I recently watched Stardust, easily one of my favorite “new” movies because it offers so many innovative twists on the age-old boy-meets-girl love story. The first time that I saw it I immediately thought “instant classic.” My favorite part of the entire movie is when Tristan and Yvaine are dancing on the ship and Yvaine starts glowing. This scene reminds me of a quote from seven-year-old Karen: “When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you.” My freshman roommates and I called this “twinkling,” a phenomenon quite similar to Yvaine’s glowing.

My favorite dialogue from the movie, however, is when Yvaine confesses her love to a bewitched Tristan who has been turned into a mouse and locked in a cage:

You know when I said I knew little about love? That wasn’t true. I know a lot about love. I’ve seen it, centuries and centuries of it, and it was the only thing that made watching your world bearable. All those wars. Pain, lies, hate… It made me want to turn away and never look down again. But when I see the way that mankind loves… You could search to the furthest reaches of the universe and never find anything more beautiful. So yes, I know that love is unconditional. But I also know that it can be unpredictable, unexpected, uncontrollable, unbearable and strangely easy to mistake for loathing, and… What I’m trying to say is… I think I love you. Is this love? I never imagined I’d know it for myself. My heart… It feels like my chest can barely contain it. Like it’s trying to escape because it doesn’t belong to me any more. It belongs to you. And if you wanted it, I’d wish for nothing in exchange – no gifts. No goods. No demonstrations of devotion. Nothing but knowing you loved me too. Just your heart, in exchange for mine.

There are so many great parts about this speech. I love that Yvaine compares love to loathing. Sometimes the people we love are the people who most frustrate, anger, and annoy us, but we don’t love them any less for it because true love is unconditional. Perhaps it helps us love them even more because we know that we can love them despite their tendency to push our buttons and piss us off. Sometimes the sense of loathing makes love feel unbearable. And sometimes love seems unbearable because the people we love don’t love us the way we want or need them to.

I also love the part where Yvaine says that she feels like her heart is trying to escape from her because it doesn’t belong to her anymore. The thing that strikes me about this simile is idea of your heart belonging to someone else. It illustrates the principle that love isn’t just a feeling that you have and keep for yourself but the giving of your heart to someone else. And I think that’s why so many people are afraid of love. It’s risky business giving your heart away to someone else because you never know just what s/he’s gonna do with it. If you’re fortunate, you’ll give your heart to the right person the first time. But that’s not usually the case and hearts tend to pass through many hands before settling in the right ones. And each time your heart is given back to you, it’s never in the same condition as when you gave it away. It always comes back marred, broken, or diminished. But the thing is, if your heart always belongs to you and only you, you aren’t experiencing the true meaning of love.

Finally, I love the part at the end where Yvaine tells Tristan that if he wants her heart, she would give it to him and ask for nothing in return except for knowing that he loved her too. Love seems to always come with a price, whether literal or figurative. When we love someone, we feel the need to show our love by giving gifts, going on fancy dates, writing poems/songs, etc. I once dated a guy who kept asking me what I wanted from him and saying that he felt like he needed to do more to demonstrate how much he liked me. When I told him that all I needed was to be with him, he had no idea what that meant. I tried to explain that all I needed was to know that he liked me and to be able to spend time with him. I told him that I didn’t need gifts or expensive dates and that just knowing that I was his girlfriend was enough. He thought that I was being difficult – that I wanted him to read my mind about some fabulous gift or date that I was expecting – and we broke up a few days later because I supposedly wouldn’t tell him what I wanted. I thought that I’d been pretty clear that I all wanted was HIM and nothing more. I didn’t, and still don’t, understand why that was so incomprehensible.

I like to joke with some of my guy friends, In-and-Out included, that I’m high maintenance and have expensive taste. I think I pull the act off fairly convincingly because I generally like to dress nice, always accessorize (even when hiking/rappelling/canyoneering), almost always wear heels, and can be somewhat bitchy. But it’s just that – an act – and I’m pretty sure that the guys that know me best would say that I’m one of the most down-to-earth, easy going girls they’ve ever met.

So when I say that all I need from a guy is to know that he loves me, it’s not a trick and I’m not trying to be difficult. It really is that simple.

xoxo Lorelei

Warning: With everything that happened yesterday, this ended up being a looooong post. So grab a snack, take a seat, and enjoy the ride!

Snow-flakes
After spending 30 minutes skiing together on Friday, Walker, Texas Ranger, and I made plans to ski together on Saturday as well. Since we both have season passes, we decided to take our time and head up to the resort in the early afternoon. When I woke up yesterday morning I was greeted by softly falling snowflakes and four solid inches of accumulation on the ground. I was anxious to hit the slopes but patiently waited until noon to start gathering up my gear.

By about 12:30 p.m. I hadn’t heard from Walker yet so I decided to text to him see when he wanted to head up to the hill. It took him nearly half an hour to text me back to say that he was undecided about skiing because he didn’t want to drive up the canyon in the snow. I understand that Walker is from Texas and has probably never driven in snow before, but let’s get serious, he WORKS at a SKI RESORT so he’d better get used to the fact that he’ll be driving through the snow EVERY DAY all winter long. After a few more texts, Walker ultimately decided to stay home. When Walker decided not to go skiing, I seriously reconsidered whether I wanted to drive up to the resort by myself. The snow report had logged only four inches on the hill, not nearly enough to provide good cover over the previous day’s ice and bare patches. Plus, with only one lift running on opening weekend, it was likely to be more crowded than the snow would really be worth. But the idea of riding three days in a row on opening weekend kept nagging at me and I resolved to make it happen.

