Thought Jumble

These types of posts aren't really the type of posts I like to compose, but sometimes I feel like a billion things are clambering inside my head and it actually helps to spit them out here:

READ: Did you read the Tina Fey article in The New Yorker? Andi says that everyone thinks that they're Tina Fey or Liz Lemon, but I really do think that she and I would be exceptional friends because, quite frankly, every time I watch 30 Rock, there is something there that I've already thought. We're soul mates. My favorite line from the article? "The definition of 'crazy' in show business is a woman who keeps talking even after no one wants to fuck her anymore." Ahh, so true. Thank you, Ms. Fey.

HEARD: The Charlie Sheen rant on the radio. Oh. My. God. The very saddest thing about this is that we are watching yet another drug addict self destruct in front of us, and there's nothing we can do about it because this kind of self-destruction has been served up for so long that we make reality shows about it giving these people more money to continue the behavior. With that said, it's the gladiators and public executions all over again, isn't it? Some people want to watch the debacle. Anna Nicole Smith? Michael Jackson? Heath Ledger? For some reason, we like it when the rich and famous die...on our watch. We like to shake our moralistic heads and tut-tut. What makes my stomach clench over this one is that I've met both his dad and his unfamous brother who is a really nice guy, and I would love to send him a note to say how sorry I am that his family is going through this considering I know what its like to have addicts in the family. However, this is Hollywood and I don't want him to think that I'm using a media circus to leverage a relationship. Showbusiness is sick.

DREAMT: I had a strange dream where I met Jeremy Renner while he was playing basketball, and I thought he was a really nice guy, but I couldn't date him because he was the ex-boyfriend of a good friend/roommate of mine. I woke up feeling heart broken.

FELT: Lately, I feel like if my 14-year old self could see me now, she would be extraordinarily disappointed in us."Why are we not rich, famous, married, or a mom? Why are we 0 for 4? WHAT DID YOU DO?! [under her breath] loser." Unfortunately, I keep wondering how to change all this, and -- quite frankly -- I'm at a loss. Any suggestions short of slut'ing it up on a Friday night will be considered.

EMAILED: I sent out a blanket email to all my L.A. friends asking them to do stuff with me. While majority of the people were enthusiastic about their own participation, I still don't have plans until this spring. I think this is really funny because I grew up in Connecticut which has gotten an inordinate amount of snow this year, and yet Californians think that 60-degree whether is too cold. Granted, the gardens (any place that needs flora and/or fauna) should be enjoyed only in those seasons when they, you know, bloom. But the rest of it just feels like laziness on all our parts.

REALIZED: I will have owned my car for a year next month. I have enjoyed not worrying about a vehicle for this entire time, and incidentally, I'm only at 6,ooo miles. *Sigh* It's like a mental message.

KNOW: I'm not supposed to say anything yet, but... Gerard Butler is in my backyard right now. No, I'm not lying. They are using my landlady's house for PSAs, and Gerry, Sean Penn, and some athlete I don't know are all there. They are using my parking space. I left my place at 8:30 this morning, and I was hoping against all hope that he would be arriving then. There was a technician waiting for him, but he hadn't arrived yet, and destiny has deprived me once again. Fickle, Fate! I'm not a fame whore, and I know he's a bastard, but honestly, there is always the one that you would lose your morals for.

Amaze Me

I just got done reading an amazing article about an amazing new show that will amaze their amazing audiences. Am I the only one who has noticed that everything that used to be fantastic, great, radical, wicked, awesome, cool, and groovy is now amazing? And why is it that this particular variation of "I like it a lot and recommend it to you" actually grates on me? I feel like I hear it all the time. Everything is now amazing. From this sandwich to those jeans to that movie and your ass, everything has become over-the-top, too-good-to-be-true, the best thing EVER. Oh, hyperbole...why won't you die?!

This irritation drove me to Merriam-Webster so I can actually look up the meaning of amaze:

Amaze, from the the Middle English amasen from the Old English a-masian meaning "to confuse." Current definition? (1) to perplex or bewilder. (2) to fill with wonder.

OK, so that new cheese shop fills you with wonder, I'm guessing, because if you're perplexed or bewildered, you're probably from the former Soviet Union and it's 1992. What does wonder mean? Good question.

Wonder, from the German wunder [helpful, M-W, really helpful]. (1) a cause of astonishment or admiration. (2) a quality of exciting amazed admiration [talk about hyperbole. I feel there should be three exclamations after that one]. (3) rapt attention at something awesomely mysterious or new to one's experience.

Wow. Let's just say for arguments sake, you mean (1) a cause of admiration. What does admire mean?

Admire from Middle French (admire is admire in French) and means to marvel in both English and French. On to marvel...

Marvel doesn't seem to have a root language, but it means (1) to become filled with surprise, wonder, or amazed curiosity. (2) to feel astonished or perplexed.

Oy, one more then:

Astonish from the Anglo-French to stun and the Latin to thunder. Current definition is to strike with sudden and usually great surprise.

Gosh, a lot of these just keep going back-and-forth, don't they?

So, we seem to have quickly become a country that is greatly surprised by lots of awesomely mysterious new experiences. Like, you know, cupcakes.

Airhead

Well, good thing I didn't have a blog resolution for 2011, because I would be failing miserably right now!

Actually, I probably wouldn't be writing now, either if it wasn't for a blank space in my memory. I came over here to see which airlines I've had issue with in the past. Oh, how I do love to write about airline ineptitude! You see, I'm going to New Orleans for Easter this year and none of my beloved smaller airlines fly into the Big Easy meaning I have to take a national carrier. Which would be fine except Delta's flight arrives at midnight! GAH! The next in line for me is American Airlines, but it doesn't seem that LA to NOLA is an AA route, leaving me with United. The problem with United is I can't seem to remember if I hate it! I had a rather awful experience a few years ago trying to fly into South Carolina, and I'll be damned if I can recall whether it was United or US Air. So, I came to my blog. Unfortunately, I didn't start posting on Blogger until 2008, and I think the South Carolina trip was in 2007. Which means that rampage post -- and it was a rampage -- was on my MySpace blog which I deleted along with my MySpace account. Ce la vie. What I did find, however, was a post in 2008 about my Christmas flight into Connecticut. That was US Air. Other than a couple of changes to flight times, I do remember it was an OK experience. So, I'm thinking it was United that gave me the repressed memory.

What have I learned from this? First, keep all blog posts no matter where they were initially written. And second, you will probably continue to hear about my flight issues as they arise because blogging about it will be the only way to keep my memories fresh, my rage in tact, and my vengeance engaged.