Always Anna

Things bringing me down right now:

• Exhaustion from working ridiculously long hours in order to meet ridiculously short deadlines at work.
• Thoughts about doing my taxes before this weekend - yeah, that’s right, I stupidly haven’t started them yet.
• Disbelief that they kicked Whitney off of America’s Next Top Model last night instead of Jael.

Things bringing me back up right now:

• Dog-sitting for the cutest freakin’ beagle of all time. (Don’t worry, there will be pictures later!)
• Pants made for roundhouse-kicking people in the head.

All in all, I’d say things are pretty even.

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.

Sorry for my long absence, party people. I’ve been super busy since my nose-bleed post. Super busy with the new love of my life…

Since entering my life on Saturday afternoon, Guitar Hero has been taking up all my free time. I’ve played after a night out drinking, after work, in between meals. I’ve practiced songs, played in career mode to open up new songs, and rocked out in the living room with the BF. I am obsessed.

It’s kind of strange, because I’m not really a big fan of video games in general. I just can’t get into them - they hurt my head and my eyes and I get bored. Well, except for Tetris, obviously. But anyways, for some reason, though, Guitar Hero enthralls me. Something about holding a plastic guitar, choosing a rock-star chick character and frantically scanning the music conveyor belt is just so… addictive.

So, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to play with my new love again. Don’t wait up.

I spent this past weekend being eaten alive by bugs.  This is what always happens to me when I go to Connecticut.  But I think it was worth it - friends, food, drinks, the beach and pool parties are a great way to spend a summer weekend.  I obviously loved hanging out with my friends and soaking up the sun, but the highlight of the weekend for me?  Drinking champagne (oh, I’m sorry - “Sparkling White Wine”) from a CAN!

Isn’t it CUTE?  And it was yummy too!  Fruity and summery, but not too sweet.  And it came with a tiny bendy straw (which I only used for the first half of the can)!  I wasn’t sure, at first, if I would like champagne from a can, but I have to say that it worked out swimmingly!  No cork to worry about, and just the perfect amount for a glass!  Apparently this sparkling wine, Sofia, is made by Francis Ford Coppola in honor of his daughter - isn’t that sweet? 

Single serving champagne cans.  I sense that they will be filling my fridge soon.

For some reason, I’ve really gotten into this year’s Winter Olympics.  It’s bizarre - I’ve never been that interested in any Olympics before.  Sure, I’ve watched a few random events - other skating events in Winter, a few swimming or gymnastics events in the Summer.  But they’ve just always seemed so… well… dull.  Definitely not the kind of thing that I would actually work my schedule around.

But this year… WOW.  This year has been completely different.

I was obsessed with the women’s halfpipe (American women rocked that party!) and snowboardcross events (even though I’m still cranky at Lindsay for losing that gold by showboating).  And I’ve been raving about snowboardcross in general - what an awesome event to add!  Totally a fan.  After making fun of ice dancing, I became obsessed with Belbin and Agosto - so much fire and attitude from that pair!  And women’s figure skating… amazing.  I may not like the diva attitudes I see when I read their interviews, but I love love love their artistry and attitude on the ice.  And Emily Hughes is just the sweetest thing since cotton candy - I hope to see more of her.

Of course, now that they’re wrapping up the events, I look forward to the return of my regularly scheduled programming.  But I think I’ll be watching the Olympics again.

Well, that’s what they say. But as someone that has moved approximately 20 times in her 25 years, I’ve never really had that sense of home. Up until age 18, I lived in Southern California (various cities in Los Angeles, Orange, and Ventura counties), so I call that whole area home. Then I lived in Providence for four years (ah, good old Providence College), and have now been in Boston for three. Maybe that’s more than you need to know….

Anyways, I’ve never been sure about where I’d end up - so much of that depends on circumstances that I just can’t foresee yet. But I was recently told about this very cool website, Find Your Spot, that matches you up with your perfect city based on your opinions. I took the 20 minute long quiz, answering questions about my weather, cultural, city size and geographical preferences, and they came up with a list of my top 24 cities. SO MUCH FUN!

And the winner is (drumroll please)…

Natalie Portman!

You all know I’ve been desperately seeking a girly crush, and this weekend, it finally came together. Natalie Portman rocked my world.

I’ve always liked Natalie - she was great in every movie I’ve seen her in, and has always been a cutie. Then, a month or two ago, I saw her appearance on Inside the Actor’s Studio and the movie Garden State within a week of each other. I remember thinking, “This girl is really freakin’ cool.” But, although I thought she was beautiful, she didn’t strike me as HOT at the time, so I went on my merry way. But then, everything changed.

I saw Closer. And she was hot.

HOT!

