Idolicious

Adam Lambert.

From the start of this season's American Idol, I have not wanted to like this guy.

Sure, there was no denying he was a talented singer; but something about him just seemed to grate on my nerves.

Maybe it was his crazy hair or his Emo clothes. Or maybe it was the fact that he wore black eyeliner (which I still find a little odd). It may have even had something to do with his flair for the dramatic because of his musical theater background. I don't know.

Whatever it was, I went into this season with a bias against this guy, convinced that I was never going to like him. I didn't want to like him.

Well.....I guess we can't always get what we want, because I have now done a complete 180, and am officially front-and-center on the Adam Lambert bandwagon. This guy has to be one of the most amazing, unique, and innovative people to ever hit the American Idol stage. He sings with such passion and emotion. Each week of competition, just when I think he can't possibly get any better, he outdoes himself. Every single week (well, excepting country week – Johnny Cash had to have been rolling over in his grave after that performance). I watch in awe, completely dumbfounded, and all I can say is “wow.”

Even Simon Cowell, who can usually barely manage to even crack a smile most weeks, gave Adam a standing ovation a couple weeks back, something that he had never done for any contestant before – ever.

I truly believe that this guy deserves to win. I guess that means I had better start actually voting, lest there be another Chris Daughtry incident.

And while we’re on the subject of Idol……..

So, there is this huge billboard down the street from my apartment, located at the intersection of Pico and Overland. This billboard also happens to be a couple of blocks away from the Fox Studios Lot as well. Every year, when the Final 12 (or 13, this year) contestants have been chosen for American Idol, their pictures are put up on this billboard, with the caption “Who will you choose?” below them. Then, as each contestant is voted off, a big “X” is put over their face, until only one contestant remains. This contestant then gets a whole new billboard, with just their face on it, with the caption “Winner.”

 

I drive by this billboard every day on my way to work, and having lived in LA for a little over 5 years now, I have been witness to 5 cycles of these American Idol billboards. This may sound a little crazy, but I find a strange sort of comfort in watching this billboard's evolution. It's like, you know how some people measure their life passing by seasons or holidays or birthdays; well it seems that I like to measure my life passing by the weekly changes of an American Idol billboard. I love to stare up at the contestants' faces as I zoom by each day, smiling at my favorites and scoffing at the Sanjayas that have somehow managed to amazingly remain. I even find myself getting a little excited each Thursday morning as I see the little man climbing the ladder up to the billboard to paste the "X" over the face of the latest contestant to be voted off.

I know, I'm odd.

But it’s something I’ve come to accept.

Say It, Don't Spray It

I am somewhat of a germaphobe by nature.

Perhaps this is because of all the blood, bacteria, and other biohazards I am exposed to daily at my job. Or, perhaps it relates to the fact that, when I was younger, my mother drilled into my head the warning that I must "NEVER touch the door handle of a public restroom with my bare hand," lest I die a horrible death at the hands of some insidious toilet-related scourge (P.S. I happen to agree with this wholeheartedly. Have you seen how many people still don't wash their hands after going to the bathroom? Yuck!).

Anyway, it is because of this aversion to germs that I have developed my current pet peeve: Automatically-flushing toilets.

I never ever actually sit on a public toilet, even if there are toilet-seat-covers available. If I must use a public restroom, I will use what I like to refer to as the "hanging/squatting method” to empty my bladder. I won't go into detail as to what this method involves, since I'm sure you can already deduce that from the title.

This is a commonly used method amongst most female public-toilet-goers, and though sometimes accidents involving aim and stream flow (down the leg and onto the pants) can happen, it is still much preferable than the alternative of getting one’s pristine but-cheeks anywhere near the contaminated toilet seat.

However, using this method on a toilet that has an automatic flushing sensor proves to be difficult. The stupid sensor seems to only be able to detect bodies that are sitting, not squatting. Thus, they usually choose to flush right in the middle of the entire process, sending a spray of icky toilet water onto my backside, thereby defeating the entire purpose behind this difficult maneuver – preventing one’s self from toilet germs!! Grrrrrr!!

You would think that in a world with such technological advances as the IPhone, TiVo, and GPS devices, they would be able to master something as simple as an automatically-flushing toilet sensor.

Until they do, I am just going to have to hold it.