Although it took almost an hour to drive what normally takes 15 minutes, the snow was definitely worth the wait. I hit my first run at about 3:15 p.m., and much to my surprise and delight, I had fresh tracks in six inches of untouched powder. With the lifts closing at 4:30 p.m. and my legs already somewhat shot from the previous two days, I had time for three more runs, riding powder with each turn.

Parking at the resort kinda sucks and I usually have to park about a quarter mile away from the lift base. Fortunately the resort provides shuttles between the parking lot and the base. After unstrapping from my snowboard, I walked over to the shuttle station and sat down on the waist-high retaining wall while I waited for the shuttle to arrive. I did a quick survey of the other people waiting for the shuttle, inadvertently making through-the-goggles eye contact with the guy on my left. He smiled at me and said, “Hey, how’s it going?” I was startled not only because I wasn’t expecting him to say hi but mostly because he knew that the person beneath the goggles, beanie, helmet, and hooded ski coat was a girl. Since my short hair is always hidden underneath my beanie, most people think I’m a guy when I’m snowboarding so it’s a rare occasion when someone immediately treats me like a girl.

I chatted with the guy for a few minutes until another guy caught my eye – the Metro Mountaineer. Standing about 6-2 with dark hair and a dark complexion, the Metro Mountaineer is nice to look at. The first time we met was at a work meeting held in his living room that was lined with pictures of the Metro Mountaineer with his equally beautiful wife. The next time I saw him was in Moab. We were getting ready to paddle the Colorado River when he walked out in seven-inch board shorts and his “adventure shirt.” I almost laughed out loud in disbelief and asked him if he was serious. He was and I was grateful that I’d kept my mouth shut.

I called out to the Metro Mountaineer, whom I hadn’t seen in several weeks, and we chatted for a few minutes. I felt slightly bad for so suddenly turning my attention away from the snowboarder sitting next to me but I figured that I could say hi to my friend and then go back to talking to the snowboarder. Except the Metro Mountaineer was also waiting for the shuttle and so he wasn’t in a hurry to go anywhere. After waiting for the shuttle for nearly 10 minutes, the Metro Mountaineer and I decided to walk the quarter mile to our cars and I left the snowboarder out in the cold.

In retrospect, I probably should’ve spent some more time talking to the snowboarder because he seemed like a pretty cool guy. I could’ve waited to say hi to the Metro Mountaineer, pretending like I didn’t seen him until I got bored talking to the snowboarder. But then again, the guy was a snowboarder and I’m partial to dating skiers.

In and out at the ward party
Last night my LDS single’s ward held its annual Christmas dinner party. Since Junior’s girlfriend is out of town for the weekend, we decided to go to the dinner together. I picked him up just before 7:00 p.m. on my way to the dinner and we arrived right on time. The problem with being right on time to a ward party is that you’ll undoubtedly get asked to do something. Set up tables or chairs, put water pitchers on the table, say a prayer or whatever, and neither Junior nor I were in the mood to “work.” So instead of walking in right away, we sat in my car in the parking lot for a few minutes and caught up while we waited to be fashionably late.

When we finally went inside to the dinner, Junior asked the most important question of the evening, “Where should we sit?” Where you sit at a ward dinner can make or break the entire event. If you get stuck at a table of weirdos and creepers, you have a 90% chance that the evening will be uncomfortably awkward and only a 10% chance that the weirdos and creepers will do something so awkwardly hilarious, without even realizing it, that has you and all the other normal people at the table lizzing. You also don’t want to sit too close to the action (a.k.a. the front of the room) because then you’ll probably get asked to do something or participate in some embarrassing object lesson. Junior and I scoped out a table near the middle-back of the room, conveniently close to the food tables. But as we chatted with the bishop’s wife, our table was snatched up and we found ourselves tableless.

Luckily some of Junior’s friends had claimed a table that had two empty chairs and we quickly invited ourselves to join them. Since I didn’t know half of the guys at the table, Junior introduced me to In-and-Out and his brother. Junior started telling the guys about me, including that I write this blog. In-and-Out was immediately intrigued by the idea of a dating blog and started asking a ton of questions about it. When Junior said that In-and-Out could make it onto the blog if he took me out on a date, In-and-Out grabbed my hand and asked me when we could go on a date.

The rest of the evening was spent joking about the blog and dating in general with In-and-Out randomly grabbing my hand a second time. Part of the dinner included a cake/dessert auction. One of the guys commented that one of the cakes looked like a wedding cake, at which point In-and-Out looked at me, raised an eyebrow, and said, “We’ve got love, there’s a cheap wedding cake, all we need now is…” I laughed and said that part of the dinner program could be our impromptu wedding, performed right there by the bishop. Unfortunately we didn’t win the wedding cake. Neither one of us even bid on it and someone else bought it for $67.

