It was pretty exciting today, watching all of the news about the brand new iPad come through twitter. I'm not on twitter myself, but I have to admit, I'm loving it for all of the 'what was that?' moments and instant reaction.
Anyway, what is the iPad? I'm not really sure. But it's probably not this:
6:00pm: Ricky Gervais (pronounced Ger-vays) comes out to enthusiastic applause. He looks and sounds just like he always does.
6:01 pm: First Steve Carrell slam. He's simultaneously pimping and slagging on The Office.
6:03 pm: He's making jokes about holding his small penis in his tiny hands. Martin Scorsese looks confused.
6:05 pm: Nicole Kidman comes out. Is she pregnant again? I can see her nipples. Supporting actresses: Penelope Cruz (Nine), Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air), Anna Kendrick (Up in the Air), Mo'Nique (Precious), Julianne Moore (A Single Man). Winner: Mo'Nique! She looks overwhelmed by the moment. I quite like her dress, though. Aw, she's crying! She's making me cry! And I'm a hard-hearted blogger!
6:10 pm: Sofia Vergara and Matthew Fox. Actress in a TV comedy or musical: Toni Collette (United States of Tara), Courteney Cox (Cougar Town), Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie), Tina Fey (30 Rock), Lea Michele (Glee). The winner is: Toni Collette. Did she win last year? I guess not. It says it's her first win. She's wearing a very glittery dress.
6:13 pm: Commercials.
6:17 pm: Jim Parsons and Lauren Graham. Supporting actor in TV: Michael Emerson (Lost), NPH (How I Met Your Mother), William Hurt (Damages), John Lithgow (Dexter), Jeremy Piven (Entourage). The winner is: John Lithgow! Hooray for Jeremy Piven not winning again! I wanted NPH to win, because I love him, but I also love John Lithgow. He's up in the balcony. He's going to the stage via a back door. It's all very bizarre. He seems so composed and classy. Seriously, I think he'd be so much fun at a dinner party.
6:20 pm: Sir Paul walks out to the sounds of Yellow Submarine. Was that the only song they could get the rights to? Mike Tyson is sitting at the table for The Hangover, which I love. Oh, it's an award for animation, and apparently Yellow Submarine "is about to resurface." Okay. Nominees are: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Coraline, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Princeses and the Frog, UP. The winner is: UP! Are both letters capitalized like that? I don't know.
6:24 pm: Commercials. Let's do some Golden Globes Trivia! From the HFPA site:
Most Globes won by a film: five, shared by five winners: "Doctor Zhivago"(1966), "Love Story" (1971), "The Godfather" (1973), "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" (1976), and "A Star is Born" (1977).
Only three-way tie: Jodie Foster ("The Accused"), Shirley MacLaine ("Madame Sousatzka"), and Sigourney Weaver ("Gorillas in the Mist") for Best Actress in 1989.
Youngest winner: Ricky Schroeder was nine years old when he won the Globe for Best New Star of the Year in 1980 for "The Champ."
Oldest winners: 80-year-old Jessica Tandy won Best Actress for "Driving Miss Daisy" in 1990, and 76-year-old Henry Fonda won Best Actor for "On Golden Pond" in 1982.
6:27 pm: Has anyone ever had any of Olymel's food products? I wonder if they're as good as they look.
6:28 pm: Kate Hudson is introducing clips from Nine, the movie she was in. She's totally wearing a wedding dress. I haven't seen this movie. I've barely seen any of these movies.
6:29 pm: We're back to Ricky Gervais. He keeps laughing through his jokes.
6:31 pm: Felicity Huffman comes out to do...something. Remember when she was in Transamerica, and then dressed in all those "Hey, I really am a woman!" outfits? She's flubbing all of her lines.
6:33 pm: NPH and Jane Krakowski came out to do TV Series Drama best actor: Simon Baker (The Mentalist), Michael C. Hall (Dexter), Jon Hamm (Mad Men), Hugh Laurie (House), Bill Paxton (Big Love). The winner is: Michael C. Hall! I don't watch Dexter, but from what I hear, he deserves this. This is his first win. He's wearing some kind of Philip Seymour Hoffman toque; I think he (MCH) has cancer.
