Always Anna

Last night I went to the Bulfinch Yacht Club to see my friend Dave’s new band, The Make, play their very first show ever.  A few thoughts from my night:

1. The Make is fabulous.  I might be biased, but it’s always nice to see live music, and when the guys in the band are great musicians, it really makes things fun.
2. When musicians get really into their music, they make sex faces.  It’s hilarious, especially after a few beers.
3. The Bulfinch Yacht Club is strangely wonderful.  I mean, there was a sign on the wall that said “Youth Hostel and Bar.”  What does that mean?  That I can sleep and drink there?  That’s awesome!  PLUS the bartender/owner/bouncer/sound guy was totally chill and the beer was decently priced – I think this place might be a good option for pre-gaming before events at The Garden.
4. I am too freakin’ old to go out until 1 a.m. on Tuesday nights. 

So, yeah.  I need a George Costanza desk that I can hide under while taking a nap.

1. Wake up and go to the Union Oyster House with the BF. Sit at the oyster bar and eat the world’s best clam chowder and steamed mussels. Make friends with a random lawyer lady from California and talk about how great Boston is.

2. Walk around Faneuil Hall toward the Waterfront on a nice sunny afternoon.

3. Visit the New England Aquarium for the first time! Make sure you get there in time to watch the penguins get fed, then stick around another hour and a half to watch the projectile pooping begin! I’m not even kidding – these penguins shoot white goo out of their butts at remarkable speeds! By some miracle I managed to catch this in action:

4. Walk from the Waterfront into the North End and cruise down Hanover Street to find somewhere to eat. Eat yummy lobster ravioli.

5. Stop and get some freakin’ awesome cannoli and fruit tarts before heading home and passing out.

If you’re a woman, you’ve probably been called crazy at some point in your life.  You’ve probably heard hundreds of conversations that include the line, “Chicks are crazy!” And some guy has probably tried to convince you that something you’ve said is totally off the wall, even when you know that it’s not.  In the back of your head, you can’t help but think, “I might be crazy, but so are you!”

I freely admit that I can be crazy.  I’ve freaked out about minor details.  I’ve cried at commercials.  And in one particularly moody frame of mind, I thought my BF was trying to break up with me because he doesn’t like Kelly Clarkson.  I know tons of other girls that have similar stories… but you know what?  I know tons of guys that are just as crazy.

I know guys that have freaked out when their GF asks when they’ll be home.  Apparently there’s no way that – when a girl asks that question - she just want to know so she can plan her evening.  I guess all girls are controlling shrews who are trying to keep their BFs from ever seeing their friends again.

I know guys that freak out about the topic of marriage… after they bring it up.  Hey guys – if you don’t want to talk about it, how about you don’t ASK your GF what she thinks about something marriage related.

On The Hills (which I am very ashamed to say I kind of like), I watched one episode where Spencer yelled at Heidi for telling him about her pregnancy scare, and tried to tell her she shouldn’t have told him.  Hi, if you’re doing someone and they have a scare, they have every right to tell you, nutjob.

I’d like to make it clear that the above stories are NOT about any boys in particular (except for Spencer, obviously), and are definitely not about my BF (who is practically perfect, after all – I have amazing taste).  I’m just tired of hearing, over and over again, that chicks are crazy.  How about this:

Everyone is crazy some of the time. 

In the wake of St. Patty’s day, do I have stories of ridiculous drunken behavior?  Well… yes, but I’m not posting that because something MUCH more important has come up…

I just found out (somewhat belatedly) that the Beatles and Apple have resolved their long-standing legal battle over the use of the company name “Apple”… which means that the Beatles will probably be on iTunes soon!

This news has brightened up an otherwise sucky day at work.

I’ve been fighting the inevitable for the last five years. Struggling to keep my beliefs. Purposely doing stupid things just to prove a point. But now I have to face the truth… if I want to keep a cute figure, I need to start eating well and working out.

Sigh.

I was lucky enough to skate through high school and college without doing anything to stay in shape. I could out-eat a lot of boys, refused to work out, and drank my weight in beer. Obviously, I didn’t appreciate how lucky I was until I lost it.

I went to the doctor’s last week, and she confirmed something I’d suspected… I’ve managed to put on 7 pounds in the last 4 months. Over the past five years, since I graduated from college, I’ve put on 20 pounds! At only 5′3″, I’m just too short to pull off this kind of weight gain… at this rate, I’ll look like the mom from “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape” by the time I’m 35.

