i've moved!

ive gone to wordpress! just need to iron out all the kinks, but im pleased so far (depending on how big your screen is, my formatting is either perfect or horrendous. arggh someone teach me css!)

http://rightmindleftcoast.wordpress.com

i love that surly lump!

Val just sent me this ecard:

ha! yeah, right.

my sister, on my 1 year review: your bonus or ours :)

states of emergency

whoa, and the fires are still raging.

according to the nytimes, in the past two weeks, there have been 40 lightning-sparked wildfires that have charred 49,000 acres (76+ square miles). this is crazy. yesterday, 1,450 fires were reported contained, but there were 320+ still raging. the sierra nevada foothills are burning, the central valley is a smoky mess, big sur is in danger... is this typical?

the mid-atlantic gets so humid this time of year, it's hard to imagine anything like this in dc or the tristate area. norcal is so dry though - it's actually one of the things i dont like about the state. sure, parts of it are gorgeous, and im a sucker for the drive down 92 into half moon bay and rte 1, but a lot of the bay is just a lot of brown (okay, amber on a good day). there's just so much brush, and with 2008 boasting the driest March and April in California on record (ever), it's incredibly concerning. just a few weeks ago, the governator declared an emergency draught, and there've been questions over whether or not we have adequate equipment and personnel to fight all the fires (scoops told me yesterday she's thinking of becoming a forest firefighter next summer, which sounds incredible. and incredibly necessary)...

so what can we do? im all for water conservation / energy conservation / recycling... but i fear it's all too little, too late. california is burning while the midwest is flooded. the mississippi was at 29 ft, spilling over into Iowa, Missouri and Illinois (am i forgetting anyone). global warming, anyone? god, i hope g bushie saw wall-e.

compare and contrast.

*****

here's an interesting tidbit brittany just sent me: http://www.sacbee.com/378/story/1066675.html

maybe things arent so bad after all?

have i really not posted this yet??

for some reason i thought id posted this on at least one of the blogs! or maybe i just sent it to everyone i knew. oh well.

my latest obsession (besides the bachelorette and her beautiful boys):



how ridiculous is that dance? i love the part around the 1:25 mark, it's just brilliant. granted, the dance is a little... primal... but something about it just works. and damn, do chelsie and mark sell the thing. if this were america's best dance crew, little mama'd be yelling they "stabbed the chicken in the heart!!" (translation: they killed it!!)

oh, and there's actually an 8 min clip of the entire segment. completely worth checking out for getting to see chelsie totally tomboy it up. yum.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_d8nWIqxo0U

i think because im currently incapable of doing anything other than hobbling, i have an [even] bigger affinity for dance shows than usual.

here's the empeethree: leona lewis - bleeding love

oh, and cause it's wednesday, here's a cover, too: mystery jets - bleeding love (leona lewis cover)

my dad, in a nutshell.

today, on gchat:

me: hi daddy
Joseph: hi alex
me: i just asked the guy who works at the salad place out and it was so awkward
Joseph: why did you do that?
me: why not? he's cute
Joseph: but isn't he the wrong gender?
(some pause)
me: cute is not a gender
(more pause)
Joseph: be careful who you go out with.

i love my father.

Half priced wine night and ABC magic

Deanna chooses JESSE!!

millions of girls (like me) rejoice! the poor guy was so nervous meeting her family, but it was pretty clear that she really liked him (and was visibly upset when her father and sister werent jumping on the jesse train). jason clicked with the relatives, but i think the whole pre-made family thing was a little much. more than that, though, she never smiled at him the way she did at jesse.

is it ridiculous of me to hope these two last?

ps. last night rocked. julia bell, sabrina (new penn friend via alice) and i went to solstice, on california and divisadero, and we pigged out on delicious raspberry (i still cant believe there's a p in that word!) mojitos, edamame, yummy sliders and carnitas tacos! oh, and a bottle of Sauvignon Republic Cellars' 2006 Sauvignon Blanc. half price wine night will be the death of me.