Even though he’s been in the ward for almost two years, I’d never talked to him before last night. He said that he’d seen me at one or two events before but had assumed that I was dating Junior because I was always “on Junior’s arm.” It was fun getting to know In-and-Out over dinner but today at church he didn’t even acknowledge my existence much less say hi, so I’m pretty sure that he’ll be asking someone else to marry him at FHE tomorrow night.

The 30-year-old gladiator
At about 9:15 p.m., I snuck out of the ward party to head over to the Caveman’s American Gladiator-themed 30th birthday party. It took me almost 45 minutes to find the warehouse where approximately 20 grown adults and five children were running wild, wearing sparkly red, white, and blue spandex, helmets, goggles, and body armor brandishing homemade “swords,” jousting sticks, and tennis balls. It was like walking into sheer madness and was honestly quite baffling. I gave the birthday boy a hug and was greeted by a smack on the shoulder from the Dirty Hippie who immediately challenged me to a duel.

The rest of the night felt a bit surreal as tennis balls constantly whizzed past my head and people came and went. One guy introduced himself and asked me who I knew. When I told him my name and that I was friends with the DH and the Caveman, he gave me a knowing look and said, “Oh, you work with them in Moab.” How do these people know these things?

I honestly didn’t love being at the Caveman’s birthday party. I felt awkward and out of place and not just because I was wearing gold pointy-toed snake-patterned heels and a cardigan. The whole experience made me realize that as much as I like the DH, our lifestyles are just too different for each other. Looking back at the time we spent together over the summer, I think we both really took steps in each others’ direction. I became more carefree, more outdoorsy (if that was possible), and less concerned about status and money. The DH, on the other hand, became more disciplined and concerned about his future, employment opportunities, and responsibility.

But four months later, we rarely see each other anymore and we’ve both taken steps back toward our old selves. The less time I spend with the DH, the more I can feel myself moving back towards liking the conventional as evidenced by my recent slew of MBAs and engineers. Seeing the DH wearing blue stretch pants and an ancient parka, I can tell that he too has reverted to his pre-Moab self. So although I still get chills whenever the DH hugs me or puts his arm around me, if I’m totally honest with myself then I think I have to recognize that things just won’t work out between us.

And that makes me sad.

In review
Saturday was a busy and exhausting day. I got canceled on, hit on, and have to face the decision of dropping the most intriguing, captivating, and caring guy I’ve met in a long time.

It’s complicated being me.

xoxo Lorelei

[Click to embiggen!]

Last year, November 2008, the famous Five Guys Burgers & Fries finally opened their first joint in Oak Park, IL. Five Guys Burgers & Fries first opened in Arlington, VA and then spread all over the DC area. The legend of their tasty, highly customizable burgers grew and today can be found in 30 different states. Within a year after that first Oak Park location, Five Guys Burgers & Fries can now be found all over the Chicagoland area. It’s becoming a very popular chain in a highly competitive upscale fast-food market that is synonymous with Portillo’s and a number of Chicago-style pizzerias (too many pizza joints to just pick one).

The success of Five Guys Burgers & Fries should not be a surprise. Hands down, they make some of the best burgers a franchise chain makes in the area. For cheap eats under $20 dollars, it is certainly one of the best fast food burger joints in the Chicagoland area. The beef patties are fresh, never frozen. You can let your imagination go and craft a crazy burger with the numerous toppings to choose from. The burger is greasy & can be messy but it is very good. What I really love from this place is the fries. They are hands down some of the best fast food fries out there. It’s fried in peanut oil and the texture is crispy outside (tip-to-tip) with a soft inside. The taste is amazing for fries and is the real winner for me.

While I certainly have Five Guys Burgers & Fries as one of my new favorites to get a burger from, I don’t know if it tops the offerings of Portillo’s (even Portillo’s burgers are damn good). But that’s why their name is Five Guys “Burgers & Fries” because that’s their bread & butter. Still my favorite fast food burger joint is from those guys in the west coast – In & Out Burger.

But comparing Five Guys Burgers & Fries to In & Out Burger and Portillo’s is a very good sign that this place is good.

Five Guys Burgers & Fries

I know, I promised to do a new post yesterday, but it’s still the holidays and on holidays, my computer is on a timeshare with mom, and my mom is on a blog-fever so let’s just say what mommy wants, mommy gets.

Anyway, let’s just continue our Hot and Not list. I’ve listed the Hot in my previous post, now it’s time for the Not.

Are you ready? Let’s dig in.

The Notties:

1/ Overexposed slutty celebrities.

Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan and Megan Fox

I know the guys may protest – but I don’t really care. These overexposed slutty celebrities are so over, and I’m not the only one sick of them in 2009. Take Paris Hilton for example, after she hooked up with Doug Reinhardt, and broke up, and then hooked up with Cristiano Ronaldo, and broke up, and went back to Doug – her so-called fame starts declining in the speed of light. Sure, she still gets photographed by paparazzi but no one really gives a shit about her anymore. Lindsay Lohan, her one-time BFF, doesn’t exactly fare well in the fame department either this year. She could not get a decent role, the only movie she actually starred in (Labor Pains) got degraded to a TV movie and was gone out of people’s minds in a matter of seconds. Even her lesbian lover Samantha Ronson got sick of her and kicked her sorry ass to the curb, prompting her unintelligible Twitter rant and subsequent breakdown. Now she only gets a hosting gig in Singapore (and to add insult to injury, she only got the gig after a Pussycat Doll backed out at the last minute) instead of six-figures movie deals. Megan Fox on the other hand, got a better fate when Transformers 2: Revenge of The Fallen became another summer hit, but ever since then, her star quickly dimmed – not to mention, her penchant for saying the wrong things during interviews made her the mock of the town. Just a few months after Transformers, her movie Jennifer’s Body bombed in the box office, proving overexposure isn’t good for anyone.

