Guiltiest Pleasure

It's back. The guiltiest pleasure of all returns tonight. The one. The only. Pretty Little Liars. Oh yes, prepare yourselves (no one, since my lack of writing has scared away any readers I ever had) for more of that backstabbing, secrecy, murder, sex, and all around prettiness that dominates this show. So long to the days when ABC Family was all Angela Anaconda or Braceface (even though it was Fox Family back then so maybe it doesn't count). That was the days of cutesy, wholesome family oriented goodness. My obvious favorite show, Greek, is a perfect example of how the channel has morphed into something much more CW than Nick. I'm not complaining though. I love these new shows, although Switched at Birth looks seriously terrible. Didn't Veronica Mars already cover that plotline? The one thing I ask is for ABC Family to stop pretending that it hasn't changed its demographic. By airing stuff like America's Funniest Home Videos and Full House it's like they don't realize what they have become. Stop denying your teenybopperness and just go with it. All of the new shows involve pretty teenagers/early20somethings being ballsy so what's with the sappy music preceding a hug?

I missed my point with this tirade. All I wanted to say was that I am SO EXCITED for Pretty Little Liars to come back. I want me some Aria, Hanna, Spencer, Emily, all those boys, and hopefully no Maya or Ian. Now go balk at the title and the fact that it's on this cheesy little channel. But I proudly say I like this show. Now your turn to watch.

I promised: Here it is

I haven't written a true Greekap in a while. A couple years ago, I would actually rewatch the episodes and take notes to make sure I could keep track of every important detail. I actually really liked those ones, but they took so much effort. And even though I should put forth some super intense effort because I haven't written in so long, I'm just going to do this from memory of Monday night's episode.

First I guess I should go through the things going on:

Casey and Evan have an alumni function where they want to suck up

to their professor

Ashleigh is living with Casey and Casey isn't too psyched about the arrangement

KT is having a huge awesome Everest party

The only KT pledge wants to be Cappie's little brother, but Rusty wants the pledge

The pledge's dad is visiting

Rebecca wants to pimp out Heath's sister

Calvin is doubting his relationship with Heath

Alright, I could start from the top... or I can pick one of those topics at random and go with it. And while I realized I skimped on some topics, the important ones will come into play.

Okay, well the dullest of the topics was the pledge's dad visiting, so I'll get it out of the way. Well to flashback since I never wrote about it, Kappa Tau wasn't allowed to accept pledges this semester because of illicit partying during rush, so they o

nly have one pledge who was allowed to rush because he's a legacy. His name is Peter Parks, so he's obviously Pledge Spidy. I wish they could have gotten the guy named Jody Foster, but whatever. Anyway, Spidy's dad is apparently some really cool super rich CEO, so when he comes to visit the guys have to suck up a little. Cappie is disappointed when the guy turns out to be a boring suit, but he ends up being a legit Kappa Tau, so no worries. Plus, he's the guy from Weekend at Bernie's who isn't Andrew McCarthy, so it works out.

Now since it follows fluidly, Rusty wants Spidy to be his little brother. His only previous little brother deactivated after Rusty kissed his girlfriend so little Spitter feels like a failure. Thank god they mentioned his old little bro, because I was beginning to think they forgot that Jesse McCartney was ever on the show. And I definitely

laughed when Beaver referred to him as Andylicious again. Oh right, my point. Spidy asks Cappie to be his big brother, which normally wouldn't work, but he's the only pledge. Cappie fortunately tells Rusty right off the bat, so we have no unnecessary awkwardness. Rusty offers to back off, but Cappie says Rusty can do it anyway. Rusty doesn't want a pledge who doesn't want him, blah blah blah. Whatever, eventually Spidy chooses Rusty after he steals a goat because he can teach Spidy to be the cool nerd amalgam that Rusty already is.

Wow, sorry this post is boring. The quotes are definitely the best part and I have none of that here. I'll rewatch the episode and update this post later with some funny lines.

Ermmm right Casey is sick of Ashleigh living with her, but loves having her

around. She wants Ashleigh to get a temporary job while she works on her career, but Ashleigh thinks it's demeaning and gets pissed at Casey. She then proceeds to get drunk at the alumni event. But Casey's law prof thinks it's charming and hits on her anyway.

Afterwards, Casey gets so upset that she allows Rebecca to feed her shots until she is blackout drunk. Then she goes to the awesome looking Everest party and slides down some slides and drinks a lot more. Cappie walks Casey home, but she kisses him and he always has trouble resisting her. He tries to, so that he doesn't feel like a rapist, but she's pretty convincing when she tells him their story is a fairytale. Ashleigh tried to make their whole fairy tale story seem like a negative earlier, but I'm glad Casey flip flopped that.

