Sometimes when I'm driving, the most pressing questions in my life come
to the forefront of my mind. "Why do people in the Bay Area drive slower than the speed limit in the fast lane?" "What exactly is the ten year T-note that Kai Rissdale constantly talks about?" "Is that bucket going to fall off that pickup truck and hit my windshield and kill me right here on 101 during rush hour?" "What should I do with my life?" "Where exactly am I?"
After getting let go from a job I (thought I) liked last week, some of those questions have been more pressing. I think I got away with it for a while, but after 30, not knowing what you want to do with your life, career-wise, is less "forever young" and more "wannabe young". So, I'm going to figure it out here. How? I don't know. But it's going to happen, here and at my tv blog, Sofi's Choice. And no, I don't think that's crass, so stop asking.
All I can do to get this party called life started is start, right? So, every day until I find gainful employment and/or become the next Perez Hilton (PS what happened to HIM????) I'm going to blog about something - doesn't matter what. Although more than likely, it'll be about tv.
Some people might find me full of hubris, that I might imagine people would be interested in my life and my opinions, and that I might casually use the word hubris outside of a high school essay about Hamlet. This might be true especially since my life lately has been primarily made up of sandwich making, self-medicating with cheap red wine, watching the ID channel, and generally wallowing in self-pity. Maybe that in and of itself is kind of interesting, if you're into hot messes (I know I am!) but I guarantee you, I'll make it fun. And just FYI, there is a show on ID called Swamp Murders featuring just that.
First up - do you think traffic reporters on TV are like the lame kids from elementary school that everyone else tolerated but no one hung out with? I'm a big Mornings on 2 fan on KTVU (so much so that I made up my own abbreviation for it, Mo2) here in the Bay Area, and I always feel like Sal Castenada is trying SO HARD to be cool, but like, is he? Do you think Dave Clark and Tori Campbell (DC and TC to me; I am really creative with nicknames) mildly bully him during the breaks? "Hey Sal, wanna grab me a coffee? Obviously you're not doing anything other than reading off the Caltrans website, right??" "Sally, better check Twitter for me before I head home, because if I get stuck on the Bridge we know whose fault it'll be..." "YOU TOLD ME TO TAKE 19th AVENUE INSTEAD OF VAN NESS YOU ASSHOLE and I got stuck behind a funeral!"
Now, Sal is probably a total dick who runs the newsroom with an iron fist ("Meteorologist Steve Paulson WILL NOT get stand in front of me in that promo shot or I will walk out right now so help me god, and Tara Moriarty will have to do traffic again - is that what you want?") but I like to picture him as a decent bro. He definitely seems like a softie - let's just hope he doesn't let Gasia Michaelian or Claudine Wong push him around...
Wednesday, January 28, 2015
Thursday, December 11, 2014
In Case You Don't Have Enough Holiday Parties To Attend This Weekend...
I often put together a little weekend guide for my coworkers on Thursday, so I figured I would publish it here too. Suggestions are always welcome!
Hi Team!
Even though most of us will probably curl up on the couch all weekend with a good book and the remote due to all this weather going on, here are a few things happening around the Bay! BTW, have you heard that this has been dubbed the #hellastorm on Twitter, etc? Hilarious!
SPORTS
Probably the most exciting thing going on in Bay Area sports is the Golden State Warriors current win streak of 14 games, setting a franchise record! This weekend has some tough games for them, with a road game in Dallas against the Mavericks Saturdaymorning, and another away game Sunday afternoon against the New Orleans Pelicans. Has anyone heard a peep from any Lakers fans this season? #imjustsaying
The San Jose Sharks are playing the Minnesota Wild tonight at home at the SAP Center, and then playing the Nashville Predators at home on Saturday night.
The San Francisco 49ers (who lost to the Raiders last week) are heading up to Seattle to try their hand against the SeahawksSunday at 1:25. Did you hear that the Niners lost to the Raiders last week?
The Oakland Raiders (who beat the Niners last week) are riding high off their second victory of the year, which was worth dousing their coach with Gatorade. Next, they head to sunny Kansas City to take on the Chiefs Sunday at 10am.
CONCERTS/EVENTS
Live105’s Not So Silent Night has two nights of shows this weekend at Oracle Arena. Friday night is headlined by Linkin Park, Fall Out Boy (even if every NFL team in the country has been using it as their warm up music, I still dig Centuries), and Rise Against. Night 2 is Imagine Dragons, Alt-J, and Interpol. All info is available here: http://live105.cbslocal.com/
Los Lobos is performing Saturday night at the Fillmore. As someone who has seen Los Lobos 3 times (long story, not a groupie or devotee but still saw them 3 times all for free within 1 year) and once at the Fillmore, this is a can’t miss show.
Yusuf/Cat Stevens (a la Prince, he’s now just throwing whatever combinations of his name together that he feels like) is playing the Masonic Friday night. I’ve always wanted to see him after he taught me one of the most important life lessons a young woman can learn –that it’s hard to get by just upon a smile.
HOLIDAY EVENTS
This weekend is SantaCon, an unofficial pub crawl/Santa gathering. It starts Saturday at noon: Meet at Union Square Park. The main rules: 1) Wear a full-on santa suit 2) Don’t be a drunken jerk; don’t mess with the police, bartenders, or kids 3) Download Santa’s song book 4) Bring a toy to donate at Union Square (optional, but awesome). Good luck.
Christmas in the Park in Downtown San Jose – a family oriented Christmas celebration with lights, trees, and exhibits. Info here: http://christmasinthepark.com/
For a Victorian Christmas, check out the Dickens Fair in San Francisco: http://www.dickensfair.com/ Chestnuts are involved. Here’s a cute article about one of the veteran interpreters, the people who dress up in character. Since I went to college literally in the middle of Colonial Williamsburg, I’m quite familiar with running into historical interpreters at the local Taco Bell, but for the rest of you THIS IS YOUR CHANCE.
