Four unrelated topics

1) Our oven finally works!!! When we moved into our townhouse, we had all new appliances...so it was a big surprise when we discovered that our Kitchenaid convection oven did not work. Now, two months after moving in and four maintenance visits later, it finally works! I have absolutely nothing to bake right now, but on Sunday when Karl and I go to the grocery store I'm going to buy as much to cook in the oven as possible! Now, if only our landlord would install and electrical outlet for our dryer.... These places were only built with a gas hook-up, and we have an electric dryer, so we're out of luck. We're slowly learning the techniques of air drying.

2) Does anyone out there watch the TV show, "Dr. 90210"? I don't either. But last night Karl and I watched it for the first (and last) time, as one of the groomsmen from our wedding made a cameo appearance! His good friend Jacki and her mom (Jacki went to IU also) went on the show to get "more kissable lips", and Chris, the groomsman, was on the show at the very end to give her a kiss. It was pretty hilarious seeing someone we know (and obviously a good friend of Karl's!) on a TV show. With all of the reality shows out there, the chances of seeing someone you know on TV are becoming more and more likely. This actually wasn't the first time I saw someone on TV that I knew. A few years ago a guy that I knew from IU was on MTV's Road Rules: South Pacific, as well as many of the subsequent Road Rules/Real World Challenge shows. And...well, I almost got on the TV show Big Brother when I was bored with my life and looking for a change in 2005. Luckily I didn't make the final round of 25 in the interview process, and chose to go back to school for my Ph.D. instead...looking back I think we can all agree that that was the wisest choice I could have made. ;)

If you want to see some of the footage from last night's Dr. 90210, check out the video below. It starts with Jacki and her mom getting the lip augmentation, then go ahead and fast forward to the 4:35 mark to see them getting ready for her birthday party, and finally "the kiss". haha




3) Attack of the Hondas! Have you ever had one of those days when it seemed as though every car on the road was ready to smash into you? Today I had that experience with three different Honda Accords. I absolutely love Hondas; my parents drove them when I was growing up, I had a Honda Civic for about seven years, and Karl's last car was a Honda. Well today the Hondas were scaring me! First, I dropped Karl off at work and was greeted with bumper-to-bumper traffic on the drive back home. Out of nowhere a gold Honda Accord zipped in behind me and then every time I would inch forward wiht the flow of traffic, this Honda driver would gun the gas and then slam on the breaks rather than just slowly inching forward... I just about had a heart attack every time it happened. Next, once that Honda was out of the way another one got right behind me. This person was so impatient that they proceeded to honk their horn at me when I didn't tailgate the car in front of me (I like to leave enough space so that I can at least see the car's tires in front of me...and thus prevent a fender bender to the front of my car if someone smashes into me from the back). In bumper-to-bumper five lane freeway traffic, there's no way that person's horn was going to get anyone moving faster. Finally, I was driving to Saint Mary's and yet another Honda Accord pulled in behind me as I was sitting in another bumper-to-bumper situation going through the Caldecott Tunnel. (Traffic was really bad today!) I glanced in my rearview mirror to see that the driver was talking on her cell phone without an earpiece (illegal in California), then she threw her head down in the passenger seat and started digging through her purse, inching forward and closer to my car the entire time while her eyes were nowhere near focused on the road. I wanted to roll down the window and scream at her to pay attention but I doubt she would have heard me... Luckily another car merged in between us and I was able to settle down a little. :)

4) A few more observations of California vs. the Midwest. When I used to think of California, I thought of healthy, active people. After living here for two months, I am really amazed at the number of people who SMOKE! I think part of it has to do with the fact that last year IU banned smoking on their campus, so when I walk around the Saint Mary's campus and am forced to inhale the second hand smoke of students, I definitely notice it more than I would've had IU not gone smoke-free. It really is one of the most unpleasant smells in the world, and I just try to hold my breath when I walk past them so that I don't have to breathe that tainted air. Secondly, I realized today how spoiled I'm getting from being on a very small campus. I am usually able to park in a lot right next to my office, but today I got to campus a little later and was forced to *ghasp!* park all the way by the library! The amount of time it takes to walk "across campus" from the library to my office is less than five minutes. I should really start parking there more often just so I get a chance to walk a little bit...

That's all for now! Enjoy your week!