoke for a box karaoke birthday party. Nate's friend and his sister have the same birthday, seven years apart, and they've been wanting to do box karaoke for years, and they finally got their shit together - and it was awesome. Totally and completely awesome.

To start, we were greeted at the door by a very nice Korean lady - and a tiny white poodle with her ears and tail dyed GREEN. It was sort of like being in an anime cartoon. The NKL showed us to the Blueberry room, pictured here (all the rooms are named for fruits - those crazy Koreans!). Blueberry has two enormous leather couches, light-up tambourines, a light show, and tons of room for lounging on the floor (I got a couch spot, thank you very much). It also has the best karaoke background videos I've ever seen. All the women and a good portion of the men end up crying, there's always someone running and looking back in slow motion, the men get into fistfights, and sometimes there are dancing anime cartoons. Yay! What the song selection lacks, the videos more than make up for. It's weird to me that there was no country music, but whatever - there were plenty of '70s and '80s tunes, and we spanked 'em all. How do I know we spanked 'em? Because in box karaoke, you get scores. The karaoke machine scores you! How awesome is that? Everybody got an 80+ (except for the song that no one sang along to, which got somewhere in the 40s), lots of people got in the 90s, and two people got 100. Those performances were magical - simultaneously perfect and hilarious. And you can bring your own snacks! Nate's friends decided to have an Asian snack theme, with dried squid and Pocky. I'm not so much into dried squid, but the Pocky was delicious!

I'm thinking about a box karaoke bachelorette party, or maybe my 30th birthday.

One last thing - the building that currently houses Blue Karaoke used to be Ann Arbor's "spa." You know what I mean - a "spa" that's open from 6 PM-4 AM. Where you can get massages of many varieties. Somehow, that made the night even better.

Blue Karaoke - A+

Chipotle

Move over, Qdoba! There's a new burrito in town. Chipotle Mexican Grill (or as I like to call it, Chipotle Burrito) is just like Qdoba, only ridiculously good. As you may know, I love Mexican food. Bad Mexican food is better than no Mexican food, and I crave it all the time (I blame my upbringing in southwest Texas). Nate and I, on our friend's recommendation, ate at Chipotle Burrito on Saturday, and I was not disappointed. I ordered the carnitas burrito - they actually serve pork at this chain! - and for some reason, the lady making my burrito gave me the beef barbacoa, but I am so glad she did, because it was DELICIOUS. And the spicy salsa was really spicy - everything had flavor. The only really annoying thing was that people in line behind us cut into the seating area and put down coats, so we ended up sitting in "someone's seat" and they were annoyed. Well, that's what you get for being a snoot. Wait your turn in line, bitches.

Chipotle Burrito - A-

Peaceful Warrior

There's nothing better than a free movie. Nothing! Even when that movie is made up cheese, schlock, schmaltz, and fierce gymnastics. I'm talking about Peaceful Warrior, a movie you've never heard of and don't need to see at all. Nick Nolte is pretty much unbelievable as a Zen master warrior who trains a gymnastics star who's searching for meaning in life, as well as Olympic success. Just how did Nick get on top of that roof? We are led to believe that Nick's sheer mastery of his universe got him up there. Riiiiiight. And the gymnastics! I've got four words for you: slo-mo pommel horse sequence. Awesome! And yet, not.

Thanks to Nate's tai chi teacher, who got us a free pass, and Nate, who downloaded the other. Like I said, nothing's better than free... but sometimes, free isn't quite enough.

Peaceful Warrior - F