The Winchester Mystery House has a holiday lights tour, with carolers, hot cider, Santa, and the ghost of some totally crazy lady who built the weirdest house ever. Check it out! http://www.
Ice Rinks! There is the Embarcadero Ice Rink, the Union Square Ice Rink, and the Kristi Yamaguchi Downtown Ice Rink in San Jose. I still remember crying with joy as a 6year old when Miss Kristi won gold… and then again as a 26year old when she won Dancing With the Stars JUST KIDDING (kind of).
Here are some “best of” lists for holiday cheer around the Bay:
http://radioalice.cbslocal.
ONGOING EVENTS
I’ve mentioned Cirque du Soleil Kurios a few times now, but it’s still worth pointing out it’ll be in the Bay Area through March. It moves from SF to SJ in January I believe, and there are actually some good deals on LivingSocial.
Kinky Boots is also playing at the Orpheum. It’s a musical about a struggling British shoe factory's young, straitlaced owner, Charlie, who forms an unlikely partnership with Lola, a drag queen, to save the business. Music and lyrics by Cyndi Lauper!
Okay, stay warm, dry, and happy this weekend!
Thursday, April 19, 2012
hmmm
will they throw us all for a loop and only expel one person, as they have a week to play with after Gentle Giant Jerome was forced out early? I think it's a distinct possibility...
Hard to call who'll go, as no one was remotely bad last night, but I think Elise is a safe bet. She wonders why people don't like her? Because she's unlikeable, that's why... I wouldn't at all be surprised if Colton was also voted off, but statistically speaking it'll probably be Hollie, since she's been in the bottom 3 more than anyone else left... Those are my bottom 3, let's see what happens!
Hard to call who'll go, as no one was remotely bad last night, but I think Elise is a safe bet. She wonders why people don't like her? Because she's unlikeable, that's why... I wouldn't at all be surprised if Colton was also voted off, but statistically speaking it'll probably be Hollie, since she's been in the bottom 3 more than anyone else left... Those are my bottom 3, let's see what happens!
Thursday, April 5, 2012
hoo boy
I'll preface this post with a disclaimer that wine time started a bit early last night (hey, I was cooking so don't get all judge-y on me) so I had to rewatch a bit of last night. Thank glory for DVR...
Why does Deandre always seem to go first? And why does he ALWAYS SING FALSETTO??? I used to think I liked him, but now I just think I'm obsessed with his hair and it clouds my judgement.... Bottom 3.
Next up was another bottom 3er, Elise. While she slightly redeemed herself on her later duet with Phil Phils, she was screechy and unenjoyable during her attempt at 80s rock. Last week she was good, but I don't think that will keep her into week 7. I also don't think the judges would save her, since this would be her third time in the bottom 3. Bye!
Both Colton and P Phips (new name every time, just fyi) underimpressed me as well, but I admit this section of the night was a bit hazy. They both seemed a tad smug and I think they risk complacency. Especially Philip, who is now starting to seem a bit of an asshole. He reminds me of Dave Matthews, before he got TOO drunk.
Hollie continued her downward spiral, and will probably round out the bottom 3. I wouldn't be surprised if she got the boot, though I'm going to go out on a limb and say it'll be Elise. Hollie's performance only served to make me remember how much I like the (original) song and how much I'd rather be seeing someone else sing it. She has a great voice, but it's not translating well outside of power ballads. Also, why was she dressed like a flapper from the 1920s? It was 80s week! Where was the neon? WHERE WAS THE NEON?
Jessica, blah blah blah. The Whitney choice was a bit of a melodramatic one, but whatever. As Steven might say "she could sing the phonebook and be amazing." Next....
I thought Joshua brought the house down, amen brother. He started slow and then killed it. This year's Jacob Lusk is heading right towards his predecessor's spot, somewhere around #4 or 5, right?
And my girl Skylar. She is the wind beneath my wings and FINALLY didn't dress like a 30 year old mother of two teenagers (you know, slutty on top, cowboy boots on bottom, big hair) and looked classy and simple. Oh yeah, and balled out of control on the song! Yay for her, what a way to end the show.
So, I feel like it's pretty easy to guess that Deandre, Elise, and Hollie will be in the bottom 3. All 3 have a pretty fair shot at going home, but I'm going to go with Elise, mainly because I don't think she has the same amount of tween girl support. Let's see if I'm right two weeks in a row!
Why does Deandre always seem to go first? And why does he ALWAYS SING FALSETTO??? I used to think I liked him, but now I just think I'm obsessed with his hair and it clouds my judgement.... Bottom 3.
Next up was another bottom 3er, Elise. While she slightly redeemed herself on her later duet with Phil Phils, she was screechy and unenjoyable during her attempt at 80s rock. Last week she was good, but I don't think that will keep her into week 7. I also don't think the judges would save her, since this would be her third time in the bottom 3. Bye!
Both Colton and P Phips (new name every time, just fyi) underimpressed me as well, but I admit this section of the night was a bit hazy. They both seemed a tad smug and I think they risk complacency. Especially Philip, who is now starting to seem a bit of an asshole. He reminds me of Dave Matthews, before he got TOO drunk.
Hollie continued her downward spiral, and will probably round out the bottom 3. I wouldn't be surprised if she got the boot, though I'm going to go out on a limb and say it'll be Elise. Hollie's performance only served to make me remember how much I like the (original) song and how much I'd rather be seeing someone else sing it. She has a great voice, but it's not translating well outside of power ballads. Also, why was she dressed like a flapper from the 1920s? It was 80s week! Where was the neon? WHERE WAS THE NEON?