the plan was to bring the bottle home, but we managed to finish it off in no time... headed back to sabrina's (they walked, i stumbled) where christina (awesome googler) met us. three glasses of red wine and a choc chip muffin later, deanna chose jesse, i was elated, we were all pretty buzzed, and julia had to drive herself home once christina dropped us off at my place (thanks, both of you).

ooh and i finally got to see julia's apt (super cute, just like her roommate!...i think. my vision was slightly impaired) and then went home to pick up my rent check and then drop it off in soma. after circling howard and 9th five times, i finally found the office and dropped off the check. then went back home, where i then proceeded to drunk dial the east coast (sorry!) and pass out at like 12 30. im not surprised i overslept this morning.

the verdict: raspberry mojitos are delicious, but five glasses of wine afterwards are probably unnecessary. oh, and girls' nights rock.

the final countdown!

the bachelorette finale is tonight!!

also, i cant believe i didnt realize one of my fave songs of late is actually a boss cover.

florence and the machines - im going down
some have likened florence welch to kate nash, but i beg to differ. i like nash, but there's something welch that just makes her infectious.

jesse vs jason?

somehow between moving to california and trying to carve out some quality downtime, i caught an episode of the bachelorette. and i liked it. a lot.

here's why:

deanna - she knows what it's like to be rejected, and the girl is incredibly down to earth, funny, and gorgeous. sure, she's only 26 and has it in her mind that she must get married asap, but at least she knows what she wants and has the guns to stick to it. id call her witty, but there were some bloopers after monday's tell all that would downplay that compliment, so let's just say she's goofy - totally that hot girl next door who is nothing but honest about what she wants, but knows how to have a good time. i also think it's a testament to her seriousness about things that she's kept jesse around so long. she's said repeatedly that he isnt the type of guy she usually goes for, but she's realized that that doesnt matter. he keeps making her happy, and ive got to say, it makes for great television.

jesse - pro snowboarder; goofy and spontaneous; first her friend, then more; totally down to earth; pretty adorable (though not as obviously gorgeous as some of the other dudes, he exudes confidence); he didnt kiss her early on like the rest of the guys - he took his time and made sure they both felt the same way; he also knows their lives are very different - on their exotic date, he made sure to bring up his long term plans, and talk about how deanna would fit into his life. he's obviously grown up a lot over the course of the show, and his feelings seem truly genuine. im crossing my fingers for him.

Jason - nice guy; infectious smile; responsible dad... i totally didnt expect him to make it this far. he's really sweet, but i just wasnt sure the connection was there with deanna. apparently i was wrong. like jeremy, he's pretty perfect on paper. deanna would definitely have stability and trust, but she'd also be thrown into the position of stepmother. she wants to be a young mom, but does she want to walk into that role right now?

it's funny, deanna has made some really interesting (but probably very smart) choices this season. she had major heat with graham, but knew if he couldnt open up, it wasnt going to work the way she wanted it to. then, jeremy was probably the perfect man, but she made a really respectable decision when she told him that she couldnt confuse the bond they had for losing a parent / parents with love. it was surprising to see her act with such maturity and clarity of mind - the woman knows what she wants, and while she loves romance and all, she's smart enough to know what works and what doesnt.

that being said, that quality could work for and against both remaining suiters. deanna obviously worries about jesse's job and how she'd fit into his life. she wants someone serious, and he didnt initially give her that impression. however, i think he did a great job of showing her how grown up he is - as he told her, he's no longer 15, he's 26, and he wants to settle down. he even told her that once everything was over, she'd better be ready to get married, because that's what he wanted. he seems like a great guy, and im rooting for him. just a little nervous about the finale, though - it seems like the visit with her big fat greek family is more than a little awkwaaaard....

jason has a good shot, too. he's a ton of fun, and she really seems to get along well with him. to be honest, though, she seems more into jesse. she and jason had a good time on their date, but the vibe seemed to be much less serious. i think going into the finale, deanna needs to decide a few things: is she ready to be a stepmother and is jesse mature enough to be in a relationship like what she wants? and which is going to be the dealbreaker?

oooh i cant wait for monday!

p.s. i friended deanna pappas on facebook and told her she rocked.
friend status: still pending.
my status: creep.