Also, Calvin found out that Grant is a stripper and that he thought the party was using lots of ice because it was an Everwood themed party and that show took place in a cold climate. Rebecca pointed out that Grant is an idiot and Calvin was like crap, you're right. But he loves him anyway in the end.

I'll update this with some actual goodness later, since this was lame. My apologies!

Shedding a Layer of Skins

Dundundun...

That was supposed to be like a sound of trepidation to indicate how much I was dreading the new American Skins.

To preface, I have been a fan of the original UK Skins for 2 or 3 years now. Before I left for London this summer, my friend and I discussed the enhanced possibility of meeting the cast members (I actually think we only mentioned meeting Sid, not sure why), and while I was there I got like half of my building hooked on the show. In fact, part of the reason why I'm writing this blog post is because one of my London pals (let's face it, basically my only London pal) asked me to. That being said, I am proud to say that I had been very familiar with Skins long before MTV announced that they would be airing their own version.

This did not look good to me. One of the best parts about Skins is its innate Englandness. They use British slang (spliff for weed, fanny for vagina), have British looks, go to British schools, and can use far more foul language, nudity, sex, and drugs than any American shows can. Other than the always explicit HBO and Showtime. By bringing Skins to America, it would be like when the CW airs Sex and the City. Super lame. Plus, the MTV promos were horribly embarrassing. One guy at work actually asked me if I saw the trailers for that horrible new MTV show Skins. I had a hissy fit. Everyone knows tv means more to me than it should. But I still had to watch it. There was every possibility it might pull an Office and be awesome. Whatever, I knew I would probably hate it, but I wanted to know first hand.

Before watching the pilot,

I read this article:

skinsinnymag

It gave me ammo to look out for when I started. Most of it sounded better than the stuff from the promos anyway.

Now for my opinion...

I kinda liked it.

Obviously I was not a fan of Tony's weirdo spider bedspread that replaced his naked people bedspread, but I understand that American tv can't show that so I won't cry. Plus, Effy changed that bedspread too when Tony went to university.

Eek, now on to Effy. She is a blond girl named Eura and she is not pretty at all. Her character doesn't matter that much yet because you never know anything about Effy anyway. But she seems like she has mental problems. Tony even said in the second episode that she has social problems. Very unEffy. Her actions are her choices. And she is gorgeous. Not Eura.

Tony is actually kinda cool. He's not as cute as Nicholas Hoult, the UK Tony, but he has charm and that's what makes Tony. And I liked his solo at the girls school.

Chris was perfect. I like this new guy. I adore UK Chris beyond belief, but this one seemed almost identical and definitely has potential to expand upon the role. Angie was also pretty good. I can't remember the new one's name, and she doesn't have the lovely Welsh accent, but she is good.

Michelle is also good. Neither UK or US Michelle seems that pretty to me at first, but they have this sexuality that makes them way hotter. Good for them. I actually always liked that character and I still do.

Ew I just reremembered when Tony said gosh golly. Who says that? This high school junior I work with answered that with "little girls in the 60s and no one else ever." I think he's correct.

Sid is the worst.

Maybe. Cassie sucks too. Sid is now named Stanley and he doesn't seem to have any of the self-hating while still seeming somewhat coolness of Sid. He is gross looking. All greasy haired. So Sid was never exactly hot, but I still loved him. Stanley is lame. I can't understand why Tony would be friends with him. Even if he had lost his v-card.

Cassie is now named Cadie. The article I posted above discusses how the US version doesn't discuss her anorexia, but it doesn't really do her changeover justice. Instead of being sunshiney goodness while still being whackadoodle, she is a nutjob without any lovability. Another NYMag article described her as a hybrid of Helena Bonham Carter’s creepiest roles and Evanescence. Oh, wow. Cool. Oh yeah, Cadie also doesn't say any of those things. But she does like cheetos. What? Cassie may have been crazy, but she was crazy because of realistic problems, like anorexia, drug abuse, negligence, and other things. This Cadie is just insane for no apparent reason. She also doesn't look like Cassie since Cassie is pale, blonde, and English looking (the teeth).

This one is sort of black with mad wild hair. Oh well.

Now the remaining characters are Jal, Maxxie, and Anwar. I think that's it. Jal is named Daisy now and I have nothing major to say about her. Just like I never had anything major to say about Jal. She was boring. This one is at least cuter than Jal since she has no braces because Americans know to get braces out of the way at a young age.

