Back to Work

My week off is finally over. There was something odd about it, though I can't place my finger on it. Highlights...

:: San Diego was fun, though all we did was eat. But the food was good, the weather was real nice and Extraordinary Desserts had Shangri La both days. I did have to work though =( Went to La Jolla Cove and saw the seals. They are actually kinda of ugly animals. Not trying to be mean... just sayin'.

:: On Monday, Eric, Paigie, Ellen and I spent the day at the Grove. Went to the Farmers' Market for the first time; we didn't get anything but it looked like a pretty cool place to bring a date. Eric seemed to enjoy the American Doll store a little too much... while we were shopping at BR, he snuck back over to check out the American Doll Cafe.

:: I exchanged my beloved video iPod for a Touch one... I think it's too fancy for me. I might return it and get a Classic one instead. Went shopping at three different malls and bought some fun stuff... probably too much stuff. Having free time can be expensive.

:: Had dinner and a movie with Mark and David. Haeran and Curtiz joined us for the movie. Mark and I pulled off a pretty good prank... =)

:: Watched the Oscars with Billie and my sister and brother-in-law. It was an okay show, but I didn't care about the winners.

:: I spent a lot of time thinking about a move to SF. I think we can all guess the reason why, and I'm pretty sure if things work out, I'll do it. I need to.

Love Song...

In honor of Valetine's Day, my top 10 favorite love songs...

10. "Dancing in the Dark" by Bruce Springsteen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pk8VZgJkpeg
Strange, I know. But his voice and the sentiment are really romantic.

9. "You've Got A Way" by Shania Twain
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7eEAP3Uo8a4
It's very calming and soothing and pretty. Now what the fuck is wrong with her makeup in the video?

8. "I Wanna Dance (With Somebody Who Loves Me)" by Whitney Houston
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n52CzPvwPQ0
Another "dance" song. Funny, 'cause I hate dancing. But when she sings, "Clock strikes upon the hour..." it makes me want to fall in love. Aww.

7. "Tonight and the Rest of My Life" by Nina Gordon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiNf6uDhMac
There's a real yearning to this song. The Notebook used it in their commercials and tricked me into seeing that dumb movie.

6. "Chasing Cars" by Snow Patrol
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vSWGNqI-sI
"If I just lay here..." Love that line...

5. "I Believe in You and Me" by Whitney Houston
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0XiJE2Txzc
Try to forget all the bad American Idol auditions that butcher this song and you'll find a really nice song sung by Whitney when she wasn't cracked out.

4. "Come What May" by Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7l0O7nCgmI
This version I find to be a great love song... the version in the movie I find to be a great heartbreak song. Weird, huh? I love Ewan's vocals.

3. "Collide" by Howie Day
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTz7rhommHI
"The dawn is breaking, a light shining through..." I picure laying down in the back of a pickup truck in the middle of the desert and staring at the stars while listening to that.

2. "Come On" by Ben Jelen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-v8dd1802U
This song makes me cry. In a good way. Baaaad video, though.

1. "Your Song" by Ewan McGregor
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Z7JSqGyyzI
Ignore the strange fan video which sets the song to Claire and Peter from "Heroes" (Gross, they play uncle and niece!). It's the big climax at the end that gets me.

Honorable mention:
Favorite Love Score...
"...And Then I Kissed Him" by Hans Zimmer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8t5m54STN5o

Current Favorite Love Songs...
"Wow" by Kylie Minogue
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LnTrZYHK_II

"End of the World" by Blake Lewis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3SaoJWlJAs

"Come to Me (Peace)" by Mary J. Blige
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1T2mRbo_GI

Hey, I Do Have a Life...

Thanks to two days off last week, I was able to get my work done and have a real weekend for the first time in 2008. A play by play of the weekend...

FRIDAY
I met up with a guy who lives near Koreatown. Afterwards, I drove over to West Hollywood to go bar-hopping with Hadley and his friends. I got there early, so I finally got my HIV test done. They didn't have the oral swab, so I was a little nervous. I hate having my finger pricked, especially in a van parked on the street. But the vehicle had cute cartoon characters painted on the side and the people seemed reputable and clean, so I did it. While filling out the survey, I lied purposely and by accident on several questions. My counsler, Pierre, had to squeeze my finger for what seemed like forever to get blood. I nearly passed out. Not because it hurt, but because the thought of bleeding made me queasy. Good news in the end -- I'm negative. And I got a $5 Denny's gift card. Whoo-hoo! (By the way, I'm never having unprotected sex again, no matter how cute I think the guy is.) As soon as I stepped out of the van, I heard Hadley call my name from behind me. Kind of embarrassing, but whatever. So we all went to the Abbey and then Eleven, which is the new hotspot in West Hollywood. The place was packed, but that was okay because it was packed with hot men.

SATURDAY
Okay, I did work most of the day. I finished by 5pm and then had dinner with Billie at Sweetie Thai. The food took forever and there were obnoxious kids at the next table, but I like that place. Then I drove to Long Beach and met up with Nate, Max, Ryan and Jack to play at Gameworks. I DDR'd and played the basketball game. No matter how hard I tried, I could not beat Ryan at basketball... But I did get first place when he stopped playing. Then we watched "Cloverfield," which I enjoyed for the second time. As we left the theater, we saw some poor guy throwing up in a trash can (I guess he got motion sickness from the movie). Then I drove out to West Hollywood for my friend Michael's birthday at Rage. I stayed a little while, then went home.

SUNDAY
I went to Fran's for her annual Superbowl party. I won a candle. I caught up with that crazy crowd and then drove down to Haeran's for the second half of her party. It was fun, especially since I hadn't seen Haeran since January 1st. I ate way too much. Then I went home and did some more work. And now it's time for bed... I'm so tired!