2/ Fur.

Fur Coats: Not So Hot Anymore

I’m not really anti-fur but I’m not pro-fur either. I love animals, but I still eat meat so I don’t want to seem like a hypocrite by criticizing people who wear fur. I don’t wear fur, simply because I live in the tropics, way too hot to wear anything thicker than a thin cardigan, and because furs are generally really expensive and faux fur is way more affordable and just as warm, in my opinion. However, with PETA aggressively campaigning against fur, 2009 is really not the year for furs. Sure, Vogue’s Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour still struts down the streets of Manhattan in a fur coat, but more and more people are switching to faux, with more and more celebrities joining the PETA bandwagon. Their “I’d Rather Be Naked Than Wear Fur” campaign is a success with Karina Smirnoff of Dancing With The Stars fame as their latest spokesperson. Not to mention, most people avoid wearing fur just so they won’t be attacked by PETA – whose members are getting more and more aggressive, throwing anything from flour to red paint – which, let’s face it is a little more than annoying. So this season, put those fur coats back in the closet and just fake it. Faux fabulous, baby.

3/ Kanye West.

Kanye West and Taylor Swift at the MTV Video Music Awards 2009

Oh Kanye. How are the mighty fallen! Okay, let’s face it – he’s no stranger to both controversy and throwing temper tantrums in award shows, but the stunt he pulled at the VMAs turned out to backfire in massive proportion, so much so that Kanye did the one thing he has never done: apologized profusely; using any kind of media that would let him. If you don’t know what he did that got the whole world turned on him, well then you must’ve been living under a rock. Google Kanye West Taylor Swift for more info, because I’m definitely tired of repeating the story. Even after his mea culpa that sounded quite sincere, the general public is still isn’t satisfied. They’re still calling for boycott of everything Kanye, and it looks like Kanye will have to do more than just continually apologizing to be able to get back on the fame wagon.

4/ Techno Music.

A Techno DJ Booth

I’m not a big fan of techno music to begin with,  maybe because I’ve never done drugs, not even recreationally (well, except for weed, but then again some people may argue that weeds are not really drugs), but seeing the rise of the new celebrity DJs lately I have to say techno music is definitely no longer the music of choice for clubgoers, aside from those who are into it for the drugs, of course. One of the most revered DJ of the past few years is the late great DJ AM, who never really got into techno to begin with. And newer crop of celebrity DJs like Joel and Benji Madden of Good Charlotte fame, Danny Masterson of That 70s Show fame, Steve Aoki, and of course, Mark Ronson’s little sister who was more famous in the media for her tumultuous relationship with Lindsay Lohan, Samantha Ronson – they don’t really play techno music and opt for the mash up of rock and hip hop, something that was popularized by DJ AM and Mark Ronson in the New York, LA and London club scenes in the last decade or so. I have to say, I am quite relieved that the techno trend pretty much loses its popularity this year. At least this time, I can really enjoy going to clubs instead of getting a headache after half an hour from the same beat that keeps repeating over and over again.

5/ Myspace.

Myspace: So three years ago

Ah, the fickle minds of social networking enthusiasts. I remember three years ago I joined Myspace at the height of its popularity and enjoyed the perks of “social networking” in the site for a few months, until I got bored and switched to Facebook. Looks like I wasn’t the only one. By 2008, Facebook’s popularity has reached epic status, with everyone from your average teenager to presidential candidates having a Facebook account. Of course by 2009, Twitter took over the world – which sent Facebook into a defensive mode by launching its own Twitter-like feature: Facebook Lite. But Myspace, like its predecessor Friendster, never really quite managed to gain its former glory. Although it still exists, no one uses it anymore except for musicians as a way to get in touch with their fan base. Even now the musicians have switched to Facebook and Twitter to reach more followers. I have a feeling that once some other Silicon Valley geek creates the newest social networking site, Myspace will finally roll up its carpet and get ready to join Friendster in the “what once was…” department.

So there you go, my list of the five things that are not so hot in 2009. Of course, in a matter of months this list could very well become the “What’s Hot” list, but for now, let’s just assume they’ll stick around for a while and avoid these five things if we want to sound cool.

xoxo

Binky Bee

Hello lovelies!

It’s been a while since I posted my last well, post, and I really have no excuse for that. This week is a holiday, so I’ve been quite distracted by other things in my life. Have no fear though, the holiday’s almost ended and I shall return to normalcy (when have I ever been in normalcy, I wonder) very soon.

But for now, let’s just do a recap of this year. I know, it’s not December yet but with the start of fall TV, I thought it’d be good to do a list (man, how I love making lists!) of everything hot – and not – in 2009. Are you ready to begin?