Anwar has a new name. I could look it up, but I don't see the point. The main difference is that I like the UK Anwar and don't like this one. Granted, the UK one is played by Slumdog Millionaire's Dev Patel, but still. Instead of discussing him I will tell an anecdote that I have already told thrice. Outside of a bar (Noche in Center City) the other night I was hanging out with my usual Indian friends and they were talking to some random Indian guys. So I'm in this group and I turn to one of them and say "Hi Anwar." And he's like yup, "Anwar Sadat." I was like no dur Anwar from Skins. And his friend butted in and was like no dude he looks like the guy from Slumdog. And Anwar turned to him and was like no this girl got it right. Skins came first so booyah. That dialogue was a little off, but that was the general gist of it. And as I was walking away I yelled to Anwar that he has only heard of Anwar Sadat because of I Love You, Man. He didn't deny it.

I saved Maxxie for last because he had the biggest change. Cute gay dancer Maxxie is now a cool lesbian cheerleader named Tea.

And while I loved Maxxie, the article I posted above is sort of right. He never got much screentime. Tea certainly does. The second episode centered all around her. She is friggin awesome. She has no much confidence, a sense of humor, is completely gorgeous, and um probably another good characteristic. Oh yeah! She's half Jewish. I could say like me, but I'm whole Jewish so it's not true.

Apparently only the first episode will really follow the UK version, but the UK co-creator is adapting this version, so it won't be too unSkinsy unless the parents counsels destroy all the funding. I'm going to keep watching for now. But let me know what you think, so I know how much you disagree with me.

P.S. I want to write some Greekaps. I'll try to post them soon because it's still my favorite show!

Hey There

I love Greek. I love it so much. I want to write about it. This week's and last week's, and the week before. But I don't have time riiight now. So I'll just comment that the commercials bragged about Greek being in EW's Must List, which it was a few weeks ago and I was soo pumped. Except that this is the final season. It feels like the final season though. It's got a different rhythm than past seasons, but it's working for me.

The only other thing I want to comment on right now is the Kappa Tau's discussion of their house shrinkage last week. I loved how they acknowledged the fact that some of the characters have disappeared. Even though I don't know why Ben Bennett disappeared, because he was always there before. But they mentioned Gonzo (Dave Franco)! They said the other house members were gonezo, so they were like oh yeah, where is Gonzo? And Cappie said, "I think I saw him on Scrubs." Yes Cappie, you did. I love those little jokey things. It was one of my favorite parts of The O.C. and I love that my precious Greek does that too. This isn't the first time, but it worked so well for me. More later!

Yo yo yo

Hi, I'm Sandy.

This Monday, I decided it was pathetic that I hadn't seen Harry Potter 7 yet, so when I got out of class early, I drove straight to the movies. But I hadn't been to the movies in so long, and it ws only 8 pm, so I figured I'd maximize my time and see two movies.

First, I saw Tangled and I feel the need to say that Mandy Moore does a great princess voice. That movie was adorable. And she beasted the Alice from Twlight haircut.

But my beloved HPot didn't start for like 45 minutes after my princess movie, so I went into the end of Due Date, because I didn't want to see just a few minutes of 127 Hours because I feel like that will be an intense movie that needs my full attention. And Due Date doesn't. Some people told me they loved it, but the last 20 minutes didn't seem so impressive.

However Deathly Hallows Part 1 was totally impressive. I was a little pissed that this was the first time we ever saw Bill Weasley and they mentioned his Fenrir Greyback brawl just in passing, but that's prettty much my only complaint. Except that it made me sad. That's not a complaint, just a statement really. I'm probably the only person on the planet that cried when Harry's wand broke, but I cried when I read it in the book too. That wand was totally a character in the book. It bonded with Voldy's, it had a feather from Fawkes, and it was the first thing that proved to Harry that he was a wizard. Gah it's so sad.

Don't even get me started on George's ear.

The whole point of this post was that princesses are cool, Robert Downey Jr. needs better material, and I can't wait for July.

I Hope They Serve Diet Coke in Hell

It finally happened. I met the legendary Tucker Max.

Since he is the most judgemental person on the planet, I was rightfully intimidated by his presence. But I think he disliked me a normal amount and probably thought I was mildly cute. Wow, I am totally shooting for the stars. But he signed my new book and put his very contaminated, yet somehow still appealing arm around me. Score.

Team Peeta

Before I say anything, I would like to give a shout out to my pal Jim Strouse, who caved in and fell deeply in love with dear Dexter. Nice work. On a side note, Jim owes me 50 bucks for doubting my pop culture knowledge. Not so nice work.

But what I really want to talk about today is my new obsession with The Hunger Games. My sister has been talking about them nonstop for the last year or so and finally coerced me into reading them. And I would like to thank her because they were awesome.

The Hunger Games are about this post-apocalyptic North America where citizens are forced to participate in the annual Hunger Games, which are a fight to the death between 24 teenage boys and girls. It's sooo not my usual scene, but there is a reason why these books are being called the next Twilight.