Jessica, blah blah blah. The Whitney choice was a bit of a melodramatic one, but whatever. As Steven might say "she could sing the phonebook and be amazing." Next....
I thought Joshua brought the house down, amen brother. He started slow and then killed it. This year's Jacob Lusk is heading right towards his predecessor's spot, somewhere around #4 or 5, right?
And my girl Skylar. She is the wind beneath my wings and FINALLY didn't dress like a 30 year old mother of two teenagers (you know, slutty on top, cowboy boots on bottom, big hair) and looked classy and simple. Oh yeah, and balled out of control on the song! Yay for her, what a way to end the show.
So, I feel like it's pretty easy to guess that Deandre, Elise, and Hollie will be in the bottom 3. All 3 have a pretty fair shot at going home, but I'm going to go with Elise, mainly because I don't think she has the same amount of tween girl support. Let's see if I'm right two weeks in a row!
Thursday, March 29, 2012
America Idol 3/28
This is actually going to be a pretty hard one - I can genuinely (for me) say that everyone did a really decent job last night... The judges returned to their week 1 roots and pretty much loved anything thrown their way, with very few exceptions. To be honest, that's probably what the contestants deserved as no one did poorly at all. This probably has to do with the absence of Shannon, but I'll leave my snark in my back pocket until it's really necessary.
Before I rate the contestants and make a scarily accurate prediction, can I just say J Lo is so amazingly beautiful and I wonder how people can be in the same room with her and not faint. That is all.
Oh, Deandre. While his flowing golden locks never fail to win me over, the whole falsetto thing just doesn't do much for me. That being said, he performed better than he ever has (even if he thing Eric Benet is worthy of idol-status) and he deserved the accolades he got. He still could be in danger in my mind, though, because he's been in the bottom three in the past, always a good predictor.
Skylar Laine performed well, a good but not great performance for me. I love her energy, but the song didn't feature her vocals enough, it's too upbeat and loud. She also could be in danger, having performed 2nd, meaning she's forgettable.
Colton opened the show with some song about Jesus (at least I think it was Jesus, maybe it was God) that to me, little cynical me, just seemed a ploy for the Christian vote. The performance was great, but tearing up about God just feels forced... Especially because it all seemed perfectly choreographed. Whatevs, he's safe.
My biggest disappointment was Hollie, who I think performed admirably but not amazingly. It's time for her to step it up, because even though she has a great voice, she has to diversify a bit and show us what she's got. Jesus Take the Wheel sounds like everything else she's tried, and I don't want her to fall victim to the Pia curse, when a balladeer thinks she can skate by on her pipes without putting in real effort.... Could be at risk.
Jessica was, of course, near perfect. The arrangement of Sweet Dreams was amazing, she was amazing, she's staying, enough said.
I haven't always been on Team Joshua, either, but he effing blew it out of the park for me. It mildly irked me that he referred to Without You as a Mariah song (if you want to go with her as your idol, sing HER song not someone else's) but man oh man can he sing. His tears at the end seemed the opposite of choreographed, he seemed genuinely overcome with emotion. Yay Joshua!
I'm finally solidly on team PP. His song last night was perfect. Go Philip.
Heejun also hit one out of the park for me. Perfect pitch, perfect song, perfect Heejun. And I still think he's hilarious, especially after he realized his joke was throwing to commercial before Ryan could show his numbers. He's adorbs, but could still be in danger, since he's not been well received in the past.
Aaaand Elise. I thought it was pretty great, maybe not as great as the judges did (not sure I'd pay to see that in concert, mainly bc her bellbottoms were just too awkward) but I think it should get her enough votes to be safe. I don't think she has quite enough appeal to be a winner, but I've been wrong before. She's kind of the Haley of this season, who was also in the bottom 3 a lot at the beginning of the season, but managed to eek into a 3rd place spot. But I liked Haley a lot more, and called her my dark horse of last season. I just don't feel that about Elise.
So, I think our bottom 3 will be Deandre, Heejun, and Skylar, with Heejun going home.
Before I rate the contestants and make a scarily accurate prediction, can I just say J Lo is so amazingly beautiful and I wonder how people can be in the same room with her and not faint. That is all.
Oh, Deandre. While his flowing golden locks never fail to win me over, the whole falsetto thing just doesn't do much for me. That being said, he performed better than he ever has (even if he thing Eric Benet is worthy of idol-status) and he deserved the accolades he got. He still could be in danger in my mind, though, because he's been in the bottom three in the past, always a good predictor.
Skylar Laine performed well, a good but not great performance for me. I love her energy, but the song didn't feature her vocals enough, it's too upbeat and loud. She also could be in danger, having performed 2nd, meaning she's forgettable.
Colton opened the show with some song about Jesus (at least I think it was Jesus, maybe it was God) that to me, little cynical me, just seemed a ploy for the Christian vote. The performance was great, but tearing up about God just feels forced... Especially because it all seemed perfectly choreographed. Whatevs, he's safe.
My biggest disappointment was Hollie, who I think performed admirably but not amazingly. It's time for her to step it up, because even though she has a great voice, she has to diversify a bit and show us what she's got. Jesus Take the Wheel sounds like everything else she's tried, and I don't want her to fall victim to the Pia curse, when a balladeer thinks she can skate by on her pipes without putting in real effort.... Could be at risk.
Jessica was, of course, near perfect. The arrangement of Sweet Dreams was amazing, she was amazing, she's staying, enough said.
I haven't always been on Team Joshua, either, but he effing blew it out of the park for me. It mildly irked me that he referred to Without You as a Mariah song (if you want to go with her as your idol, sing HER song not someone else's) but man oh man can he sing. His tears at the end seemed the opposite of choreographed, he seemed genuinely overcome with emotion. Yay Joshua!