Nominees for actress in a drama: Glenn Close (Damages), January Jones (Mad Men), Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife), Anna Paquin (True Blood), Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer). The winner: Julianna Margulies! Wow. Between that and John Lithgow, it's like it's the mid-90s all over again! She's wearing a deep dark red. She thanks CBS for "believing in the 10 o'clock drama." Zing! Oh, it's only red on top, it's black on the bottom.
6:39 pm: Commercials. So, who's excited about The Olympics?
6:42 pm: Harrison Ford comes out to introduce clips from Up in the Air. Sure, why not?
6:44 pm: Ricky is back, making jokes about Sir Paul.
6:44 pm: Cher and Christina Aguilera come out together. Okay. It's best song. "Cinema Italino" from Nine, "I See You" from Avatar, "I Want to Come Home" from Everybody's Fine, "The Weary Kind" from Crazy Heart, "Winter" from Brothers. The winner is Crazy Heart's "The Weary Kind."
Original Score: UP, The Informant!, Avatar, A Single Man, Where the Wild Things Are. The winner is: UP! It was a really good sounding movie. Does this bode poorly for Avatar? Sir Paul just winked at the winner.
6:53 pm: Amy Adams comes out, and I had no idea she was pregnant. The award is for Best Mini-Series or TV Movie. I feel like these are all really old, because they were the ones that were celebrated by the Emmys last year. The winner is: Grey Gardens, and that is not a surprise for anyone, I don't think. Drew Barrymore is wearing a shower loofah over one shoulder.
This is going on way too long.
6:58 pm: Tom Hanks comes out. He makes a joke at someone's expense, either Alec Baldwin or Stanley Tucci. My sound cut out. Anyway, he's introducing clips from Julie & Julia.
7:00 pm: Ricky Gervais is back to be serious. Or not. He makes a Colin Farrell joke. Heh. C said "balls!" The category is best actress in a comedy or musical: Sandra Bullock (The Proposal), Marion Cotillard (Nine), Julia Roberts (Duplicity), Meryl Streep (It's Complicated), Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia). And the winner is: Meryl Streep! For Julie & Julia. While she's up there, I'm looking up what movie Julia Roberts was in, because I honestly had no memory of her being in a movie this last year. Meryl Streep is talking about...I'm not sure exactly. Her mother, and Haiti, and I'm not sure what else.
7:06 pm: Commercials. The thing with the Golden Globes, unlike the Emmys or the Oscars, I have absolutely NO IDEA what part of the show we're at. We're probably running long.
7:10 pm: Helen Mirren comes out, looking super classy as usual. She's introducing clips from Precious.
7:12 pm: Zoe Saldana and Sam Worthington come out, Best Actor in a miniseries or TV Movie. The winner is Kevin Bacon for Taking Chances, which reminds me of that Celine Dion song. You know, I think his marriage with Kyra Sedgwick is one of the marriages where I would be most surprised if they got a divorce. Hollywood surprised, I mean.
Immediately we're into Actresses in the same category. The winner is: Drew Barrymore for Grey Gardens. That one is a bit of a surprise. Joan Allen has the tightest look on her face. This is her third nomination, first win. She was previously nominated for "Irreconcilable Differences" (1984) and "Guncrazy" (1992).
7:18 pm: Commercials.
7:22 pm: Cameron Diaz introduces "It's Complicated." And then we're back to Ricky! He introduces Jennifer Aniston as "Rachel off Friends," which makes me love him a little bit. Screenplay nominations. Jason Reitman and someone else win for Up in the Air.
7:27 pm: Best actor in a TV series comedy or musical: Matthew Morrison (Glee!), Thomas Jane (Hung), Steve Carrell (The Office), David Duchovny (Californication), Alec Baldwin (30 Rock). The winner is: Alec Baldwin! Who is not there, so Ashton Kutcher and Jennifer Garner accept the award on his behalf.
7:28 pm: Maggie Gyllenhaal reminds us to give to Haiti.
