Real Housewives

I am starting to be able to tell Tamara and Gretchen apart. Oddly enough, I probably find Gretchen the least offensive of the whole bunch--she's a gold-digging party girl, but at least she's not unrealistically idealistic (Lynne), catty (Tamara), a doormat (Jeana) or just downright mean (Vicki). I'd probably have a great time hanging out with her one night!

New York is starting soon--will have to get the DVR ready. Alex looks like she had some bad plastic surgery during the off-season....

A 60+ degree drop

Back 3 days from Grand Cayman, and I'm already forgetting what sunny and 80 feels like--gray and 20-ish here. It was a fun trip--lots of sun, sand and sea. The sand is unnaturally white, and the sea unnaturally turquoise. Had a few celebrity sightings as well--Jim Cramer, Anthony Bourdain and Eric Ripert. The kids snorkeled, and this time, T went all the way out to the reef. We went to a different reef this time, and the number and variety of fish was incredible. The highlight of the trip for the kids, however, was probably the ride in the karaoke taxi. That's right, karaoke taxi. There was a video screen with karaoke videos, and two microphones. Note: Beast of Burden isn't really an appropriate song for an 8-year-old to sing. Also not appropriate? The college-aged couple going at it on a chaise lounge during movie night. H had a fit of the giggles when she saw they were "making out." She asked if she could do that when she was in college, which brought out a resounding "no!" from me, A and A's mom. Speaking of A's mom, it's pretty uncomfortable having to explain to your mother-in-law why it's not OK for her and H to be yelling about H's beaver (sand sculpture) on the beach. "Come see H's beaver!" is not a sentence I ever want to hear again. Of course, talking about T's coconuts (the green ones and the brown hairy ones) was a source of endless entertainment. Much to my chagrin, the guppies survived our weeklong absence. Maybe I should have taken H's advice and preemptively flushed them.

Did not play any Word Twist in Cayman--I am rusty! Funny that Blogger doesn't recognize "Facebook" in its spell check, and Facebook's Word Twist does not recognize "weblog" (the 25-point word is "bowleg").

I forgot to bring my lunch today so had my first Potbelly's sub in a long time. Yum.

I was catching up with an old friend on Facebook and learned that his sister-in-law recently died (the C word). His brother is now a single dad, raising two young kids. Of course, it made me think of Susan, and I've been feeling sad, but at the same time, appreciative all the more of everything I have. And I try not to feel too blue because I know Susan's family is doing great--Phil is a great dad and the girls are happy and well loved.

On a more upbeat note, American Idol started last night and we are not watching this season. I just don't have enough time to invest in 2-3 hours of AI each week. Maybe as the season goes on and interesting talent/personalities emerge, we'll tune in for a bit. But without watching the bit players, how will I ever revel in events like my David Hernandez encounter?

Another problem with AI is it conflicts with the Real Housewives of Orange County. Much to my surprise, A is a huge fan. He knows all the players and can even tell Laurie, Tamara and Gretchen apart (I really can't) and knew that Tamara was on starting last season and that Gretchen is new. Last night's episode was jaw-dropping. First, who refers to her own son as a man-whore and then lets him flirt with her drunk, married friend? And what married friend, no matter how drunk, finds herself in a compromising position with her friend's man-whore son? Can't wait to find out what happens next week....

Idol Live!

I'm back from a quick weekend trip to Scottsdale with some old law school friends. The weather and scenery were beautiful, but Arizona is a funny place--the nightlife is very "done" for lack of a better term. Fun highlight: seeing David Hernandez (from last season's American Idol) perform and dancing up a storm.

While on the trip, I finished The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. I have to say, I cannot understand for the life of me how this book won a Pulitzer prize. The writer had an interesting voice, but I did not think it was a prize-winning read. Oscar was not a likable character for me, and I hated all the Spanish that was sprinkled in without translation.

I also recently finished The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. It was a good, smart thriller, but I'm not sure how I felt about the ending. This was a book club read, as was Beneath the Marble Sky, which I really liked, and which stayed with me. That's ultimately my main criterion for evaluating a book, movie, whatever: whether I continue to think about it.