Life in General
Jeannie Mai and the Great Prayer Box Mystery
Jan 26th
OK, here is a bizarre (and also inspiring!) thing that happened to my friend Jeannie and a project of hers, The Prayer Box Project. Yes All In Caps. Deal With It. 
She had an idea to put a prayer box at the top of this popular hiking place here in LA, Runyon Canyon. It’s a place where people tend to do an equal mixture of hiking and contemplating, due to the stunning combination of cardio-inspiring inclines and awe-inspiring views.
In this box, people could jot down their prayers on little pieces of paper and put them into the box, bolstered by the notion that their prayer, as it slipped through the slot, was joining all the prayers – all the love, longings, hopes, dreams, and ambitions – which had been scrawled out on similar bits of paper and entrusted to the box by the hikers who had come before.
It’s poetic and nice, right?
So, of course it got stolen inside a week. Stinkin’ Angelenos! Grr…
However, that’s not the end of the story. On January 1st of this year, the very first day of the brand new decade, it mysteriously showed up again, with some of the prayers inside still intact, no less. Sure, it was worse for the wear. But aren’t we all? The important thing is that it’s back, it’s working, it’s serving its purpose. Again, what more can we hope for ourselves than that?
I’d like to take a lesson from the prayer box, and I think we all can. Maybe 2009 tried to hold us back, and beat us up. Maybe 2009 even snatched us off of the path we were on and held us hostage for awhile.
But, that was then and this is now. It’s 2010 and WE’RE BACK, BABY! We may be battle-scarred and a little tattered, but we are BACK ON THE MOUNTAINTOP! 
PS – If you think this was a cool idea for a project and want to throw some support Jeannie’s way, due to her being the kind of person that would think of such a cool idea for a project, LOL, then visit her at her blog, http://IHeartJeannieMai.com (so named because she’s adorable and of course everyone does!), or watch her shows, How Do I Look? or Extra. Although, the latter not being quite as important if you’re not a Nielson family. 
Say Hello to My New Favorite Snack in the Entire World
Jan 22nd
It’s pre-sliced red apples with Walden Farms calorie-free caramel dip. MMMMMMM…so good. And let’s just take a moment to absorb that little descriptor there. CALORIE-FRICKIN-FREE!!!!!!! No calories. Zero. None. Zippo. The big zilch.
And, yes. That’s an XS in the background. I’m in heaven!
 | US $2.00 End Date: Saturday Apr-10-2010 9:32:50 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $2.00 Buy it now | Add to watch list |
Walden Farms Calorie Free ThicknSpicy BBQ Sauce - 12 Oz
 | US $2.00 End Date: Monday Mar-15-2010 12:01:45 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $2.00 Buy it now | Add to watch list |
Rent From Us or Burn in Hell!
Jan 20th
OK, people! I risked life and limb digging my camera out of my purse while still remaining level with this guy on the freeway! Not to mention having to continue freeway driving while I held my camera up to the window with a steady enough hand to take a legible picture.
It was worth it, though, to memorialize this truck. Jesus Party Rentals.
Where the staff of Party Down Catering will be working after they get their lives right, I imagine! And here they thought they were just gonna go wait tables at the Soup’r Crackers!
Post Office Pooch
Jan 20th
Robert B Parker, You Will Be Sorely Missed
Jan 19th
I almost can’t believe there will NEVER be another new Spencer novel. I guess The Professional will be the last. No more Spencer and Susan, no more Spencer and Hawk.
I know Parker created other series main characters – Jesse Stone, Sunny Randall – and I enjoyed them. But I LOVED Spencer. I’ve been reading those books since high school. I felt like I knew those characters. And, now they’ve passed away, as well, I suppose – in the sense that they will never do or say anything new. Any adventures in their lives have already been had.