7:33 pm: Samuel L. Jackson comes out to be all badass while introducing Inglourious Basterds. And then he sticks around to introduce Sophia Loren. Everyone stands and applauds. She's wearing giant glasses. That are either tinted, or she's wearing a lot of pink and green make-up. She's awarding Best Foreign Language Film. The winner is: The White Ribbon, from Germany.
7:38 pm: Amy Poehler and Zachary Levi are out to introduce something. Amy is hilarious. So is Chuck! Drama Series: Big Love, Dexter, House, Mad Men, True Blood. The winner is: Mad Men! Jon Hamm looks delightful in his beard. They deserve it, their series finale was, I think, the best hour of TV I saw last year, and the whole season was really good. Elisabeth Moss looks a lot different in a different haircut. But OMG Pete! Vincent Kartheiser looks totally different, he's wearing Leonardo DiCaprio's hair from 1996.
7:46 pm: Taylor Lautner introduces clips from (500) Days of Summer. I just bought that! I haven't seen it yet! I think I'll like it.
7:47 pm: Chase Crawford and Kristen Bell. There's so much pretty! Best Actress for Drama: Jane Adams (Hung), Rose Byrne (Damages), Jane Lynch (Glee), Janet McTeer (Into the Storm?), Chloe Sevigny (Big Love). Chloe Sevigny wins, and is freaking out about something to do with her dress. I don't know. I'm picturing Sue Sylvester's fancy track suit for an occasion like this.
7:51 pm: Ricky is back to introduce Halle Berry. Wow. I see her boobs before I see her. Supporting actor in a movie: Matt Damon (Invictus) Woody Harrelson (The Messenger), Christopher Plummer (The Last Station), Stanley Tucci (The Lovely Bones), Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds). The winner: Christoph Waltz! Apparently he was quite good in that movie.
7:54 pm: My pizza turned out quite well, by the way. Was I talking about that in this, or in the pre-show? I don't know. It feels like a long time ago.
7:57 pm: I'm still not over Chloe Sevigny's dress, and her comments in the pre-show. It looked like a ruffley bed sheet with coffee filters all over it.
And the escorter guy probably got fired because she made a big deal about him stepping on it!
7:59 pm: Special award time! Marty Scorsese's first muse, Robert DeNiro, and his second muse, Leonardo DiCaprio, come out together to set up his tribute. It's so going off the rails with DeNiro's impression of Marty being turned on by film stock.
8:02 pm: Time for a montage! I do love a good montage. I don't care what critics of awards shows say. If you do it right, they are very effective.
8:06 pm: Leo DiCaprio is towering over Scorsese AND DeNiro. Is he really that tall?
8:13 pm: This is about the time where you just start thinking, why is this show not over yet?
8:14 pm: Jodie Foster is there. Surprise! I was just thinking about her when they showed pictures of her from Taxi Driver in the previous tribute. She's there just to introduce clips from The Hurt Locker. I meant to see this movie when it was playing here this year, because I knew it would be nominated for things like this. I think it's out on DVD now.
8:17 pm: Ricky: "I like a drink as much as the next man. Unless the next man, is Mel Gibson." Heh. The crowd goes nuts over this. Then Mel comes out and oh, dear. He's playing drunk. He's presenting best director. And it goes to James Cameron! For Avatar! I haven't seen it.
8:19 pm: News bulletin: James Cameron "has to pee something fierce."
8:20 pm: I think he's speaking in Avatar language (Na'avi?). Ookay.
8:21 pm: Comedy or Musical show: 30 Rock, Entourage, Glee, Modern Family, The Office. And the winner is: Glee! Okay, I take it back about the track suit, because Jane Lynch is wearing a lovely green ball gown. They're going CRAZY about the win. Oh, I'm so excited! I love Glee, I really do. I hope the second half of the season will be as good. Everyone looks adorable, most of the ladies went for big ball gowns.
8:27 pm: The Hangover Guys, minus Zach G., plus Mike Tyson. They're introducing clips from The Hangover! It's awesome.
