mad men.

"I love red heads, their mouths are like a drop of strawberry jam in a sea of milk."Roger Sterling, Mad Men

Excited!

There's so much to be excited about!

5 Things I love:
1. Improv class
2. This article: here.
3. TV! I know, but seriously: Brothers & Sisters, 30 Rock, Ugly Betty...
4. Shows: concerts, plays, improv
5. Creativity.

Top 5 Favorite Actresses

1. Tina Fey- 30 Rock, SNL- She's just funny. I spent the last 40 minutes reading her wikipedia page. Writer, Actress, College-graduate, mom => Whole package.
2. Kimberly Williams-Paisley- Really only in Father of the Bride, but she's just so cute even if I haven't seen her in much since the early 90s.
3. Diane Keaton- From Annie Hall to The Godfather series to Something's Gotta Give- She's perfect in everything.
4. Catharine O'Hara- I always thought she played the best mom in Home Alone, and then I found out she was really a comedic actress thanks to Christopher Guest movies- She's brilliant, especially when acting with Fred Willard.
5. Jenna Fisher- I know her relatively little aside from her role on The Office (US), but she's darling.

* I also used to really love Cheri Oteri, but then she fell off the face of the earth. Molly Shannon, too. What the what?

My Life in Bullet Points

- I woke up this morning a few minutes before the magazine's conference call with our Rotterdam office and executive editor. That went fine, just informative for me at this point.

-Ate Special K red berries while listening, then had a bagel and cream cheese. Productive.

-Super tired from watching Freaks and Geeks. I don't know what it is, but once I'm on a roll watching some new show, I can't stop. Alias, Sex and the City, Lost, Undeclared, 30 Rock, Growing Pains, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Grey's Anatomy, Ugly Betty and now Freaks and Geeks. I'm a little insane when it comes to box set television. I can't exercise restraint in any way. It's unfortunate.

-After eating cereal I decided to heat up some water for tea. Totally waited to drink it so it wouldn't burn my tongue. However, because of this fact I spilled in the center of my jeans right at the crotch. I was already in Marco's car so we couldn't turn around for me to change. I never want to be a burden, so I just sat in it. I felt like a baby in a wet, dirty diaper. I used my Eddie Bauer scarf to soak up most of the mess, but still. I'm soggy. So much for to-go mugs and their fail-safe caps.

-Oh, and the White Sox lost yesterday. Sad. I mean, granted, they weren't the best team this year, but they're still my team. On to Blackhawks season. Woo!

-I'm going to Chicago Thursday for my cousin Maureen's wedding! Hooray. Thursday night's the rehearsal dinner, and Saturday is the wedding. So, if I'm not at wedding festivities I'll be picking apples at the Apple Holler orchard in Wisconsin or chilling with friends and family.

-I can't believe how soggy I am. I'm like a waffle that's been soaking in syrup, no longer does it taste good and the quicker it actually gets moldy and gross. I think I'm going to bring my hot beverages in spaghetti cans again. At least it stayed closed.

Growing Pains. Life Goes On Whether or Not Anyone Notices

I was thinking about this great scene in Growing Pains yesterday afternoon. I don't quite know how it ended up swirling about in my head, but it was there. Read below if you're curious, then I'll continue.

Mike: Hey dad!
Jason: What is it Mike?
Mike: Gilligan's Island is on every day at three thirty.
Jason: Mike I’m very busy, I’m trying to make a chart.
Mike: Dad, Dad, it's on whether I watch it or not. Gilligan the skipper too, the millionaire, his wife, the professor, and...
Jason: Marianne?
Mike: Exactly.
Jason: Mike, what's the point?
Mike: It's not on for me, it's just...on.
Jason: Mike, are you starting to realize that the world doesn't revolve around you?
Mike: Well, yeah, I guess I am.
Jason: Well, congratulations, you know you've hit upon one of the basic ideas in the philosophies of Camu.
Mike: Don't you see. If Gilligan goes on without me, so does my school. You know all day today life went on, even though I wasn't there.
Jason: Mike this is your first philosophical realization. I’m proud of you. See, you can learn from T.V.
Mike: Dad, all day today life went on without me, and you too...don't you realize, the world doesn't need us any more; it does just fine without us.
-Growing Pains, Season 1, Episode 21- "Career Decisions"