I'm finally solidly on team PP. His song last night was perfect. Go Philip.
Heejun also hit one out of the park for me. Perfect pitch, perfect song, perfect Heejun. And I still think he's hilarious, especially after he realized his joke was throwing to commercial before Ryan could show his numbers. He's adorbs, but could still be in danger, since he's not been well received in the past.
Aaaand Elise. I thought it was pretty great, maybe not as great as the judges did (not sure I'd pay to see that in concert, mainly bc her bellbottoms were just too awkward) but I think it should get her enough votes to be safe. I don't think she has quite enough appeal to be a winner, but I've been wrong before. She's kind of the Haley of this season, who was also in the bottom 3 a lot at the beginning of the season, but managed to eek into a 3rd place spot. But I liked Haley a lot more, and called her my dark horse of last season. I just don't feel that about Elise.
So, I think our bottom 3 will be Deandre, Heejun, and Skylar, with Heejun going home.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
It's Idol time!
If you're anything like me, you've been counting down the minutes to Idol season. No, I don't mean the overblown premiere in mid January, I mean the big reveal of the top 12 or 13, when I can start caring. There are too many curveballs to be thrown when all is in the hands of the judges, and there's just too much going on in the audition/Hollywood stages for me to follow it all. One quick note: tomorrow the bottom girl and bottom guy will be voted off - BY THE JUDGES. Something new! So last night was really the beginning of it all for me, here are my thoughts and predictions:
We started off with Jeremy, who the judges adored. They are always impressed by a gospel background, which he shows off in spades. I thought it was a good performance, maybe not as great as the judges (read: Jennifer) did, but he'll get through. Boring.
Next up was Elise, who I actually like a lot. She wanted to do The Greatest Love of All (it was Whitney night for the ladies, btws) but they made her do I'm Your Baby Tonight, which was defintiely the better choice for her. However, they judges didn't love it - I think they were slightly too harsh on her, but I agree that she didn't do too much to impress. She's in danger.
We got the "gentle giant" Jermaine (seriously, do we have to say that every fucking time???) and I was reminded of my initial confusion when he was chosen to sing for sport #25. Buuuut, as has been known to happen occasionally, I was proven wrong and I learned why such a monotonous voice and presence is actually pretty damn amazing sometimes. It must be really hard to sing like that - although that in and of itself shouldn't get someone through. He might be in the bottom 3 guys, not sure how many they'll do, but I'll be calling bottom 3 boys and girls, and then bottom 2 total, then a prediction. Getting bold tonight.
Next up was Erika Van Pelt, EVeeps in my book. She's a continual surprise - I wasn't blown away by her in auditions and top 24, and was surprised she was given a second chance, and surprised she was selected as the only female judges choice (not that they EVER favor women, but still... two guys again????). But, VERY OCCASIONALLY, something bizarre happens in my world - I am wrong! :) EVeeps did a great job on her power ballad and did Miss Whitney proud. Some other time we'll discuss if it was too soon for a Whitney tribute. Erika is safe.
Next up was, ugh, Colter. Colton? Whatever, I dislike this hipster on principle. I wish I could be more open minded, but I can't. And the judges adore him, wtf? ugh.
Poor, poor (although she kind of seems like a spoiled little rich girl or something) Shannon Magrane. Lesson #1 in Hollywood: never, ever, EVER try to sing Whitney Houston if you can't manage to sing even half as well as the greatest voice of our generation (yeah, I said it. you can go suck it if you don't agree). Ever. Especially I Have Nothing, which is one of her greatest vocal performances ("don't make me close one more door/I don't wanna hurt anymore" is a line that gives me chills to this day, even after listening to the tape of The Bodyguard 947 times with my twin sister in 1994) and should not EVER be tackled by a 16 year old volleyball player from Florida. Shannon, you're gorgeous, poised, and semi-talented, and you should know better. You could have done I Wanna Dance with Somebody. Or even My Love is Your Love. Maybe. Actually maybe not. Bottom 3, risky to come back. But never, ever forget about the army of blonde tween girls furiously voting for their Queen...
Deandre, Deandre, Deandre. Can I just say, as a fellow half-black person, how violently jealous I am of your blond, flowing tight curls? How did I end up with boring old brown loose curls that require half a bottle of spray gel to hold their shape for a few minutes and not your perfectly coiffed yet effortless looking tresses? Life is so fucking unfair sometimes. ....Oh, your singing? It was good, not great, but certainly good enough to, when combined with the hair envy I imagine half of America is feeling right now, propel you through.
Skylar: first off, I'll say that while I kind of hate the kind of music she sang last week and throughout her auditions (and by kind of hate I mean despise), she blew me away then and now. Tonight, she proved on Where Do Broken Hearts Go that she commands the stage just as strongly singing a sweet ballad as hopping around like Reba on crack. I fucking loved it. WINNER. There, I said it. Oh, and dear Randy: iffy? you're kidding me. Shame. You still claimed to love it but iffy? REALLY?
I freely admit I find Heejun hilariously adorable. I was kind of annoyed last week at Jimmy calling him a comedian and discounting his skills, because he blends them perfectly!! His signed photos to Jimmy and Mary J Blige (Mary, I love you more than Jimmy) had me cracking up! He missed a few notes on his song, but I forgive him, he's adorbs. I'm THRILLED that the judges liked him too! His voice is so smooth and sinful and SO BIZARRE coming out of his mouth that I'm predicting a dark horse.
Hollie! I love Hollie! Other than the bizarre accent (Texas meets Australia??? is it a lisp or something????) she power ballads like no other and she deserves to be on that stage. There was nothing particularly remarkable about her performance, but she'll have no problem getting through to next week.
