weekend recap

recap of one of the busiest weekends i've had in a long time. i was rushing everywhere and usually running late (stupid LA traffic).

friday
- went christmas shopping right after work, bought 4 things for me, 3 for others
- went to coworker's holiday party. caught up with people i normally don't get to talk to
- went to hollywood & highland and bought beard papa's for my family and billie. the japanese girl at the counter was so... japanese. she kept thanking me profusely for coming in and for buying the creme puffs. it made me wonder if business is slow, or if it was just her culture of being extra-polite. btw, strawberry custard is their best flavor... yum.

saturday
- woke up early to go to the paul frank warehouse sale with billie. we got there at 8:45am and did not get in until 10:45! it was maddening. but we both bought a lot of stuff and i got some gifts, so i guess it was worth it? my damage was $85 and billie's was... $180! i don't know if i'd be able to do it again.
- picked jack up at the airport and went to go have pho
- dropped jack off at home and went with billie to the grove to watch "brokeback mountain." as we walked up to the theater i saw several gay boys on their cell phones seemingly distressed, and so i had a feeling the movie was sold out. it was. it was 3pm, but they were sold out until 11:30pm! so billie and i bought a "memoirs of a geisha" ticket, shopped at the grove for a while, and then snuck into the next showing of "brokeback mountain." haha... we are very sneaky people. we also saw the very end of "memoirs"... it looks like it might be good.
- as for "brokeback mountain," i thought it was really good, but doesn't necessairly live up to all the hype. it's a very quiet movie and not as dramatic as you would think. however, it's a mark of a good movie when you feel like you've experienced the story of the characters. there's a scene where heath dry heaves and breaks down in body-wracking sobs after having been with jake and he's reeling from the loss of something he's convinced he can't have and at the same time, feels wrong for having taken part in. you can tell the pain comes right from the gut. i know exactly what that's like. the scene was very real to me.... the acting was great all around... even jake gyllenhaal's character's mom (who only had a bit part) was excellent. and yes, the guy-guy sex scene was hot... but strangely, i find jake and heath to be more attractive with clothes on than off. weird. anyway, the movie made me thankful that i live in a much more accepting time... although things aren't entirely great today, either. i mean, you still have leaders fueling homophobic beliefs that a love between two men or women isn't as good as a love between a man and woman. that it shouldn't be valued on the same level, that it's not right, and that it would destroy the morality of "real" marriages. and all the closet homophobes in the country finally feel validated. i feel like in the past few years this country has really gone backwards in that respect. it makes me want to find a way to make sure kids in the future don't have to go through the self-hate i did while growing up.
- after the movie, i dropped billie back home and went straight to my excoworker, john's holiday party/housewarming. it was fun, but hard to find parking.
- afterwards i hung out at borders in hollywood, and i think i saw the guy who plays joey's nephew on "joey"

sunday
- took family pics for xmas cards. um, i think i need to get some sun...
- went to coworker marlene's bday party. it was fun. i somehow became the official photographer of the party... i hope the pics came out okay. did a bad, bad thing after the party. what's wrong with me?!
- had a quick dinner with billie at chipotle's. was planning on shaka's but they were closed!
- went to see "rent" with david and ernesto. i enjoyed it. it takes a while to get used to people breaking out in song... and some parts get cheesy... but i liked it overall. i'm SO glad rosario dawson replaced the original broadway actress (most everyone else was from the original) because the other girl's voice really irritated me. rosario sounded much better. it's really a life-affirming kind of movie and it left me in a good mood. btw, ernesto is moving to san diego... i'm sad :(

grammy noms

i like the songs nominated for record of the year ("feel good inc," "boulevard of broken dreams," "we belong together," hollaback girl," and "golddigga"), but i'm disappointed kelly clarkson's "since u been gone" didn't make the cut. it was widely acclaimed and one year later, i still love it. at least she's up for pop female vocal for the song.

i'm happy for mariah's comeback. i hope she doesn't have another year where she racks up nods, but doesn't win any. this time she can't yell at tommy mottola for not pulling strings to get her a win.

glad to see the killers up for "mr. brightside" and "all the things that i've done."

ditto for kylie minogue's "i believe in you."

kanye west was on mtv the day before the announcements and proclaimed it would be an injustice if he doesn't win album of the year. the guy is such an arrogant jerk... i just wish i didn't love his songs.

random notes

i love hugo's. hugo's loves me. organic food can be fun.

hollywood & highland has a beard papa's now... yummy creme puffs. me thinks i'll be spending more time there.

"walk the line" is a pretty good movie with excellent performances by joaquin phoenix and reese witherspoon. i hope they are nominated for oscars. added bonus: joaquin has a very sexy singing voice.

it's hard to come up with things i want for xmas. grr.

it's really cold in LA now. i don't want to get out of the bed for work. i might have actually whimpered this morning.

a guy hung himself outside my office window today. but it was for CSI New York, so he lived. although he was certainly upset when the cable got too tight around his neck.