Smarty-pants

So, my beautiful, intelligent, amazing, glorious sister, Blythe Eden, got accepted into the Masters Program for Marriage and Family Therapy at the University of San Diego this week. Wahoo!!

This is quite a difficult program and a difficult university to get into, and she worked so extremely hard to get where she is – and it paid off. She begins matriculating as a Torero this Fall. I am one very proud big sister.

Congratulations, Blythe-O!! I have no doubt that you will totes be the star of your class in no time!!

My Valentine in Anaheim

Valentine’s Day – a time for love, a day of romance. Yeah, excepting when you’re single. Then it’s just plain annoying.

This day has long been nothing more than “Singles Awareness Day” for me, and I’m usually pretty okay with that; though I have to admit that it would be nice to occasionally have somebody to snuggle and smooch with. But I digress…….

Anyway, for Valentine’s Day this year, a group of my girlfriends and I decided to spend this blessed event at the happiest place on earth. That’s right. We went to Disneyland.

 

 

is for Courtney (and for Cookie).

 

 

 

 

Considering that I live a mere 40 minutes away from Anaheim, you would think that I would go there all the time. Surprisingly, though, I hadn’t been to Disneyland in like, 4 years. And I had NEVER been to California Adventure (I know, I’m such a bad Californian). So, we bought some Park Hopper tickets, and began our fun-filled day!

We decided to hit California Adventure first.

 But, of course, we needed a snack before doing so.

The first ride we went on was the Orange Stinger ride. I’m pretty sure that this ride is supposed to be tame enough for children – but it wasn’t tame enough for me.

Maybe I’m just a wuss or something (quite possibly so), but I’m telling you, this ride was pure evil. There is just something about flying four stories in the air with my feet hanging down free as a bird that freaks me out!! My friend Ashley said that she couldn’t stop laughing the whole ride because every time she looked over at me my eyes were sealed shut. Perhaps I am just getting old……

I think that my favorite ride at California Adventure was the Toy Story Ride. This ride is basically a 3-D video game that you play for points – while riding in a cart that is constantly moving around. There are two people per cart, and I found it to be particularly entertaining.

 

 

 

 

I totally beat Melissa’s score. Of course, we were both slaughtered by the 10-year-olds in the cart next to us – but what else would you expect of their generation?

We hit a few more rides, and then had dinner at this really cool restaurant called Rainforest Café.

The ambience in this place was amazing. It was literally like eating in a rainforest (‘cause I do that all the time) – complete with dozens of luscious green trees, a gorgeous waterfall, snakes and noisy monkeys hanging from the trees, and lightning and thunder storms every half-hour. I whole-heartedly recommend the pot roast there.

By the time we finished dinner, the sun had gone down – and it had gotten miiiiiiighty cold.

Luckily, overly-anal, always-cold, paranoid Courtney had brought some extra hats and mittens for everyone – so the frostbite was staved off just a little bit.

 

 

Just call me C. Diddy. Word.

 

 

 

 

“What do you mean – they’re out of toilet-seat covers?”

 

 

 

 

Ready for flight (and an inclement snowstorm, apparently).

 

 

 

The beginning of Kim’s cold-induced delirium. It only got worse from here on out.

 

 

We headed to Disneyland at this point (running most of the way to keep warm), and since all of us had been to Disneyland before on multiple occasions, and it was getting colder by the minute, we skipped any rides that involved either water/getting wet or standing in line outside for longer than 10 minutes. That’s okay, though, because one of the rides we did manage to hit was one of my absolute favorites – Space Mountain!! I swear, that ride will never get old!!

My favorite part of the day was getting to watch “Fantasmic” in New Orleans Square. This show has been running for about 16 years now, and will always hold a special place in my heart – partly because of the nostalgia of my childhood, but mostly because of the perceived meaning behind the show.

As I sat there – watching Belle and the Beast and Jasmine and Aladdin dancing to their love songs; watching Mickey fighting the evil queen and other formidable foes; watching Peter Pan and Captain Hook battle it out on the bough of a pirate ship – I was transported to another world.

To a world where magic and imagination reign. To a world where there is still hope and innocence. Where good always triumphs over evil. A simpler, more peaceful world. And it made me smile.