I haven't been diligently keeping up on my reruns of Growing Pains, the hit television show that captured the hearts of youngsters every time Jason and Maggie macked in the kitchen, every time Carol whined about being uncool, every time little Ben impersonated someone famous, and oh, indeed, every time Mike Seaver himself walked on camera. Anyway, the point is that this scene just sort of sprang to mind, specifically the line where Jason says, "This is your first philosophical realization." I was thinking about it because lately I've been applying to a whirlwind of jobs, as I'm now just over half-way finished with my internship with Ode, and I have to start thinking about my life some more. Since I've been in California I've been doing some cool things, meeting new people, catching up with old ones located here in the west, and learning about the magazine business—and that's been great. But, I'm just starting to think more about all the things I'm not doing, too. There isn't enough time in the day, and that is frustrating. If I had all the time in the world I'm sure my list of things I want to do would be similar to many: In no particular order:

1. Be an executive editor at a top-tier magazine
2. Work for a nonprofit
3. Step foot in every country, ie travel all the time
4. Raise a family
5. Be an actress
6. Own a vineyard and a farm
7. Hibernate in a cabin in Michigan all winter long
8. Be really good at skiing, snowboarding, fishing, kayaking, snowshoeing
9. Manage to get killer six-pack abs. (I know vain, but come on, who doesn't get jealous looking at Janet Jackson?)
10. Donate tons of time and money to international aid organizations
11. Live in Washington, D.C., Paris, London, New York, Chicago, Cork (Ireland)
12. Scuba dive and not be scared of sharks
13. Work at an NGO and do things to save humanity
14. I don't know, a handful of other things that I'll think up later.

I have a lot of ideas.

ABC's to Stress

ABC's popular television show, Lost, has been occupying most of my time as of late. I don't have cable at my house in San Francisco, I didn't have cable at my house in Iowa City, and my brothers were watching cable at home so I never was able to in Lake Forest. So, I don't really watch television. I'm not against people who do. I don't think it does bad things to a person. It might be an escape from reality for many viewers, but honestly, it's not that big of a deal. My housemate in San Francisco thinks television should be just one of those things you do when you're sick or there's a special like the Olympics or Living Life Organically. What have you. So, as I have few friends in this city it's been easy to slip into sort of a groove where I work all day during the week, periodically hang out with a friend or two, and then settle down in the confines of my bed, flip open my Mac Book, type in www.abc.com and let it lead me to Lost.

I know, I know. I should go to a coffee house. Meet some random people, become best friends, la-dee-da. But I'm too tired during the week, so Lost it is. While I'm clearly a fan, as I've gotten through 2-and-a-half seasons already, I think it's the main reason why I wake up with a headache. See, I clench my teeth when I'm stressed out or feeling anxious. I do it without noticing, and I usually do it while I sleep all night. It causes me to have really sore teeth and tender cheeks and temples. And headaches. Oh, the headaches. The doctor says it's TMJ, Temporomandibular Joint disorder. Lame. Since I have this quite regularly I sometimes sleep with a sort of mouth guard in, but I left it in Chicago, because I hadn't needed it in a few months. I thought I was over it. No dice. Lost apparently makes me all tense. I think it also my be this new job. I've been here for about a month and still feel a bit tense, and now that my main overseer isn't in the office daily, I think it might be better. I don't feel as much stress to get everything done super quickly without mistakes. I work better when I'm just all by myself. But, I guess with any new job one has to adapt. I just hope these headaches go away. It's not healthy to pop Ibuprofen daily, but it does make the pain subside.

For now, I'll simply have to cut back on Lost and instead get calm before I rest for the day.

Two Things I Love

I love Journalism so much, I want to take it behind the middle school and get it pregnant.