Well, I don't actually like Twilight, but I mean that they are really popular and have a girl torn between two lovers. The lovers here are hottie rebel Gale and likable thing Peeta. The girl choosing is Katniss, which is a horrible name, but she is cool. I know I didn't give a good description of Peeta, just saying he is a likable thing, but likability has to count for something, because I love him. Honestly, Team Peeta all the way.

I just read an article in Entertainment Weekly where the website polled readers about who they would cast in the movie of The Hunger Games and I was VERY happy with the results. First of all, I keep accidentally writing the Hunter Games, which might be Freudian, because people want my beloved Hunter Parrish to play Peeta. Hunter Parrish is Silas on Weeds for all you people that probably shouldn't be reading my blog. I love him. I love that match. Also, Effie from Skins is the number 1 choice for Katniss, which is amazing, because maybe that'll get Americans to pay attention to my favorite British show. Plus Effie is gorgeous. Her real name is Kaya something. Look her up if you don't know her. Also Hugh Laurie and Kristin Chenoweth were on the wannabe cast list! I am PSYCHED. And a huge loser for being so psyched about a fantasy cast list.

Anyway, my point is, go read The Hunger Games because they are really good and intense and sexy. Okay?

HIIAmSandy

So hey. It has been 5 months since I have last written. Crazy, I know. But like seriously. Crazy.

This summer half my friends kept travel journals or wrote blogs so that their families and friends could hear about the goings on of their summers. And for some reason I did neither. And this would have been the perfect summer to keep everyone updated (brag) about everything that I did and saw.

Because I went to Europe!

I spent the last 8 weeks living in London and traveling around little bits of Europe when I could. It was sweeeet. Actually, everyone who would possibly read my blog already knows what I did this summer, but I still like talking about it.

Because I write mostly about tv and movies and stuff, I will write my newest post about my celebrity sightings of the summer. We all know I like that stuff anyway.

Christian Camargo/The Ice Truck Killer-Starred in The Tempest at the Old Vic Theatre in London as Ariel. I saw his picture outside before I saw the play for class and freaked out. After the play, I made my classmates wait outside the stage door with me so I could tell him how truly terrifying Rudy Cooper/Brian Mozer/The Ice Truck Killer is. And then I got my super cool picture with him.

Nick Jonas- Played Marius in the West End production of Les Miserables. I didn't meet him, because he is clearly too famous to get near. But he was great as Marius, and I saw him at the stage door also, amidst hundreds of screaming little girls.

George Ure- Not famous, but currently playing Bach in Wicked in London. I didn't even see Wicked while I was in London, but George came to talk to my theatre class about what it's like to act professionally and all that crap. Even though I don't want to be an actress. He was a cutie and I liked him. And then he talked all about how happy he and his boyfriend are together and I was like aww okay.

Sean Hayes- Saw him in New York in Promises Promises with Kristin Chenoweth. He didn't really come that close to me at the stage door, but I love him so decided to claim I saw him.

Kristin Chenoweth- Saw this Tony and Emmy winner and multiple nominee along with Sean Hayes. But she came up close to us and we got adorable pictures and an autograph. Yay!

I also saw Justin Bartha, Tony Shalhoub, and Joe from Empire Records whose name I'm blanking on, but got no close ups.

Oh also, I feel the need to give a shoutout to my London bff Ashley, because she did like everything with me there and I miss that tall redhead girl.

Who Are You Lloyd Doblering?

I know I have said it before, but this week it's truer than any other...

Someone is writing episodes of Greek with the sole purpose of making me happy. I know that one loyal viewer does not really benefit the channel, but it certainly gives me great joy.

This week's episode of my dearly beloved Greek introduced us to Cappie's parents, Tobias (Arrested Development reference? Prob not because it doesn't fit with the theme) and April, played by 80s teen dream, Lea Thompson. They are these crazy hippies that Evan has mentioned in the past, that travel around the country living life the way that they choose. And much to Casey's chagrin, they want Cappie to do the same.

Oh well, it was an interesting storyline, but wayyy too overshadowed by the movies that made Cappie's mom famous.

I am a loyal 80s teen movie advocate. Like, fairly die-hard. I may have cried earlier this week when Corey Haim died. The majority of my Netflix queue is devoted to the lesser known, crappier 80s romcoms, such as Tuff Turf and My Science Project. I'm getting off track. I just want to make it known how much I love the 80s. Strikes Back.

Pan to Rusty and Ashleigh's sociology class, when the weirdo professor lady starts doing a funkalicious dance in front of the room. Ashleigh immediately labels it as that National Geographic dance that Ronald does at prom in Can't Buy Me Love. My love for Ashleigh grows.

It doesn't stop there though. Rusty is having trouble choosing between Courtney from Dorm Life and Becca from Superbad, so Ashleigh coaches him using advice gleaned from countless hours of 80sing.

