• injunctions
• taste buds
• fresh pasta
• excellent waiters
• cheese
• bacon
• onions
• inventive chefs
• taste buds
• osteria mozza

i'm going to stretch first.

go to a sunny spot and drink it in!

Sucks.

and is stupid.

Got out of work early today, and a friend asked if i could go to a focus group regarding professional clothes.  Though I'm probably the worst person ever to ask (I'm super cheap and not a brand follower) I decided to go.   They had me at free dinner.

It was my first focus group and it was so fun! we basically got to talk about what we though about a product.  And most of the focus group was made up of law student.  they were so shiny and unjaded! Sigh, oh those days!

Anyway, the other first was ROCK BAND.  DUDE.  SO MUCH FUN.  The focus group was at a guy's apartment that had so many fun toys (super big widescreen tv, xbox, wii, ps3... and ROCK BAND!), and after the focus group, dyn328 and i stayed to play a couple songs.  Dude, i am awful at drums.  I have no rhythm.  But i want to be good, i really really do.  I'm much better at the karaoke portion or the bass (as long as it's on easy). 

Not a first, embarrassing ourselves.  There was plenty of food leftover... so dyn and i felt the need to take as much food home that we possibly could.  Law students? didn't even take a second glance.    But did we have shame with overstaying our welcome, foraging for food, and sharing stories of times we may have rescued food that was placed next to and not in a garbage can?

Also, i now have an overwhelming desire for a big widescreen tv (how else am i gonna play rockband????)

Sad fact - i started creating a rock band playlist on my itunes.... just in case....

Why can't I realize that caffeine post 4pm is a very very very very bad idea?

boo.  i just saw a hotel commercial using the beatles' with a little help from my friends.

just seems wrong.

boo on michael jackson.

• UCLA is about to enter its third final four.  i wish i was in texas to cheer them on.

•  i really need to clean my room.

• i wish i could take a day and just organize my music into various playlists. 

• i keep thinking about kdramas

• i also keep thinking about how much i'm rooting for the bruins.

• sigh. i need to start going to bed earlier... and to exercise.

• i think i'm starting to obsess about knives.  every year or so i get a new obsession.  past obsessions: salt, tea, chocolate, guitar, wine, (i sense a food theme), but nowadays i'm thinking about knives.... like those crazy beautiful and sharp shun knives. i wish i could focus. 

• go bruins.

• i want to go on vacation.

• i really want this trial i'm prepping for to disappear.

of ways I've attempted and yet failed at the attempt of waking up in the morning:

1. Mother's voice.  Very Effective.

2. Loud alarm.  Sleep through it, or roll over and snooze it then sleep through it. 

3. REALLY loud alarm, such as the talking bird alarm from Ktown given to me by my parents.  Scared roommates.  Worked for a while but now it's just background noise and has been retired.  An example of the style of alarm I'm talking about: 

   only mine is a red and green parrot and sings a different song.

4. Move the alarm far away. Sleep through it, or sleep walk over and snooze it then sleep through it. 

5. Multiple loud alarms.  Worked for  a while, then didn't work. 

6. Use my psychological conditioning from childhood that the phone was my parents calling to check if i was still in asleep so use my cell phone ring alarms.  Again, worked for a while, now I'm immune.

7. The "light" alarms that brighten slowly over 30 minutes to ease you into the day.  Worked sort of? There's also a sound back up, and I think it kinda worked but I broke it one morning I think when I was trying to turn off the sound in my sleep.

8. Change the clocks in my room to a random time ahead

   

   (I think they're at about 23 mins fast right now) so that I can glance at it in the morning and shock me into thinking I'm late and/or wake me up because I'm thinking about what time it really is.  This is in conjunction with the below--

9. Music from itunes, that gets louder and louder. Sort of works, depending on the song. 

10. Drinking lots of water right before going to bed to force me to wake up
    in the morning to use the bathroom (drastic times call for drastic
    measures).... still in development stages, first two mornings, I've
    just woken up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom... this
    might not be the best plan.  It's kind of in combination with method number 8..... not sure how this is going to end.

11. Any ideas? Suggestions?  What's next on the hit parade?!  Help me defeat alarm clock logic!**

All my life I've had a lifelong battle with the morning (even when I used to go to bed at 9pm).  And the people that lose? generally the roommates when they get to wake up later than me but my alarm is set earlier than their wake time.  It's gotten so bad that now I just set my alarm for when I know they'll be awake if I can.  Good thing my morning routine is super basic and easy.

*comics from www.sheldoncomics.com

**if any of you say "early to bed and early to wise..." I'll sock you in the arm.