Late to the Game

Looks like I'm not nearly as hip as I thought--my kids have been social networking on Webkinz way before I joined Facebook.

S ran the Grand Rapids Marathon today--he didn't qualify for Boston, but he broke 3:20 and is officially faster than his sister. Congratulations S! I'm in full training for the Phoenix half-marathon. I feel good so far, but am going to try to find a training regimen that requires the least amount of actual running.

Suburban white boyz in the hood

We were out to dinner with some friends last night, and they told us that their 6th grade daughter asked what "pimping" was because apparently that is the word du jour among the boys in her class. A bunch of lily white suburban boys walking around with their pants hung low and saying, "what's up homey? that's so pimpin'" is so laughable. Let's drop them off at the Robert Taylor homes and see how badass they feel then. Luckily, H and T are too young to pick up that silly vernacular, but H is starting to talk like a teenager--she has this annoying habit of ending her sentences with an upward inflection, which I know is not uncommon, but it drives me crazy! I told her only questions end on the uptick, so hopefully she will drop this valley girl-esque speech soon.

Speaking of pimping, H's routine for this year's dance recital is to "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown." A downloaded the song to her iPod and printed lyrics for her. Um, the dude owns a Continental and an Eldorado, and packs a gun and a razor in his shoe--wonder what he does for a living and if it's appropriate for H to sing? Yes, both H and T have their own iPods, privileged little monsters that they are. They're not allowed to take them out of the house (they have docks and use them as stereos in their rooms) because they would be lost within 17 minutes. I love music, and I want them to love music, so I'm OK with this. I think I will start making them pay for their own downloads though. H asked for "Lips of an Angel" today, and T asked for "Dreaming of a Broken Heart." He told me that a broken heart is when you have a girlfriend, but she doesn't love you anymore. How the heck does a 5-year-old know that?

Guitar Hero 3 is out today. I haven't even mastered the first 2 yet, but I still want the new one.

Random thought: I made brownies yesterday and used a toothpick to check for doneness. I've had this particular box of toothpicks for probably close to 10 years--the $0.59 price tag is from a store in NYC, so this box moved from our apartment in NYC to our condo in NYC to the burbs of NYC to the burbs of Chicago. How the heck do toothpick manufacturers stay in business? I can't imagine that the profit margin is high on this product, and I'm not anywhere close to getting through 750 toothpicks in 10 years. Or maybe I'm abnormal and most people don't move a $0.59 box of toothpicks among 4 different houses.

Welcome to the 21st Century

So I was out last weekend with a bunch of girlfriends, and one of them mentions that she has a Facebook page or profile or whatever it is that you call it. I've been thinking of putting up my own for a while (while it's been fun cyber-stalking E's crushes using her account, I was thinking my own account would be good for my own legitimate social networking--I'll still use E's to anonymously cyber-stalk), so I went ahead and joined the new century! Is this what all the kids are doing today? Anyway, it's still a bare page and I'll have to get E to help me figure out how to make it "cool" and all that, but at least it's there, and I'll be linking to this blog.

p.s. Love how the blogger spell check doesn't recognize "Facebook" or "cyber"--that'll all change once the entire Internets merges with the Googles.

Love is blind.

Happiness is lying in bed with H and T, watching Dancing With the Stars. Hilarity is H commenting, "Mommy, Daddy couldn't do this because it would be bad for his back, right?" I actually laughed out loud and explained that these were really complicated dances, and these guys were professionals and/or practiced a lot. H persisted, "Well, Daddy's a good dancer, but he couldn't do this because of his back." Aaah, a child's blind devotion to her dad!

I think I finally got rid of the fruit flies, but now we're being inundated by ladybugs. How the heck did they get in the house?

Running with fruit flies

Someone looking into my kitchen tonight might have thought I was doing some interpretive modern dance. In fact, I was trying to kill the dozens of fruit flies that somehow infested my home. I must have killed two dozen by hand (they're fast, but I'm faster and more pissed off) and a measly two in my fruit fly trap (an inch of orange juice in a cup covered by saran wrap which has a few holes poked in--they fly in, but can't get out--I don't think they're known for their intelligence). I know for a fact that there's at least one left, but I hope it gets lured by my trap tonight. Where the heck are they coming from? Do they reproduce asexually? I wish I could remember more from my fruit fly study in high school biology.

So we watched E and S run the Chicago Marathon Sunday. What a miserable day to run--wickedly hot and humid. There's lots of controversy now about race conditions and what should have been done. Here's my $.02: 1) If you're not in shape to run, don't do it. You will take resources away from legitimate runners who may need them. 2) If you're not registered to run, don't do it. See reasoning in (1) above. 3) If it's going to be hot, why not move the race up an hour or two? All racers have to pick up their packets, so you could notify them then. It's not like the heat was a total surprise. 4) Overestimate how much water is needed for both drinking and cooling off. Nobody should be surprised that runners pour water on themselves to cool off. Heck, I did that in a 5K when it was really hot and humid. 5) If it's going to be hot, provide water stations at more frequent intervals--it might be a logistical challenge, but worth a shot.