8:28 pm: Reese Witherspoon is there. She's presenting Comedy or Musical: (500) Days of Summer, The Hangover, It's Complicated, Julie & Julia, Nine. And the winner is: The Hangover! Wow! That...was unexpected! Wasn't it? I think it was. Brendan Fraser seems like he'd be a good guy. Maybe he can come to my dinner party with John Lithgow and Sigourney Weaver. Ed Helms is beaming!
8:31 pm: Commercials.
8:35 pm: Arnold Schwarzenegger comes out to introduce Avatar. He makes a state budget joke. He makes an NBC joke, and the camera cuts straight to Mariah's breasts.
8:37 pm: Mickey Rourke comes out to award Best Actress in a Drama: Emily Blunt (The Young Victoria), Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side), Helen Mirren (The Last Station), Carey Mulligan (An Education), Gabourey Sidibe (Precious). It goes to: Sandra Bullock. I'm kind of surprised by this. There is a lot going on in the bottom half of her dress. There are a lot of first time winners this year. This is her first win, and tonight she had her third and fourth nominations.
8:41 pm: Sally Hawkins is here to present best actor in a comedy: Matt Damon (The Informant!), Robert Downey Jr, (Sherlock Holmes), Joseph Gordon-Levitt ((500) Days of Summer), Michael Stuhlbarg (A Serious Man), Daniel Day-Lewis (Nine). The winner is: Robert Downey, Jr! Is this a surprise? I guess I didn't know who was favoured to win this year. He starts with a threat to the violinists. He does a speech where he DOESN'T thank the people he's going to thank.
8:45 pm: RDJ has actually already won a Golden Globe, in 2001 for his role on Ally McBeal. He also won as part of an ensemble cast for "Short Cuts" in 1994.
8:48 pm: Kate Winslet is here for Best Actor in a drama: Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart), George Clooney (Up in the Air), Colin Firth (A Single Man), Morgan Freeman (Invictus), and Tobey Maguire (Brothers). The winner is: Jeff Bridges! He's up on the stage in a flash, and there's a shot of Tobey Maguire choking down what looks like disappointment. Jeff Bridges gets a standing ovation.
8:53 pm: He's still talking.
8:57 pm: Julia Roberts comes out and makes it all about her. She's presenting best motion picture, Drama: Avatar, The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds, Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Saphire, Up in the Air. And the winner is: Avatar! James Cameron kisses his wife. Ivan Reitman glowers at his table.
8:59 pm: With this haircut, James Cameron reminds me of someone, but I can't think of who. George Washington, maybe?
No, it's more feathery than curly. He wants everyone "to give it up for yourselves." And then he repeats it! Jessica Lange looks mystified.
9:01 pm: I did not know that fellow best director nominee Kathryn Bigelow was James Cameron's ex-wife. Why did I not know this?
9:02 pm: Ricky Gervais asks people to please watch his HBO show. And that's the night!
5:02 pm: Billy Bush is annoying me already. There are umbrellas everywhere. Jane Krakowski is engaged. Kristen Bell is adorable. George Clooney is wearing an unfortunate beard, but he still looks cool.
5:03 pm: Gabourey Sidibe giggles through everything I've heard her talk. Natalie Morales confuses her with her character, precious. Tea Leoni is wearing some kind of men's shirt, and I am not surprised.
5:04 pm: This is so uncoordinated. It's a rainy mess. Fergie and Josh Duhamel could not be more uncomfortable if they tried. Awkward.
5:05 pm: People are wearing ribbons. For Haiti? They look red and white-ish. Remember when people wore ribbons all the time? I'll look it up on a commercial.
5:06 pm: Tracey Morgan is talking to Vanessa Minillo. She keeps touching him. She called his show "the coup de grace." Odd. He's in a white tux and I can't tell if it has yellow on it, or if it's just so bright. It's hurting my eyes.
5:07 pm: I can't tell if it's sunny there while it's raining, or if it's just the lights of the various cameras. Someone should answer that for me.
5:08 pm: There's something unsettling about all of the Haiti ribbons and the situation there mixed in with all of the talk about how bad the weather is. Oh, their dresses are getting ruined. Boo hoo.
5:09 pm: January Jones does not look happy to be doing red carpet interviews. Maybe she's just super shy.
