I Don't Consider Myself to Be a Super Feminist...

From a review of the upcoming Sex and the City:

"This movie will give female audiences a jolt of excitement in the same way that seeing Indiana Jones back in action will thrill male audiences this summer. City’s obsessed fans will force their husbands and boyfriends to take them to see the flick before catching it another couple times in theatres with friends."

...but um, screw you, dude. I'd much rather see Indiana Jones. As would many others. Perhaps I'm being a bit thin-skinned, but I resent female audiences being lumped in with Manolos and vacuous sex-obsessed tv-show-take-off movies. You sir, can suck it.

I just bought, for the first time in my entire life, a pack of cigarettes. I'm 28.

They were of course for someone else. Still the feelings of guilt and shame are setting in. Trying to think up some good deed to counteract the purchase.

Strange things are afoot

Well, only one strange thing in particular. I have had a yahoo! account for a really long time (long in email world, anyway) - it's going on 8 years. I got it when I first moved to London, because we could only access our school email (my very first email address ever) through this weird little window thing that got on my nerves. It's definitely no longer my primary email address, but it's sort of comforting that it's still there...and eventually I will post pictures on my flickr account, and then it will actually be used. I check it every other day or so, just to clean out the spam and occasionally read an article from the NY Times emails that I still get there.

Then yesterday, I tried to log in, and was informed that my password was incorrect. Now, I had just gotten an email in another account (linked to that one) that a yahoo password was changed, but I just assumed it was junkmail as I hadn't changed anything. So then I tried to do the whole "I forgot my password" routine with the computer, but it kept telling me that the verification information I entered wasn't correct. Now, I did have to try about 6 different zip codes (I have moved a LOT in 8 years), but even then, had no luck.

Fast forward to this morning, where I received yet another email in the other account, informing me that my password was changed again, and then I got an email FROM MYSELF telling me the new password. It basically said "Hi Ellie. Here's your new password." I tried to log in and...it worked. I promptly changed all of the information back to my own (the zip code was definitely no place I have lived) and did all the security stuff I had been putting off for a while now. But how weird is that? As far as I can tell, they didn't send any messages to anyone. I keep looking at all of the different sites I visit that are associated with the email (amazon, flickr) but nothing seems to be affected. I had still already notified the Yahoo! people to explain the craziness.

So if you notice a spike in weird spam, maybe that's why they hacked my account. Or just really borrowed it for a while.

While trying to avoid the "State of the Union"

They made a Home Alone 4?!

Bulletproof Monk? Seriously, that's a movie?

Bastards pre-empted "Scrubs."

Ah, "South Park" it is.

[happy sigh].

Does THIS make me an adult?

So I may have found a new threshold in my search for what makes one a grown-up:

I, ladies and gentlemen, for the first time in my life, owe money to the IRS. That's right, OWE. No refund. Dammit.

Some fashion pointers

Following a night at the Kennedy Center:

-It is never acceptable to wear pantyhose and open-toed shoes. Ever. It's difficult for me to believe that some people still didn't get this memo, but there were a lot of people in sandals and hose. Not okay. At all.

-I still don't really believe that it's okay to wear white after Labor Day or before Easter. However, there are apparently some women (Yankees...) who want to stretch this fashion "don't." I'm okay with that. I am not, however, okay with stark white pumps. I mean, really. So unattractive.

-If your suit is made of some odd fabric, say velour or animal print or suede, it's not really a suit. Just so you know.

Further proof that DC is still the ugly step-sister of the fashion world, I suppose.

Perhaps there is just a cold dark hole where my heart should be

But I didn't find the dramatic scene in Desperate Housewives at all sad last night. (In case you missed it: lady runs into street wearing wedding dress and begs boyfriend not to leave her, he drives off leaving her screeching in the middle of the road). Actually, I'm not the least bit sympathetic to her - she lied like crazy and this are the consequences. I know how I was supposed to be reacting, but not so much. Good try writers, but this one didn't even hook me a little bit.

Bad idea jeans

Does anyone else think that an at home chemical facial peel that's on sale might be a bad idea?

Just writing that made my face hurt a little.

26 with a bang

Yesterday I turned 26. It was a pretty fun day, rather uneventful, but I got to hear from a lot of friends, which is really my favorite part of birthdays anyway. My favorite e-card was from my former roommate who is from Poland - she sent me a card that I couldn't really figure out at first, then I realized that at least half of the words were in Yiddish and the little dog in the cartoon had on a yarmulke. Hilarious, largely because I'm pretty sure she had NO idea what she was sending to me.

So in other news, Britney Spears also had her baby on my birthday (as Barbara so quickly pointed out in her e-card!). Sarah and I had been discussing that very fact on the phone, and how she was probably going to name it something atrocious. I hear now that it's "Preston", but in all likelihood, it's spelled Preztyn or similar. Because she's trashy like that.

And in the crowning achievement of my first day as a 26-year old, I got a slight case of food poisoning from my chicken salad that I had had for dinner, and spent the last 30 minutes of my big day (and the next four hours of the day after) feeling pretty awful.

If that's not an auspicious start to another year, then I don't know what is.

My head hurts just thinking about it

In a story related to me by a coworker, I discover that Kazakhstani men could outdrink even the most seasoned of American drinkers.

As a gift, the visitor presented a bottle of eighty proof herbal liquor. When asked what it was used for, he said it should be mixed with vodka. You know, to take the edge off the vodka.

!

Some of the reasons I had to leave

Dear Rachel,

Someone from Waxahachie High School chose these Q&A answers to reveal details about life, love, family, or career.

Q: What kind of car do you drive? (Check all that apply)
A: Compact; Minivan

Q: What is your main source of current events?
A: Television

Q: How do you meet most of your friends? (Check all that apply)
A: Associations/volunteering; Church; Dog park; Through my children

Talk about different worlds.