Jeremy - I admit I waver on this kid. He kind of looks like a giant Manny from Modern Family with an unfortunate propensity for eyebrow-shaving. I definitely think he deserved a second chance last week, and he (kind of) deserved a judges' spot. I guess he did just by power of the JLo adoration factor. This week, she kind of looked in pain, not in the throes of orgasm, while he sang. But who knows, maybe that's her o-face, because I guess she liked it. To borrow from Randy's vernacular, I thought it was pitchy. Really pitchy. Pitchy enough to be in doubt, at least in the bottom 3 boys. PS have you noticed he hasn't said that word much?? Must be on warning from Nigel.
Ah, Jessica. You are GREAT. Shannon, this is how you have to sing if you want to try a Whitney classic. Jessica sang a crisp, clear, simple version of one of the best love songs of all time, and she blew it out of the water. Well, at least for the judges. At home, it was great, but I wouldn't say she's one of the best voices ever in the competition - it's way too early for that. I would say she's a clear front-runner, though. And deservedly so.
And finally, the worst-named contestant of all time, Phillip Phillips. What is this, 19th century Sweden? Anyhoo, the Superstition version he did was great, got me going, nice way to end, but this kid needs to stand out from the crowd ASAP or he's going to get lost. I don't mean as much musically as I mean personality wise. I don't think he's connecting much to people at home, so he needs to step out of his shell.
Ok, predictions.
Bottom 3 Girls: Shannon, Elise, Erika
Bottom 3 Boys: Colton, Jermaine, Phillip
Bottom 2: Shannon, Jermaine
Off: Shannon. Pretty much no doubt, especially because it's judges choice. Although I guess if somehow she pulls off the votes to not be the worst girl, she'd stay on? But she was the only "bad" performance of the night, I'll be disappointed in America if they don't see that.
We started off with Jeremy, who the judges adored. They are always impressed by a gospel background, which he shows off in spades. I thought it was a good performance, maybe not as great as the judges (read: Jennifer) did, but he'll get through. Boring.
Next up was Elise, who I actually like a lot. She wanted to do The Greatest Love of All (it was Whitney night for the ladies, btws) but they made her do I'm Your Baby Tonight, which was defintiely the better choice for her. However, they judges didn't love it - I think they were slightly too harsh on her, but I agree that she didn't do too much to impress. She's in danger.
We got the "gentle giant" Jermaine (seriously, do we have to say that every fucking time???) and I was reminded of my initial confusion when he was chosen to sing for sport #25. Buuuut, as has been known to happen occasionally, I was proven wrong and I learned why such a monotonous voice and presence is actually pretty damn amazing sometimes. It must be really hard to sing like that - although that in and of itself shouldn't get someone through. He might be in the bottom 3 guys, not sure how many they'll do, but I'll be calling bottom 3 boys and girls, and then bottom 2 total, then a prediction. Getting bold tonight.
Next up was Erika Van Pelt, EVeeps in my book. She's a continual surprise - I wasn't blown away by her in auditions and top 24, and was surprised she was given a second chance, and surprised she was selected as the only female judges choice (not that they EVER favor women, but still... two guys again????). But, VERY OCCASIONALLY, something bizarre happens in my world - I am wrong! :) EVeeps did a great job on her power ballad and did Miss Whitney proud. Some other time we'll discuss if it was too soon for a Whitney tribute. Erika is safe.
Next up was, ugh, Colter. Colton? Whatever, I dislike this hipster on principle. I wish I could be more open minded, but I can't. And the judges adore him, wtf? ugh.
Poor, poor (although she kind of seems like a spoiled little rich girl or something) Shannon Magrane. Lesson #1 in Hollywood: never, ever, EVER try to sing Whitney Houston if you can't manage to sing even half as well as the greatest voice of our generation (yeah, I said it. you can go suck it if you don't agree). Ever. Especially I Have Nothing, which is one of her greatest vocal performances ("don't make me close one more door/I don't wanna hurt anymore" is a line that gives me chills to this day, even after listening to the tape of The Bodyguard 947 times with my twin sister in 1994) and should not EVER be tackled by a 16 year old volleyball player from Florida. Shannon, you're gorgeous, poised, and semi-talented, and you should know better. You could have done I Wanna Dance with Somebody. Or even My Love is Your Love. Maybe. Actually maybe not. Bottom 3, risky to come back. But never, ever forget about the army of blonde tween girls furiously voting for their Queen...
Deandre, Deandre, Deandre. Can I just say, as a fellow half-black person, how violently jealous I am of your blond, flowing tight curls? How did I end up with boring old brown loose curls that require half a bottle of spray gel to hold their shape for a few minutes and not your perfectly coiffed yet effortless looking tresses? Life is so fucking unfair sometimes. ....Oh, your singing? It was good, not great, but certainly good enough to, when combined with the hair envy I imagine half of America is feeling right now, propel you through.
Skylar: first off, I'll say that while I kind of hate the kind of music she sang last week and throughout her auditions (and by kind of hate I mean despise), she blew me away then and now. Tonight, she proved on Where Do Broken Hearts Go that she commands the stage just as strongly singing a sweet ballad as hopping around like Reba on crack. I fucking loved it. WINNER. There, I said it. Oh, and dear Randy: iffy? you're kidding me. Shame. You still claimed to love it but iffy? REALLY?
I freely admit I find Heejun hilariously adorable. I was kind of annoyed last week at Jimmy calling him a comedian and discounting his skills, because he blends them perfectly!! His signed photos to Jimmy and Mary J Blige (Mary, I love you more than Jimmy) had me cracking up! He missed a few notes on his song, but I forgive him, he's adorbs. I'm THRILLED that the judges liked him too! His voice is so smooth and sinful and SO BIZARRE coming out of his mouth that I'm predicting a dark horse.