5:10 pm: ZOMG! Taylor Lautner! Twilighteeee!
5:11 pm: Bradley Cooper is looking super cool. He's pretty smooth, too. There's going to be a Hangover 2, in case you were interested.
5:11 pm: Chloe Sevigny is bitching that no one put a tarp up. Again. Did they not know that this show is coming on RIGHT AFTER an NBC News report from Haiti? I'm not usually someone who complains about this kind of thing - I mean, I do know that life goes on and there's always suffering all over the world and not just when we see it on the news, but do these celebs really not know how this is coming off?
5:12 pm: Taylor Lautner doesn't know if Taylor Swift is showing up. Are they done? Was it just a publicity thing? I prefer Taylor Lautner's embracing of celebrity to Robsten's running away.
5:13 pm: Oh my God. Billy Bush just asked Courteney Cox and David Arquette if they had a 'survival plan' for the red carpet. Really, Billy Bush? Really?
5:14 pm: Natalie Morales just got Stanley Tucci confused with his character, a child kidnapper and molester and muderer. He shut that down pretty quickly. Is this her first time on a red carpet? She does know it's called acting, right? Gah.
5:15 pm: Colin Firth! He's delicious. And self-deprecating!
5:16 pm: Kate Hudson looks like she's wearing a wedding dress.
5:17 pm: First commercial break. Wow. Time flies when you're snarking.
5:18 pm: Is twittering the new live-blogging? Should I be on twitter? I often think about getting an account, but I don't know how I'd use it, really. As it is, I already spend way too much reading celebrity tweets.
5:20 pm: And we're back! Is this an hour long? That seems excessive.
5:21 pm: Now Natalie Morales is butchering Morgan Freeman's role in Invictus. Wasn't there gossip about him and his love life recently? She had him explain the ribbon. 21 minutes too late!
5:22 pm: To me, Gerard Butler looks kind of like a muppet. I understand people find him attractive.
5:23 pm: I always sort of forget that Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart are a couple. His new movie looks terrible. It might just be the ads, though. It sounds like it should be a Lifetime TV movie.
5:24 pm: Is Simon Baker Australian? He has some kind of accent. His brother looks kind of hot.
5:25 pm: Here comes Samuel L. Jackson to class the place up! Robert Downey Jr. just walked by and Natalie Morales flipped out to grab him and talk to him about Iron Man 2. Apparently they're both in it. Natalie showed she has absolutely no idea what that movie is about.
5:26 pm: Sir Paul is wearing this very strange looking scarf and has the largest umbrella I've ever seen.
5:27 pm: Sigourney Weaver and John Lithgow are interviewing together. Why? No reason. But wouldn't that make for part of an awesome dinner party? She's looking forward to Ricky Gervais. How do you pronounce that? They're going with Ger-vay.
5:28 pm: Are we still talking about Mickey Rourke? He's here, with a tall blond almost-fiance, apparently. I'm not sure she speaks English. She doesn't in the interview, at least.
5:29 pm: WOW. Mariah Carey's boobs are on full display. All these years, and I'm still surprised.
5:31 pm: I like the colour of Sandra Bullock's dress. They're showing her a Golden Globes Snuggie. Maybe they should offer one to Mariah.
5:34 pm: Vanessa keeps telling Harvey Weinstein "Your (you're?) work personified." I have no idea what that means.
5:35 pm: Second commercial break!
5:39 pm: We're back! Julia Roberts, Tom Hanks, and Rita Wilson are all together. They're wishing happy birthday to Michelle Obama. Julia Roberts says that NBC is in the toilet. Tom Hanks: "NBC said it was going to rain at ten, then moved it to eleven-thirty." Have they been in a movie together?
Billy Bush: "Natalie, take it away." Julia: "Who's Natalie?" Love it.
5:42 pm: Third commercial break! That was fast.
5:46 pm: Maybe I'll heat up a frozen pizza while I'm watching. I didn't think about blogging friendly food.
5:46 pm: We're back! Are Brangelina coming? Quentin Tarantino is talking to Natalie Morales. He's nominated for writing and directing Inglourious Basterds. Is that how you spell it? I never saw it. He's wearing some kind of cloak.