Let’s jump right in!

The hotties:

1/ Musicals.

The Cast of Glee

2009 is really the year of musicals. I’m not talking about the Disney-concocted kiddy musical “High School Musical”, I’m talking about the edgier, funner and more watchable musicals that are making their debut in television and film. One of those is Glee, the much buzzed-about new show on Fox that tells the story of outcasts in McKinley High’s Glee club, that premiered to stellar ratings and continued to stay strong to its fourth episode, prompting Fox to pick them up for a full season. Glee is the brainchild of Nip/Tuck creator Ryan Murphy and High School Musical it is not. It’s laugh out loud hilarious, edgy and filled with its own versions of the music we all love from the 80s, 90s and today. To further prove its success, every time a new episode of Glee airs, it immediately makes it to Twitter’s trending topics, meaning that everyone is watching and talking about it. If you want to be in the know this season, watch Glee every Wednesday night on Fox and join the musical bandwagon. It’s fun.

2/ Remakes.

The Cast of The New "Fame"

Speaking of musicals, we can’t forget the musical that sent everyone on a singing and dancing fever in the 80s, Fame. An edgy movie that tells the tale of the talented students in New York School of Performing Arts, Fame became an instant hit after its debut in 1980 and spawned a spin-off television show and musical. And this Friday, the highly anticipated remake of Fame with an all-new talented cast will be premiering in the United States, which brings us to the next 2009 trend: remakes. It seems like Hollywood may be running out of original ideas, since remakes are all the rage this year. Fame is not the only 80s remake hitting the big screens, Gossip Girl’s Chace Crawford has been cast in the remake of Footloose, the movie that made Kevin Bacon a star. Whether or not pretty boy Crawford will be able to fill the big shoes left by Bacon is another story. Remakes are not just heating up the big screen, the small screen is also crowded by hit 90s remakes. After CW received a lukewarm response to its rehashing of 90210, they decided to continue on the Spelling fever by releasing Melrose Place 2.0 that premiered to dismal ratings and received sharp criticisms from TV addicts (yours truly not withstanding). But whether or not we like this trend, it looks like it’s pretty much here to stay, so we better get used to it.

3/ The 80s.

Balmain Military Jacket, a 2009 hit

Fame and Footloose aren’t the only 80s hit that made their return this year, the 80s is back, baby! (According to my friend Prestidigitation, the 80s has never really left to begin with). Shoulder pads, neon tights, bright-colored jeans, high-waisted pants, black lace, wayfarer and Michael Jackson inspired military jackets are all the rage this year and it looks like they’re staying for at least another two seasons. One of the most popular 80s items is this Balmain military jacket that just screams Michael Jackson, and is the coveted item worn by big-named celebrities like Beyonce, Rihanna and Victoria “Posh” Beckham. The price tag alone will make you have a minor heart attack, but fear not, all you budget fashionistas, budget lines like Charlotte Russe, Banana Republic and French Connection have all come up with their own versions of this jacket that are way more affordable and just as fabulous.

4/ Vampires.

Ryan Kwanten and Alexander Skarsgard in True Blood

2009 is truly the year of the vampires. Forget about your top hat-wearing, utterly devious and blood-thirsty Count Dracula, the vampires of 2009 are young, hot and they love humans more than just as a blood bank. It started of course, with the tween sensation that is Twilight, that catapulted its stars and resident vampire hottie Robert Pattinson and his human lover Kristen Stewart to super stardom, and it continued to the small screen with one of my favorite shows of all time, True Blood, a much sexier, grittier and edgier vampire tale starring Oscar winner Anna Paquin and Swedish god Alexander Skarsgard, among others. And now that True Blood has wrapped its second season and will be off the air until June 2010, the CW has launched its own version of vampire love story: The Vampire Diaries, based on the book series by LJ Smith and adapted for television by Dawson’s Creek creator Kevin Williamson, a show that – despite its eerie similarities to Twilight – doesn’t suck (no pun intended) and feels more like Dawson’s Creek with fangs than anything else (which we, Dawson’s Creek fans, will love). If you’re still on the fence about the rise of these blood-sucking nocturnal creatures, I suggest you get True Blood seasons 1 & 2 and DVD and let them sink their fangs into your heart. I guarantee, this is one trend that is worth following.

5/ Twitter.

Twitter: The new face of social networking

I think 2009 will go down in history as the year of Twitter, despite the site premiering way before 2009. I joined Twitter a few months ago after being curious about the trend, and now I am a self-professed Twitter addict. And I’m not the only one. Celebrities from Ashton Kutcher to Hugh Hefner, and even the leader of the free world, President Barrack Obama have all succumb to the addictiveness of this genius social networking site that has the very simple platform of “What are you doing?”. Twitter basically takes the status update feature of Facebook to a whole new levels. And what’s great about it is that you get to follow not only your friends and random strangers, but also celebrities who use the site to get in touch with their fans, their friends and promote their movie/music/what have you. I love twitter because I’m the kind of person who has random things to say all the time, to no one in particular, and twitter is just the site to do so. It’s basically your random non-sequiturs on display for everyone (or, if you’re a private person, a select few) to see. If you’re not convinced, I suggest you give Twitter a try and welcome your brand new addiction with open arms. You can also follow me here and see exactly what I’m talking about.