We saw the elite runners while we were waiting for E and S--I can't imagine running that fast for 26 feet let alone 26 miles. Impressive.

Cute and funny boys

Since Rocco DiSpirito is my obsession du jour, I of course cyber-stalked him today and discovered we share a birthday! Is that a sign or what? And did I ever mention how much I love Wikipedia?

I'm also fascinated by Andy Samberg. He doesn't quite rise to obsession level, but I think he's damn funny. The NYT had a nice article about his "I Ran" video, but personally, I love the High School Musical spoof. H and T are obsessed with HSM, so having been subjected to countless playings of the treacly lyrics and relentlessly upbeat music, I especially got a kick out of the SNL take on it. I even liked these better than "Dick in a Box."

Rocco!

So I watched the Top Chef finale tonight and noticed 3 things: 1) I was really pulling for Hung to win--must be an Asian camaraderie thing--and I admit I got a little teary-eyed when he was hugging his family. 2) Casey has a really big rack. 3) Rocco DiSpirito is smokin' hot. Seriously, I never really thought that until tonight. I never watched his show "The Restaurant" and he never made me sit up and take notice during his other guest appearances on Top Chef. But tonight, he looked awesome--a little Keanu Reeves-esque, and he can now join Keanu Reeves on The List (the third person on the list of three is Michael Vartan). I might even sign up for his Bertolli contest, though nothing can make we watch Michael Vartan's new show.

I ate at Union Pacific years ago and remember being floored by the whole experience, the decor, the meal, everything. I think it was one of the first places I had the now-ubiquitous yuzu. I loved his cooking and, like Anthony Bourdain, hope he opens another restaurant. Especially if it's in Chicago and if he actually cooks in the kitchen. Naked. Just kidding (sort of).

So excited for Top Chef in Chicago next season--wonder if I'll see any of the cheftestants around town....

p.s. I once dated a guy named Rocco--who knew I would be smitten with another Rocco later in my life?

Running and random thoughts

So I've become kind of obsessed with running. I don't actually enjoy it, but I hate it much less than I used to. I've gone from thinking I could never run a 5K to running a half marathon and now thinking about doing "speed work" for shorter distances. I ran a 5K last weekend and shaved more than a minute off my per mile pace from my first 5K 2 months ago. Now I'm thinking I can go even faster and want to do sub-8-minute miles. The only thing I don't understand is why am I still mushy? Where are my six-pack abs?

Fall TV season is here, and there are a bunch of new shows that look interesting--Gossip Girl, Reaper, Pushing Daisies. Unfortunately, I don't have time for a lot of TV, so I think I'll stick with my old standbys--ANTM, Grey's Anatomy, Project Runway. I'll still sneak an occasional peak at The Bachelor and Dancing with the Stars--my guilty pleasures. And can't wait for the Top Chef finale! Despite his villain edit, I'm kinda rooting for Hung--I find him more amusing than annoying. Hmm, I wonder if I could get a job as a TV critic? Getting paid to watch TV would be cool. It would also be cool to be a restaurant critic, so I think I'll start blogging about food to bulk up my resume--ha!

Actually, we did go to a Korean restaurant with some friends recently. I'd been to Jin Ju before for a party, but never had a sit-down dinner there. I have to say that the food was pretty good. A little chi-chi for Korean food--I prefer more homestyle cooking--but everything we had was good. The chap chae especially deviated pretty far from the norm for me, but the flavor was great. The kalbi was good, too, though I would have preferred to have actual lettuce wraps and soybean paste rather than the stylish marinated shredded lettuce that it came with.

Final random thought: some days, things I read in the newspaper just annoy me. Like today, for instance. In the NYT letters to the editor section, some annoying woman was writing about the lead paint toy crisis and suggested that instead of giving our kids toys and having to worry about lead paint, we should read with our kids, encourage them to play outside, take them to cultural centers, blah, blah, blah. Blow it out your sanctimonious piehole, lady. I do all this stuff with my kids, but I also give them toys. Let kids be kids, and let parents have a break from constantly having to stimulate them. And please, how the hell am I going to get dinner on the table if I'm reading Plato to them instead of letting them choke on lead-tainted magnetic Polly Pockets and Thomas toys? And the other newspaper annoyance was in the Trib, which I usually don't read (I think the writing is atrocious) but started to get free on some days. In the business section, there are 3 finance professionals who make stock picks and pans each quarter, and then the paper reviews their performance. Here's my review of their performance: they stink and I as an amateur investor could probably do better. Maybe I'll suggest that to the Trib.