5:48 pm: Sofia Vergara is wearing a bedsheet. And she still looks good.
5:49 pm: And...another commercial. Really?
5:53 pm: And we're back! There was a strange part where they were back and started the interview (with Ryan Kwanten?), then stopped, counted down, and started again.
5:54 pm: Julia Roberts and Tom Hanks starred in Charlie Wilson's War together.
5:55 pm: Tina Fey: "It's not rain, God's crying for NBC." Alec Baldwin is in the mountains of Canada, apparently.
5:56 pm: Commercials. This was not worth coming back from the kitchen for.
5:57 pm: Do you think there's going to be one more big interview before going to the show? I hope there's not more red carpet stuff, like at the Academy Awards. Just get to the opening!
5:58 pm: This got so long, I'm going to open up a separate post for the actual show.
Just a note to say that tomorrow (Sunday), I will be "live" blogging (with the benefit of my DVR) the Golden Globes, hosted by everyone's favourite British funny guy, Ricky Gervais. It should be awkward! It starts, I think at 7pm Eastern time with the red carpet pre-show, with the show at 8pm. So sometime around then, I will be blogging. Hurrah!
Yes, that's right. I'm still looking back. Although, really, even thought it's technically 2010, it doesn't really feel like the new year until I get back to work. Which will be tomorrow. At any rate...
I had 44 posts in 2009, which is kind of shameful. But it made it easier to pick a favourite one, especially since a lot of the ones I did actually write were basically youtube videos.
1) My mother once: gave the most hilarious Christmas grace. It started "Dear God....I'm sorry about the potatoes."
2) Never in my life: have I dyed or coloured my hair.
3) When I was five: I could count to 105, but no higher. I wasn't sure what came next.
4) High school was/is: starting to feel like a long time ago. And I am okay with that.
5) I will never forget: the words to the tv theme songs I watched when I was little.
6) I once met: Norman Jewison (when he was chancellor of Victoria College). He said they were all proud of me.
7) There's this person I know who: has an amazing blog.
8) Once, at a bar: I did all of the cheap shots on the cheap shots list (and I'm pretty sure I came back and blogged about it...)
9) By noon I'm usually: ready to go back to bed.
10) Last night I: set up my bookshelves, had some pizza, and watched Project Runway.
11) If only I had: gotten my act together to my laundry today, then I wouldn't have to do it tomorrow.
12) Next time I go to church: I will either wonder why I came, or wondered why I didn't come sooner.
13) Terri Schiavo: is a name I haven't heard in a long time. I do remember her, though.
14) I like: big butts and I cannot lie.
15) When I turn my head left, I see: a bookshelf that holds my children's books, most prominently my Baby-Sitters Club books.
16) When I turn my head right, I see: my remote for the tv, the remote for my fan, and another smaller bookshelf that holds.
17) You know I'm lying when: I'm telling a story...it's almost guaranteed that I'm exaggerating in some way or another.
18) In junior school: I don't know what this is. Elementary school? In elementary school, my potential was not recognized.
19) If I was a character written by Shakespeare: I'd be the comic relief, not the romantic lead.
20) By this time next year I: hope that I have a job somewhere (my current job is just for a one-year contract).
21) A better name for me would be: nothing, because I love my name.
22) I have a hard time understanding: furniture instructions...but I've had a lot of practice.
23) If I ever go back to school, I'll: either do a Masters in Education, or a PhD of some kind.
24) You know I like you if: I ask you a lot of questions.
25) If I won an award, the first person I'd thank would be: whoever gave me the award.
26) I hope that: I do win an award some day!
27) Take my advice: nighttime can be oh so nice, good things happen in the dark!
28) My ideal breakfast is: huge. Pancakes or french toast with scrambled eggs, sausage or bacon, and potato.
29) A song I love but do not have is: I can't think of anything! But I have hardly any current music.
30) If you visit my hometown, I suggest: that you bring me with you, because otherwise you won't know what to do or where to go.