Hollie! I love Hollie! Other than the bizarre accent (Texas meets Australia??? is it a lisp or something????) she power ballads like no other and she deserves to be on that stage. There was nothing particularly remarkable about her performance, but she'll have no problem getting through to next week.
Jeremy - I admit I waver on this kid. He kind of looks like a giant Manny from Modern Family with an unfortunate propensity for eyebrow-shaving. I definitely think he deserved a second chance last week, and he (kind of) deserved a judges' spot. I guess he did just by power of the JLo adoration factor. This week, she kind of looked in pain, not in the throes of orgasm, while he sang. But who knows, maybe that's her o-face, because I guess she liked it. To borrow from Randy's vernacular, I thought it was pitchy. Really pitchy. Pitchy enough to be in doubt, at least in the bottom 3 boys. PS have you noticed he hasn't said that word much?? Must be on warning from Nigel.
Ah, Jessica. You are GREAT. Shannon, this is how you have to sing if you want to try a Whitney classic. Jessica sang a crisp, clear, simple version of one of the best love songs of all time, and she blew it out of the water. Well, at least for the judges. At home, it was great, but I wouldn't say she's one of the best voices ever in the competition - it's way too early for that. I would say she's a clear front-runner, though. And deservedly so.
And finally, the worst-named contestant of all time, Phillip Phillips. What is this, 19th century Sweden? Anyhoo, the Superstition version he did was great, got me going, nice way to end, but this kid needs to stand out from the crowd ASAP or he's going to get lost. I don't mean as much musically as I mean personality wise. I don't think he's connecting much to people at home, so he needs to step out of his shell.
Ok, predictions.
Bottom 3 Girls: Shannon, Elise, Erika
Bottom 3 Boys: Colton, Jermaine, Phillip
Bottom 2: Shannon, Jermaine
Off: Shannon. Pretty much no doubt, especially because it's judges choice. Although I guess if somehow she pulls off the votes to not be the worst girl, she'd stay on? But she was the only "bad" performance of the night, I'll be disappointed in America if they don't see that.
Saturday, January 7, 2012
adults shouldn't rollerblade, take it from me!
Today marks 6 months, to the day, of my open reduction internal fixation on a left distal radius fracture. I learned a lot over the course of that injury, namely that that complicated medical sounding jargon in my previous sentence really just means "you were really fucking dumb and went rollerblading and were going too fast when a dog jumped in front of you as you were speeding down a hill, so you fell and managed to land your entire body's weight on your left wrist and because you have shitty luck, it didn't heal properly so some doctor and his "students" had to go in and put a 4-inch plate and 7 screws in it, causing intense pain and an inability to strenuously exercise for 3 months". BUT...
Since I've actually managed to recover far more than I expected to, or was expected to, in my first six months, I'm putting up my disgusting series of photos of the break, with no shame about my self-congratulatory air. I would say that I'm at about 85% of full use of my wrist, and there are very few things that I find limiting. I can lift as much weight as I was lifting pre-accident, and while I can only do 20 pushups instead of 50, that's not bad considering I've only been able to do them for the last two months or so.... I was told it would take a full year to hit 95-100%, so I feel pretty confident that I will get there! My physical therapist, whom I saw for 6 weeks after my cast came off, told me that if all her patients worked as hard as I did as fast as I did, she'd be out of a job! :) I won't let my ego take control of this post TOO much, but I will say that I firmly believe the reason I recovered so quickly was because a) I was in decent shape beforehand, and continued to force myself to exercise in whatever capacity I could, even if that meant riding the old ladies' reclining stationary bike with my sling on at the gym for 30 mins and b) because I did ALL the physical therapy I was told to do, no matter the amount of pain I felt or the annoying amount of time it took every day and c) Percoset. While of course I know injuries need recovery time, I think coddling them is probably the dumbest thing we can do to them. Observe all the rules while it's in a cast, and don't try to come back too soon, but when you're cleared to go, GO! I purposefully try to open all doors with my left hand (something I couldn't do 4 months ago) and while my wrist is literally screaming in pain after 10 pushups, I force myself to do as many more as I can.
Now, for the pictures.
I call this photo, "the calm before the storm". Look how carefree and happy I am. Oh, how little I know about today's fun Father's Day activities... This will be the last time I'll be smiling without drugs for a while...
"Take a picture, let's send it to Damon so he sees all the fun he's missing!"
"I'm sure it's just sprained... I'm just a baby, I cry a lot."
June 19th, 2011.
My first orthopedist, Dr. Lance Barlas, was awesome for a zillion reasons, not the least of which was that his office (wisely) stocked hot pink casting material. Also, who knew casts are no longer plaster, but fiberglass???? I guess you learn something new every injury....
June 20, 2011.
So, of course I bedazzled my pink cast with the help of my best friend Macy:
Unfortunately, now comes the time in my story where the high of the hot pink sparkly cast came crashing down when I was informed that 10 days post breakage, my wrist had slipped out of place and would now require invasive surgery. I'll spare you the majority of the details, but it took another 7 days and 14 hours of standing in lines at Valley Medical Center in Santa Clara (shout out to my VMC homies!) to get my surgery scheduled and paid for. Here's me heading in to surgery, still believing all the nonsense they'd told me about "discomfort" and "grogginess" "for a few days or a couple weeks". What they meant was "unending sledgehammer-like pain", "inability to sleep for more than 4 hours for the next month without intense pain and/or having to take more percoset" and "you will probably throw up on yourself several times in the next couple days as your anesthesia wears off".
July 7th, 2011!