I suppose that is why I will always love Disneyland, even though I am 30 years old. Because, in our current world – a world full of ever-increasing violence and despair, a world filled with confusion and declining moral values, and so much unhappiness – it’s nice to feel that magic, and to believe that it does exist, even if it is just for 20 minutes a night in a little park in Anaheim.

I believe in magic. Do you?

My Latest Obsession

So, my friend Ashley recently told me about her new favorite cereal - “Peanut Butter Panda Puffs” by Envirokidz. As the name suggests, this is a kids cereal, and I am no kid; but then again, aren't all the best-tasting consumables marketed to the younger generation?

I happened to be at Whole Foods the other day (strange, I know), and spotted said cereal on the shelf. "Hmmmmmm....." I thought. The box says that they are organic (and you all know how I feel about health food). However, Ashley has impeccable taste, and if she likes them, they can't be that bad. So I bought them. And I bought a box of “Leapin' Lemurs," also by Envirokidz, since they looked kind of interesting and had the words "chocolate flavored" in the description (plus, I loved saying the name!).

These cereals are organic, gluten-free, wheat-free, low-sodium, have no trans-fats, synthetic additives, or preservatives – and despite that, I absolutely love them!! I can’t stop eating them. It’s like they put an addictive chemical in them or something (and I crave them more than fortnightly!).

Now I just might be forced to try Envirokidz “Gorilla Munch” and “Orangutan-O’s.” Seriously, could there be anything more fun to eat than kids cereal? I think not.

Damn Recession

So, I went into See’s Candies today for a little sugar rush, and for the first time EVER, was not offered a free sample. Nor were any of the other people waiting in line with me.

Excuse me? Baking powder? No free chocolaty goodness?! The free sample is the main motive behind any of my visits to See’s, and I am now truly saddened by its apparent discontinuance.


What next? Are we going to have to start paying for the use of pillows and blankets on airline flights? Oh wait………

Stupid economy.

That's Amore!

The very first restaurant I ever went to upon moving to LA was this awesome little Italian place called C&O Trattoria. Upon walking through its doors, I instantly fell in love with the atmosphere. It has both inside and outside seating, but the outside seating is my favorite because it looks like a quaint Italian grotto. Actually, truth be told, I like the outside seating because something about the scenery reminds me of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” ride at Disneyland – you know, the part in the ride where that chubby guy is getting dunked in the well, and that woman is up on the balcony yelling “Don’t you tell them, Carlos. No, no, no!” Yeah, I know. My brain is a little warped. But there you go.

This is the outside seating area.

Anyway, I went to C&O again this past weekend with some friends, and enjoyed myself immensely. There are 3 things I absolutely LOVE about this restaurant (and they are the reasons I keep going back):

1. The Garlic Knots

 

These mouthwateringly delicious knot-shaped garlic rolls are free to all customers. There is a large plate in the middle of each table in the restaurant, and the waiters just keep coming around and refilling it with knots every 10 minutes. They even walk around outside the restaurant with a plate of knots and serve them to the guests who are waiting for a table. I usually have a very hard time not filling up on these bad boys before my actual meal arrives. Which brings me to my next reason…….

2. The HUGE Entrees

 

The entrees at C&O come in two sizes – Half and Gargantuan (no, I am not making this up). A half order can quite easily feed two people. Ergo, after gorging myself on garlic knots, I know there is absolutely NO way I am going to be able to finish my dinner – so, yay! Leftovers for tomorrow! Not quite as good the second day, but still totally palatable.

 

3. (And this is probably my favorite thing about C&O) The Singing

Every hour-and-a-half or so on Friday and Saturday nights, the waiters run around the restaurant and pass out lyrics to the song “That’s Amore” to all the tables. Then, the song’s music starts playing over the restaurant’s speakers…..and the fun begins! Everybody in the restaurant, both guests and employees, starts to sing along to the music. The waiters then start weaving their way through the tables, clinking glasses with the guests as they do, and exclaiming “Salute!”

Now, I have no business singing anywhere in public, but this is one instance where I will make an exception. I can belt out the song at the top of my lungs and not bother anyone, because all the other guests are singing too, and no one can hear my off-key nonsense! I also insist on making everybody at my table sway in time to the music. A little childish, yes…but it makes the experience so much more entertaining!

Here are a couple of pictures of some of the group and I holding our lyrics sheets, right before the singing started.

 

Seriously, I love this place. And you would, too!!