Now that I’ve listed everything hot in 2009, I will return tomorrow with my “Nottie” list. Hope you’ll be tuning in.

xoxo

Binky Bee

it was a warm thursday afternoon, and i was in my R.O.P class minding my own business. i was intentionally filling out an application for In-and-Out, a wonderful and delicious fast food place where all edible, nutritional needs are met. Little did i know that my R.O.P teacher, Mr. Mike Heller was standing right behind me…. watching… waiting. he lurked behind and studied the screen. a drop of rage-filled sweat dropped off his brow as he watched me do something else instead of the assignment i was ordered to do. i still had no idea that he was behind me waiting for the perfect moment to attack all the hard work i had been fighting to finish in time. then- there it was, his perfect moment. i was on the last section of my application, and right as i was about to take control of the mouse and move my pointer to the “submit” button, mike placed his hands on the two buttons that i knew would ruin my life forever. as his thumb hit “ALT” so many thoughts came to mind; “i’m never gonna get a job!”, “i wont be able to make money to live!”, “i’ll be homeless!!!” i knew that this was the end, because Mike, still with his thumb on the “ALT” button, still held firm, and with his index finger, in what i can only describe as a slow-motion moment in my life, simply pressed “F4″ and closed my application. “this was the end!!!” i thought. Mike laughed manically to himself as he walked away.

When these were pressed... my whole world exploded

In route to Orange Country where a week long fishing trip on the Sea of Cortez was about to began 36 hours later, my friend Lenny and I flew in to Sacramento where Blake, my Semester at Sea roommate picked us up. We then made a road trip from Sacramento up through Eldorado National Forest towards Lake Tahoe and down across the eastern side of the Sierra Nevada range. We were in search of what the Golden State’s streams and rivers had to offer. But first things first… we had to make a stop at the infamous In and Out. A burger joint only found in the far west.

They say all their ingredients are fresh but the worst thing about In and Out is the wait. Maybe this is why their food is so good. While waiting I got a chance to watch a young nor-cal punk do some tricks on his razor

Grease burgers… yum… I still haven’t figured out why In and Out hasn’t made it to Colorado? If you get a chance to go to an In and Out make sure to order your burger “Animal Style.”

That night we stayed in Walker CA. The next morning we woke up early and hit up a local breakfast joint. The waitress kept talking about fishing on the West Walker river in her favorite honey hole using power bait, she kindly gave us specific directions to her hole down the road. We nodded and agreed to check it out. We soon found that the West Walker river near the town of Walker was nothing but fast moving water and bait fishermen, which lead us to immediately head up stream in search of some more pristine waters. About 20 miles up to road the terrain turned from the lower arid landscape to as Blake calls it “high desert.”

After examining miles of the West Walker while driving down route 395 the river disappeared into the high pines and aspens as the beautiful rolling hills and mountains were covered by a blanket of sage brush. The high desert scenery and clear flowing creek finally enticed us to stop and fish the Little Walker River.

So we did…

This small free stone stream is filled with brookies and rainbows…

…who were taking dry flies all morning

The area was quite phenomenal
These huge pine trees sky scraping over the aspen trees made this a unique experience for us Coloradans. Sure we have big loge pole and ponderosa pines in our state but I’ve never seen a pine cone this big in Colorado.

Solid, it was only 9 in the morning and we had already had a days worth of fishing in.

Next stop… the East Walker River near the town of Bridgeport

The East Walker River below Bridgeport reservoir offers some excellent tailwater fishing. But like any good public tailwater with big trout in it asses and elbows are always apparent on a consistent basis. Sure enough, when we drove by big hole, East Walker’s famous fishing spot, we saw a number of anglers fishing. So we ventured down river. The flows were must faster but the crouds were far less.

We managed to pull a couple wild browns out of the fast moving water.

We tried a couple different spots all requiring wading through swift strong currents. We kept moving down stream on the look out for new spots then all of sudden…

We were in Nevada… whoops…

We fished a couple more spots and decided to head to our next destination… Hot Creek

The trip down 395 provided some fine scenery.
Looking west… at the east side of Yosemite National Park. Eagles Peak I believe, correct me if I’m wrong.

After lunch in Mammoth Lakes and a stop into the The Trout Fly we headed over to Hot Creek. After reading about this place in the guide book we thought, damn. This place sounds amazing. A creek that literally comes out of the ground and boasts numerous hot springs that change from year to year. Not to mention its one of the most trout rich streams in the west. Meaning there are more trout per mile in hot creek than most rivers. At least that’s what the guide book said… something like 4,000 trout per mile.

When we arrived we saw a small creek that meanders into a small canyon. It looked as good as any creek I’ve seen. But one thing was different, weeds. Hot creek is filled with weeds. As we stood on top of the canyon looking down at the creek, I stared closely at the creek looking for fish. Sure enough there were a some rises and a few pretty decent looking fish, but at 60 cfs these weeds were guaranteed to be a problem.