Now, here's where things get a little gross with a capital G. A week after my surgery, which I spent doped up lying on my mom's couch watching episodes of Criminal Minds and Say Yes To The Dress, I had my temporary "soft cast" taken off and replaced with another pink cast, this one of a far more boring pale pink variety. Even the rhinestones couldn't make it pop like my previous one... Silly public hospitals not caring about the vibrant colors of our casts! For shame. Of course, I had to go with a pink shade in an effort to match the majority of my wardrobe, especially because they didn't have animal print options! Anyhoo, this is what was under the soft cast, and what went under the hard one...
This was July 14th. Happy Bastille Day, indeed.
The only upside to this debacle (other than the whole building character and overcoming adversity thing) was that since I couldn't really work, I was able to go visit my handsome BF in Budapest, as he spent his whole summer in Europe. In two weeks, I visited Amsterdam, Budapest, Vienna, and Prague, so for someone who'd never been to continental Europe, I kinda lucked out! I forgot my sling on the way to Prague (big mistake while touristing) and had to purchase this one from a drugstore. It took two clerks, me, my BF, and a little old Czech lady 5 minutes to figure out how to fold it and use it, but we did:
July 26th, 2011.
After 5 way too long weeks, my cast came off! Yay. This is what it looked like 5 weeks post surgery. At this point, I could not bend any of the fingers on my left hand, and even touching them made me sick to my stomach. I had some sort of sensitivity disorder, which caused me to feel like I was always in intense pain, but with a lot of hard work, I was able to begin bending my fingers, squeezing my therapy putty, and bearing a tiny bit of weight on it.
This was around August 15th, when the cast came off. I started physical therapy afterwards (shout out to Serena at VMC!) and was amazed how I went from zero mobility to about 40% within only 3 weeks. In my initial assessment, I rated in the 98th percentile in strength in my right hand, and the 2nd in my left. How pathetic is that?? But again, that just means there's no where to go but up! By the time I stopped therapy (about 5 or 6 weeks) I had far and away exceeded the goals we'd set for me, and kept eliciting comments like "I'm just so shocked, I honestly thought you were going to have lifelong complications based on the sensitivity and mobility issues you were experiencing when you first came in..." I totally recognize I'm tooting my own horn here, but it all goes back to my theory of hard work and exercise to get through ANYTHING.
Here's about a month after the cast came off:
When I went back to my regular workout routine, I modified it to basically whatever my wrist could tolerate. Where I'd been lifting 8 pounds, I could only lift 1, where I could handle 12, maybe 2 or 3 if I was lucky, but I made myself do the exact same things I'd been doing previously with the limited weight. I started doing pushups against a wall, then moved to against a ledge, and then finally, painfully, after about 2 months without a cast and 3 months after surgery, I moved to doing little halfway down pushups on the floor. I could do about 3 half ones before having to stop, and can now do 20 almost full ones! I still have a hard time pushing from all the way down, but I do what I can and keep improving!
The single weirdest thing about the whole experience was that under the cast, I grew a layer of thick, black hair that took about 5 months to fade away.... And before you think to yourself "why didn't she wax or shave it" let me remind you that even the shower water made me slightly queasy when it hit it for a good couple of months. I still don't have any feeling in my thumb and index finger, but hey, who needs feeling in your fingers...
I'm incredibly grateful to my surgeon, Dr Jeffrey Krygier, and his minions (esp nice Dr. Githens, whom I made promise not to kill me after they'd shot me up with Ativan and wheeled me onto the table), and all the lovely nurses in surgery and post-op. I apologize to the one I made "GO GET MY MOMMY" as the anesthesia wore off and I was a weeping, confused muddle of emotion and pain, but hopefully she's dealt with worse. My future in-laws, Dr. Eric Holmberg and LeAnn James, also helped me IMMENSELY, especially in the moments after my fall and the day before I got an x-ray. Eric actually put on my first soft cast!
So, I'm 6 months post-operation, and feeling great! I'm determined to do a Tough Mudder Challenge this summer to celebrate my full 100% recovery (which WILL happen, I don't believe in settling for 95% like I've been urged to do) and to quote my good friends Puff Daddy (I also don't believe in P. Diddy, Diddy, or Sean "Puffy" Combs) and Mace: can't nobody break my stride, can't nobody hold me down, oh no. I got to keep on movin'...
January 7, 2012. Feelin' good! :)
Since I've actually managed to recover far more than I expected to, or was expected to, in my first six months, I'm putting up my disgusting series of photos of the break, with no shame about my self-congratulatory air. I would say that I'm at about 85% of full use of my wrist, and there are very few things that I find limiting. I can lift as much weight as I was lifting pre-accident, and while I can only do 20 pushups instead of 50, that's not bad considering I've only been able to do them for the last two months or so.... I was told it would take a full year to hit 95-100%, so I feel pretty confident that I will get there! My physical therapist, whom I saw for 6 weeks after my cast came off, told me that if all her patients worked as hard as I did as fast as I did, she'd be out of a job! :) I won't let my ego take control of this post TOO much, but I will say that I firmly believe the reason I recovered so quickly was because a) I was in decent shape beforehand, and continued to force myself to exercise in whatever capacity I could, even if that meant riding the old ladies' reclining stationary bike with my sling on at the gym for 30 mins and b) because I did ALL the physical therapy I was told to do, no matter the amount of pain I felt or the annoying amount of time it took every day and c) Percoset. While of course I know injuries need recovery time, I think coddling them is probably the dumbest thing we can do to them. Observe all the rules while it's in a cast, and don't try to come back too soon, but when you're cleared to go, GO! I purposefully try to open all doors with my left hand (something I couldn't do 4 months ago) and while my wrist is literally screaming in pain after 10 pushups, I force myself to do as many more as I can.
Now, for the pictures.
