Scraping By

This was the first time this season that I had to use an ice scraper on my windshield in the morning. I have two ice scrapers and they both suck.
Anyone have any recommendations for a brand that works?

Maybe I should order this pink ice scraper/mittens set. If you have to scrape, do it in style.

Jack, in the Meantime

I confess, I'm on the FOX "24" update mailing list. Kinda dorky, I know, but I don't care. I'm waiting impatiently for Season 6 to start on January 14th.
The 24 Season 6 Sneak Peek Trailer is going online today. I know KC will be checkin' it out.
I'm totally psyched.

Family Photo

And I just love this one of my brother dancing with Mom at the reception. She looked so beautiful.

Word of the Day: Sephardic

Se‧phar‧dim  [suh-fahr-dim, -fahr-deem]

Jews of Spain and Portugal or their descendants, distinguished from the Ashkenazim and other Jewish communities chiefly by their liturgy, religious customs, and pronunciation of Hebrew: after expulsion from Spain and Portugal in 1492, established communities in North Africa, the Balkans, Western Europe, and elsewhere.
[Origin: 1850–55;

I think I probably saw the word written on the sign of a temple we passed while driving through L.A. - but it didn't ping my brain until we were walking through the parking lot to Baja Fresh tonight.
The word just sounds cool. As does its compliment Ashkenazi.

Ash·ke·naz·i (äshk-näz)
n. pl. Ash·ke·naz·im (-nzm, -näzm)
A member of the branch of European Jews, historically Yiddish-speaking, who settled in central and northern Europe.

I remember these terms from one of my German classes for which I wrote a paper of the history of Zionism. Too bad I can't remember a lick of it, nor can I find the paper. Too bad, because Daniel recently mentioned wanting to learn more about Zionism. I could very well have thrown it away with all the other work from that class (I had actually wanted to burn it all) because I really, really hated the class. Just ask my tocaya. I still can't hear the words "Weimar Republic" without cringing. Nor do I ever want to visit Weimar itself again. It was just that painful.

Maybe I'll use my free movie coupon from Blockbuster to rent "Exodus." That's the only Zionism movie I can think of. Huh - I just noticed that Hugh Griffith was in the movie. I just saw him in "How to Steal a Million", a Peter O'Toole/Audrey Hepburn comedy that I highly recommend. Hugh Griffith is a very... unique looking man. His eyebrows - which should have an IMDB entry all of their own - remind me of the moustache competition website that Neal found. If only I could find it again...

Avocado Tally

The last time I was out in L.A. (two Christmases ago - visiting my brother) I found myself eating avocados with alarming consistency. If I recall correctly, I ate avocados (including the glorious avocado derivitive, guacamole) on 6 out of the 7 days I was in California that vacation.

Living in North Carolina, I get teased a lot for my affinity for avocado.
One of the best parts about going back to CA for a visit is the abundance of items on restaurant menus that include some form of avocado. Whenever I'm in my homestate, I make a point to avail myself of these offerings.

My avocado consumption on my most recent trip to CA:

Thursday
Grandma picked me up from the airport and we grabbed dinner at Red Robin. Turkey, avocado and bacon on a croissant. It seemed that avocado/guacamole was an ingredient on almost half of the sandwiches and burgers.
Friday
Breakfast was the 2nd half of the previous night's turkey avocado bacon sandwich. Lunch with bride-to-be, her mom, and bridesmaids was a cobb salad. What was on top? Oh, right. Avocado.
Saturday
Breakfast at IHOP with my aunt and uncle. It is important to note that, while IHOP is a chain, the menu varies regionally. There was no chicken-fried-(fill in the blank) on that menu, like there is in backwards places like the South, but there was plenty of the glorious fruit we know as the avocado. On the menu: Avocado and bacon omlet. I got The Hook Up.
Sunday
Lunch was a CPK turkey club = bacon and avocado. Dinner was a burrito from Baja Fresh, and that's spelled g-u-a-c-a-m-o-l-e.
Monday
A California day completely devoid of avocado. I felt lost.
Tuesday
Leftover half of CPK turkey club.

I didn't plan on giving bacon second billing, but let me just say that I like bacon. Obviously. Never gonna be a vegetarian, cuz I love me some bacon.

And now we come to our bonus item.
I had dinner with Sunghee at Indo Cafe and found this on their menu. You may not be able to read it, but it's an avocado shake. Not pictured: the avocado smoothie.
(Sorry kids, I didn't order it. I think you'll agree that the concept is downright disgusting)

Well, kids...

I don't even know where to begin.

I came out to L.A. on Thursday to be here for my brother's wedding on Saturday.
Now, I'm the kind of person who makes it a point to avoid drama in my life.
But there was drama. Oh, baby, was there drama.

I can't even get into it right now. I need to sleep it off.

10.4.06 News of the Day

1) I'm really excited about the BLT I brought for lunch. And it's real B, not just turkey B like I have been eating lately.
2) I only had to pay a $20 co-pay for my eye doctor appointment yesterday. I didn't faint at the eye doctor; she didn't put drops in my eyes because I'm one of her "special patients." Translation: I'm a wuss.
3) Steve Carrell was in my dream the other night, but he was a normal person-type character in my dream, so he wasn't really "Steve Carrell" the actor/comedian. We were climbing this steep spirally hill, on some kind of mission, and I commented that I shouldn't have brought my heavy backpack and he took it off my back and put it on his, on top of the big backpack he was already carrying. I was surprised and said "oh, I actually meant that I didn't need to bring it," and I was touched that he'd take the burden for me. But then a minivan magically appeared in front of us and we both put our backpacks in it.
4) My cat Zoe is now back in her old routine of waking me up at 5:30am by chewing on paper and magazines because she's getting hungry.
5) Men are handing out Gideon Bibles all over campus today.
6) Out of curiosity, I counted the number of pens that have ended up in my purse. Nine total, including the mandatory black Sharpie.
7) I had a really long email conversation with my brother yesterday. It was like 16 messages, which is amazing because he usually just shoots back one-line answers. He's applying to business school and I'm really proud of him.

Walking in Memphis with My Grammy

Sometimes how you read something isn't what the author actually wrote.

From an article on CNN.com about the guy who tried to kill singer Marc Cohn last year:
"Cohn, who is married to ABC News anchor Elizabeth Vargas, had a hit with 'Walking in Memphis' and won a Grammy in 1991. Neither was in the courtroom during the sentencing Monday."

Yep, neither Marc Cohen nor his Grammy were in the courtroom.