First, we threw some streamers and immediately nailed a couple 12-14 inchers, but the big boys visible in the crystal clear water continued to reject our flies. One in particular was hanging out behind a big conglomeration of weeds. I couldn’t seem to get my fly down to him while my fly kept getting stuck on the weeds. So I threw on a small split shot and sure enough he nailed my size 20 rs2. The nice size rainbow immediately shot up into the weeds and I thought for sure my 6x tippet was going to break.

Somehow I managed to pull him out of the mossy mess. He then shot over to the other side of the creek heading down stream into another set of weeds. Then back into the original weeds, this fish was taking me on a ride! While this continued over and over for a couple minutes I finally brought him in. He was still a little hot, so when I went in to grab him he thrashed vigorously shaking the fly. No grip in grin for this guy but he was definitely the highlight of the day for me.

The day ended with a gorgeous sunset over Inyo National Forest. The only thing was now we had to drive 8 hours to Orange County to catch our bus to the Sea of Cortez… Next stop: I’M ON A BOAT!

Stay tuned

No real pics for tonight’s lunch and dinner. Sorry! I’m just having so much fun with my family right now and enjoying the feeling of being full. Basically we went out to In N Out and I got a grilled cheese (with lettuce, tomatoes, sauce, and onions) and “Animal Style” fries. Haha so healthy right? I’ll be on a clean food schedule soon enough! I’m so excited for the 22nd to get my FAFSA check.

Anyways after lunch we went to an early (3:25) showing Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and didn’t get back till 6:36! I hadn’t been able to see it since my debt and my stepmom and bro had been to see it without prior knowledge of the others ( so basically we whispered back and forth the hole time about, “who’s that?” “what happened?”.)  That wasn’t the best but I was just happy to finally see it , I mean, I’ve grown up from the same ages of these kids and always feel that awkward Actor-Fan connection. Yes, I’m a dork and cried. I just felt so bad for Draco, Hermione and Dumbeldore.

Dessert was, and oh boy people will not be happy with this decision: One scoop of Makin Dough ice cream on a cake cone from Baskin’ Robbins. Man, it’s been so long since I’ve had ice cream…YUM.

In bad news, my roommate (the fairy) got locked out of the apartment and since I was not there it’s going to cost him $75. Ugh! See y’all tomorrow, and I promise to take pics instead of leaving ya hangin!

.

O’ celestial delight!

O’ bright and lovely morning star!

Thou hast hastened my arousal and called to me from thy heavenly abode.

Thou doth sooth and comfort me with thy assured rising.

Mine own inner workings follow thee.

Thou hath taken hold of the reins, and tuggeth at my heart.

O’ Venus…it’s Saturday for God’s sake!

What dost thou want from me this time?

.

Nature calls, and groggily do I crawl out of my cozy bed. As if I were yet in the midst of a mid-summer’s dream, I begin to make my way through the darkness, groping for walls and traversing through the recently rearranged furniture. As fate would have it, I caught a whiff of the brewing coffee’s aroma, set to be ready earlier than most peoples. Thus did I follow my nose, making headway towards the kitchen.

Ah! What a way to awaken! I steadily poured the muddied waters into my favorite stained glass mug. Sipping and tasting the formula for potency, I quietly slid out onto the back porch. And there she was…the goddess of my love, showing up fashionably late to this early morning’s planetary parade, beaming charismatic radiance to her favorite pupil, who stood looking up under partially perched eyelids.

Formally dressed in red, Mars marched on ahead. This year he is not primed for war. He has not taken a point of opposition to the star of the show, but rather leads her through and on up to the lofty heights where Jupiter now reigns.

All was hushed in my backyard. The winged creatures had yet to begin exercising their chirps. I heard not a peep. Just then, two cats nearby began humming felinely and harmoniously in an attempt to make friends. I came out of this daze with a smile on my face, and made my way inside to fetch a second cup. Not quite satisfied, nor ready for multitasking, I went back outside.

.

O’ sweet soul sister!

O’ diamond bodied magnificat!

Thy charismatic approach displays a radiance beyond compare.

As thou riseth above the treetops, thy gleam mystifies lengthily,

and thy reach extends throughout the ethereal wastelands betwixt us.

.

If only I had more time to linger, a few more seconds to space off in wonderment, a couple of more moments to tarry, enthralled in this glossy-eyed gaze. But alas, the caffeine had heeded it’s call to the duty of constriction, and was now thoroughly pressuring my conscious self to emerge back into it’s daily routine, back into everything regular, normal, and mundane, that we hesitantly call reality. And as the sun in all it’s glory verily began to rise, my dreamy thoughts, and my beloved, slowly faded away into light blue skies.

.

wir sind gerade vom frühstücken gekommen und ich hab meinen koffer komplett neu eingepackt: jetzt ist das erste mal die koffervergrößerung notwendig, weil ich ihn sonst nicht mehr zubekomme (:

______

nachdem wir aufgebrochen sind, haben wir gleich in santa cruz wieder halt gemacht. dort sind wir an der küste stehen geblieben, wo total viele jogger mit ihren hunden waren. als wir dann ins meer geschaut haben, haben wir zuerst robben und dann total viele delfine + einen babydelfin gesehen : )die sind total glücklich herumgesprungen!

jetzt befinden wir uns ca. 50 meilen vor san francisco und ich freu mich schon wieder total auf die golden gate bridge und all die buckeligen straßen!