I call this photo, "the calm before the storm". Look how carefree and happy I am. Oh, how little I know about today's fun Father's Day activities... This will be the last time I'll be smiling without drugs for a while...
"Take a picture, let's send it to Damon so he sees all the fun he's missing!""I'm sure it's just sprained... I'm just a baby, I cry a lot."
June 19th, 2011.My first orthopedist, Dr. Lance Barlas, was awesome for a zillion reasons, not the least of which was that his office (wisely) stocked hot pink casting material. Also, who knew casts are no longer plaster, but fiberglass???? I guess you learn something new every injury....
June 20, 2011.So, of course I bedazzled my pink cast with the help of my best friend Macy:
Unfortunately, now comes the time in my story where the high of the hot pink sparkly cast came crashing down when I was informed that 10 days post breakage, my wrist had slipped out of place and would now require invasive surgery. I'll spare you the majority of the details, but it took another 7 days and 14 hours of standing in lines at Valley Medical Center in Santa Clara (shout out to my VMC homies!) to get my surgery scheduled and paid for. Here's me heading in to surgery, still believing all the nonsense they'd told me about "discomfort" and "grogginess" "for a few days or a couple weeks". What they meant was "unending sledgehammer-like pain", "inability to sleep for more than 4 hours for the next month without intense pain and/or having to take more percoset" and "you will probably throw up on yourself several times in the next couple days as your anesthesia wears off".
July 7th, 2011!Now, here's where things get a little gross with a capital G. A week after my surgery, which I spent doped up lying on my mom's couch watching episodes of Criminal Minds and Say Yes To The Dress, I had my temporary "soft cast" taken off and replaced with another pink cast, this one of a far more boring pale pink variety. Even the rhinestones couldn't make it pop like my previous one... Silly public hospitals not caring about the vibrant colors of our casts! For shame. Of course, I had to go with a pink shade in an effort to match the majority of my wardrobe, especially because they didn't have animal print options! Anyhoo, this is what was under the soft cast, and what went under the hard one...
This was July 14th. Happy Bastille Day, indeed.The only upside to this debacle (other than the whole building character and overcoming adversity thing) was that since I couldn't really work, I was able to go visit my handsome BF in Budapest, as he spent his whole summer in Europe. In two weeks, I visited Amsterdam, Budapest, Vienna, and Prague, so for someone who'd never been to continental Europe, I kinda lucked out! I forgot my sling on the way to Prague (big mistake while touristing) and had to purchase this one from a drugstore. It took two clerks, me, my BF, and a little old Czech lady 5 minutes to figure out how to fold it and use it, but we did:
July 26th, 2011.After 5 way too long weeks, my cast came off! Yay. This is what it looked like 5 weeks post surgery. At this point, I could not bend any of the fingers on my left hand, and even touching them made me sick to my stomach. I had some sort of sensitivity disorder, which caused me to feel like I was always in intense pain, but with a lot of hard work, I was able to begin bending my fingers, squeezing my therapy putty, and bearing a tiny bit of weight on it.
This was around August 15th, when the cast came off. I started physical therapy afterwards (shout out to Serena at VMC!) and was amazed how I went from zero mobility to about 40% within only 3 weeks. In my initial assessment, I rated in the 98th percentile in strength in my right hand, and the 2nd in my left. How pathetic is that?? But again, that just means there's no where to go but up! By the time I stopped therapy (about 5 or 6 weeks) I had far and away exceeded the goals we'd set for me, and kept eliciting comments like "I'm just so shocked, I honestly thought you were going to have lifelong complications based on the sensitivity and mobility issues you were experiencing when you first came in..." I totally recognize I'm tooting my own horn here, but it all goes back to my theory of hard work and exercise to get through ANYTHING.Here's about a month after the cast came off:
When I went back to my regular workout routine, I modified it to basically whatever my wrist could tolerate. Where I'd been lifting 8 pounds, I could only lift 1, where I could handle 12, maybe 2 or 3 if I was lucky, but I made myself do the exact same things I'd been doing previously with the limited weight. I started doing pushups against a wall, then moved to against a ledge, and then finally, painfully, after about 2 months without a cast and 3 months after surgery, I moved to doing little halfway down pushups on the floor. I could do about 3 half ones before having to stop, and can now do 20 almost full ones! I still have a hard time pushing from all the way down, but I do what I can and keep improving!The single weirdest thing about the whole experience was that under the cast, I grew a layer of thick, black hair that took about 5 months to fade away.... And before you think to yourself "why didn't she wax or shave it" let me remind you that even the shower water made me slightly queasy when it hit it for a good couple of months. I still don't have any feeling in my thumb and index finger, but hey, who needs feeling in your fingers...
I'm incredibly grateful to my surgeon, Dr Jeffrey Krygier, and his minions (esp nice Dr. Githens, whom I made promise not to kill me after they'd shot me up with Ativan and wheeled me onto the table), and all the lovely nurses in surgery and post-op. I apologize to the one I made "GO GET MY MOMMY" as the anesthesia wore off and I was a weeping, confused muddle of emotion and pain, but hopefully she's dealt with worse. My future in-laws, Dr. Eric Holmberg and LeAnn James, also helped me IMMENSELY, especially in the moments after my fall and the day before I got an x-ray. Eric actually put on my first soft cast!
So, I'm 6 months post-operation, and feeling great! I'm determined to do a Tough Mudder Challenge this summer to celebrate my full 100% recovery (which WILL happen, I don't believe in settling for 95% like I've been urged to do) and to quote my good friends Puff Daddy (I also don't believe in P. Diddy, Diddy, or Sean "Puffy" Combs) and Mace: can't nobody break my stride, can't nobody hold me down, oh no. I got to keep on movin'...
January 7, 2012. Feelin' good! :)
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