She tells him to go for Becca (character name Dana, but I know her as Becca), because Courtney (Katherine) isn't enough of an underdog, and is much more of a preppy girl who dates James Spader. AGREED. But Rusty still totally likes Courtney because she uses the word amalgam to describe the two of them.

But uh oh! Evan goes to hit on Katherine/Courtney and Rusty and Ashleigh simultaneously identify him as the preppy jackass, aka the James Spader (or Billy Zabka). It was magical.

So Rusty gets in a little fight and goes to talk to Katherine, but realizes that she isn't perfect for him, so he acts out my favorite movie poster. But forgets the Peter Gabriel. Oh well, these things happen. He ends up kissing Becca and it is actually really cute. I never think Rusty kisses are cute, but that one worked for me. Also, his lips looked weirdly red.

Other favorite bits include Ashleigh instructing Rusty to dress up like Anthony Michael Hall in Sixteen Candles. Or Anthony Michael Hall in The Breakfast Club. Or Anthony Michael Hall in Weird Science. All of these make sense because apparently Katherine is Molly Ringwald in The Breakfast Club.

"The movie's not over until the credits roll. And sometimes they even have a funny bit after the credits."

Ashleigh searching for St Elmo's Fire to help Casey figure out how to work things out with Cappie after college.

Understanding what Ashleigh was talking about when she mentioned the girl leaving for a semester at sea (Lori Loughlin and C. Thomas Howell in Secret Admirer!).

Question though. How come Ashleigh couldn't think of a song from an 80s movie, right before the lame teacher said "Bueller, Bueller?" The band played "Don't You Forget About Me" later, but she could easily have come up with that or "In Your Eyes" or "Somebody's Baby" or ANYTHING. But at least she has seen Just One of the Guys.

Wow, legit just my favorite show ever. I can't believe that there will only be ten episodes EVER after the end of this season. Should I start crying now?

About Time

Who remembers how ridiculously insanely crazy that season finale of Dexter was? Okay, I mean, I know that anyone who watched it could never have forgotten anything like that, but have you thought about it recently? Oh My GOD. Insane. Completely.

I had to pause it. Catch my breath. And keep watching it with my hand clutching the remote so tightly.

A couple weeks later I watched it again with my sister and at the exact same moment, she grabbed my hand and squeezed it so tight as she held her breath. And then just like I did, she read as many reviews, interviews, and watched as many clips as possible, just to get a hint at what was next to come.

But what is next to come? But if you know, DON'T TELL ME. It's really a free for all from here, and I don't want to know until September when it comes. But wow, they can do anything.

Oh, fun fact, Trinity is one of the 100 most popular girls names in the U.S. from 2000-2010. A girl I babysit even has a little friend named Trinity. Creepy, right?

Land of the HPot

I like desperately needed to write a blog entry because I'm insanely bored and I haven't written in A FULL MONTH. Pathetic.

So I'm doing this presentation for my public speaking class on Thursday and I decided to talk about the impending Wizarding World of Harry Potter. And since Harry and I have been in a relationship for approximately 10 years, I thought it's about time I visit him in person.

In Universal Studios!

Last time I went to Universal Studios, I had a hissy fit and ran away. So no one has wanted to take me there since. But I so badly want to see Hogwarts and have a butterbeer at the Three Broomsticks that I swear I won't run away unless I see something truly horrible. Like a preview for Paul Blart: Mall Cop. And that's highly unlikely.

For the new Harry Potter land, the whole park is adapting to include it. The original awesome roller coaster, Dueling Dragons, is changing its name to Dragon Challenge, and the dragons are turning into the Hungarian Horntail and one of the other ones from the Tri-Wizard Tournament.

Also, Ollivander's wand shop is going to be some sort of interactive experience to show how the wand chooses its owner. But there are probably no more phoenix feathers.

I'm just frickin excited to see Hogwarts. And Hogsmeade. And the Hogwarts Express. And everything else awesome and Potterific. I've been waiting for this since like freshman year and the wait is almost over! Spring 2010! So anywhere from a month away to 4 months away. Hmmm... 22nd birthday trip maybe?

Boooook

The title of this post is a reference to Hocus Pocus, but I'm really not writing anything about that movie. Even though I love it.

I really just want to write about books.

I just finished The Help and it was so so so good and now all I want to do is talk about it. But the only people in my house are my mom and dad, so I'm just going to blog about it. A litte. Because I read all these other books too.

Okay, well now that I'm in the moment, I don't know what to say about it, but I swear, so good. Go read it.

I also just finished A Long Way Down by Nick Hornby. I already read High Fidelity by him and that was really awesome, and I'm in the middle of How To Be Good. I also just bought About a Boy, so you could really say I'm in a Nick Hornby phase right now. But it's not just that. I'm just in a book phase. I want to read everything.