I don’t want to be one of those girls that constantly complains about how fat she is, or who only eats salads and fruit. I just don’t believe that life is meant to be lived without enjoying pizza and burgers and tacos, dammit! I LOVE cheese, and am too Italian to deprive myself of carbs. I don’t want to think about the calorie and fat content of everything I put in my mouth… so what do I do?

I guess I can stop eating 4 slices of pizza at a time and just eat 2. Replace one of my daily snacks with veggies or fruit. And start stripping every day with Carmen Electra.

I’ll be back in a bikini in no time. I hope.

I don’t think that all music needs to be original and important… hell, I barely think that talent is really a requirement. Yes, I like music with touching lyrics and original music. But I also think there’s a lot to be said for music that is FUN. Those tunes that make you want to jump up off the couch and dance around the living room with a hairbrush for a microphone.

This said, it’s no surprise that I like pop music. But over the last couple years I haven’t found new pop that has that same effect on me that pop from the 80s through early 00s had. For a little bit, I was afraid that I was outgrowing pop music… and I’m not going to lie, I was sad! But then, last year, Ali changed my mind.

She gave me the Pussycat Doll CD. It is AWESOME.

Every song on the album makes me want to shake it all over the place. When I play the album in my iPod on the subway or when I’m walking around the city, I can’t help but dance and sway. I LOVE the new NBA commercials with the girls singing “Right Now.”  I terrorize my BF by singing “Don’t Cha” and “Buttons” to him when he’s trying to watch hockey. It’s kind of weird… but I could not be happier.

What’s totally sad is that this love of PCD has led me to NOT change the channel after America’s Next Top Model ended tonight… and I’m watching the new CW show where they look for a new Pussycat Doll. Whoops.

Dear George Clooney,

I’m writing in response to your recent interview, when you said that you want to adopt a “good-looking 24-year-old girl with some cash.” I’d like to ask you to consider me!

While I am a little bit older than 24 (but only two years!) and don’t so much have “cash” as “credit card debt”, I can offer you more than youth and money! I can offer you a ton of Guitar Hero fun, almost full control of the TV (but I retain control during America’s Next Top Model and Project Runway!), and hours and hours and HOURS of snuggling.

Consider it, George. Please?

Love always,
Anna

Growing up, I moved from being totally untrendy (ah, Junior High) to overly trendy (I’m talking about you, Clueless-inspired high school years). In college, I fell into this bizarre in-between world where my clothes spanned a wide range of styles, from overly slutty (Hello, black stretch pants and animal print shirts!) to California punk (I kind of miss my bright yellow Doc Martens) to completely clueless (ah, black jeans).

Tired of having a completely schizophrenic wardrobe that had to be completely replaced every year, and horrified by the number of photos in which I’m wearing an outfit that completely embarrasses me 6 months later, I decided to streamline my style after college. I spent a couple of years trying on EVERYTHING that even slightly appealed to me – any style, any color, any size. From this, I figured out what styles of clothes look best on me (ooh, halter tops!) and what looks totally ridiculous (turns out that flowy empire tops make me look pregnant). I figured out what colors look good on me and what makes me look washed out. And I found out that wearing low cut shirts will redeem almost anything else I put on. Ha!

Most importantly, I found out that I don’t have to follow every trend in the world to look good. Thank GOD I discovered this before I started wearing skinny jeans and leggings and 80s tunics and headbands.

Ow.

I went on a bar crawl around Boston yesterday, hitting up 19 bars in the Garden and Faneuil Hall areas. Since beer has been making me throw up whenever I attempt to drink it, I thought the best thing I could do would be to drink vodka. And, when we got to Hong Kong’s, scorpion bowls.

Ow.

On the bright side, I remember the entire evening, including the following comments that came out of my friends’ mouths….

Said DDD to her boyfriend Pants: Are you going to order me a drink, or just stand there all night pretending to?

Said Skippy about a random girl: She’s smart… I think I fancy her!

Said my BF to me (actually, slurred): You love me. You can’t resist me.

It’s true. I can’t resist him. Or a Stoli Raz and Soda.

Somebody please tell me that this is a sick, sick joke.  Please.  I’m begging you.

The Raiders are trying to dump Randy Moss and the Packers definitely are interested if the former all-pro wide receiver would agree to a restructured contact in order to play with a better team and Brett Favre.
– Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Ew.  I think I just threw up a little in my mouth.