31) Tulips, character flaws, microchips and track stars: are these lyrics of some kind?
32) Why won't anyone: tell me what to write for this answer? Seriously, I have no idea why anyone won't do something.
33) If you spend the night at my house: you now have a couch to sleep on! Or I do, if I give you my bed.
34) I'd stop my wedding: if something came out during the 'does anyone object' part that I didn't know about.
35) The world could do without: I was going to say things like this, but I do enjoy them. I'm having a hard time thinking of answers for this one, and I'm sure on some level there's a world-wild value of getting to know people.
36) I'd rather lick the belly of a roach than: lick the rear end of a roach.
37) My favourite thing is: root beer, in terms of pop.
38) Paper clips are more useful than: those pencils that have an eraser but the eraser just makes everything all smudged and not erased.
39) And by the way: I never use an umbrella. When it rains, I mean. I use them all the time in my drinks.
40) The last time I was (really) drunk: was awhile ago now!
41) My grandmother always: says, if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all.
As I write this, there are about eight hours and 38 minutes left in 2009. I can never believe that a year is over, that sounds weird to say because of course time passes, but it doesn't always feel like it. 2009 was a good year. I finished my Master's Degree and got my first full time, in my field, job as a professional. It's a job that I love and I am so happy to have it. I moved out of a shared basement apartment into my own one-bedroom place. I have a DVR! I was able to come home for Christmas and see my family. I've read great books, seen great movies, and watched lots of hours of great and not-so-great TV. I have great friends. I gained back some of the weight that I lost last year, but not all of it, and the overal total is still less than it was two years ago. I tried NaNoWriMo again and didn't finish it, which I'm okay with, because I don't think I really have a story on the brain right now. Maybe I'll revisit what I did write someday. I took a blogging vacation and then recommitted to the blog, and while my posting frequency isn't where it once was, I've been really enjoying being back. Because when I was away, I felt cut off from the lives of absolute strangers, but absolute strangers who are so much fun to read about and who I suspect are really great people.
I know I should be doing a proper round up, with links and such, and I would, except I am lazy. But I do want to wish everyone a happy new year!
All the best in 2010. (What will you be calling it? I'll be calling it twenty-ten, I think, because that's what we've been hearing for the Olympics). And for one last look back at 2009 (I kind of love this):
Happy boxing day, everyone! I hope that you all had a nice Christmas celebration, wherever you are. I am at home, having Christmas with my family, which is lovely, but makes it difficult to post, because, in true family spirit, we are all up in each others' business. So this might be sporadic until after New Year's.
ANYWAY, I had a very nice Christmas day, lots of books and TV DVDs, lots of Olympic-themed items, the usual chocolates and sweets, and lottery tickets. It was a good day.
I have another week of vacation left, and I am determined to make the most of it. Which is to say, I will likely sleep it away.
BUT there are several channels here playing Star Trek movie marathons, and while I was too late to catch The Wrath of Khan, I hope to be in time to watch The Voyage Home.