I bought 4 books in the last 2 days and have a big pile of other things that I found in my sisters' rooms. And all I want to do is read read read. But really I want more books like The Help. Please send me book recommendations or IM me if you want to discuss any of the awesome books I'm reading right now (also on that list, Oliver Twist).

p.s. here is a complete list of my already purchased to-reads, in case you're interested:

Peter Pan

Little Women

Bel Canto

The Talented Mr. Ripley

A Very Long Engagement

The Reader

Nineteen Minutes

About a Boy

Please please please watch watch watch

Monday, January 25th at 10 pm

EVERYONE tune in to ABC Family for the chapter premiere of Greek. I don't care if you have never seen the show before, if you haven't watched it since the first time that Casey and Evan broke up, or if you are just a little behind. WATCH THIS EPISODE.

Not to say that it will be particularly good, but right after I read that my beloved Michael C. Hall has cancer, I read some other heartbreaking (in a different, less dramatic way) news. Greek might be getting cancelled! I legit almost cried.

Question: Is Greek really in danger of being canceled? —Lisa
Ausiello: I heard rumblings to that effect, but it wasn’t until ABC Family basically renewed every single one of its scripted programs except Greek this week that the show’s bubble status really hit me. I’m told ABC Family execs will be looking very closely at the ratings for the show’s premiere on Jan. 25, so, please, tell everyone and your sister to watch it.

Now I don't actually understand the rules for plagiarism, but that is from EW.com's Ausiello Files.

Now I am doing exactly what Michael Ausiello, aka my idol, told me to do. EVERYONE PLEASE WATCH THIS EPISODE. I cannnnot have my favorite show getting cancelled. I mean, I watch like a zillion shows and call a lot of them my favorites, but I have made it prettty clear that Greek is my legit favorite. Please don't let it get cancelled! Just watch the premiere. If you hate it, don't watch it again, but at least watch this one episode and tell your friends to also. Or I'll cry.

A Thought

This past summer at camp, during the zimrikudiah (weird song/dance performance thing) my adorable, chubby little camper asked me to take her to the bathroom. And since I didn't want her to pee in her pants, I took her. Also, she was maybe my favorite so it was only natural.

The closer bathroom was crazy crowded, so we decided to go to a further bathroom. But we didn't want to miss our dance, so we ran the whole way there and the whole way back.

And by the time we got back, our dance was just ending and everyone was sitting back down.

That sucked. I know this is a boring story, but I just thought of it and I thought it was too long for a facebook status.

The Road Trip

Ah, the joyous roadtrip is here. Actually, It's halfway over, but this is the first time I'm writing about it so...

Well, right now Danit and I are in Atlanta and it's fab. Even though it's barely warmer than the frigid Northeast. On the agenda for today is saying happy 6th birthday to Danit's cousin, working out the horribly painful kink in my neck, visiting the Da Vinci exhibit at the Atlanta art museum, and driving up to Asheville, NC for the next step in our road trip.

I mean, I know you've never heard of Asheville (probably), but I'm actually super excited for it. We even cut out our trip to Nashville justttt to spend extra time in Asheville. Mostly because our Asheville hotel is frickin amazing.

Yeah, I have more to say but I'm not sure where this post is going and my neck hurts, so I'm just going to stop writing.

Free Hugs

You know that website, My Life Is Average? EB introduced me to it a few months ago when she read some story about a guy who got down on one knee and sang "Love Story" to some random girl. It made her think of me. Clearly.

So I was reading that website today and I realized I had a total MLIA moment yesterday. Granted, I have these MLIA moments every day, but this one makes a better story.

My friend Angel and I were walking around Times Square yesterday (after her totally amazing stand-up performance) when we saw a group of those people giving out free hugs. Now normally I ignore them, because it's weird to hug strangers (except sometimes at parties). But this time, I glanced at the huggers and realized that a couple of the guys were like, kinda cute. So I went up to them and opened up my arms. And hugged. And kept hugging.

Now for all those hugging skeptics, the free hugs I got yesterday made me feel so warm and fuzzy that I was almost tempted to stand on the street and offer my own free hugs. Until I realized that I was in New York and could easily contract a disease that way.

On that note: My Life is Average

Olden Days

I was just looking through my blog posts from May and I noticed the extreme changes that dear blog has gone through. I wrote one entry about how I hadn't written in my blog in a while (fine, I write those entries all the time), after I hadn't written in 6 days. In another entry, I wrote about how I missed the days when I was able to write every single day. After the month of May, my monthly posts averaged about 3. Big changes, right?

