what was that?

I just finished reading Goodbye, Columbus, by Philip Roth. It was excellent, and now I want to read everything he's ever written. It's like I've discovered the JD Salinger I've been searching for all my life.

This morning something gross happened. I saw a dead mouse fetus on the steps of the El. At least, I think it was a mouse fetus. It looked like a tiny, hairless, dead mouse. But later, I started thinking that actually it was probably too BIG to be a baby dead mouse, and maybe it was... something else. I hate to THINK what else it might have been. So, anyway, it was really gross and sad. You know, how did it GET there? Halfway up the steps to the El platform, I'm telling you.

In other news, I got a teaching job at a small college downtown! It's just one class, and not a big deal, but I'm excited about it. Now when people ask me what I do, instead of saying, "Uh, I sit at home, crying over Baby Story and eating whole things of Red Vines," I can say, "I teach at a college." BooYA!

Eek! I'm 32!

This weekend was my birthday, and I had a great time. Some friends joined us for a Redmoon Theatre production in Millenium Park, which, actually, wasn't as great as I was hoping it would be, but it was fun sitting in the sun. Later we came back to our house for cocktails and eventually went out to dinner. Also I got an interview, so with any luck, I might soon be minimally employed. I've also got my fingers crossed for another job that's opening up at the Art Institute. So, I'm trying to keep my hopes up that after longer than I care to admit, I will re-enter the working world.

Malan!

Well, I just can't believe my fave contestant on Project Runway, Malan, the Tim Curry look-alike, is OUT. Even if his dress did literally look like poo, Angela or Vincent really should have got the boot. Now how am I going to figure out how he got that fake Eurotrash accent? It was a real heartbreak for me; I was really rooting for him. Actually, I'm listening to Tim Gunn's podcast right now, and it seems clear that Vincent should have got the auf wiedersehen.

The clothes from the show are being auctioned off. Looks like you can snag a size 0 dress for about $300 - which is either a good or a terrible price, considering rumors that the clothes are stapled, glued and taped together.




I don't need the worst website of all time, My Heritage, to tell me these two look alike.

Ooooooo - I'm telling!

Well, Jesus Fucking Christ, our president said "shit" - can you believe it's made international news? (The BBC rather charmingly said he used an "ex-pleetive") What I found most crass about the whole situation is how he casually buttered a piece of bread and spoke to Tony Blair with his mouth full. It pretty ironic that Bush depends on this ultra-conservative crew he's created, and now they're all freaking out because he said a bad word. Maybe they'll get "fuck-you" Dick Cheney to wash his mouth out with soap.

This is hysterical

Amy Sedaris and Stephen Colbert tumble!

Other people are gorgeous

Other people are gorgeous, or, as I heard Michael Kors say on Project Runway last night: gorge. So, you know what I just did? I thought maybe the whole My Heritage debacle below was a fluck, and whatever picture you put in, you get a bunch of weird results - but I put in my friend's baby, and it says she looks like Eva Herzigova, Norah Jones, Zhang Ziyi, Uma Thurman, Johnny Depp and Marilyn Monroe. And she totally does!

Oh, you wanna see something freaky? Check out M/Peter Sellers!

Kicking a girl when she's down

I signed up for this thing called Daily Candy - they send you and email every day with cool stuff you should check out. Today they link to this site called My Heritage, where you upload a picture of yourself, and then they show you what celebrity you look like. The results are just cruel. Here I am, full of low self-esteem, unemployed, and this is what they give me...



Oh, come ON! That's rude.

Well, I suppose Alexander Dumas is a handsome man, but...

that's just ridiculous!

and here's the only woman, who looks to be about 85 years old. Fuck you, My Heritage... fuck you.

Lunch at Tiffany's

Yesterday I had a kind of crazy day - I went to the Mile and did a little bit of shopping and got totally SOAKED in the rain. I was sopped like a dog so I decided to duck into Tiffany's to have my ring polished. It got really scratched when I fell off my bike and broke my wrist. Did you know if you buy jewelry at Tiffany's, they'll clean it for you for free like, forever? M & I figure we might be able to get our money back in polishing. har har har. Anyway, I was a bit miserable from being wet and jostled on Michigan Avenue, but then I had a nice Audrey Hepburn moment and felt a lot better.

Last night we attempted to see Pirates of the Caribbean at the $5 movie theatre, but the place was a frickin' madhouse and there for 4 million people there, plus their kids. The next 2 shows were sold out, so we left. On the way out, I saw a grown man pick his daughter's nose, and then freak out supposedly because the booger was gross. Then he wiped it on the wall and made all this kids look at it. It was a really classy day.

LA Review

Well, I'm back from LA, where I had just a terrific time with my sister and Murphy. My brother-in-law's in Europe on tour with Steve Tyrell and by the looks of his blog, he's having a fabulous time. I got to catch up with some old friends, went to a couple of museums, but most importantly, spent some good quality time with my sis laying by the pool or on the couch watching movies. Here are some pics:



this is a dirty one I took of M and C eating chocolate bananas on Olvera Street, the oldest section of Los Angeles and a really nifty place to hang out, see some historical buildings and shop around in the market. Check out Mike's short hair! Oh, turns out Mike's not the only one to cut his dramatic locks - check out our friend Stan.


this is us at the Getty Villa in Malibu - a great place to spend the afternoon and have lunch, which is exactly what we did.



The Villa has really amazing architecture and details, like this stone floor. What better display for my adorable pedicure?



Here's another shot of the gardens there. The gardens are fabulous, and there's an herb garden that's olfactory heaven!



and this is Murphy, everyone's special friend and just the best dog you'll ever know.

Now that I'm back in Chicago it's back to the old job search. I also wrote a few movie reviews for my long-ignored other website. Check out my reviews for The Devil Wears Prada and The Da Vinci Code - two movies based on some of the worst books ever written!