It’s so incredibly sad. 
 | US $0.99 (0 Bid) End Date: Sunday Mar-21-2010 19:03:29 PDT Bid now | Add to watch list |
ROBERT B PARKER 2 BOOK SPENCER LOT THIN AIR PASTIME
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ROBERT B PARKER 2 BOOK SPENCER LOT CRIMSON JOY STARDUST
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Here’s What I Love About IHOP…
Jan 19th
They just bring you the whole freaking coffeepot. They’re like…”Who are we fucking kidding? Let’s just drop all the pretense. We’ll leave the pot.”
And, hey IHOP. I agree!
I Forget How Good Normal Feels
Jan 11th
I know that sounds deep and oh-so-very poignant, but what I’m actually referring to is when you’re sick, you forget how good it feels just to feel NORMAL!
I just got over a HORRIBLE week and a half of being stupid-sick…first a massive headache that lasted for three days and then a nasty cold for the rest of it.
On Saturday, I woke up and LO AND BEHOLD! I felt better. I felt about 98%, anyway. But much closer to completely better than I had felt since New Year’s Eve.
I was gripped with this whole sudden “New Lease on Life” thing that sometimes happens to me in the first couple of days of feeling well after having felt really ill. I took Hercules out to Zuma Beach and walked him up and down the parking lot (very popular Malibu thing to do, and something I’ve been wanting to do ever since I came into possession of The Very Best Dog in the Entire World), and then I went and saw Youth in Revolt.
 | US $4.99 End Date: Tuesday Apr-13-2010 4:39:03 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $4.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list |
Both were experiences that I would highly recommend, even under normal circumstances, but they took on an almost celebratory quality for me because of my newly acquired health.
I’ve decided to make it one of my new goals to tap into that place within me all the time. Not just when I’m coming back from a killer attack of the sniffles.
Meredith, Megan, and Charles Dickens
Jan 3rd
Meredith, meet Megan. And vice versa. You guys have several things in common.
- You’re both on my Facebook friends list
- Both of your names start with “Me” – weird
- Both of you had Dickensian new years proclamations that ended up right next to each other in my feed.
I think this is fate, you guys should be friends!
I Am a Hopelessly Television-Addicted Horrible, HORRIBLE Person!
Jan 3rd
Why, you may ask? Or you may not. You may just take it at face value.
If you DO require proof, however – here you go.
When I saw this headline on my iGoogle page today:
I had 4 thoughts in quick succession, and here they were:
- That’s just like Season 2 of Veronica Mars
- Damn, Veronica Mars was a good show. I wonder if they’re ever going to do that movie.
- Rob Thomas is talented like WHOA. At least now we have Party Down.
- PARTY DOWN IS COMING BACK IN APRIL! YES!!!!!
That’s what happened in my head. What was outwardly observable was that I read the words, “Bus Plunges Off Cliff in Northern Mexico. 14 Dead.” and less than two seconds later, said out loud, “YES!!!!”
Possibly inappropriate? Possibly.
New Year’s Resolutions
Jan 1st
There’s always a big controversy about New Year’s Resolutions. Should you make them or not?
Every time there’s a conversation on the topic, there has to be ONE person who pipes up self-righteously that they don’t make New Year’s Resolutions, in a tone that clearly, if subtly, implies that anyone that does is a chump. These are the same type of people that insist they don’t watch television, in fact, they don’t even own a television. They are THAT GUY, No Resolutions Version.
While they, and others of their ilk, are incredibly annoying and make me want to slap them (hey! that should be my resolution! stop resisting the urge to slap a bitch…), I have actually started to come around to their point of view.
Don’t get me wrong, you won’t find me haughtily proclaiming it in crowds of people just trying to have a fun little conversation by comparing goals each year. But I do think that this year, and every year to come, I’m going to limit myself to one simple resolution, and not just on New Year’s.
Expect the best from myself that I am capable of, and follow through on it. No more, no less.
This is tough on two different fronts. First of all, the obvious. No more slacking! I am giving my best to all of my endeavors. However, that only covers the “no less” section of “no more, no less.” To fulfill it entirely, I need to not only GIVE my best, but BE SATISFIED with my best.
I suspect the second part is going to be even tougher than the first!
What YOU Think