______

wuhu, wir sind um ca. 01:30 p.m. in san francisco angekommen und gleich mal ins hard rock café essen gegangen. da haben wir ewig auf einen tisch warten müssen, darum wollten wir uns an die bar setzen. hätte mir ein sprite bestellt – auf einmal kommt ein kellner her “are you over 21? no? i’m sorry, then you can’t sit on the bar, but it’s okay to stand behind the seat” .. ich bin mir überhaupt nicht verarscht vorgekommen xD

später haben wir nach einem hotel für drei nächte gesucht. in dem holiday inn vom 1. mal hat es leider keine freien zimmer mehr gegeben, aber jetzt haben wir ein anderes – näher beim meer – gefunden. waren vorher gerade ein bisschen die gegend erkunden + einen burger im in and out essen, weil mir den eine freundin empfohlen hat (danke, andi *g*) -> er hat wirklich lecker geschmeckt (:

dort bin ich in so nen kleinen gangster riengerannt – hab mich natürlich gleich entschuldigt vor lauter angst! : D

überhaupt ist es hier irgendwie beängstigend im dunkeln. also allein mag ich hier nicht wohnen ..hm, es ist unglaublich, dass unser urlaub in 3 nächten vorbei ist!

Cape Reporter in deutscher Sprache – ist ein neues Online Journal mit Berichten in und um Kapstadt – von Lifestyle, Sport, Travel bis Wirtschaft und Kriminlitaet. Konzipiert und redigiert von unserer Chefredakteurin  Eva M. Braeuer vor Ort.

Wir arbeiten an unserer Webseite!

It is fantastic, aggressive of all time eastwards from its heritable base. Look-alike tentacles, its minions crawl unrelentingly advancing, appropriating e’er more soil and enslaving the universe in hopeless devotedness to refreshful, hot burgers and cheap T-shirts. Yeah, It is all about In-N-Out Burger, the honey Southern California eatery that’s booming its orbit and its vendee home in our focus. Til now, the entirely base in UT to amaze an In-N-Out Burger is at the street corner of Green Spring and Telegraph streets in St. Saint George. Search the 2 baffled palms, a classical In-N-Out symbolisation, and you are on that point. All the same, In-N-Out Burger shortly will be actuating on the far side palm  – tree land to the Wasatch Front, with restaurants do to out-of-doors in Draper, Orem, West Valley City and American Fork. So, altho harking back from a weekend in Golden State, we ceased by the Saint George shop to see however the In-N-Out rule and pleasing understand away of Cali. So, it gifted me a vibrate to buy a tee shirt — I’ve a lot of other people from In-N-Out’s CA shops. Coloured with “In-N-Out Burger UT.” But the great joy at In-N-Out Burger is the food. It is truly fine, and the costs are astoundingly tinny believing what you aim.  increadble

Originally posted at Paper Palate on May 28, 2009.

This month Food Network is all about the grill and that theme transitions over to “the Magazine” as well. Inside its pages you will find The Neelys’ Father’s Day brunch menu, Bobby Flay’s favorite bruger recipes and the Summer Grilling Guide.

Of particular interest is the Ultimate Burger in Every State list.  We Americans love our lists and “best places for” lists are no exception.  They gives us ammo for debate motivation to do a better job.  After all nothing motivates like ego.  For most the true fun of a list is to see if their experiences are listed and how they rate with the rest of the country.

The Burger List is a prime example.  Of the 50 I am quite familiar with three and vaguely familiar with roughly a half dozen others.  Of the three I know the most remote is Creek Bank Restaurant in Wagarville, Alabama.  It is located about an hour outside of my home town of Mobile and has come to recent fame when Mobile Press Register Food Editor David Holloway made it the upset winner of his exhaustive three-year search for South Alabama’s best burger.

Rotier’s in Nashville is one of the great greasy spoon dive joints in the country.  They have the best blue cheese dressing in the nation.  So good, patrons gladly pay an extra .50 ¢ to get it.  Theirburgers are also the stuff of legend as they are served on a poppy seed French bread loaf.  At Rotier’s you’ll find a clientele that is diverse as record execs, country music stars, Vanderbilt and Belmont University students and long haired rockers all eventually enter the gritty family-owned eatery.

Other than a subtle joke in the movie Fletch I was unaware of California’s In-N-Out Burger.  That is until I struck up a friendship with Nashville musician and producer Jerry Navarro.  Chigg, as he is known to his friends, was raised in L.A..  According to Chigg a standard day began about 5AM with his mother making taquitos for himself and his friend Chris as they headed out to ride the waves before class.  They surfed a beach directly across from their college and would often head straight to class in their wet suits, shoeless and still dripping of Pacific brine.  After class they would grab an In-N-Out burger before climbing back on their boards.  To Navarro, and many other Californians, the secret menu is as much a part of the LA experience as Grauman’s Chinese Theatre or trans-gender prostitutes.

PHILIP
“How are  doing?”

TONY
“My stomach’s been bad again. Couldn’t eat hardly anything the last two days.”

PHILIP
“What are you eating?”

TONY
“Nothing particular.”

PHILIP
“No wonder you’re looking so skin and bones. You gotta do something about that.”

TONY
“Don’t I know it.”