And so, I now need to stalk her. I checked out IMDB to get a list of all the movies she’s been in, and I have a lot of catching up to do:

1. The Professional - Great Movie. I don’t have a crush on her in this though, because she’s way too little to think about that way.
2. Developing - Had never even heard of this. Need to find it ASAP.
3. Heat - Fabulous. Still too young to be lusted after, but…
4. Beautiful Girls - Definitely one of the best movies ever. I haven’t seen it in a while, so I’ll be renting it soon. I think of this as her break-out role, when she starts to turn from little girl to young adult.
5. Everyone Says I Love You! - I love Woody Allen movies, and this one I saw in the theater. Great movie, and a great Natalie.
6. Mars Attacks! - Hilarious. That’s all I have to say about that.
7. Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace - Haven’t seen it. I had NO desire to see any of the Star Wars prequels until this crush developed. Now, I must watch them.
8. Anywhere But Here - I think I saw part of this once… now I guess I have to see the whole thing?
9. Where the Heart Is - Oh wait. Maybe this is the one I saw part of? Not sure… I guess I’ll have to see it too.
10. Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones - Again with the Star Wars! I’ll rent this at the same time I rent Episode I.
11. Cold Mountain - She was in this? Sigh. I guess I’ll rent it. And buy 5 boxes of Kleenex for the sob-fest that I’m sure will ensue.
12. Garden State - Awesome movie. Awesome. And it’s the film that made me think she was cool and original.
13. True - Apparently a short film that is now part of PARIS, JE T’AIME, which is coming out at some point this year. I’ll see it.
14. Closer - HOT! The movie was only okay, but I think all of the actors were good. Especially Natalie.
15. Domino One - Some artsy Harvard thriller movie. Looks like I’ll have to wait for the rental.
16. Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith - I’ll wait for the rental, probably. I don’t really want to support Lucas that much.

So, I can now rest easy. I don’t think I need to worry about Natalie turning skanky or trashy (like my last crush), and think she’ll only get better with age. Yeah.

And I’ll leave you with this:

And… I’m back. I missed you so much, bloggy. Let’s not be apart so long ever again.

Anyways, this last weekend was the kick-off to the summer for me. After “Spring Break ‘05″ in Montreal last weekend, I thought coming back to Boston would be a bummer. But, I LOVED THIS LAST WEEKEND. LOVED IT.

Saturday was a lot of fun - I went to a picnic/barbeque in CT. I actually got way too much sun (thanks to the topless Jeep), and am now sporting a lobster-ish sunburn. But it was cool to hang out with friends, play backyard volleyball and horseshoes, and eat in the sun. It felt so summery, you know? Then, late Saturday night, we decided to get up early on Sunday and go to Six Flags!

I may have mentioned before that I love roller-coasters, and think amusement parks are the best places ever, but I didn’t get a chance to really expound on that. So, here’s the deal… the Superman ride at Six Flags New England is the best coaster ever - 2.5 minutes, speeds of 77 mph, a 220+ foot drop - YEAH! I also LOVED Flashback (going backwards at 50 mph is NOT normal), the Mind Eraser (yes, it did what the name implies for a couple of minutes), and Cyclone (a rickety wooden coaster). AND the waterpark is so freaking cool - I am obsessed with the lazy river (called Adventure River here), and the Tornado, which shoots you (on a 2 to 4 person raft) out a tube, into a huge funnel that you spin down until you shoot out into the pool. Awesome. Freakin’ awesome.

Summer’s here!

Okay, so this town is full of perverts. What the h*ll has happened to men that they think it’s okay to rub themselves against girls on the subway (happened to me yesterday) or spout obscenities while following a girl down the street (this morning). Didn’t they ever learn any better? Has this ever actually paid off for them? Freakin’ pervs.

Ugh.

Well, in spite of this nonsense, nothing can bring me down today. I’m going to see Ani D at the Orpheum here in Boston, which is a GREAT venue. It’s pretty small and intimate, and the way it’s set up ensures there’s not a bad seat in the house. Just the place to see a rock goddess.

Ani ROCKS - this’ll be the third time I’ve seen her, and I’m not even a “concert person.” She’s one of the few musicians that I think is actually better live, and one of the few who manages to make the show worth the price of the ticket. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of seeing her.

On top of my excitement about seeing Ani, “Hitchiker’s Guide to the Galaxy” opens this weekend! I’ve been a HUGE fan of this “increasing inaccurately named trilogy” ever since I read Hitchiker in high school. Thanks for recommending, Jenni! This movie really looks like it’ll be a great adaptation of the book - while it may not follow the book exactly, it seems like it will be true to the ideas behind the book, and true to the characters. Plus, since Douglas Adams was involved in writing the screenplay before he passed away, I have a lot of faith.

I can’t wait for this weekend to start!

I’m obsessed with Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper. Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve had at least a bottle a day… and as someone who doesn’t even LIKE soda, that’s quite an accomplishment.

I’m not going to lie, a huge part of it is the commercial.

Mahna Mahna
Do doo be-do-do
Mahna Mahna
Do do-do do
Mahna Mahna
Do doo be-do-do be-do-do be-do-do be-do-do-doodle do do do-doo do!

Of course I love this song. And of course I go around singing it at inappropiate times. But I just found out that it’s from The Muppet Show… which makes me love it even more.

Mahna mahna… do doo be-do-do… Mahna mahna…