Granted, I work allll the time, so you can't really blame me for not writing daily, but it's not like I have zero time. It's also not like I have nothing to say. I know it seems pointless to write yet another one of these "why don't I write more" entries, but this is the first time that I realized quite how much change Blog has gone through.

Fun fact of the day: I am currently reading the book Youth in Revolt. It's super sexual and mildly disturbing. It's also really long. I might not be able to finish it by the time the movie, starring Michael Cera comes out.

Andy vs. Billy

A few months ago, I bought first season of Ally McBeal. I was really into it when I was younger, because I had a crush on Robert Downey Jr., but he didn't show up until a few years into the show. I missed like 4 seasons of it, and that is totally unacceptable in SandyLand. So yeah, got first season, watched it all, loved it. I actually just got second season on Netflix, so...cool.

Anyway, Ally has this cute ex-boyfriend named Billy. I knew I had seen him somewhere before, so I went to my trusty friend, IMDb, and searched Gil Bellows. Turns out that he was Tommy in The Shawshank Redemption! I thought that was crazy cool since I love that movie, love his character, and that movie is currently #1 on the IMDb Top 250. After I found that out, I became very invested in Billy, even though he wasn't on it back when I watched all those years ago.

My piqued interest in Billy made something glaringly obvious to me. He is Andy Trudeau. For those of you who didn't have a crazy obsession with the early seasons of Charmed, Andy Trudeau was a detective who sometimes dated Prue in first season. I have come up with a list of all of the ways that Andy and Billy are exactly the same person. Even though they really have different looks.

• The History: Both Billy and Andy dated the main characters on their shows from the times they were young children. First kisses, first sex, first everything. I think they met around the time they were like 4. You could make the same argument for Cory and Topanga, but I swear it's different.
• The Name: A lot of boys use the cutesy ending with a y names when they are younger, but give them up around puberty. I went to elementary school with boys named Robbie, Joey, Teddy, etc, but around high school, they became Rob, Joe, Ted. All those older versions of their names. It makes sense that Ally and Prue would call Billy and Andy by their cutesy names, but they aren't the only ones. Everyone calls them Billy and Andy. No Bills or Andrews.
• The Unrequited Love: Ally and Billy broke up because he left her to go to law school in a different part of the country. Prue and Andy broke up because they left for college and it just made sense. When their paths crossed again about 10 years later (this applies to both plotlines), the feelings flared up again. Prue and Andy tried a relationship, but it didn't seem to work. Ally found out that Billy was now married, so that didn't really work either. In both situations, the couples were still totally in love, but unable to be together.
• The Friendship: Because the couple doesn't really work, both sets decide to forge a meaningful friendship. They rely on each other for guidance, support, and companionship. Sometimes the whole romance thing arises again, but they try to suppress it.
• The Untimely Death: Okay, so since I only just started second season of Ally McBeal, Billy is still alive and well, but he wasn't around during my Robert Downey Jr. days, so I know he didn't turn out well. Somehow I found out that he dies around the end of second or third season. Not exactly sure how. I do know how Andy died though. Season 1 finale- Andy died over and over again and Prue could do nothing to stop it. The deaths leave both women free to fall in love with new romantic prospects, without giving them the Mr. Big Problem, yet leave them heartbroken because their first, and maybe ultimate loves are gone.

Now seriously, tell me that those are not the same two characters. Now I know that Billy has a good sense of humor and Andy seems like he has a wedgie, but that's understandable considering their perspective women (Ally is a nutjob and Prue is sort of mean and always serious). But despite the personality differences, both men serve the shows the exact same purpose. To show that the women are capable of true love.

The 90s really did wonders for tv.

Babysitter Kit

A few weeks ago, I mentioned reading the Karen books and Sweet Valley Kids when I was younger. I never really got into their older counterparts; Babysitters Club and Sweet Valley High, but I was always interested in the characters, so I read them sporadically (trivia, where did I learn that word?). The Babysitters Club books focused on Karen's step-sister, Kristy, and her friends. They were all members of a club that provided high-quality babysitters for the local families.

Now I'm living at home and trying to make money, so I'm trying to mimic those fab little babysitters and provide the same high-quality service that they did. Starting with the babysitter kit. Claudia, Dawn, Kristy, MaryAnn, Stacy, and whoever else used to put together little kits with crafts, games, snacks, and lots of other fun things to use when they babysat. It seemed to work, so I stole their idea. I now pack bags with Candy Land, puzzles, cookies, and my favorite PG movies to bring on my babysitting gigs. And it's totally working. Score, best babysitter ever! Thanks Babysitters Club!

It's Here!

In my last post I said that my Greekap would be coming very soon. I guess very soon meant two weeks this time, because two weeks after the season finale of Greek, the Greekap has arrived!