Due to my blog absence earlier this year, I didn't properly talk about the books I read. I know you all missed it, and it's not like I don't talk about books or anything in my day job, but I definitely missed it. Anyway, here is the 50+2 list of the books that I read:
1. Olive Kitteridge – Elizabeth Strout 2. sTori Telling – Tori Spelling 3. What Happened to Anna K. – Irina Reyn 4. Are you there, Vodka? It’s Me Chelsea – Chelsea Handler 5. Locked in Time – Lois Duncan 6. Making the List – Michael Korda 7. Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret – Judy Blume 8. BITCHfest – Lisa Jervis and Andi Zeisler 9. Perks of Being a Wallflower – Stephen Chbosky 10. American Wife – Curtis Sittenfeld 11. I Know It’s Over – C.K. Kelly Martin 12. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle – David Wroblewski 13. The Man of My Dreams – Curtis Sittenfeld 14. The House on Fortune Street – Margot Livesay 15. Garfield Minus Garfield – Jim Davis 16. Testimony – Anita Shreve 17. Wishful Drinking – Carrie Fisher 18. Handle with Care – Jodi Picoult 19. Murder She Wrote: Destination Murder- Donald Bain 20. Mommywood – Tori Spelling 21. Tax-Free Savings Accounts – Gordon Pape 22. Frequently Asked Questions – Bill Barnes and Gene Ambaum 23. Olivia – Ian Falconer 24. Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse – Kevin Henkes 25. Reading Magic – Mem Fox 26. The Mitochondrial Curiosities of Marcels 1-19 – Jocelyn Brown 27. Where Are You Now? – Mary Higgins Clark 28. I Heard That Song Before – Mary Higgins Clark 29. Not Everyone Gets a Trophy – Bruce Tulgar 30. Two Little Girls in Blue – Mary Higgins Clark 31. True Story – Marty Chan 32. One Grey Mouse – Katherine Burton and Kim Fernandes 33. The Lit Report – Sarah N. Harvey 34. Pop Goes the Library – Liz Burns et al. 35. The Hunger Games – Suzanne Collins 36. The Reformed Vampire Support Group – Catherine Jinks 37. The Plane Janes – Cecil Castelluci 38. Janes in Love – Cecil Castelluci 39. If I Stay – Gail Forman 40. Wintergirls – Laurie Halse Anderson 41. Just Take My Heart – Mary Higgins Clark 42. 13 Reasons Why – Jay Asher 43. Someday this Pain Will Be Useful to You – Peter Cameron 44. I’ll Scream Later – Marlee Matlin 45. The Edmonton Queen – Darrin Hagen 46. L. A. Candy – Lauren Conrad 47. Catching Fire – Suzanne Collins 48. Peak – Roland Smith 49. Liar – Justine Larbalestier 50. Juliet, Naked – Nick Hornby 51. A Short History of Women – Kate Walbert 52. Enter Three Witches – Caroline B. Cooney
The ones in bold are the ones that I particularly liked.
You can see that once I find an author, I like to stick with them for awhile. A fair amount of this reading was for work, especially the children's books (like Olivia, Lilly, or One Gray Mouse) and the Non-Fiction (Pop Goes the Library, Not Everyone Gets a Trophy), and then because I was getting up to date on my middle grade and YA books. I really liked The Hunger Games and Catching Fire (they straddle the MG/YA line), I was satisfied with Nick Hornby's latest, and I loved discovering BITCHfest.
The ones that I really disliked were Are You There, Vodka (I expected something different), What Happened to Anna K. (an update of Anna Karenina that I found not that believeable), and The Lit Report (I didn't really like any of the characters).
And Locked in Time by Lois Duncan has been on my blog before (2006 and 2007).
This is only part of what I read this year, so there might be more booky posts coming.
I've been in a bit of a Cosby Show mood recently. Two episodes run daily on Peachtree TV, and I've started recording it and watching it after work. It's really good for watching because I don't need to think about it too much. But what I DO need to think about is what version of The Cosby Show opening theme song I like the most.
I got a haircut today. The woman cutting it seemed super-enthusiastic. I think it looks good, you know, for a new haircut. It's hard to tell when it's still in that 'just cut' mode. I also had her shampoo it, which was amazing. It's the first time someone else has washed my hair in at least 15 years, and it felt so good. Totally worth it.
We just got a big dump of snow in the space of about a day. The city is still digging out, and it's such a pain to walk through. There are drifts up to about my knee in some places. Aside from my haircut, I stayed inside today, assessing where I am in terms of Christmas present shopping, reacquainting myself with Peggle, and watching various episodes of Project Runway, The Simpsons, and Family Guy. Good times! Now I'm going to go snuggle up in my comforter and watch more TV on the couch. Awesome.
I think that Swiss Chalet should have spent a little bit more time thinking about their new Festive Special commercial. Seriously: am I the only one who thinks there is something majorly creepy going on?
I love my blog. A lot. Sometimes, too much. But mostly, just enough. I write about anything, including the people in my life. Sometimes I give them clever name-disguising nicknames, sometimes I don't. I'm not out to make trouble, though. So I write about me, about my life, as boring as it can be. I take requests, and I love comments. Any other questions, read my profile and my archives...that pretty much sums me up.