I guess it's pretty crucial to mention the amazingness of the previous episode, when Cappie told Casey that he wants to be with her and they kissed and will be together forever, yay!

But this is really about the finale episode. A lot happened, so I'm going to ignore all of the boring Rusty, sciencey stuff. This time, it's all about Cappie and Casey, Songfest, and the Omega Chi/Kappa Tau rivalry. Oh yeah, and I took notes during the episode, to make sure I captured all the best lines.

Let's start at the very beginning. A very good place to start. So Casey was in bed with Cappie, very reminiscent of the last time they slept together, in the pilot episode. She was all sneakily climbing out of his bed and pulling her pants on. But then he woke up and they cuddled and it was too adorable to even explain. Unfortunately, the whole scene, all I could think about was the inevitable morning breath that they both must have. Neither seemed to mind, but it plagued my mind.

Instead of complaining about morning breath though, they complained about telling people about their fab new/old relationship. They have to hide it of course, until they tell Evan about them. Casey kept it a secret from Ashleigh by saying that the reason for her hanger in the mouth smile was because she was thinking about the rise and fall of Mischa Barton. I'm not entirely sure she was lying.

Ashleigh finds out in the next scene, when the girls are all practicing for some dance. Ashleigh is singing some song I don't know, but she is amazing. Note Kelsey from High School Musical in the background. Is she a legit character now? Stupid Beth starts yelling at the girls for doing the dance wrong, which makes me laugh a lot, because she is so stupid and nice. Then Casey tells Ashleigh, who is weirdly unconcerned by the fact that this epic romance is in full force. She only cares about the dance, which is cool and all, but care about your best friend too! I mean, she announces it to the whole house, but other than that, doesn't have the reaction I expected.

Oh also, since all the ZBZs and the Kappa Taus now all know (Casey and Cappie accidentally made out in front of the KTs), it's time to tell Evvypoo. Cappie is beyond awkward and Evan thinks Cappie is firing him or something. Because seriously, nothing he says is making any sense. He actually responds to Evan asking about getting fired with, "let's think of this as bringing another member into our team." Um, what? Yeah. He then equates the three of them (Cappie, Casey, and Evan) to Harry Potter, "and the other two." Which I gotta say, pisses me off a little. Cappie would totally be a Harry Potter junkie. RON AND HERMIONE. Duhhh.

Calvin and his douchey bf have a little tiff about Evan. I seriously want Calvin to get rid of that turd, Grant. He is cute, but I cannot stand him anymore.

Switch to the KT house, where a banner splaying "Bong Voyage Heath" is on display. Ha. Now I know I said I wouldn't mention the boring Rusty stuff, but I really liked when Cappie said that Dale didn't mention anything about the Rusty/Dale problems ay Krav Maga. They're friendship kills me. I mean, picture Cappie and Dale doing Krav Maga right now. If you watch this show and know who Cappie and Dale are.

Then the crickets come. It's gross. I want to throw up a little. Omega Chis dumped all these crickets into the KT house. Apparently Beaver hates crickets, "ever since Pinocchio. They're too bossy." I gotta agree with Beaver. Jiminy is a bossy one. Cappie isn't loving the crickets either. He tells Evan that they are in every crack of the house. Then cricket squeak, butt crack slap, "see."

The next notable, and potentially greatest part of the episode comes after Courtney from Dorm-lIfe tells the ZBZs that they can't use Beth's routine. They don't know what to do, blah blah blah, when annoying Abby (Kelsey from HSM) pops up and announces that she can help, because she choreographed three of her high school musicals. One was their senior year. Now I love that she mentioned this, so I don't want to nitpick, but... Ryan choreographed. Kelsey composed. Okay whoosh, got that off my chest. Casey took the joke a little too far by saying "we're all in this together," come on, we all got the reference. She even said the movie title. But I still liked the recognition. It was very OC, which they have done before with Kostos, Frasier, and Cameron from Ferris Bueller. Much appreciated.

So Kelsey choreographs this awesome dance to "Good Girls Gone Bad", even though Blair isn't on this show to sing it. She is actually on another show in this time slot. Uh oh. Instead Ashleigh sings it and she is great. Casey is acually an awesome dancer. I though Ashleigh was bsing when she said Casey was one of the best in the house, but it's true. Cappie cheered for her the whole time, which I loved.

Then the KT/OX prank. Omega Chis back out. I'm as crushed as that golf cart. My dear Wade got expelled! I never really knew Ferret, so I don't care about him, and Jeremy was just a weirdo, but Wade?! So Cappie and Evan end the friendship. Cappie is super sad, because he "lost four of his best friends today," but he has Casey to lean on. And because of the weird sorority rules involving boys, Casey has to sleep over at the KT house. For some reason, she has no qualms about the crickets.